Atlas Rising a LitRPG gaming adventure by Blake Severson (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

early cut-scenes, but he patiently waited through them. After fighting as Dart and seeing Rose make her brief appearances, he idly wondered if this game was partially responsible for the combat system in this game. In almost no time, his respawn timer ticked to zero, and he returned to the game world.

The Death Penalty has removed 721 experience from your current level. (40%)

Your stats and damage are decreased by 40% for the next hour.

Atlas opened his eyes to a log style cabin. The smell of freshly cut wood filling the air. He jerked upright and looked around. The interior of the Master of the Wood house greeted him.

I bet this gets set as my spawn since it is my house.

The hit to his experience sucked. On the bright side, he knew turning in the rescue quest would get him all of it back, plus more. Although he was itching to complete the quest, he knew he needed to go get his gear first. The longer it sat in the forest, the higher chance someone would find it and steal all of his stuff.

With nothing but his starter clothes on, he walked to the gate and continued past. The two guards sent skeptical looks his way as he casually sauntered out with no weapons or armor, but none said anything to stop him. When he reached the trees, he shifted into cat form. With his stats diminished, he wanted the more nimble form for stealth.

His trip through the woods was quick and uneventful. All of his gear was still exactly where he’d died. Reequipping everything was a breeze, and he was quickly on his way back to the city.

“Welcome back, Master of the Wood,” one guard greeted as he entered.

“Good to be back. Have either of you seen the woman named Penny? I freed her from her captivity and wanted to make sure they escorted her to her sister.”

“She told us you saved her, sir. We took her to her house to reunite with her sister. We left a guard on the place as you ordered.”

“Thank you, soldier. Can you lead me to the house?”

“Of course,” he said with a quick salute. He told the other guard to watch the gate and that he’d send someone to fill his spot for now.

They trudged through the city and eventually came to a large two-story house. Carefully trimmed shrubs lined the knee high stone wall around the perimeter. The stone pathway to the front door was clean and well maintained. He approached the door and carefully knocked.

It swung open to reveal a young woman with golden brown hair, cascading down in wavy lines. Her lips sported a slight shade of red while a faint sprinkling of blush lit up her cheeks. The gown she wore was slim fitting and accentuated her curves while still looking fancy.

“Atlas!” she exclaimed as she practically leaped into his arms. His confusion changed as his mind processed her face.

“Penny?”

She backed up and smoothed the fabric on her dress, “Penelope Voi’ Deer, at your service.”

She dipped into a short curtsy before her face returned to his with a beaming smile.

“Who is it, Penny,” the voice of her sister said.

“It’s Atlas, Raina. He’s finally returned after his daring mission.”

“Oh, Atlas! I can never thank you enough for saving my sister. We are both forever in your debt,” Raina said as tears welled in her eyes.

“It’s my job, ma’am,” he told them with a slight nod.

Quest - Damsel in Distress

Requirements

•     Master of the Wood

•     Level 15

Quest Rarity: Rare

Quest Reward: 1200 experience, 40 silver, unknown rewards.

Description: You have successfully returned Penny home.

Do you wish to complete the quest? Yes/No.

Atlas selected Yes. The experience flowed in and the coins appeared in his bag.

“Atlas, can you come in for a few minutes? I’d like to discuss something with you,” Raina told him.

“Sure,” he said and turned to the guard with him, “you can return to your post. Also, take the guard stationed here. I think everything is fine now.”

The young man saluted and waved to the man on the edge of the small yard to follow. Atlas turned and entered the house. The two ladies walked ahead of him and took him through the building. No one crossed their path as they continued through the monstrous house. Atlas at least expected to see a maid or something in a place this large.

They led him to a small study and motioned for him to take a seat on a plush looking chair. Bookshelves lined the walls and a formidable collection decorated the shelves. The two ladies took a seat opposite of him on a small loveseat.

“I wasn’t joking when I said we are both forever in your debt,” Raina began, “this house has fallen on hard times. We are all that’s left of a once illustrious house. My sister is literally my whole world.”

“At least you have someone. Plenty have suffered worse.”

“Oh, don’t mistake me. Or lives aren’t terribly difficult, but the lifestyle has changed. Our mother died when we were young but our father, Sam, did a good job raising us. As luck would have it, he passed on as well last year. Now we just have a struggling business.”

“What business is your family in? If you don’t mind me asking,” Atlas inquired.

“Daddy was a Woodworker. A pretty good one at that,” Penny told him.

Raina smiled at her enthusiasm, “He was indeed. When he passed away, he only had one young apprentice and his training was far from complete. Now we have a business that can’t keep up with demand, and we are bleeding customers because of quality issues.”

“Sorry to hear that. Can you not find another artisan?”

“We’ve tried. Master Onon, the Woodworking trainer here, has essentially blacklisted our business with the craftsmen. He doesn’t like competition,” Raina explained.

“That seems petty. There should be plenty of work for you both in a city of this size.”

“There was, until the Reborn arrived,” she grumbled.

Her eyes shot open as she remembered