《Rise of the Limitless (Isekai LitRPG)》 Chapter 1. What the hell, huh? What the actual fuck? Just a few seconds back, Alex Bright was in a cafe, trying to fill awkward silence between him and the girl he invited on a date. She was the cutest out of everyone he tried his luck with so far. It doesn''t matter anymore, though. There couldn''t be any reasonable explanation as to why I''m suddenly in this strange place with two moons in the sky. So, how about the unreasonable one, instead? I guess losing my V-card would be a disastrous event for humanity, so God decided to intervene and save the Earth by sending me somewhere far. Though, wouldn''t killing me in a silly incident should be more cost-effective in this case?God moves in amysterious way, indeed. He scratched his head, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He stood on the shore of the lake size of a soccer field, some kind of exotic forest encircling it. He didn''t recognize any trees, some of them hundreds of meters tall, with orange hexagonal leaves. The sky was bright, but he couldn''t see the sun: only two moons, one pinky, one yellow. The air was warm, light breeze rather pleasant. The buzzing of insects was unexpectedly melodic. Everything was calm, but Alex''s heart raced. The reality, or, rather, the unreality of the situation started to grow on him. So, what should I do now? What next? He tried to calm himself down by taking a deep breath. And then another one. He approached the lake''s surface and checked out his reflection. Nothing changed. His face was the same. Not too handsome, but fine. His edgy, stylish haircut was neat. Light blue jeans pants were perfectly fit - not too loose, not too tight. White t-shirt with the phrase "Words on a Shirt" printed on it - very original, indeed. His almost new dark blue jeans jacket very comfortable. The bright red Abibas sneakers didn''t match well with the rest of his attire, but Alex just loved them and didn''t have anything better to wear. Yeah, I look nice. Those girls are stupid. With his parents gone, leaving behind some property and massive debt, he didn''t have much time to spend with friends or girls his age while in his late teens. Being a virgin at twenty one bothered him more than he wanted to admit, so when he did get some free time and some money, he tried to find a girlfriend. Apparently, without much success. While contemplating his romantic life, Alex felt that something is wrong. He felt a gaze on him. Someone, or, rather, something, watched him. And it was close. A shiver ran down his spine as he slowly turned his head to the side. There it was... a toad.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It is just a toad. Yes, it is a big one, but still harmless... probably. The toad sat a few meters from him, silently watching. It was about half a meter in height, similar to a mid-sized dog. It wasn''t green, but blue with some shades of pink. Its color is not too bright, so it shouldn''t be poisonous,Alex assumed. "Hey, can you talk? I wouldreallyappreciate it if you can transform into a cute princess." As expected, the toad didn''t answer. Now that I think about it... what is this number floating above its head? Indeed, a few centimeters above toad''s head was a green number 2. Is it a level like in RPG-game? No way. Before he can ponder the meaning behind this number, the toad acted. Suddenly, Alex felt a strong impact on his chest. He didn''t see how it happened. It was as if someone hit him with a small hammer. When he tried to restore his balance, he felt another impact, this time on his left leg. Now, his eyes were able to catch a barely visible motion. Tongue. Toad attacked him with its tongue. Holy fuck, did it got offended by my little joke? Or it just considers me easy prey? Fuck, it hurts. The most obvious choice would be to run. This thing attacked him faster than his eye could see, and those attacks were strong enough. Alex was surprised that the impact wasn''t as strong as it supposed to be, considering the tongue''s speed. Did my clothes block the force behind the attack? No way. Anyway, I should run... No, no. It is just a toad. Yes, it hits hard and fast. But it is still just a toad! I should try to get it to taste the power of humans. Maybe because Alex was too confused by his completely unexpected circumstances, but instead of making a rational choice, he chose to be reckless. And so, he charged at the toad. He raised his hands to block his face, and it was the right thing to do and, probably, saved his life. His left hand stung. Probably because he shortened the distance between them, but the pain from being hit was more than before. Apparently, the frog either underestimated him or just wasn''t sentient enough to think at all, as it didn''t try to jump away from Alex when he neared it. And then, he kicked with as much strength as he could muster. He kicked his foe as if kicking a football. Alex felt more resistance than he expected judging by the toad''s size and approximate weight. He didn''t pay attention to it when he was the one attacked, but now he could see clearly that the place of their contact has had some kind of white sparks at the moment of collision. What there those sparks? He watched the toad lying on its back about five meters from him. It seems all this time I played soccer in grade and middle school wasn''t for naught, after all. The animal twitched a little but didn''t seem to be able to stand. Should I finish it off? Well, even if it attacked me first, but I probably would feel bad if I will actually kill it. After all, throughout my whole life, I, at most, only killed some insects. His hesitation didn''t matter, though... Congratulations! You defeated Bluewater Toad (Common), Level 2. Beginner Tip: As a Player, you have 35 seconds to absorb Mana from its corpse. Just touch it and think about absorption. Good luck! ...because, as suddenly appeared holographic message said, the toad didn''t survive the kick. Chapter 2.
Alex didn''t have any time to think. After all, 35 seconds wasn''t a lot of time in the first place. In a hurry, he ran towards the dead toad and then placed his hand on its slimy head. Absorbtion, absorbtion! He worried that it wouldn''t be so simple, but it really was. Just when he thought about absorbing whatever it is, a pleasant feeling passed through his whole body. It felt as if he sucked away something from the corpse. Well, from the outsider''s perspective, it can sound rather creepy. But as the one who experienced it firsthand, Alex felt invigorated. Wow, this sure is refreshing. It seems Alex was mistaken about himself. He didn''t feel bad about killing this animal, not at all. Congratulations! You absorbed Mana for the first time. You obtained 10 Achievement Points. He didn''t know what kind of benefits he could get from that Mana or how much 10 Achievement Points actually is. But Alex was satisfied nonetheless. Interesting. It is like a video game. Could it be that there are status screens as well? And I can level-up? Thinking like this, he shouted. "Menu! Status!" Well, there weren''t any reasons to be so loud. It was a rather stupid mistake on his part. He could probably just to think about it like with the absorption. The status screen actually appeared before him. Azure holographic boxes with words and numbers, he could see them, but not touch. This is amazing! Doesn''t it mean that I can become very strong, very powerful? Then no one will tell me what to do. No one will take away what is mine. Not anymore. For reasons he couldn''t clearly understand himself, Alex became agitated. He forgot about the irrational situation he was in. And it wasn''t a good thing, because his troubles weren''t over and he was far from being safe. Before he could properly explore his status, he heard a loud sound. The disturbing noise that grew closer and closer with each second. Alex turned his head to the sound''s source. And all his enthusiasm disappeared in a second. There they were. The toads. Now he understood that this strange noise actually was croaking of numerous toads. Though azure hologram somehow disturbed his sight, he still was able to see the group as large clearly. There were tens of them, probably more than thirty. It wasn''t the time to idling around. They grew closer with each second.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Holy fuck. It seems I offended a rather dangerous gang. Their boss looks imposing as well. In the lead of the group, there was a giant toad the size of a truck. Fortunately, it, apparently, didn''t move at its full speed, allowing smaller toads to catch up. Or else, Alex would be out of options. It took him about one second from catching a glance on the group to sprinting out of there as fast as he can. Close, exist, escape, disappear! Before the status screen disappeared, Alex almost tripped himself because of his hindered view. For a second, he turned his head back to check if the toads were chasing after him or not. They did. When he first caught sight of them, the gang was about two hundred meters away from him. Now, the distance almost shortened to just one hundred. Their enraged croaking and shining numbers above the heads didn''t help Alex to calm down. Fuck, I''m screwed if they catch me. I barely defeated just one of those things. Moreover, their levels are different. Though it was far away, for some reason, numbers above the toads'' heads were easily distinguishable. Most of them did have a green Lvl 2-4. Above some bigger ones, yellow Lvl 5 and 6 menacingly glowed. But the "boss" was the most dangerous out of them - as if its size wasn''t proof enough. It was Lvl 9 - red and with a bright shining star above the number, whatever it means. Alex was able to glance on his status screen, but even without it, the fact that he was only a Lvl 1 human was obvious. His previous encounter proved to him that he is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of personal strength. For now. Luckily, running through the dense forest was advantageous to Alex and hindered his pursuers. Moreover, he felt that he is faster than he ever was, and his stamina was better than expected. To pay his parent''s debt, Alex was forced to work a lot in the past few years. Some of the jobs he took were of physical nature, involving manual labor. Still, he didn''t specifically train his body. He just didn''t have enough free time. Maybe my body was somehow enhanced when I was brought here? He contemplated while running. It doesn''t matter, for now, I just need to survive, and whatever could help me in it is more than welcomed. In a few minutes, the distance between him and his pursuers increased. He almost lost sight of the group. But then the change occurred. Alex anticipated that it, but still hoped that it wouldn''t happen. The biggest toad - the "boss", left its gang behind it and started to chase its prey by itself. And it was way too fast, almost unhindered by the complex terrain. Even if Alex still ran at his full speed, as if his stamina was limitless, it still wasn''t enough. No way, I have no chance against this thing. Think, Alex, think... how can I escape it? A plan, I need a plan. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he thought, nothing came to his mind. For the first time since he appeared in this strange world, Alex felt the true horror of his situation. The true madness of it. Just a few minutes ago, he was talking to a girl while sitting in a cafe and enjoying his tea. And now, his life was in danger for no reason. He faced death because of the unexplainable phenomenon. If it wasn''t a nightmare, then what was it? I don''t want to die. I don''t want to die! It is stupid, what the fuck? I just hoped to lose my V-card, and now the giant toad wants me dead?! In less than a minute, the monster was less than fifty meters from Alex. It wouldn''t take it another thirty seconds to catch up to him and finish its prey off. But in the moment of despair, there was hope. Alex could see it - could hear it. The cloud of smoke rising in the sky. The light of a campfire. The voices of people. And so, he made his last attempt at survival... "Please help! Help! Help me! I''m here!" ...he shouted for help as loud as he could. Chapter 3. Alex Bright wasn''t sure if the people gathered around the campfire would be strong enough to defeat the giant toad, but he didn''t have any choice. He bet his life on the hope that there would be at least someone who knew how to fight properly. Part of him felt guilty - after all, what if those people are as weak as he is, and then they all would be slaughtered because of him? Well, it wouldn''t matter then. After all, in this case, he would be dead first. And nothing should matter to the dead ones. He desperately ran towards the smoke and voices. They were less than fifty meters from him. Just a little bit more! But then, he heard thundering croak less than ten meters away. It was here. That is it. The end. I''m dead. Based on his previous experiences with less toad, Alex guessed that ten meters were enough for this one to kill him with its long tongue. Well, at least I could meet my parents again and complain to them about their shitty debts. Alex started to steel himself for the inevitable. He no longer ran. Instead, he turned back and stared at the monster. He met its enraged gaze. Even if I die, I will do it looking the death in the face. And then, the death came. But the one to die wasn''t Alex. But the monster. A dark humanoid shadow moved faster than Alex could follow with his eyes, and then it hit the toad with unbelievable power. In the next moment, the dreaded monster burst like a balloon filled with air. Just, instead of the air, it was filled with blood, inner organs, and guts. Some of the disgusting liquids splashed on Alex''s face, almost making him puke. Shit, it was horrifying. And awesome. And horrifying. He just stood there in shock. The figure approached him. Now he could make a proper look at his savior. From afar, this person can be mistaken for a human. But it definitely was something else. Two meters tall, broad in shoulders, wearing dark plate armor without a helm. Though unusual, but still humanlike. But instead of eyes, it had two rubies on its face. Its skin was like white marble. And instead of hair, black rocks grew from the top of its head.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Is it a golem? Maybe I was saved from some kind of magician. Alex knew that proper etiquette in his situation would be to thank his savior, whoever, or whatever it was. "Thank you very much! I own you my life. My name is Alex." He extended his hand for a handshake, but the stranger ignored him. It looked at Alex with its ruby eyes, its face unreadable. Then it turned to the other side - there was a big group of toads approaching them. "Sen haide el de shalar!" Then it shouted to its companions, and seven of them appeared. All wore similar armors and were apparently of the same race. They did have some minor differences between each other - different types of gems were inserted in their eyes. The creatures'' speed wasn''t as fast as that of the one who saved Alex. Still, it doesn''t mean that they were slow. In fact, their movements were superhumanly agile and not matched their size and heavy armor. With heavy maces and hammers, the stone creatures effortlessly slaughtered the toads. Now that Alex regained his calm a little, he was able to check their levels. Alas, all of them didn''t have any numbers. Above their heads were only dark red "??", with one shining star. The one who saved him from the toad''s boss did have two dark black question marks and two shining stars instead. I guess their levels are too high, so I can''t see them. The one who saved him gestured Alex to follow them in the makeshift camp. He assumed that it was the group''s leader. Well, it is somehow impolite to think about them as ''it''. After all, just now, they saved my life. The campfire was bigger than Alex expected - almost two meters high. Around it was two tents, two caged wagons with people in them, and two lizards of the horse size - apparently used to pull said wagons. Seeing the impoverished people inside the wagons, Alex felt a chill on his spine. Could it be they are slavers? It would be bad. Like, really, really bad. No, I shouldn''t jump to conclusions. Other than Alex, caged people - about ten of them in each cage - and eight armored soldier-like beings, there was only another one presence in the camp. A woman. Oh my gosh, she is gorgeous. Even though the woman was of the same race as those soldiers, she was different. She looked like a perfect statue of a goddess, carved by a master sculptor. Her body voluptuous, with perfect proportions. She wore a blue robe, carved with runes and inscriptions. The gems in her eyes are brightly shining in all rainbow colors. She approached Alex, gently looked at him, and smiled. She exchanged some words with the men''s leader, her voice soothing and charming. Then, she raised her hand on Alex, and he was raised in the air by an invisible force that tried to strangle him. I never expected to experience Dark Vader''s choke on myself. Just marvelous. Those were the last thoughts before he lost consciousness. Chapter 4. Alex woke up from hitting his head against the hard floor. It took him some time to remember why the hell is he here and even longer to accept the absurdity of his situation. How nice could it be to, instead, wake up in my room and forget everything as a bad dream? He was moved in a caged wagon alongside some other people. They looked human, though some of them did have green, blue, or deep red hairs: four females and six males. Among them were two little girls, no older than twelve. Also, one very old man, probably in his seventies or eighties, snorting in deep sleep. Others seemed to be in their twenties or thirties. Every one of them looked extremely weak, impoverished. Their clothes are rags and a metal choker on each of their necks. "Hey, can anyone understand me?" Some weakly looked at him, one young man said something in the unknown language and then turned his face away from him like the rest of those people. He was ignored both by his captors and his inmates. Strangely enough, but he couldn''t see levels above those people''s heads. Maybe this chocker is some kind of power-restricting device. Or, more likely, not everyone in this world has levels in the first place. They could be just ordinary people. The feeling of gratitude to his saviors disappeared completely. They don''t spare even kids and elderly! This is beyond fucked up. As a person raised on the modern Earth in a safe country, he considered any sort of slavery unacceptable. The treatment those people got from their captors was too cruel even in case they were some sort of criminals. But he doubted it, considering how they caught him for no reason. Fortunately, Alex himself wasn''t restricted in any way. There was no choker on him, probably because those golem-like creatures considered him harmless. Or maybe they didn''t have any spare in the first place. Well, I''m not completely helpless. At least, I have some free time to look into my status screen and menus. Maybe there would be something that could help me to find a way out. Menu! This time he made the holographic images appear without saying a word. This is how it should be done in the first place. Menu: Status Abilities (Locked) Magic and Skills (Locked) Development Tree (Locked) Quests (Locked) Inventory (Locked) Equipment Maps (Locked) Configuration ??? (Locked) More than half of the options in the menu were locked.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Just great. When he concentrated on the locked sections, more detailed info appeared about unlocking conditions. Conditions to unlock Abilities:
  1. One Monster Core of any type or quality. Would be absorbed.
  2. 100 Achievement Points. Would be lost.
  3. Level 5.
Out of all options, only two were currently unlockable to him - Inventory and Maps, both cost 10 Achievement Points and didn''t have any additional conditions to unlock. Well, either one could somehow help in my situation. I will check other available options before making my choice. Moreover, maybe there are other useful ways to use those points. For now, let''s study my status screen. He already glimpsed at his stats before but didn''t have any time to check properly. Status: Basic Information Basic Attributes Mana Attributes Resistances Before, he only examined his Basic Information without paying to it much of his attention. Basic Information Name: Alex Bright Sex: Male Age: 10-year-old Race: Original Human World Integration Type: Player Class: None Rank: Starless Level=1 (53%) Now that he examined it properly, even the first part of his status made Alex confused. What the hell? No matter how I look, I''m not a 10-year-old little boy but an adult man in his early twenties. Well, maybe a year here is two times longer than on Earth, whatever. Also, Player? Is it really some type of game? No fucking way, everything is too real¡ªway beyond any modern VR. Well, at least three sections at the bottom are self-evident. Basic Attributes Strength=7 (61% Power, 39% Endurance) Agility=8 (43% Speed, 57% Control) Spirit=25 (50% Power, 50% Endurance) Mind=25 (50% Speed, 50% Control) Luck=33[max] (10% Intuition, 90% Fate) His basic attributes didn''t make much sense to him as well. I guess those Spirit and Mind attributes should be equivalent to Wisdom and Intelligence you can see in video games. Well, I once tried those IQ-tests online and got a score of 140, so... And what the hell is with my maxed out Luck? My number should be negative instead. Mana Attributes Mana Shield=100% Spirit Force=100% Attack=5 (+10) Defense=5 (+10) Output=5 Absorbtion=5 Acceleration=5 Integration=5 He investigated this section, uncertain. Well, other than Attack and Defense, everything else doesn''t tell me much. There are no additional explanations, either. I would need to figure out everything on my own. Alex sighed in disappointment and then checked the last section of his status screen. Resistances Slash=0% (+30%) Strike=0% (10%) Pierce=0% (+40%) It was briefer than any other window. Alex guessed it was probably because it only listed those types of damage against which he already did have resistances higher than zero. Well, as someone smart once said - ''Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy''. Now, after viewing my Status, I''m absolutely sure that I''m no match to even the weakest one of those stone creatures. It isn''t like it wasn''t obvious from how they slaughtered those toads with ease. Hell, even their levels are too high for me to check, and those stars probably proof of their ability as well. Now, let''s check the Equipment and Configuration sections, maybe, just maybe, there would be something I can use to escape. Too deep in his thoughts, Alex didn''t pay attention to his surroundings. So, when his wagon, pulled by a giant lizard, suddenly jumped because of some rock under its wheel, he lost balance and hit his head at the metal bar of the cage. "Fuck!" Alex loudly cursed, mostly out of surprise. It gathered some stares from his inmates. His head hurt. But, for some reason, much less than he expected, considering the speed of the wagon and inertion with which he was sent. There was no wound on his head. Out of curiosity, Alex checked his Mana Attributes. There was just a single change. Mana Shield=83% Well, at least I know that this Mana Shield is something like HP from those RPGs I played before. Not very helpful for now, but still. Before he can continue browsing his holographic screen, someone called Alex. "Hey, boy in fancy clothes. Was it you who cursed out loud just now? Can you understand my words?" The old man, who was asleep up until now, slowly stood up and asked the question in an authoritative tone. In the language, Alex could perfectly understand - English.