Loita never returned to the green room. Instead, we got a notification we were being transferred, and that was it. We glowed, and suddenly we were in a large, warehouse-like room. There were no notifications. My UI was still blocked out. I clutched onto the novel, unable to stick it into my inventory.
There were four doors, one on each wall. These were all one-way portals. The Valtay implant worked, but the information was limited. I couldn’t pass any of the doorways. I couldn’t take a screenshot.
In the center of the stark room was a pair of large, round wheels, similar to the wheel of fortune game from the casino. The first of the two wheels featured four equally-sized selections. The second wheel was blank. The three of us approached, and a notification appeared.
Before you enter the fifth floor, you must choose your quadrant. The result will be random. Your team leader will spin the wheel.
“That’s me!” Donut said, walking up to the first wheel. The four choices were Land, Sea, Air, and Subterranean.
“That’s a bit worrying,” Katia muttered.
Donut stuck her paw on the wheel and swiped. The wheel spun and spun, ticking loudly.
“This is very exciting,” Donut said. “Remember when you almost got sucked away into the Nothing, Carl?”
“Yes, Donut. I remember.”
The wheel slowed, click, click, click. It hovered on Sea, looked like it was going to settle, and it ticked over one more spot, landing on Air.
You will enter the fifth floor in the Air Quadrant.
“I don’t know if that’s good or not, but I’m glad it’s not Sea,” Katia said. “I’m a terrible swimmer.”
“Yeah?” I said. I had an ominous feeling. “How’re your flying skills?”
Donut gasped. “Maybe I can pick a class that flies this floor. Wouldn’t that be great?”
To our left, the door against the wall disappeared, revealing a new room with four more doors.
The second wheel populated with four choices: the Razor Fox Kite City, the Dirigible Gnome Wasteland Fortress, the Nightgaunt Precipice, and the Great Dirt Island of the Wind Sirens.
Choose your opponent.
Donut did a little hop and moved to the next wheel. She put her paw on it and spun. “Oh, I hope we get the fox one,” she said. “It’ll be fun to kill foxes.”
I held my breath, hoping for anything but the Nightgaunt choice. My cloak’s description specifically warned that Nightgaunts would be enraged by the sight of my cloak, and I didn’t want to have to get rid of it. Click, click, click. The wheel stopped right in the middle of the second choice.
Your opponents will be the Dirigible Gnomes. In order to pass this level, you must storm their castle in the sky, known as the Wasteland Fortress.
One of the four, distant doors disappeared, revealing a dune-swept, desert landscape. Sand started to cascade into the room from the open door. A harsh breeze swept in, pelting grains into my face, stinging and hot. I was half expecting the door to open and reveal nothing but air. At least we were on the ground.
“It looks like a giant litterbox out there,” Donut said. “I must say, I’m very excited about this. Come on, team. Let’s go kill some gnomes.”
The End.
Why do we keep meeting like this?
Three books down. More to come!
Book IV, The Gate of the Feral Gods is almost ready to hop on over to your naughty little e-readers. It will release in July of 2021! Camels and gnomes and geese and shapeshifters and the universe’s biggest chainsaw!
This is where I, again, beg of you to please, please do me a solid and leave a review on Amazon. We live and die by our reviews. It is important. Even if you’re like that asshole Jed who left me a one-star because I swear too much, please just leave a goddamned review.
Also, fuck you, Jed.
About the Author
Matt Dinniman is a writer and artist from Gig Harbor, WA. When he isn’t attending cat shows, wrangling dogs, feeding turtles, playing bass in a punk/metal band, or writing books that make guys named Kyle threaten to kill his family because he called a goblin an incel, he designs cat-themed greeting cards and decorations. If you’ve ever walked into a Target or an IKEA or a Home Goods, looked at the weird wall art they have for sale there, and thought to yourself, who buys this crap? The answer is, “Not nearly as many people as Matt would like.” So please buy all his books. (Or his art!)
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Also by Matt Dinniman
Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon (Horror LitRPG!)
Dominion of Blades Series (LitRPG!)
The Shivered Sky Series (Angels vs demons!)
The Grinding (A horror novel!)
Trailer Park Fairy Tales (Short stories! One of them even won a fancy award!)
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