Competitive Advantage (Nora Hazard Book 2) Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Also by Blaise Corvin

  Dedication

  Foreword

  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

  Book End

  Author's Note

  Nora Hazard: Competitive Advantage

  Nora Hazard, Book Two

  Part of the Delvers LLC storyline

  By Blaise Corvin

  Mitigating Risk

  Copyright ©2018 by Blaise Corvin

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Also by Blaise Corvin

  *Note: Some titles are scheduled for launch in 2018 or 2019

  Artifice Universe

  Delvers LLC

  1. Welcome to Ludus

  2. Obligations Incurred

  3. Adventure Capital

  Nora Hazard

  1. Mitigating Risk

  2. Competitive Advantage

  3. Accounts Payable

  Delvers LLC (Cont.)

  4. Golden Handcuffs

  5. Hostile Takeover

  Yggdrasil Universe

  Secret of the Old Ones

  1. Luck Stat Strategy

  2. Airship Privateers

  Written with Outspan Foster

  Anthem of Infinity

  1. First Song Book One

  2. First Song Book Two

  For all the active duty soldiers out there who endure all the bullshit so we don’t have to.

  Foreword

  Hello readers! This book is classified as GameLit or RPG GameLit.

  You might be curious what RPG GameLit actually is. GameLit, the larger genre umbrella, is any fiction with game mechanics or that takes place in a game. RPG GameLit is a subgenre where stories include some sort of linear progression for characters that is significant to the plot of the story. These types of stories have been extremely popular in Russia and other countries where they are called LitRPG. They’re just now making an impact in the West!

  RPG GameLit is usually a funky mix of Fantasy and Sci Fi. The settings can vary, but what most GameLit novels have in common is a world that most gamers can immediately relate to.

  ***

  So far Nora Hazard has been a fun, but exhausting project. This series has been great for my craft, causing me to grow tremendously as a writer. I’m happy that the vast majority of readers have loved Nora’s adventures so far, too. On the flip side, I am aware that plenty of folks would prefer I get back to writing Delvers LLC ASAP! I definitely understand, but I hope readers will continue to trust me.

  When the Nora Hazard series is done, having read through Nora’s journey before catching up with Henry and Jason will be enormously rewarding, at least I think so. Either way, I hope you have a good time following Nora’s life and times in this new book.

  Please remember to leave a review, even if you only want to post a few words. Every little bit helps!

  ***

  I really had a lot of fun writing this book. If you’d like to visit my website, the URL is http://blaise-corvin.com/

  I also have a writer’s note in the back of the book with a whole mess of links.

  If you’d like to connect with me on Patreon, the link is http://www.patreon.com/BlaiseCorvin.

  My reader group on FB is at http://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/.

  I hope you enjoy your time on Ludus with Nora!

  Dark Memo

  “Nora, I think you should have this.”

  The words echoed in my mind as I turned over my hand, studying my new, unfamiliar ring. The band had fit on Jessica’s thumb but had barely fit on my ring finger. The plain ring’s dull color made it look like a cheap trinket, but I knew better. Jessica had shown me how to activate it after giving it to me a couple days earlier.

  It was powerful, dangerous, and hurt a rotting helping to use.

  With one last frown at the ring, I pulled a note out of my pack and tapped it against my lip. I was putting something off, so I might as well do some thinking in the meantime.

  Wind gently pulled at my clothing as I stood on the airship deck. The passage from Mensk to Tolstey should be fairly peaceful, but this high up, I was glad I had my borrowed coat.

  Jessica and Christopher were below, probably sleeping. There wasn’t a lot to do while traveling on the airship, after all. I had gotten cheaper travel fare by unknowingly volunteering to guard the ship, and now I had to stay on the deck the entire trip. The letter of introduction I’d carried from Soron to Mensk had confirmed my orb-Bonded status.

  I really hadn’t known it would do that. The letter had been sealed and Plejia, the no-nonsense majordomo of Soron’s mayor, had only told me that it’d give me a discount for the airship. I shook my head and spat over the side of the huge, flying vessel. Maybe Jessica and Chris were right; maybe I was too trusting. It was true so far that I had a habit of not reading notes that had been given to me.

  Thinking of notes again, I made a face at the vellum in my hand. The letter was from Vairie Petrov, the mayor of Soron—Plejia’s boss, and a woman I still had never actually met in person. Plejia Green had handed me the sealed envelope, with instructions to read it, along with the letter of introduction on the day I’d left Soron.

  The letter read:

  Nora,

  Thank you for saving my town and its people. I have read of your feats and service while you fought the slavers that had attacked Soron.

  This letter is a courtesy. I think you deserve information in addition to your other rewards. As you know, your payment for fighting with the Soron Guard was tripled, and you will be granted discounted fare at your destination, and an airship from Mensk. You received free medical care and lodging in Soron while you healed from your wounds. You have also turned down a home in Soron. So be it.

  You will always be a friend of Soron. It is safe to say that I still owe you a favor.

  The information I will share with you is somewhat sensitive. The leaders of several towns and cities are not actively suppressing what I am about to tell you, but we are not exactly trying to spread it, either. People already feel unsafe enough.

  The truth is that the attack on Soron seems to have been a distraction.

  As you probably know, after Soron was attacked, we summoned the Berber Guard. The nearest Guard outpost had been contacted, and they’d arrived with almost their full force, including their attached Berber military unit. Not long after that, we got reports that the town of Niebon had been attacked by raiders. The Guard could not get there in time to do anything since they were already here, at Soron. By the time they arrived at the site of the new attack, most of the town was gone, taken.

  Niebon survivors gave reports of slavers, but also people in da
rk robes. There were true demons reported in the attack, too.

  All the evidence we have now points to increased Dark Gods cultist activity in Berber. Town and city leaders are beginning to increase security. I had taken the initiative to focus on security already, so Soron was spared some damage and hardship. I still have you to thank for some of it, though.

  Now you know.

  Good luck in your travels. You will always be a friend to Soron.

  -Vairie P

  I shook my head and carefully folded the note, stowing it in my pack again. I’d already read it at least ten times, and I knew there wasn’t anything else to learn from it by now. Something big was happening, that was for sure. True demons. The only reason I hadn’t shuddered again while reading that part was that I’d already thought about it so much. True demons were dark, terrible business. If the reports were true...

  Niebon had had at least a few hundred people, and now they were all gone. This had been a bad year for me to decide to meddle in the lives of others, to use my power to protect. As usual, my timing had been terrible.

  And yet, this wasn’t the first time I’d thought about my terrible timing. The reality was that I was just stalling. I needed to go to sleep, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet.

  Muffin had told me that I would rank up my orb-Bonded powers and be able to choose new abilities once I had arrived in Tolstey. My orb, or orb controller–I still wasn’t sure exactly how that worked—had lied. Muffin had moved things forward, it seemed. I didn’t know how, but I could feel I was going to rank up, become a second rank orb-Bonded as soon as I went to sleep.

  I’d thought I’d known before what I was going to choose for my new abilities, but now I wasn’t so sure. Things had changed.

  I stared over the railing of the airship for a while, my dyed-blonde hair whipping around my face. It was strange to think that despite being so high in the sky, I could probably step over the edge of the airship and still survive. My Flight ability would probably allow me to land lightly enough that I wouldn’t die. I was definitely in no rush to try it out, though, especially since my body had recently been in such bad shape.

  The last week or so had been rough. The final battle I’d had while fighting for Soron against the slavers had almost killed me. The only reason I’d won was that my opponent had been arrogant, had underestimated me. I couldn’t count on that again.

  While I’d healed, recovering in Soron, I’d had a lot of time to think. I’d already decided earlier that some things were worth fighting for, but that decision was pointless without power to back it up. This realization echoed the decision I’d made in Dingeramat, the elite dungeon; I needed more power.

  So far, my orb-Bonded abilities had barely allowed me to keep breathing. If I actually did rank up today after falling asleep, I would need to make good choices about what abilities to buy. Muffin had told me I’d have 11 points to spend.

  I sighed and gathered my pack to use as a pillow. Then I tied a thong to Eneus, my mysterious, enchanted spear. With my gear and weapons secure, I found a good, out of the way place on the deck of the airship to sleep. I didn’t need to be awake for the airship trip as a guard, just present. There was no point putting it off any longer.

  I’d learned lessons about waiting on power, on tools. No, I needed to take every scrap of advantage I could whenever it presented itself. Now I had people to lead again, and people believing in me. I wasn’t sure if this fact made me happy or anxious. Probably a bit of both.

  I hated thinking. With an unhappy grumble, I settled down on the hard, wooden deck and fell asleep.

  ***

  I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a forest, standing near a pond. This was a place in the country that my birth-mother had loved. Mother had taken my father and me here for picnics on special occasions while I’d been young.

  When Muffin the capybara girl stepped out from behind a tree, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

  She shook her head and said, “I cannot believe you are still alive. I guess that’s good for both of us though, yes?”

  I could only nod in agreement.

  Thinking Out Loud

  This time, Muffin was dressed in pink jean shorts and a soft, off-white crop top. One of her legs had a pink scrunchy around the ankle area.

  She announced, “So you’re here. You knew we were going to meet, and now you don’t know what powers to pick.”

  “Mmmm,” I replied.

  The capybara girl regarded me levelly. “I live in your head, so I know what kind of mental state you’re in. Not that you ever listen to my advice, but you should stop thinking so deeply about everything. As you know, it’s not your strong suit.”

  “Whatever you say. Just give me the book so I can look at my choices.”

  “You want a book like you used last time to review upgrade choices?”

  “Yes.”

  Muffin nodded and pulled a large, yukka leather-bound tome from behind a tree. The rodent girl also produced a colorful pink hat and placed it on her head before hopping over, presenting the book to me.

  I absently nodded my thanks and began leafing through the pages. Muffin was annoying, and I didn’t exactly trust her, but she really was living in my head. Trying to get along seemed wiser than being contrary.

  “Luckily her Etiquette skill is still working,” muttered the orb controller. I pretended not to hear. Dealing with Muffin was always difficult since the ra–capybara girl could hear my thoughts. Muffin huffed at the near-rat slip of my thoughts, and I smiled nastily as I avoided looking at her.

  I’d thought I had known what upgrades to use my points on before, but things had changed. As I read through all the powers and abilities I could choose to become stronger, I briefly thought about how I’d become orb-Bonded in the first place.

  The memory of being impaled in the middle of the road still haunted me. I would get revenge one day, that was for rotting sure. The bounty hunter group with at least one orb-Bonded had easily overpowered me and left me for dead. I would have died for certain if not for Enheduanna.

  I grimaced as I thought the name. The dark-skinned Areva demigoddess was extremely powerful and quite insane...and she was also my boss for the next three years or so. How do I get myself into these situations?

  Before I’d met Duanna, I’d had to fight my own Jackals pack and witness my best friend die. Then I’d been forced to flee Bittertown with nothing but the clothes on my back and the weapons on my belt.

  Coming back as orb-Bonded after being mortally wounded had firmly began my life as an adventurer, carrying out a mission for Enheduanna. So far, in less than a month, I’d sparred with shady people in the forest, escaped bounty hunters, landed in an elite dungeon, fought terrifying monsters, been groped by a strangely polite and organized drake, fought a small army of slavers, and had a brutal, one-on-one battle with a powerful orb-Bonded who’d called himself White Darkness. Even with enhanced healing granted by my Toughness ability and the help of Life mages in Soron, it had taken me days to recover.

  To my side, Muffin sniffed. Then she drawled, “Again with this line of thought? Would you rather be dead? You made your choice. Nobody forced this on you.

  “Plus, as an orb-Bonded warrior, you have power that most people could only dream of. Unless you get killed, your lifespan will be many times longer now than it would have been as a natural Terran. By swallowing me, being bonded with a modular Duanna orb, you have a direct choice over how your power grows. You even decided recently to focus on gathering more power, something that would be far more difficult without being orb-Bonded.”

  Muffin spread her paws and continued, “Knowing all this, mentally whining about Mistress Duanna all the time seems fairly weak and silly. You’re usually more rational than that.”

  I tried to stare down the orb controller, but Muffin just calmly met my gaze with an amused expression on her obnoxious, furry face. “Stay out of my head,” I finally growled.

  “As you know, I
live in your head, so that is impossible.”

  “You–”I began.

  “Enough of that,” said Muffin, gesturing downward. “You need to make a decision, and we don’t have forever. I can already tell that you are not going to take my suggestions again. You’ve been ignoring all of my notes in the book. Still, maybe it will help if you talk about the decision out loud.”

  I couldn’t really argue with that, but I continued glaring at the smug capybara-looking orb controller for a few moments until I sighed. What had Muffin called herself in the past? An AI? The way she lived in my head, I was at a massive disadvantage against her–whatever she was.

  “Fine,” I said. “Before, I’d been thinking about buying Elements and Energy, one of the unique Duanna orb powers, and choosing fire.”

  “Why?”

  “Back after I first became ‘Bonded, that girl I sparred with, Vitaliya, was immature but powerful.

  “When I saw her use fire magic, I realized all the ways it could be used.”

  Muffin groused, “Yes, kind of like if you’d taken my first advice and chosen Energy Blasts instead of Vibration.”

  “Whatever.”

  “So why weren’t you going to choose Fire School magic then? It’s available from the Dolos orb power portion of the book,” asked the AI.

  “You already know why.”

  “Say it. It might help you think,” said the capybara girl. She adjusted her pink hat and winked at me.

  “Because I’ve figured out that Duanna orb powers work differently than Dolos orb magic. It costs five points to buy an ability in a magic school in the Dolos orb list, then two or three points each for more power or control separately for the first few ranks.