Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (books for 20 year olds txt) 📗

out and then move to England or something. Find a job on that side of the ocean. The language was the same and I’d heard developers never had trouble finding jobs there. London, perhaps? Or even better, Dublin? Perhaps I’d be able to get a place with a backyard for Louie to run around in and a big fridge to stock up on Guinness.

My daydreams about beer and green fields soon gave way to actual dreams and, despite Louie’s snoring getting louder by the minute, I slept like a rock.

Eight days had passed since I’d moved into Rory’s apartment, if you could even call it an apartment. Not that I was ungrateful for it, but the man lived as if he was homeless when he probably could have bought the whole block his little dump was in. Regardless, he made sure that we had everything we needed.

During the first few days, he had people from the “cleaning” company he’d hired make drop-offs of several items from my apartment—the very first included some clothes along with my and Louie’s laptop, because of course he had to have his own laptop to play his games and watch his series apparently. Though I wouldn’t have called my laptop a necessity, there were a couple of good reasons why I needed it right away.

First off, there was abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do at Rory’s place and since the only times I left the apartment were to walk with Louie around the block, there were only so many conversations I could have with a grumpy old dwarf and a corgi that spent the majority of his day sleeping. Second, the day after the incident I had a long call with Leo.

It turned out that his family had great connections in the NYPD and the whole incident was handled with the utmost discretion. What’s more, he made sure that I’d be able to work from home for the next couple of months, taking the heat off of me by making some shit up about me having broken my leg in three places, producing an x-ray signed by a physician and all.

Management wasn’t happy about it of course but they preferred having an employee slaving away from home instead of one on sick leave. And since I had no friends at work, aside from Leo, I didn’t have to worry about anyone pretending to care and asking to visit me.

The next deliveries from the company though included things that were directed toward making our stay more comfortable. First and foremost, our couch. The long piece of furniture barely fit into one of the room’s corners but at long last, I was able to sleep in my spot again. This also meant that the dwarf could sleep on his mattress, which was something I didn’t particularly enjoy. If Louie’s snoring could be characterized as cute and only occasionally annoying, Rory’s sounded like construction workers having a competition to see who would reach Earth’s core first. It helped me understand why the neighbors had their TVs on so obnoxiously loud at night.

Snoring aside, Rory was the perfect roommate. He didn’t talk much, he worked most of the time, and he liked to eat a lot. At first, I wondered where he was doing his crafting work, but soon I realized why he’d rented this place. His workshop was in a separate extra-dimensional space, which anyone else was forbidden from entering since it was his pride and joy.

“Why do ye need to have this awful music on so loud?” the dwarf asked as he exited his extra-dimensional workshop and stepped into the apartment.

“That’s the only way to listen to metal, old man,” I said, not minding a little break from an hour of straight database migrations. “You should try it. I bet you’re gonna love some of the tracks.”

“There’s nothing that can compare to proper Celt music, lad,” he said as he pulled up the room’s only chair and sat down on it.

“Well I’ll get you a device and put some songs on there for you,” I said, suddenly amused at the idea of preparing a playlist for a dwarf Mastersmith. “Perfect for a day of smithing.”

“Do what ye want, half-Celt,” he said and waved his hand dismissively. “Listen up. I got a lass coming. She’s an apprentice and will be spending the day here. She’s doing her class change quest.”

“Oh, okay. Do you want us out of the apartment?”

“No need. She’ll be here any minute.”

“Well, it’s time for my break and Louie’s walk either way,” I said. Louie immediately opened his eyes and perked up his ears. “Leo will be meeting us too. He said he had some news to share.”

Louie proceeded through his usual yoga stretching poses but was cut short by a knock at the door. He began barking immediately and I moved to get him, thinking that it would annoy Rory. The dwarf, however, simply smiled at him and stroked the back of his neck.

“Come in. Come in, guys,” Rory said, opening the door and stepping aside to let his guests enter.

A blue-haired woman came in and gave the dwarf a hug. Louie, not recognizing the guests, neither by sight nor after sniffing their legs, moved back to his usual spot for another short nap.

“Hello, Maestro,” the woman said. I thought I recognized the voice.

“Rory,” said a male voice from behind her. “It’s so good to see you.”

No. Is it really?

“Lad, I’d like ye to meet me apprentice, Martina. And her partner—”

“Hansi,” I said and forced my mouth closed. “Yes, I know them.”

“Oh, ye’ve met before, have ye?” The dwarf looked at his guests.

“I don’t believe we have,” the man said.

“Yes. I mean, no,” I fumbled over my words and extended my hand. “I’m Alex. I’ve been watching your Nerdforge videos for some time.”

“What videos, half-Celt?” Rory asked me.

“We’ve been uploading videos of some of our creations on a Cosmos platform,” said Martina and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, Alex.”

“Nice to meet you