The lone hero 2 a fantas.., p.1
The Lone Hero 2: A Fantasy LitRPG Isekai Adventure (Cyber-Initiative), page 1
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Extras
Copyright © DAMIEN R JAMES (2024)
First Edition June 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, republished, cited, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the author. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without prior permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, events, and incidents portrayed within are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. The main characters featured in the novel are above the age of 18.
CHAPTER ONE
9 Days left…
Silas
Bye Silas… you can do this without me… I believe in you.
Save our people.
Save Alzera-Kar…
I couldn’t push down that last moment I saw Jezz no matter how hard I tried…
I was lost in my own daydream while Madeem worked on my gear. As I lay on the stretcher underneath the neon blue lights of his cyber workshop, I drowned in my own thoughts. I was lost—it’d been three whole days now... People thought my mopey attitude was because I was grieving, but honestly, it wasn’t that at all. Because as much as everyone at Prism Point believed she was gone, I knew Jezz was out there somewhere, and it was up to me to find her.
I couldn’t get her out of my head. That fae wolf girl was my companion, my friend, my other half. I’d never met anyone like her. Since the first day we met I knew she was different. She was an atypical girl, grounded, strong willed, brave, warm-hearted, and silly when she wanted to be. Jezz was unwavering and unafraid to speak her mind to the enemy population at large. She was also an eccentric little dare devil, which made me adore her all the more.
My thoughts went back to the first time we met. I remembered it like it was a few minutes ago. Orcs were trespassing on human lands, and she was tied up like cargo with Jeglar’s brother and their captain Rogar. A bunch of enraged, ready, orc warriors hunting humans to overclock as cyber soldiers was all too common for Jezz, so she wasn’t afraid of those brute heads one bit. In fact, she used me as bait to distract them, so she could free herself and end them for good.
I remembered first seeing her fight, graceful yet ferocious. She had power in every strike, and speed like I’d never seen before. She was nimble, efficient, and precise, a seasoned fighter and overseer for the human race. And even though she was fae-blooded, she fought for the people of Senterra with all of her might. Her kindness was unyielding to the suffering of my humans. The girl had the power of intimidating me no matter how much I denied it. She swung confidence around like her natural armor, and it was impossible not to be drawn to her strength. I’d made the mistake of underestimating her once before, and after she tossed me over her shoulder like a rag doll, I didn’t make that mistake again.
We had grown inseparable over the time we’d spent together. She had shown me the secrets of Senterra, guided me in the art of leveling up, and trained me in how to take everything Thalian had to offer, including all of her precious items. We had traveled together, fought together, and laughed together.
I think that was what I missed the most…
“Almost done, brutha,” Madeem said, his narrow goggles zoned in on the intricate wiring on my right arm. In the three days I’d been traveling without Jezz, I’d taken another sleeve and modified it, being one step closer to getting the perfect exo suit, The Punisher. Madeem used his electric needle to fix the joint of my cyber gear, the last cyber monster I fought snapping his large jaws right into it. Luckily the giant fish hybrid didn’t bite clean through, or I would have needed more than just a tune up.
As he buzzed away, I continued to flex my fingers, looking down at the improvements of my hardware. I was modifying every day, bulking up my cyber tech so I could perform better. The stronger my gear was, the quicker I could level up, and the deeper I could travel into the forbidden parts of Thalian to search for Jezz.
“All right, chief. Let’s wrap dis up.” Madeem leaned back into his wheeled chair with a satisfied grunt, tossing the hand towel stained with grease over his shoulder. He flashed me a wide toothy grin and propped his goggles up, looking at the upgrade he just installed for me and the fix along the seams of my powered up sleeve. “As good as new. Check out the new chrome.”
I sat up on the stretcher and flexed my arm, the polish and shine off my black-plated finish staring back at me. I could see my own reflection off the thing, admiring Madeem’s beauty.
Truly the man knew how to create a work of art.
“I’m impressed,” I said, drawing out the machine gun extension he fixed into my sleeve with fresh mods. The extender was as easy as squeezing a button just beneath the joint opposite of my elbow to unlock the mechanism, the weapon about twice the size of my sleeve.
“Mi bypass the mana required per magik bullet. It uses less now. Mi also added a grenade launcha.”
“Great. How about the leg piece? How is it looking?”
His smirk sunk a bit. “Still workin’ on it…”
“I needed it since yesterday, Madeem.”
“We don’ exactly have all the tools we need in da shed.”
“Then I’ll double my time in the badlands.”
“Hero…”
“How much do I owe you?”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Come again?”
“No seriously. I’m good for it.”
He looked up to me with one skeptical eye. “You tink mi don’ see what yer doin out der?”
“What?”
He scoffed. “Boy, you as broke as the bridge to Edefur-Reiss. Turnin’ currency into rations like a wish fairy gone rogue.”
I looked at him skeptically. “Those are actually real?”
He chuckled. “About as real as dis war. But don let the title deceive ya boy. They only brin sufferin’ and sorrow’.”
“Well, it’s not like feeding mouths is a bad reason, is it? I have to go out there and get food for Prism Point. Our rations are running low. Since Jezz has been gone, me and a few volunteers have been guarding the perimeter. We survey hazmat zones, slay cyber freaks, and cast away hunters. In doing so, we found plenty more survivors. More mouths to feed means more traveling outside of our jurisdiction for food.”
“And what about your promise to Jezz?”
My heart jumped when he mentioned her name.
“Fighting de good fight, fixin da dungeon core?”
I darted my eyes away from him. “I’d get to that…”
“When?”
“When I get to it,” I said, getting off of my seat a bit irritated.
“Hero, ya focusin’ on de wrong ting.”
“And since when was searching for Jezz the wrong thing?”
“She wouldn’t want this. Abandon’n the mission for her.”
“She is my mission.”
“And what is the outcome in all of dis? Ya three days in and ya ain’t got nuthin’ to show for it. Levelin up, pullin gear, addin mods and tackin’ on more metal. At dis rate, ya gon’ CO.”
“I’m not overloading… I promised Jezz I wouldn’t…”
“Ya pushin’ it already, Bruer. XDM gear is usually reserved for d
“Well, I am a hero, right? It makes sense that I excel faster. Besides, I didn’t see you complaining last night when I found that XDH acid rain attachment.”
He shrugged lightheartedly. “What can I say? It a hard find.”
“It makes no difference if I’m at level 24 or 30. The sleeve scanned me and came back as compatible. So as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to keep feeding it more hardware.” I tightened my fist, my blood heating up from the fight with Ezmar. His defeat was fresh in my mind, and I was feeling the adrenaline all over again. “I’m going to find Jezz. I promise you I will. Whatever it takes...”
“And what of the rest of us?”
I snapped my eyes at him confused.
“Ya know, mi always found it strange how our goddess built such weapons of mass destruction. Cyber gears, the edge that humans needed to survive. When really, it a means to chaos and divide. Have ya eva asked yaself hero, why a woman with such high regard to her creations would create such tings? Alzera-Kar is a lova, not a fighta. And yet, she made cyber gears.”
“You’d be out of a job if she didn’t,” I said sarcastically. “What’s your point, Madeem?”
“Beyond everythin’ she believed in, she created the one thing she hated. She put aside her wants to do what was necessary.”
“Madeem, are you telling me to give up on Jezz?” I asked him in a serious tone.
He could tell from my glare that I didn’t approve of his suggestion, but he shrugged anyway and said, “The ansa is in front of you, hero. It up to you whether to take it or not.”
“Look, I get it. The world is falling apart. The world is coming to shit! But do you honestly think for a second that this is a one man solution?!”
“Mama Kar picked you, ain’t she?”
“To hell with that logic!” I fired, taking one step closer to him. “She planned on summoning an army! If it wasn’t for Lucyna, I wouldn’t have been the only hero here right now! Not to mention it took me and Jezz to find the first shard! It was a group effort! What the hell do you think I could do by myself in a fucking nation of fae, goblins, and dragons?! The way I see it, we are all doomed. So the best I could do is spend my last days with her. I’m still taking care of Prism Point, busting my ass back and forth here! So how about you cut me some slack and let me find Jezz! If you don’t support that then keep your comments to yourself and let me be!”
Madeem got off of his seat, those sorry eyes of his opening up the dam to all of my pent up emotions.
“It is okay, Silas…”
“What?”
“It’s okay…”
“Don’t…” I said with a heavy breath, ripples burning in my chest.
“Ya need to let yourself mourn. It’s not a sign of weakness, but one of healin’.”
He triggered me, and I stormed out of his workshop furious.
I stopped down the block, where the streets were always crowded. I had to hide my emotions and keep myself in check, the image of Senterrian’s lone hero something I needed to control every passing second of my day. There was no showing these people a lick of defeat, even though I’d been wearing it like a second skin since that big boss fight. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, and I was watching her go over and over again. I needed to get away, far away from here, far away from the faces that told another story of Jezz’s fate.
I didn’t want to lash out at Madeem. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know any better. He was like the rest of them, believing that she was gone for good. Well unless I saw a fucking body, Jezz was alive.
No one could tell me differently. In my head, I had to keep reminding myself that she was still out there, waiting on me. I couldn’t give up on her, I refuse…
With a grunt, I shook away all of that pent up anxiety and scratched the back of my head, my eyes searching for an escape. I needed a drink, something to numb the pain. The smell of stale beer and cigarette fumes clung in the air, but I wasn’t in the mood to head down to Regeni’s Bar. That bartender was a mean drunk, unfiltered, too. She loved to drink with her customers and dish out terrible advice, no matter how blunt or how unhinged they were.
So I went to Elliot’s Butcher Shop instead, and decided to visit a woman who was more on the sweet and sugary side. But like the last few days, I walked into an empty shop, the chairs along the guest tables not even put down yet. Usually the smell of meat invited me in, though lately, Elle hadn’t been able to stock up. We were on the verge of famine, and it was getting harder and harder to meet the demands of my hungry people.
I walked through the saloon-styled doors and saw the bubbly butcher in an uncommonly clean white apron, swinging her hips back and forth as she rushed up to me with open arms.
“Silas, what a surprise!” she tweeted, tossing me a warm hug. Butch greeted me too, buzzing in circles around my head. “I wasn’t expecting you back til mid afternoon!”
“Hey Elle,” I said with a smile. “It’s good to see that you’re doing better.”
“Now that you’re here,” she playfully flirted. “My, my, you just get more and more handsome with every passing minute!”
“Are you sure it’s not the hardware making you all googly-eyed?” I teased as she brushed fish scales off of my shoulder.
“Another tough fight, huh? You’ve been getting yourself into a bit of trouble more often these days.”
“It’s all part of being an overseer.”
“No argument there. Want some caramel cream foduon?” She asked me as she walked back to the counter. “I wish I could offer you a meal, but, you know the deal these days.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take anything you have to offer.” I joined her back on the bar stool as she opened the fridge behind her and took a fresh glass bottle of spiced cream with two short drinking glasses. She poured me my drink before she topped hers. We toasted, clinking our glasses together. As we sipped on our drinks, I couldn't help but notice the way her lips curled around the rim of her glass. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to make me ask her, “What is it?”
“Oh nothin’, darlin.”
“It’s something.”
“Just trying to decipher those sad eyes.” She chuckled. “You miss her a lot, don’t ya?”
“Like the flowers miss the sun at the dead of winter fall.”
She giggled. “I see Mulani has been reading some of that poetry to ya.”
I chuckled. “She’s actually an amazing writer.”
“You know you got people talkin’. The Point is losing faith, saying you’d lost your compass, your way. Now, don’t get me wrong, the majority are thankful, but they are losing hope, Silas. Before there was a future for us. We had something to hold onto. But now…well, things ain’t looking too good.” She leaned in, continuing to confide in me. “Now I know you’re hurtin’. I am too. Trust me I know she is out there. That girl is a fighter. She ain’t never stop fightin’! If there’s a way, Jezz will always steamroll through it! That I believe in with all my heart. But things are getting mighty bad out there. The end of the world type bad. Abnormal drought, malady hitting livestock, spontaneous earthquakes. These are the reports feeding through our underground home from the outside.”
“My scouts shouldn’t have opened their mouths and said anything,” I said coldly. “We already have a morale issue. Saying shit like that would only make things worse.”
“But Silas, they have the right to know.”
“Knowing isn’t going to make things better. They already have enough to worry about as it is.”
“That being said, you took on a responsibility by taking on her title. Overseer, it comes with a lot of weight, and a lot of responsibility. You have a duty to these people, just like Jezz did.”
