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

“Yeah, I remember the deal…” I said, staring at him. “We agreed on two Spellbooks and a single memory crystal; my choice of which, remember? You know damn well I don’t carry those around with me. I told you what they were and that they were in the Tower. Add to that, you asked for free repairs for your ship. Can’t do that here, either, Mal. You know better.”

“You alterin’ our deal, boy?” he asked in a low growl, his right hand dropping to the pistol grip of his crossbow, which hung against his hip, and the low whine of the magical device powering up filled the air.

“Nope. I gave my word, Mal. I’ve got some Spellbooks right here, and you can have two of them. That’s no issue… but you want the crystal, you’re gonna have to wait a little. Few days, at least,” I said.

“Why days?” he growled, keeping his hand on the crossbow.

“Because I’m going to lead a team into the depths of the City here, and I’m going to loot the shit out of it while the ships get repaired and upgraded. You want a crystal, you either come dungeon-diving with me and chance if we find one, or you wait until we get to the Tower. Or you leave now, and you’ll have to wait until you come back to get it.”

“You never said that before!” Mal snarled.

“You never asked, Mal,” I said simply. “You’re the one who just tried to rip me off for eight additional Spellbooks, so don’t give me that shit. You want a memory crystal before we leave here? Join my team and damn well hope there’s some down there; otherwise, you’re stuck waiting till you come to the Tower.”

“Fuck’s sake!” Mal snapped, spinning around and stalking off, while Soween stepped forward and held out her hand to me.

“I’ll take the two spells, thank you. They’re for my husband, after all,” she said calmly.

“Fair enough,” I said to her sadly. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Soween. When we set the deal, Mal was supposed to come to the Tower with us, after all. I haven’t changed the deal, regardless of what he thinks. Here, you choose.” I pulled the books out and stacked them on a pile of wood nearby, drawing incredulous stares from the small crowd around us.

All told, there were two copies of Deathbolt, two Firebolt, a single Blizzard, three Iceshield, a pair of buff spells for Intelligence, one for Strength, and one for Dexterity. Four more dealt with summoning creatures, including two Lesser Demons, an Earth Golem, and a Flame Atronarch, respectively. I had more, but none that I was willing to share, not yet.

The way that Soween’s eyes bulged, I knew she’d been ready to take anything. However, at the sight of all the options, she swallowed hard, closing her eyes and mumbling for several long seconds.

Eventually, she opened her eyes again and selected a copy of Iceshield and the Blizzard spell, which made me sigh internally. I’d had designs on that one myself.

“Josh says to thank you for these, and he’d like to do a deal personally for some more, he says, before we leave.”

“When are you leaving?” I asked hopefully.

“We’ll see,” was all she said, but she shrugged as she walked away, leaving me with some optimism.

“That damn smuggler needs to learn his place…” Romanus growled, but I shrugged dismissively.

“Not really, Romanus. He signed on for this when I really needed him. He’s a good man, even if he does try to sneak things past me at any chance. When he calms down, he’ll remember that the original deal was to help me get these people out of the city and back to the Tower, and then he gets his loot. If he wants to come get it later, that’s fine, but if he wants it now, he either has to hope that there is something worthwhile below us that we can reach, or he has to be patient.”

“As to ‘below us,’ I trust you’ll be taking the Legion?” Romanus asked, and I smiled.

“Some of it, at least, and Lydia’s squad. We’ll sort it out soon. First things first, I need to go talk to them, and then I need to replace some of this armor… and so will a lot of my people, actually. Are the Legion Armorers about?” I asked.

“They’ll be proud to provide you with armor,” Romanus said firmly, calling to a pair of Legionnaires who stood nearby, watching over us. “Trin, go find the Armorers. Send them to the upper deck and tell them they’ll have the honor of providing the Lord of Dravith with new gear, and they’d damn well better do me proud…”

“Yes, Prefect!” the Legionnaire barked, slamming fist to chest, and tearing off into the ship at a dead run.

“Damn,” I said, marveling at the speed he managed.

“I’ll lead you to the upper deck, if that’s acceptable?” Romanus offered, and I smiled gratefully, nodding my thanks. “Good. Mind if I give you some advice, Jax? If you don’t want to hear it, just say…?”

“I’ll take it, mate; god knows I’m flying by the seat of my pants at the minute,” I admitted, and Romanus frowned, trying the phrase out, before shrugging and moving on.

“The seat of your pants… hmmm. Well, anyway. I’ve noticed that you’re an informal man, Jax, and that’s fine. Some of the greatest leaders in our history were charismatic giants of song and legend, men and women who could drink with the men one minute, then lead them in battle the next. But…”

“But I’m not that Charismatic.” I shrugged. “I know, mate, but I’m trying…”

“No, Jax,” Romanus said, cutting in. “That’s not what I’m saying. Charisma can be earned and learned; either way is fine. You’ve got a strong enough presence that you can do that if you want to… my point is that you keep trying to be everyone’s friend. An older brother, if you will. You have the