Becoming the Dark Lord [LitRPG]

Luke’s Spectral Beast vanished, retreating back into its core. He had exhausted the octopus.

The octopus tires out faster than the serpent.

But he had reached the island. He was swimming beneath it now, staring at a surprisingly beautiful ecosystem. Stones floated below the island, and blue flowers glowed among them. One enormous rock supported what looked like a mushroom, except it was semi-transparent.

The island is floating. That’s how it keeps pace with the rising tide.

The underside of the island was made of plants. Thick roots hung down everywhere, and Luke spotted fish nibbling at something growing along them. As he swam, he used telekinesis to shove floating stones out of his way.

What the hell is that?

Something had caught his attention. A structure that clearly was not natural. A massive stone ring, gray and covered in symbols. Luke swam closer. Then, suddenly, the stone ring lit up.

[Witch’s Thread activated]

He threw a knife into a rock he had yanked loose with telekinesis, and the thread pulled him away from the ring. A blue glow appeared inside the stone circle. It filled with a crackling blue surface that made noise even underwater.

A portal?

“This is giving me serious Stargate vibes,” Artemis said.

Whatever it is, I’m not in the mood to go on a road trip with Colonel O’Neill.

Luke swam upward. When he broke the surface, he finally saw the island up close. Nothing inside it was visible from the shoreline. Tall trees rose everywhere, and dense jungle choked the interior.

“So far, nothing dangerous attacked me on the way here,” he said as he climbed out of the water and looked back at the ocean.

It was already daytime. The tide had gone back out. Luther’s warning had been simple: nobody who tried to reach the island had ever returned.

“Maybe they came here and just kept going toward the Beacon. I wouldn’t go back either just to update a group I don’t even know.”

Luke moved through the trees. Two steps in was all it took for him to find...

“A dead body? Yeah, your luck is terrible,” Artemis said.

A corpse hung from one of the trees.

[Island Challenge detected...]

A notification appeared in front of him.

[Mission “Event Guide” has received an update]

Luke already had both kukris drawn.

Too bad the Spectral Beast is useless out of water.

[Event Guide]: A Guide is available, a tool that may be useful in helping participants navigate Sunken Realms.

Update: You are close to the Guide, but reaching it will not be easy. Many have tried and died. Reach the center of the island.

(Time Remaining to Find It: 1 Days : 09 Hours : 11 Minutes : 23 Seconds)

[Hint: The Guide will be in a place that does not visually belong here, yet will still be familiar to you.]

“Yeah, that really cleared things up.”

Luke stepped closer to the body. There were claw marks all over it.

“Probably been dead a day.”

He moved through the area in his assassin’s outfit, then picked up speed, running and leaping between the trees. He used [Witch’s Thread] to pull himself forward, throwing knives into trunks and yanking himself along from one point to the next.

“Okay, that’s unexpected,” he muttered from high in the branches.

There was a building on the island. A modern building. Concrete. Glass. Some of the windows were shattered, but it was unmistakably modern. As he moved farther in, he spotted what looked like amusement park rides. A broken carousel. Little horses. Everything was half-swallowed by the forest, as if it had been abandoned there for decades.

These things definitely don’t belong here. Or do they?

“An event guide...” Artemis murmured. “If I was something added to your tutorial from the outside, then it’s possible people high up, people outside this world, could’ve inserted structures like these here. Not literally by hand, I mean. More like they had the system do the work and scatter them around.”

A tree crashed down. Then another. Something was moving in the brush, loud and heavy. Luke threw a knife. A sharp metallic sound rang out, like the blade had struck armor or a shield.

Then it came out of the undergrowth. A large brown bear, scar across its face, claws wickedly sharp.

[Metal Automaton Bear - Lvl 100]

The bear roared and charged.

“Level one hundred?”

Luke thrust out a hand toward the carousel horses and yanked them into the bear’s path with telekinesis.

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It’s too close. No way I can use Shadow Mana Explosion now.

He backed away as the creature came at him. The bear swiped with its paws. Luke dodged, jumped, and activated [Crimson Fang]. His strike landed from above. The moment his blade hit, a harsh metallic clang rang out.

Luke was thrown backward. Midair, he used [Witch’s Thread] to pull himself farther away from the bear.

“A robot?”

He stared at the wound he had opened. Under the surface, there was no flesh. No bone. Only metal. The bear opened its mouth. Its snout split apart like a carnivorous flower, and it let out a shrill, piercing cry as it charged straight at Luke.

A sonic attack.

By the time it got close enough to strike, a knife was already flying toward it.

[Burst Throw activated]

[Telekinetic Impulse activated]

The impact against the bear’s snout exploded with a violent crack. Luke rushed in at once, carving into the creature with his kukris until the thing finally collapsed.

[You have slain a Metal Automaton Bear - Lvl 100]

“That’s weird. Technology exists in this place?”

“Technology exists, yes, but not the kind you know.” Artemis sounded almost amused. “Yours is primitive. The closest thing here would be technomancy. Not electricity as fuel. Mana.”

Luke pried the bear open and pulled out a core. It really was a beast core.

“Anne Grimhart is some kind of automaton. That makes sense.”

“Organic life isn’t the only kind of life in the multiverse,” Artemis said. “You’re just one form among many.”

[You absorbed a Rank D core]

Rank D Cores: [3/1000]

Luke headed toward the building. The door stood open. Inside, it looked a lot like a corporate office, except everything was old, broken, and half-destroyed. The sound of footsteps echoed through the corridors.

Then he saw them. Two silver knights holding spears. Their eyes lit up red.

“If I use Shadow Mana Explosion on a large scale here, I could bring the entire building down.”

The moment the first one raised its spear, a knife struck it in the face. Then the second.

[You have slain an Automaton Watcher - Lvl 75]

[You have slain an Automaton Watcher - Lvl 75]

“I’ve already had enough experience with Midnight Wardens.”

Luke moved through the hallways. Behind nearly every door, another silver knight stood guard. Then he reached the end. A massive room. Everything was dark, though that hardly mattered. He could still see perfectly.

“I can see you. You’re standing right there waiting to kill me.”

The creature moved without a sound.

“Okay. So you don’t believe me.”

[Burst Throw activated]

Luke hurled two knives. The knight knocked them aside with its shield and charged. He leapt out of the way and came back in spinning. More knives formed around him, floating in the air, and he sent them flying into the knight’s helmet.

[Shadow Mana Explosion activated]

A small explosion burst across the knight’s face. Luke dropped from the ceiling, hanging by a thread.

[Crimson Fang activated]

The helmet took the hit. The blade punched deep, tearing a hole through the knight’s body.

[You have slain an Automaton Guardian - Lvl 90]