Realms of the Ashes: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ashen Realm Book 4), page 1
Realms of the Ashes
S.D. McKittrick
Copyright ©2024 by S.D. McKittrick
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact S.D. McKittrick.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Book Cover by Muhammed Kaleem
Contents
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 36
37. Chapter 37
38. Chapter 38
39. Chapter 39
40. Chapter 40
41. Chapter 41
42. Chapter 42
43. Chapter 43
44. Chapter 44
45. Chapter 45
46. Chapter 46
47. Chapter 47
48. Chapter 48
49. Chapter 49
50. Chapter 50
51. Chapter 51
52. Chapter 52
53. Chapter 53
54. Chapter 54
55. Chapter 55
56. Chapter 56
57. Chapter 57
58. Chapter 58
59. Chapter 59
60. Chapter 60
61. Chapter 61
62. Chapter 62
63. Chapter 63
64. Chapter 64
65. Chapter 65
Afterword
About the author
Also by
Chapter 1
Ulysses carries me over treetops, and I marvel at the freedom of flying. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The wind blowing across me, the scents of the forest rising up to greet me, and the sounds of birds and animals shuffling around down below. It’s truly amazing.
There’s just one thing that makes this whole experience uncomfortable. The black portal. I track the mana emerging from the portal as it drifts into the air like a beacon luring us in. The wind carries the corrupted mana towards the city and that’s how I first noticed it.
My flight only takes a few more minutes before I’m landing inside a very small clearing in the trees. In fact, Ulysses’ wings brush the branches and knock down twigs as he lowers us to the ground.
A moment later, Melty brings Sora down next to us and we all face the black portal. The flickering crimson swirls have an ominous presence very different from the portals I’m used to. I don’t know if it’s because it’s connected to the human realm, but the portal feels evil. It’s hard to stare at it for long.
“So, this is a black portal,” I say softly.
Ulysses nods beside me. “It is. Do you have a plan?”
Looking around the clearing, I notice over two dozen more angels stepping out of the forest. I would like to say we have overwhelming forces, but I don’t think that’s the case. Whoever comes through that portal may be just as high ranked as the angels.
Turning to Sora, I ask, “Are you ready to kill some humans?”
Grabbing the handle of her mace, she smirks. “I’m always ready to kill humans! The god damn maggots deserve to be crushed under my boot!”
“You know I’m human, right?”
“I feel like you are trying to make a point,” she jokes.
Sighing, I step closer to the portal. “Everyone needs to back up!” I call out.
Grumbling voices fill the air as I order the angels.
“Who does he think he is?”
“Filthy human!”
“Did he already come through the portal?”
Melty claps her hands, adding power to the motion. A shockwave washes over the gathering. “We will listen to Ole!” she says sternly. “He’s here to prove that he’s different than the humans that have come here before.”
Turning to her, I give her a small nod. “Time to get started.”
Curling my fingers into a claw, I grab the stone and earth with my magic. Pulling up, I force the ground to my will. Tall walls, several feet thick rise into the air, creating a corridor.
“One part down.” Looking over the gathered forces, I find their mouths hanging open as I move onto the next section.
Walking around the portal, I force the walls to grow higher. A near perfect circle forms around the portal, with only the corridor breaking up its form.
With a growl, I force a dome to build over top of the portal, making it so no one can jump out. Following up the dome, I create a roof over the corridor as well.
Touching the walls, I find the three-foot-thick slabs to be completely reinforced with my mana. Nothing short of an alpha will be able to break free of this prison.
“We need guards on this entrance at all times!” I call out. “We don’t know when they will be coming, but we aren’t going to make it easy for them!”
Stepping away from the wall, I find Sora with her mouth hanging open like everyone else.
“Sora…?” I reach towards her.
Stepping into my hand, she asks, “Since when could you do this? There’s so much mana in this building!”
Chuckling, I remind her, “My attributes grew after fighting the humans, remember.”
“What are they at now?”
Pulling up my character sheet, I send it towards her.
Ole
Attributes
Strength: 117
Dexterity: 121
Constitution: 136
Recovery: 134
Mind: 126
Intelligence: 143
“My Mind stat is lagging behind, but that really only affects my vision and my ability to feel mana. With it being so high, I don’t feel like I’m really benefiting from increasing it anymore.
“But my Intelligence is a sight to behold,” I chuckle. “I can’t wait until it gets to one fifty. Can you imagine what sort of magic I can pull off then?”
Sora scoffs. “You’re a monster! What the hell, Ole?! I thought I was catching up to you!”
“Is something wrong?” Melty asks.
Before I can respond, Sora sends my sheet to her mother. The archangel staggers back a step as she reads over my attributes.
“By the gods…! This is what happens after living in hell for five years?”
Ulysses frowns as he looks between us. “They can’t be that high.”
Once again before I can respond, Melty sends the sheet to her highest ranked guard.
“…”
Silence is the only response we get from Ulysses. His eyes are wide as he looks at me and then at the barricade I created.
“We don’t stand a chance against you, do we?” Melty asks.
Smirking, I shake my head. “If you all ganged up on me, I would take some damage, but not much. If your attributes aren’t over one hundred, you will only bruise me.”
Melty’s wings sag lower as she watches me carefully. “You’re truly not here to kill us?”
“No,” I laugh. “Sora wouldn’t let me kill you, and my goal is to make her the happiest angel in existence.”
Sora awes at me before throwing her arms around my neck. “I knew I loved you for a reason!”
The nearby angels watch on with whispered conversations.
“How strong is he?”
“What did he show them?”
“Is that Sora? What is she doing with the human?”
“I think they are married. Look at the rings.”
Tuning them out, I pretend to roll my eyes. Let them talk as much as they want. All that matters to me is what Sora thinks.
“When do you think they will come through?” Sora asks after kissing my cheek.
“Soon. Remember, Marie said something was going to happen on day three. That’s going to be any minute now or might not be until tomorrow. It’s hard to tell with her.”
Melty clears her throat. “Whose Marie and how does she know something is going to happen?”
Turning towards the archangel, I try to explain this the best I can. “Marie is my information officer and Guild Master. She has visions, or something, we aren’t sure. Either way, she knew that a portal was going to op
Frowning, Melty shakes her head. “How would someone have a power like that?”
“It’s her unique skill,” I point out.
“Unique skill?”
Ulysses looks at me oddly as well. That’s when Sora takes over. “Humans get a unique skill when they reach eighteen. It seems to be a compensation for the fact that they don’t have their attributes from birth. They can’t increase anything until they turn eighteen.”
“That’s…” Melty starts. “I don’t know how to feel about that. Do you have a unique skill then, Ole?”
“I do. My unique skill allows gives me an increase to the rate at which my attributes and skills level up. It also spreads to my teammates, thus the reason Sora and I are so strong.”
“That’s Amaz—”
A blur of white popping out of my shadow cuts Melty off as she pulls her sword free. The sound of weapons being drawn from all around the clearing makes Ashe whine.
Kneeling in front of him, I rub his ears. “It’s okay, bud. You just startled them is all. They’ll put their weapons away in a moment.”
Melty lets out a heavy breath. “Your fox nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Putting her sword away, the others quickly copy their archangel.
“He’s the bestest boy in the whole world,” I coo. “Isn’t that right?”
Ashe yips before nodding and jumping up onto my shoulders, threating to tip me over.
Laughing, I pull a biscuit from my pack and hand it over. “Eat this and get off me.”
Yipping a second time, he hops down and snatches the biscuit from my hand. Turning to Sora, he starts nudging her pack while chewing.
“I don’t have anything for you! Mr. Bestest Boy!”
“Are you jealous,” I joke.
Touching the collar around her neck, she whispers, “Maybe…”
Melty raises her brow at her daughter. “Is that a collar?”
Sora’s yellow cheeks darken drastically as she turns away from her mother. “I’d prefer not to answer.”
Turning to me, Melty finds me nodding my head. “She’s a good girl.”
My comment makes Sora spin on me, her cheeks and neck darkening further. “Can we not talk about this with my mother?!”
“Are you being bad? You know what happens to bad girls.”
Biting back her response, Sora turns away.
Melty watches us with an amused smile. “Well… I didn’t expect my daughter to have such a kink.”
“Mother!” Sora yells.
Ulysses rubs his temples before looking over his forces. “I’m going to go help set up camp. We might be here for a while if what you said is true.”
Waving him off, I start chuckling. “Sora, I think you scared him away.”
Smacking my arm, she glowers at me. “I really hate you right now!”
Melty and I share a laugh as we watch Sora sulk and glare at us. With who knows how many hours to go, we are content to joke and relax the atmosphere. Maybe I’ll even be able to talk with the other angels. Hopefully they warm up to me.
Chapter 2
“So… Where’s your father?” I ask.
Sora looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I would have to ask mother. It’s odd she hasn’t mentioned him.”
“Was he at the training when you were attacked?”
Nodding once, Sora looks conflicted. “He was the trainer. I hope he survived…”
Looking over my barricade, I find that two of the angels are on guard duty currently. Night time descended long ago, and we have yet to see any sign of humans coming out of the portal. The moon is high in the sky. The bright orange sphere shining light down on us.
Melty is currently taking a nap with all of the other angels while Sora and I stay awake. With our lack of needing to sleep, we are okay with staying awake for more than a day.
“Do you think your friend survived?” I ask.
“Venus would have fought tooth and nail to survive. She wouldn’t let a few humans kill her.”
“I hope so…”
“I’m sure she’s fine…”
“We can always ask your mother when she wakes.”
Nodding, Sora looks over at her mother. “She’ll know. We haven’t exactly had time to catch up. Today won’t be the day either.”
Sighing, I nod as well. “You’re right. The battle should be beginning any minute now.”
The angels on guard perk up. The woman—Athena I believe—asks, “Why do you say that, sir?”
“If you were going to invade a realm, would you attack during the night or day?”
“Ah…”
Sora pulls her mace and shield free. “They should be here by now.”
“Give them a few more minutes,” I tell her.
Athena starts looking nervous as she glances back into the barricade. The swirling portal lights up the interior with a sickly crimson coloring.
“Can we handle them?” The angel asks.
Her partner nods. “We can.” His deep baritone voice carries over the camp.
Pulling my staff off my back, I switch it to spear form. The cool metallic substance of my weapon molds easily to my magic and Athena watches me with wide eyes.
“I’ve never seen a weapon like that,” she mutters.
“I found it on Earth when I was first trapped. It’s been my partner ever since,” I explain.
“How do you get it to change?”
“At first, I used Earth magic, but that took a little longer to work with. After I gained Metal magic, everything became much simpler.”
“I haven’t seen you use any spells that we know of.”
Sora smirks at Athena. “He doesn’t have spells. He can do whatever he wants with his magic.”
“Really?”
Nodding, Sora points down the tunnel. “It looks like it’s beginning.”
Spinning, Athena turns with her partner and we watch a man step out of the portal. His eyes are wide as he looks around before he spots the two angels standing at the entrance.
“To arms!” Sora yells.
A flurry of activity follows her call to action. Melty is the first up, leaping over to our side.
“How many?” she demands right away.
“One, so far,” Sora states.
“Make that six,” Athena calls out.
Looking down the tunnel, I find the humans smirking as they pull their weapons free. The man in the lead starts charging down the corridor and is quickly intercepted by Athena.
The smaller angel is pushed back out into the open space as her partner takes her spot in defending the passage.
Athena uses her sword to keep the man off her as they slash and hack at each other. Her deft movements slide around his defenses, cutting into his armor every few seconds, but enchanted gear doesn’t want to give.
Finally Sora gets bored with watching and steps forward. “Mind if I cut in?”
Athena jumps back. “Be my guest.” Rushing over to her partner, she guards against the next wave of charging adventurers.
Sora raises her mace as the human charges her. Swinging down, she catches him in the head, slamming him into the ground with a sickening crunch. Wicked laughter rises from her throat. “Come at me maggots! I’m your judge, jury, and executioner!”
Pressing a hand to my forehead, I sigh. “Dramatic much…”
Melty laughs by my side. “When are you going to get involved?”
Clicking my tongue, I call to my companion.
Ashe rushes over to my side, looking impatient with the fight stalling in the entrance. His eyes seem to ask, “Can I start now?”
Nodding, I give him the signal.
Rushing past Sora, he charges through Athena and Grant, her partner. The two step to the side just as they block two swords from crashing down on them.
Flames build in Ashe’s mouth, startling the men and women that are charging down the hall. Before they can retreat, Ashe unleashes Flare, igniting the tunnel in super-heated flames.
Screams of pain fill the air as the humans’ armor heats up and changes a cheery red before slipping into yellow. All five of them fall to the ground unmoving after a few seconds.
Melty whistles by my side. “He seems rather strong.”
Chuckling, I look over the notification from his attack.
Companion: Ashe increased Flare by one
Companion: Ashe increased Intelligence by one
“A few increases! Nice, bud!”
Ashe yips before jogging back over to me. His soft steps are practically a dance as his excitement is on full display.
