The mad immortal a litrp.., p.1
The Mad Immortal: A LitRPG Adventure, page 1
The Mad Immortal
The Mad Immortal
Book 1
Eric Walsh
THE MAD IMMORTAL
©2025 ERIC WALSH
ECWalsh.com
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Also In The Series
The Mad Immortal
Book One
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue
Thank you for reading The Mad Immortal
Vera Codex
This book is dedicated to Daniel Rositano, whose willingness to answer an unending slew of questions made this story better than it ever could have been without him.
I’d like to thank my beta readers for agreeing to be my guinea pigs. Without their valuable feedback, the text would be riddled with far more plot holes and typos: Rachel Rositano, Chelsea O’Bryan, Alexis Merkley, Alex Strauss, Peter McPherson, Indiana Nash, Geoff Wright, Darian Herrera, Henry Mulligan, Johnny Clark, and Kevin McKinney.
I’d also like to thank my parents, Sue and Rob Walsh, as well as my aunt Barbara Jean Nagrant, for believing in me even as I take the crazy leap into pursuing my dream.
Finally, I want to thank you, dear reader, for joining me on this adventure into the Nexus. I hope you enjoy your time here, and that you’ll return for the continuation of Nate’s story in The Dawnstar Conspiracy, scheduled for release in Fall 2022.
Chapter One
Well, this assignment certainly went to Null fast, Nate thought as he tumbled across the stone plateau, steel spikes streaking above him.
The mission’s target had proven far quicker than a creature its size had any right to be. Of course, thanks to the vera infusing its flesh, it was also stronger and hardier than any normal beast, as well. Definitely a winning combination.
Coming up from his roll, Nate cracked his knee against a jutting shard of rock. He winced at the jolt of pain, but his aegis absorbed the worst of it. He never stopped marveling at how handy that proved. Like having your own personal force field to keep you out of harm’s way…at least, so long as you had the vera left to sustain it.
When more spikes didn’t immediately hurtle at him, he checked on his internal reserve: nineteen vera left. Not terrible, but considering his reserve had started at twenty-eight just a minute before, it was depleting faster than he’d like.
A shout from his right brought him back to the fight, and he quickly surveyed the field.
The verabeast—his squadmate Dale had identified it earlier as a ferroceros—was still about fifty feet away across the barren plains that made up most of this sector. Roughly the shape of a rhinoceros and about three times its size, the creature shuffled in place on six thick legs, turning its steel-plated body to face toward two retreating forms.
Nate’s heart sank when he saw them. This was supposed to be a routine job: kill the rogue verabeast to make the sector safe again for essence extraction.
But when their initial attack had failed to put the verabeast down quickly, its furious counterattack had left them scattered across the desolate terrain. Neither Dale nor Sandra were suited for direct combat, and now, both were caught out in the open unprotected.
Nate readied a Fire Bolt, weaving his essence about his outstretched hand. He doubted it could penetrate the ferroceros’ thick hide, not from this far out, but he hoped it would at least distract the beast long enough for the others to seek cover.
He finished the weave in a matter of seconds and immediately released it. A bolt of condensed flame the size of a football spiraled through the air. It exploded across the creature’s back, fire erupting out from the point of impact in a deadly inferno.
The ferroceros didn’t spare him so much as a glance. Instead, it lowered its head, preparing to charge at Dale and Sandra.
Nate racked his brain for anything he could do to forestall the creature. His Fire Bolt hadn’t been enough to bypass its armor, and he doubted his Gusting Boots would have the range to get him close enough in time. Still, he had to try.
He focused his essence down into his ornate boots. The magical item held a binding that would propel him in whatever direction he faced on a powerful gust of wind. He’d spent one of their charges already to dodge the ferroceros’ initial assault. They should have enough juice left for two more until they needed a couple of hours to replenish.
Before he could activate them, however, he glimpsed a shimmering form through the ferroceros’ legs. The figure looked like an ice sculpture brought to life, moving with inhuman grace as it darted in beside the verabeast.
Nate grinned, reclaiming his held essence. Wes had returned to the fray.
The ferroceros immediately spun toward this new threat, attempting to slam its considerable bulk into the much smaller heatweaver.
Wes dodged to the side easily. With his Ice Skin in place, his speed, strength, and resilience were all significantly enhanced. Then he darted back in, pummeling the verabeast’s hide with a flurry of ice-fisted blows.
The creature roared, more in anger than any genuine pain, Nate was pretty sure; he’d seen firsthand how durable those metal plates were. Still, if Wes could keep the ferroceros’ attention, that should at least give Dale and Sandra the chance to safely reposition.
Sure enough, he spotted the two verists a moment later huddled behind one of the boulders dotting the broken plain. They peered out over its crumbling top to get a better vantage on the fight. Now that they weren’t in immediate danger, they had the time they needed to work their own weavings.
He left them to it, trusting that they’d provide him and Wes with backup soon enough. In the meantime, he’d see what he could do against the verabeast’s armor. A normal Fire Bolt hadn’t been enough to penetrate it, but perhaps an infused one would do the trick.
Standard veristry didn’t cost him anything beyond a bit of his essence to form the pattern. He could keep casting spells all day until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Even then, a quick rest would have him feeling good as new.
Infusions, though: those took vera. And while he could still recover his spent vera with enough effort, his current reserve limited its availability. That meant he wouldn’t get many empowered blasts, so he’d need to make this one count.
Raising up a hand, Nate once more channeled the weave for Fire Bolt. Instead of completing the weave, however, he drew on vera from his re
serve.
There were eight potential infusions he could add to a spell. He focused on one of the simplest, combining his vera directly with the existing essence to enhance its raw power. Soon, the flames gathering around his fingers burned brighter and hotter than any normal fire that size could.
Most infusions increased the casting time of a weave considerably, Nate’s current Mighty infusion no exception. As he readied his spell, Wes continued his dance with the ferroceros.
For each evaded slam, Wes responded with his own flurry of icy strikes. Yet, the attacks did little damage through the verabeast’s thick plates, and its constant assault left him no time to prepare a heavier blow.
Nate struggled to maintain control of his weave. After investing three vera into the Mighty infusion, he was reaching the limit of what he could safely manage at his current tier without the spell breaking apart. A few seconds more, and he’d be—
Wes cried out, the sudden sound almost breaking Nate’s fragile concentration. A quick glance showed the ferroceros had landed a lucky hit, catching Wes’ arm against a steel-plated leg and sending him staggering back. Wes tried to recover, but the verabeast surged forward, roaring in triumph.
Nate gritted his teeth, weaving vera and essence as fast as he could. No way would Wes be quick enough to dodge. His aegis should dissipate the worst of the damage, but this was still going to hurt.
Then, Wes seemed to blur. In the blink of an eye, he was several feet to the left, crouched in a defensive stance. The ferroceros passed harmlessly inches in front of him, and the brawl continued.
Nate glanced over at Dale and Sandra. As he’d suspected, Sandra had a hand outstretched toward Wes, the air around her fingers warping in distorted threads of essence.
Sandra was a timeweaver who specialized in hastening the movements of her allies and slowing the movements of her foes. She’d likely been aiding Wes’ evasive maneuvers this whole time with Haste, including his most recent miraculous dodge.
Dale, too, appeared deep in concentration, although his essence coalesced around him in threads of dark gold. No doubt he was providing Wes with his favored Invigoration weave to bolster Wes’ stamina and soothe his aching muscles. That would keep him fighting at peak capacity longer than normally possible, even with the benefit of vera.
“Anytime you’re ready, Nate!” Wes called, circling warily around the ferroceros. “I know how you like to make an entrance, but I can’t keep this up forever!”
Nate grinned as the last threads of his weave fell into place. Perfect timing. He released the Mighty Fire Bolt, his tensed muscles sagging in relief at no longer needing to maintain his concentration.
If the last Fire Bolt had been a tossed football, this one resembled a blazing rocket. It streaked through the air, almost too bright to look at, before detonating against the verabeast’s plating with a muffled boom.
The ferroceros bellowed, and Nate’s grin widened at its pained roar. That one sounded like it had actually hit the mark. Sure enough, as the flames cleared, a jagged hole seared through the creature’s plating to its marbled skin underneath.
The skin was unblemished, of course; verabeasts typically had their own aegises to protect them, just as verists did. Still, it meant the beast was now vulnerable.
“All yours, Wes!” Nate shouted. “I got him nice and warmed up for you.”
Even before he’d finished speaking, Wes had been zipping around, directing his punches toward the verabeast’s newly exposed flesh.
Each hit that landed radiated cold energy, eating away at the creature’s aegis. The ferroceros was forced to go on the defensive, swerving to keep its vulnerable spot out of Wes’ reach.
Nate breathed a relieved sigh. Things had been looking rough there, but they should have the fight well in hand now.
The massive verabeast was simply no match for Wes’ speed, especially with both Dale and Sandra lending him their strength. It was only a matter of time until Wes had worn through its aegis and could deliver a killing blow.
This contract is as good as ours.
That didn’t mean there was any sense in sitting here on the sidelines, though, not when he could be in the thick of the action. Nate summoned his essence, expelling it out around him in shifting waves of ice.
Drawing heat away had never felt as natural to him as adding it in. Nevertheless, the icy energy gradually solidified into a frozen set of plate mail engulfing his entire body. It left only his eyes exposed so that his vision would be unimpeded.
His Frost Armor wasn’t as versatile as Wes’ Ice Skin, but it offered at least as much protection. The last thing he wanted was to catch an errant blow from the flailing ferroceros.
He started in toward the melee, holding his right hand to his side. More icy wisps flowed out above and below his fingers, condensing into an Ice Blade that radiated cold energy. Let’s finish this.
He was halfway to the ferroceros when the beast hunkered down close to the ground. Nate pressed his lips together. Had he already missed out on his piece of the action? The creature certainly looked to be on its last legs.
Wes must’ve gotten the same impression because he ceased dodging so that he could focus solely on sending punch after punch into the tear in the ferroceros’ hide.
Then Nate noticed the metallic spikes sprouting all across the ferroceros’ back. It wasn’t giving up; it had simply needed a moment to gather its own essence.
“Incoming!” he screamed.
He turned sideways and fell into a crouch so he presented as small a target as possible. Even so, he reeled from the impact as several of the spikes found their mark, piercing his Frost Armor with enough force to crack the ice and rebound off his aegis underneath.
As the volley ceased, he quickly inspected his reserve. After that hit and his previous infusion, he was down to fourteen vera. That could’ve been much worse; the Frost Armor had done its job.
Regaining his feet, he checked on the others. Dale and Sandra had both been able to use the boulder for cover, so the attack had done little but interrupt their concentration. Wes, though…
Wes collapsed beside the verabeast as it rose. He’d definitely suffered the brunt of the assault, his Ice Skin broken in a dozen different places.
The ferroceros gave Wes no time to recover, bellowing as it drove a massive foot into his chest. The weakened ice shattered apart beneath the strain, but the beast didn’t relent. It continued to grind his body down into the rock.
Nate channeled another Fire Bolt, using his left hand while keeping his grip on the Ice Blade in his right. With his Frost Armor still active, the new weave strained the limits of his concentration, but he managed.
There was no time to infuse the weave, not if he wanted to get the spell off before the ferroceros flattened Wes to mush. Instead, he aimed the missile for the wound on the verabeast’s side, hoping that would be enough to draw its attention.
The spell arced through the air in a blazing trail and…impacted harmlessly against the plating beside the wound. Nate cursed his aim. This was what he got for regularly increasing his own Power over his Finesse as he advanced.
To his surprise, however, the beast immediately reacted to the missed attack. Shuffling its six feet, it turned away from Wes to face him. His last Fire Bolt had apparently left an impression.
The ferroceros’ face, a featureless slab of metal shaped roughly like a downward-facing triangle, seemed to regard him. Nate had a moment to wonder how it could even see, let alone roar.
Then, the verabeast charged. The ground beneath Nate trembled as those six powerful legs propelled it forward. He spun away from the creature and channeled essence into his Gusting Boots. His body jerked as the boots’ latent binding activated, wind shoving against his back and shooting him forward in a violent gust.
Allowing the binding to last its full duration, he staggered to keep his balance when it finally cut off about five seconds later. He might’ve been fine if it hadn’t been for the extra weight of his Frost Armor; instead, he went sprawling.
The cracked stone rumbled beneath him. Nate pushed himself to his hands and knees, glancing back. The ferroceros had already swerved toward his new position. His little stunt had bought him an extra second or two at most. Closing his eyes, he braced for impact.
