The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) by A. Kay (best fiction novels of all time .txt) 📗

Sift looked down. “Did Blapy tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Sift glared at Ruwen.

Ruwen raised his hands. “What? I want to know. Nobody told me anything.”

“Why?”

“I asked first.”

“That’s stupid.”

“You’re stupid.”

They stared at each other for a few more seconds, and then Sift let out a long sigh. “Fine. I drank something I shouldn’t have. Some priceless elixir or something. My dad even yelled he was so upset.”

“Your dad got angry?”

Sift nodded. “Scared me to death.”

“So this elixir pushed your heart from Gold to Jade?”

“You make it sound easy. I thought I was going to die, and the only Meridian making the Purification was my Body Meridian. I can’t imagine what the pain would be like for more than one.”

That gave Ruwen pause. He would need to transform all twelve. “So that elixir caused the Purification?”

“Yes, it started the Purification process, which is evidently really difficult to begin on your own, and then helped speed the painful process. It was the worst month of my life.”

“What? Did you say a month?”

“Like I said, I only had one Meridian, so it went faster.”

How long would it take Ruwen to Purify twelve Meridians so he could transform from Metal to Gem? A year? And that was with Sift’s elixir. “Do you have the recipe for that elixir?”

Sift shook his head. “My parents might. I mean, why leave a bottle out where a thirsty kid can find it. Really, it was their fault. Why all the questions?”

“Hit me,” Ruwen said.

Without hesitation, Sift punched Ruwen’s solar plexus. Ruwen didn’t dodge, and he heard a bone snap as Sift struck Ruwen’s chest.

Sift jerked his hand back and stared at it, and then at Ruwen, in disbelief.

Ruwen grabbed Sift’s hand and cast level ten Blooming Branch, healing the snapped finger.

“Thanks,” Sift said. “Did you level your body again?”

Ruwen looked down at himself. “Gold.”

“How?” Sift said in a whisper. “Is that why you wanted to know about getting to the Gem levels?”

Ruwen nodded. “I’m stuck at the peak of Gold. I’ll need to figure out how to break through to Gem soon. But I don’t have a year to do it, so I’ll need something faster than your elixir.”

“How did you get to Gold so fast?” Sift asked.

Ruwen grew serious. “I need your oath that what I show you will die with you. No other person, unless we both agree, can see it. That includes your parents.”

“See what?”

“A Divine Fortification form,” Ruwen said.

“A form? You mean poses, right?”

Ruwen shook his head.

“Divine?” Sift asked.

“Yes. I don’t know how effective it will be in the Gem levels, but it smashes through the Metal ones, and I didn’t even use my Suffocation gear. Getting back to my idea, your punch proved why it’s so good.”

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

“You stay here and Fortify your body while I run and grab the oil.”

“You go by yourself? Are you joking?”

Ruwen shook his head. “I’m not. This second Class I took has turned me into a monster, and I’m confident I can handle or escape from anything I meet out there. But my future is full of danger, and your Lead body isn’t prepared for it. I might not be either, but you have a lot of ground to make up.”

Sift didn’t show any anger. “I do not fear death.”

Ruwen smiled. “Well, I fear it enough for both of us. I don’t want my best friend to follow me into danger and die. That is not something I want to live with, which wouldn’t be long because Lylan would kill me. Really, I’m doing this for myself.”

“Will you get in trouble for showing me this Divine form?”

Ruwen shrugged. “I don’t care. You’re important to me, and I want your body strong enough to protect itself from your terrible choices.”

“Does it hurt?” Sift asked.

“I barely felt it,” Ruwen said with a smile.

“I’m not sure how I feel about using your secret form.”

“That’s fine. At the rate I’m going, I’ll kick your butt during our Step Master testing. I can already picture the disappointment on your parent’s faces.”

Sift narrowed his eyes. “I promise to keep it secret. Show me.”

Ruwen pulled A Worker’s Guide to Harvesting from his Void Band and turned to the Divine Fortification Form. He showed Sift what he’d learned and how the Fortification breathing coupled with the movements. It took Sift twenty minutes to commit everything to memory.

An exit door had appeared, and Ruwen strode toward it, Whiskers by his side. He wanted to leave before Sift learned how excruciating painful the form’s movements were. Putting the book away, Ruwen spoke over his shoulder. “I’m going to shut off the group Chat for a while so you stay focused on your Fortification.”

Ruwen stopped his Refinement Streams and slowed his Core until it stopped, causing his Scarecrow Aspect to disappear. He began casting all his buffs and as he reached the door, he heard a moan of pain from Sift. Turning, he saw Sift laying on the ground, his body twitching. Ruwen quickly muted Sift from Chat.

Sift growled. “Ruwen you—”

Ruwen stepped through the doorway and missed the rest of Sift’s comment. Joking aside, he hoped Sift made quick progress. Ruwen finished his buffs by the time he’d climbed down Shelly’s leg. Whiskers had shifted into a small city cat and his fur blended with the grey rocks.

As Ruwen stepped onto the rough ground, he wrinkled his nose. The smell of rotten eggs stung his nose. Instead of pulling out his Scarf of Freshness, Ruwen channeled one Energy per second into Fresh Air, which created a two-foot bubble of clean air around his head. His Energy bar, with all his buffs, read one thousand two hundred forty, and the cost of the spell didn’t even dent his Regeneration Rate of sixty-six Energy per second.

With the spell in place, the terrible smells disappeared and Ruwen slowly walked forward, studying his surroundings. There were no trees or bushes, just barren rocks. Most of the rocks were small and jagged, but some were as big as houses and it was difficult