Alaric led them a few dozen steps off the overgrown paved stone road. They made their way through the bushes and shrubbery, between the large, thick trunks of the tall trees, until they arrived at the outer wall of the castle.
Ava broke off from the group along with Jason to circle towards the back of the castle while Alaric and Sarah circled towards the front gate.
“Fuck!” Sarah hissed through her teeth as soon as the closed gates entered their field of view. “That bloody witch closed the gates!”
Alaric pulled her back into the treeline and hushed her. “We’ll find another way, come on.” He didn’t let go of her hand as he led her towards the others. She followed begrudgingly, her hateful gaze fixed on the ground.
A low, barely audible whistle caught his attention as they turned the corner. The group was hiding behind a few large trees. As he and Sarah joined them, Jason leaned closer. “The gates were closed, right?” Once Alaric nodded, he continued with a smirk. “Ava’s got us covered, look!” He pointed up the wall.
The castle walls were old and weathered. There were visible cracks and a few missing bricks here and there. Moss and ivy crept up along the wall, obscuring some of the damaged parts of the wall. A rope hung from the top of the wall, barely long enough to reach the ground.
Surprised, Alaric followed the rope with his gaze, until he saw Ava. The young girl’s head was barely visible over the wall. Spotting him, she smiled and gestured them to come up.
“How did she get up there?” Sarah mumbled in surprise, but then her expression hardened. “She did good. Let’s hurry.” She was the first to follow Ava, climbing up the rope with some trouble. Her silent grunts were barely audible as she pulled herself up the parapets and disappeared behind them. A split second later, she stood up and gestured the next person to follow.
As Jason also climbed up, Alaric hesitantly watched. Unlike Ava and Clara, he wasn’t particularly athletic. He didn’t think he could possibly pull himself all the way to the top.
“Your turn.” Clara gently nudged him. “We all had our physical abilities enhanced, so it’s probably easier than it looks.” Seeing his confused expression, she chuckled. “When you killed the four wolves, remember?”
Oh, right. The system had said something like that at some point, not that he paid much attention to it at the time. He approached the rope, and once Jason reached the top, he tightly grasped it and pulled himself up.
His arms and shoulders hurt in protest. Despite that, he was able to pull himself up a bit. Using the cracks and uneven bricks as footholds, he continued to climb up. It wasn’t long before he reached the top of the wall and climbed over the parapets.
In the few minutes it took everyone else to reach up here, he looked around for a way down.
The courtyard seemed much smaller than it did when he was standing down there last night. The overgrown plants were blooming with crimson and pink flowers, their leaves a vibrant, beautiful green. The gate leading out of the courtyard was closed, but the doors to the castle were wide open.
He sighed a breath of relief – at least their way inside didn’t have to change.
“Castles like these usually have their gaols below ground level.” Sarah’s quiet explanation perked his ears. “Unless she enthralled them already, that’ll be where Arthur, Charles and everyone else are.”
“We’ll check there first.” Jason looked at Alaric. “The plan’s still on, right?”
He nodded. There was no need to change anything. “Clara, Sarah, be prepared. And don’t hesitate to run if things get to that.”
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Both his sister and Arthur’s mother nodded. Everyone knew what their role was – and everyone had a part to play. “Let’s go then,” he breathed out.
Clara and Sarah hurried to the part of the wall that was just above the closed gates, right across the open entrance, while Jason and the others followed Alaric down a narrow set of stairs into the courtyard. “The first set of stairs is to the left of the entrance,” Alaric explained as they stepped in. “Jason.”
“Right.” Jason tightened his grasp on the hilt of his sword, then gestured the two men in the back to follow him.
“Come on.” Ava pulled Elizabeth along as she and Alaric hurried towards the second set of stairs.
These were the stairs that led to the armoury they looted last night. They walked past the armoury door then turned around a corner to a long hallway. There were about half a dozen doors lining both sides of the hallway, though none of them seemed particularly secure. It’s not here. Jason and the others will find it.
He caressed his arm. It had started to feel hot. Was it because he was so close to the Witch? Or was it because the spell was progressing? When he closed his eyes, he could feel a faint pull upwards. How long do I have before I lose myself?
The doors led to small rooms, either used for storage or left empty. At a surface glance, nothing in here seemed particularly useful, so they continued on towards the end of the narrow hallway. It led to another set of stairs, leading up.
He continued caressing his arm. It kept getting hotter and more uncomfortable, and he could feel the warmth spread up his arm, and down to his hand.
“Are you ok?” Elizabeth sheepishly asked. “What’s wrong?”
He clicked his tongue. “The witch’s mark – it’s getting worse.” He lifted his hand. It was trembling, and he could feel his grasp on the hilt of the sword growing weaker with each passing moment. “Don’t rely on me if we have to fight.”
“Hopefully we won’t have to.” Ava shot him a glance. “Can you walk?”
Alaric nodded after sheathing the sword. Carrying it around when he couldn’t properly hold it was just asking for trouble. He followed Ava and Elizabeth. With each step they climbed up, the burning sensation spread. It continued even when they paused to catch their breaths or listen for sounds.
The stairs led to a wide and familiar hallway. “Isn’t that where we came from?” Ava pointed at a set of stairs going down some distance away. Elizabeth and Alaric nodded.
The hallway echoed to several footsteps, prompting the trio to hide in the stairwell. The footsteps approached, and soon Jason walked past the stairwell, sword in hand. Behind him walked Erik. His left arm was limp and bloody. Arthur walked right next to him and Charles.
“Charles!” Ava exclaimed, leaping out of their hiding place. She ran the few meters of distance between them and threw herself into her brother’s arms.
Elizabeth sheepishly stepped out from their hiding place along with Alaric as well. “Victoria?” She called out quietly as her gaze searched for her twin sister. “… where is she?” Her shoulders dropped. “Why isn’t she here?”
Charles’ smile shattered, while Jason clenched his fists. “The Witch took her somewhere. We couldn’t stop her,” he gently pushed Ava away and approached Elizabeth. “It was just before dawn, I think.” His gaze landed on Alaric.
Elizabeth clenched her fists, also turning to Alaric. “We’ll save her, right?”
Her meek voice broke his heart. We should retreat, it’s too risky. Her watery eyes begged for a response, her lips trembled as she tried to hold back tears. “She’s my sister.”
She’s probably dead already.
“Where did she take her?”
Charles’ eyes widened. “You’re-“
“Where?”
If Clara was taken instead of Victoria, he wouldn’t have hesitated. I shouldn’t have hesitated now either.
“I’m not sure, I heard her saying she would love the view.” Charles shook his head. “Somewhere in the upper floors, I assume. If you’re going, I’ll come with you.”
“What?!” Ava exclaimed, then her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands. Blood rushed to her face as her voice echoed in the silent hallways.
Too late. He didn’t even finish his thought before a howl shattered the silence. “Get everyone outside!” Alaric spun around. Stairs leading up… his gaze scoured the wide hallway for them. There! He kicked the ground and rushed past everyone towards the stairs as noises rose from all over the castle. Ava’s voice had awakened the Witch’s monsters.
“This way!” Elizabeth quietly said as she ran past him, up the stairs. Charles’ grunts were just a few steps behind as they followed the young girl.
He clenched his fist as his arm hurt more and more.
The spiral staircase climbed up what soon turned out to be a tall tower. Voices and screeches echoed from the bottom floor, followed by spine-chilling howls.
Please be safe! He could only hope as they rushed up the stairs. The staircase finally came to an abrupt end at a wooden door. Before he could reach for it, Elizabeth pushed it open, revealing the large, circular room behind it.
The walls were lined with shelves so full they were practically overflowing. Books and rolled up scrolls filled most of the shelves, though Alaric spotted jars full of teeth, tusks, feathers, something that looked like ash, different coloured liquids, and even just human and animal skulls. A narrow, wooden staircase spiralled up to a second floor on the opposite side of the room.
There were several tables scattered near the shelves, each overflowing with different things. Their gazes brushed past all of these and landed on the highschooler laying on the floor in the dead centre of the room.
Harvey died. So did everyone else in his integration trial, but death is only a minor inconvenience to The System. In fact, a bunch of dead humans are the perfect opponents for the Undead Army headed for Earth.
In this world:
- Skills aren't picked from a list—they're forged from lived experiences.
- You don’t get titles just for doing something cool once. Your legacy is marked and stained by who you really are, and you'll have the tattoos to prove it.
- It's not all about levels and loot—it's about legacy. Who do you become when the world ends?
LitRPG Survival Progression Fantasy Novels like Primal Hunter and Defiance of the Fall, I wrote this book for you!