Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) by Jez Cajiao (beach books .txt) 📗

came into view, running as fast as his short legs would let him, Frederikk and two others followed, screaming obscenities, and chasing him.

“Heeerrrre!” Giint said, a manic grin splitting his face as he darted behind me and dove under a desk, while I waved at the furious gnomes to stop.

“What the hell?” I snapped at them. “Stop right there!” I ordered as Frederikk yanked out a dagger, glaring at Giint’s feet where they protruded from under the desk.

“He…” Frederikk snarled, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. “He… took…”

“He went to get you at my orders,” I said, then paused. “He took? What did he… Giint!” I snapped. “Get your arse out from under there!” There was a pause, then Giint poked his head out and grinned maniacally at the three elders and me, all while frantically chewing on something.

“He stole your stash, didn’t he?” I asked them and covered my eyes with one hand as I tried to calm down, hearing their angry growls in confirmation. “Right. That’s my fault,” I admitted begrudgingly. “I ordered him to gather you as fast as he could. Giint, give them back the stash… whatever is left of it…” He looked up at me with an expression of hurt betrayal, clambering out and offering up with the compact stick to Frederikk, who snatched it and swung for Giint with a hasty fist. Giint dodged back, then lunged at him, grabbing the elder with both hands and nutting him, before reaching for a knife… and getting yanked back as I stepped in and grabbed him by the collar.

“Stop that, you crazy little bastards!” I yelled at them both, noting the way the other two elders stood back, calmly watching, while Frederikk scrambled for a dagger as well. The years of madness and constant fighting still had an effect on them, making them vicious for any reason. I grabbed Frederikk by the collar as well and shook the pair of them. “That’s enough! I said stop!” With that, the pair of them subsided, but I could feel the simmering anger ready to bust into life at the slightest spark again. “Tenandra, can you explain the plan so they can understand, please?”

“Of course… I’m not doing anything complicated right now…” she grunted, before catching my eye and nodding an apology. “So, I’m exiting my Core. Lord Jax requires you to create a set of mana collectors, spreading them about the ship to catch any ambient mana, and channeling it into a central node that the Core will form the heart of, then connect it up to the Manastones. Once those are in place, then I will recharge the ship directly from the storm. Do you understand? The manaengines you used before absorbed a small amount of ambient mana as well as using the manastones, so you know how to create them; all you need to do is place them around the ship…”

“Where?” Frederikk asked, his face alight with anticipation.

“The masts, the bowsprit, and atop the wheelhouse… and one… underneath,” she said slowly, as if expecting an explosion.

“Okay,” Frederikk said agreeably. “I recommend Giint does the receptor underneath…” He grinned evilly as the other two elders nodded and spoke up.

“I agree.”

“Best place for him.”

“You’re a bunch of bastards,” I said, but nodded when Giint looked to me for help. “Shouldn’t piss off the guys that decide the work arrangements, Giint, mate,” I grimaced, shrugging.

“Giiiiint going tooo diiie,” the little gnome said mournfully, then shrugged and casually slipped something from his pocket into his mouth, munching quickly.

Frederikk looked down at the stick of catnip he’d been given back before snarling and trying to reach Giint again; it was half the size it had been when he lost it. This time, I heaved them both through the air toward the door.

“Go sort it out, out there!” I snapped. “Tenandra, how long?” I asked, and she spoke up quickly, if distractedly.

“An hour, no more, until we hit the true edge of the storm; we’re already entering the fringe.”

“Get the work done in forty-five minutes,” I called to the elders, and the freshly-begun fight froze as both combatants looked at me in shock.

“We need at least a day; two!” Frederikk spluttered, and I grinned at him.

“Well, this ship will have crashed, and we’ll all be dead by then, so… no. You’ve got an hour at most; then you’ll have to work on it while it’s live.”

They gawked at me in shock for a handful of seconds, before scrambling and shoving the other aside as they struggled to their feet and rushed out of the room. The remaining two elders followed them, as all four started snapping and shouting at each other and summoning the gnomes from below decks to start work.

“How long do we really have?” I asked Tenandra, and she smiled placidly as she pulled more mana from me.

“About three hours, but they’ll do a lot more, now that they think they’ve got no time.”

“Jian, can we keep going that long?” I asked, and he grimaced in reply.

“We can, but at the speed they’re closing, we won’t be far ahead when the storm hits, not unless you want to burn through all our stored power…”

“No, this could still go tits up,” I said firmly. “Try to keep as much back as you can.”

“I’ll be able to help with that,” Tenandra said distractedly. “Once I’m bonded to the ship, anyway, but that’s at least an hour away.”

I nodded, and threw the Core to Yen, then pulled a stool close to the control panel, sitting and holding my hand out so that Tenandra could draw the needed mana from me directly.

“I’ll be out as soon as she’s done, but until then, you’re in charge, Yen, and make sure the gnomes do all they can. Be sure to give them the Core when they need it.”

“I will, Jax; good luck.” she said simply, striding back out and closing the door behind her.

“Well, looks like we’re either fucked or free,” Jian said after