Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG

Interesting. The system specified that I needed to distribute stat points, leaving feat points unmentioned. That wasn’t an accident. I knew from experience, it was possible to bank the feat points and use them later—normally a terrible idea, considering the stakes. There wasn’t really any excuse for not using everything I had at my disposal at any given time. But in this case, I could safely level and save the feat points in case I unlocked anything worth pursuing.

I swapped my local identity to Myrddin to simplify things for the level.

Matt

Level 12 Ordinator

Identity: Myrddin, Level 10 ???

Strength: 6

Toughness: 6

Agility: 18+

Intelligence: 16+

Perception: 8

Will: 14

Companionship: 1

Active Title: Born Nihilist

Feats: Double-Blind, Ordinator’s Guile I, Ordinator’s Emulation, Stealth I, Awareness I, Harrowing Anticipation, Page’s Quickdraw, Vindictive, Squelch.

Skills: Probability Cascade, LVL 3. Suggestion, LVL 18. One-handed, LVL 16. Negotiation, LVL 11. Unsparing Fang (Emulated), Level 10.

Summons: Audrey — Flowerfang Hybrid, Bond LVL 3. Talia — Revenant Wolf, Bond LVL 4

Selve: 112,000 (-100 per week)

Skill Points Available: 6. Feat points available: 4.

The amount of Selve didn’t line up. I’d been around that number before, but I’d spent nearly half of it on the motorcycle and a shitton of healing and curative items. I leafed through my notifications and found the explanation.

Huh. Kinsley hadn’t mentioned it. Not even to grouse about it. Considering her miserly nature, I had to wonder how much she’d made on the event itself. Probably a killing.

Dismissing the anomaly, I returned to my listed stats. And frowned. I’d been mainlining Agility and Intelligence, but they were both augmented now. Improvement before augmentation had been significant in an incremental way. There was no question I was a capable of maneuvers I wouldn’t have dreamed of before. I absolutely thought faster on my feet, and was far less vulnerable to the mental spirals that had plagued my adolescence and teenage years.

Both Agility and Intelligence had served me well. Whether growth from here was incremental or exponential, the choice should have been clear.

If it wasn’t for the Adaptive Dungeon.

I wanted to clear the Dungeon’s fifth level before engaging the suits. Completing the long-standing quest would likely net an additional level. There was no way of knowing how involved or compromised I would be after the meeting, and I wanted as much firepower as I could get my hands on before entering the Lion’s Den.

My safest bet would be boosting Intelligence and Agility further.

But the real gamble, with the greatest reward, was the lithid.

Before I could chase that train of thought further, I had to check something first. Groaning, I grabbed the railings of the medical bed and bore down, sweat beading on my forehead, as pain racked through me. It was far worse than any previous instance of summoning. The plucking feeling went beyond skin deep, and it felt as if my very organs were being strummed. I nearly stopped the process.

A mist of shadow formed the dark silhouette of a wolf in the corner.

“You were not supposed to use magic, human.” Talia growled.

I panted, struggling to catch my breath. A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead. “No choice. Had to risk it.” An incongruity stood out. “How would you even know that?”

The wolf panned the room, taking in her new surroundings. “A new ability. Or something along those lines. I am still sightless in the void, but sounds and voices make their way to my ears. From what I gathered, you retrieved our pack member. Is she well?”

Further confirmation that I was making the right call. There was no way I could hide this from her.

“As good as she could be, considering.”

“That is a relief. And cannot have been easy, considering your state. Thank you.” Talia approached the bed and lowered her neck, pressing the crown of her head into my hand. Her fur was surprisingly soft. I was suddenly paralyzed, not knowing what to do. She’d likely take any reciprocation as demeaning.

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said quietly.

Talia pulled away and took a step backward. “Explain.”

“You still want the suits, right?”

Teeth glinted in the darkness. “Naturally. They struck me down without cause, and decimated a smaller pack that posed no threat to them. I loathe them nearly as much as the wretch.”

I winced, suddenly grateful the room was dark enough to hide it. “I agree. Beyond what they did, their methods are unconscionable. They can’t be allowed to monopolize power on a greater scale.”

“Yes.”

“And we agree that we should leverage every possible advantage to make that happen?”

“On that, we are in accord.” Her voice reticent. By now, she probably sensed the catch, but still hadn’t connected the dots.

“I’ve been considering this for a while,” I said, speaking quickly, “Keep in mind, It’s impossible to say for sure. The sample size is too small.”

“Speak plainly, human.”

I’d done everything I could to frame the conversation. Now it was up to Talia. “I’ve killed multiple monsters outside of the dungeon and received nothing but standard drops. Given that, I’m guessing, because of the nature of my class, the Adaptive Dungeon has a higher chance of dropping monster cores.”

“No.” Talia said immediately, a low growl in her throat.

I held up a hand, “Just hear me out. We’re talking like this because I value you. Highly. Too much to spring this on you out of nowhere. You pulled my ass out of the fire multiple times. I’m honestly not sure I would have made it through the trial if it wasn’t for you, doubly so for the transposition event.”

“Then listen to me when I tell you that a lithid is not to be trifled with!” Talia shouted. “Their kind thrives on pain. Delights in suffering. Acquiring one would be an exercise in self-destruction.”

“Not a summon.” I shook my head. “Not like you or Audrey. Not even close. From what you’ve said, it’s too evil for that. It would be nothing more than a tool. A weapon to be unleashed on our enemies and dismissed as soon as its work is done.”

Her silhouette quivered. “It tormented me for days. But it felt like an eternity.”

“You saw the suits, Talia.” I tried to redirect her to the big picture. “You know how powerful they are. Didn’t you agree that we needed every advantage we could get?”

“If you are correct, and follow this path, I will not follow. You will have to compel me for anything.” Talia seethed.

I laid my head back on my pillow. “Which is why we’re talking about this now. If you decide this path is untenable, I’ll discard the core.”

After a moment, she stopped shaking. “Could you do it? What you’re asking of me?”

I considered that. If it was my mother, or Iris, or Ellison who died. “Absolutely. It wouldn’t be easy. But it would be my first course.”

“Your… first?” Her voice cracked.

“Revenge is a distraction.”

“Yes. You’ve said that before.”

“I didn’t have time to explain what I meant.” I pushed myself up in a sitting position and studied her. “There are lines that can’t be uncrossed. These lines are universal, translated across every society, sophisticated or undeveloped. You don’t maim or torture unnecessarily. You don’t attack your enemy’s family or loved ones if they’re uninvolved. And you don’t hurt children.”

“And if they do it anyway?” Talia growled.

“Then it gets ugly. Suddenly, you’re unburdened by civility, unencumbered by rules. There’s a certain freedom in that. Maybe you use that justification to get a little dark, or gruesome. But I think there’s a better way.”

“If you say forgiveness—“

“No.” I shook my head. Aaron’s face popped up in my mind. “Not even close. It’s better, I think, to use them. Ingratiate yourself. Get close enough that they eventually become dependent on you. Exploit them for every benefit and advantage they can offer. Create weaknesses and undermine them in the shadows. And when they start to panic, inevitably overextending in a feeble attempt to cling to their waning power? All you have to do is watch them fall.”

Talia slowly sat down. “At times, you frighten me, pup.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m in your corner, Talia. Always.”

“And when this group is gone?” Talia prompted. Her eye gleamed in darkness.

“Assuming any of this actually happens? Pull the trigger whenever you want. The only way this works without creating resentment between us is if I give you the option to veto. Unconditionally.”

She looked away, scuffing the carpet with her paw. “There… is sense to your argument. Still. As hard as it is to admit. This is… difficult. For me.”

I thought about what I knew about Talia. What I knew about wolves. Even with how the cliched “Alpha/Beta” hierarchy had been thoroughly debunked at this point, dominance was important to them. Talia herself embodied that, refusing to take anything that resembled an order unless it was framed as a suggestion. There were some elements of her personality that made me think of her as a Viking at times. The warrior spirit.

“Take your time.” I smiled wider than normal, letting a growl into my voice. “In the interim, let me ask you another question. How often have you had the opportunity to destroy your enemy twice?”

Talia’s head slowly swiveled towards me. Her teeth glittered in the darkness. She chuckled. “This would be the first.”

/////

I slotted four points into Willpower, praying that would be enough to meet the requirements for controlling the lithid. In truth, it was only a short-term gamble. If it didn’t work out, I’d be prepared for whatever high-level summon came next. The remaining two points went into Intelligence and Agility, respectively. Leveling was less painful than usual with Willpower as the primary focus—and of course, I’d locked it in one level at a time.

My vision faded as darkness took me.