“Bingo.” Teddy flicked up a finger. “A cusp who punched Nazis in the face. There you have it. Also, LJ Crown uses Harmonic Studies.”
“Jupiter Belts have prana to spare,” Niko said. “That’s different from being a cusp.”
Teddy dug into his pocket and took out his phone. “A text from Maddy. Are we ready to rumble?”
Niko bent over, stretching out his hamstrings. “No, I’m not ready to rumble.”
“Ready to win?”
Niko’s muscles were as tight and constricted as his core. “Let’s just say I’m ready to give another lesson for my teacher to use with me.”
“A thousand losses are a teacher. A single victory is a pause.” The big guy knew his Pranad.
Niko straightened. “But you know, it would be nice to pause for a second.”
“Do you think that means you pause to enjoy? Or is it just some bit of lost wisdom?” Teddy asked.
Niko wasn’t sure, but he thought he knew. “One victory isn’t the deal. You pause because it doesn’t mean much.”
That put a smile on Teddy’s face. “What’s the deal then? What matters in the Battle Arts? Tell me, great master.”
“The deal? Battle Artists battle. That’s the deal. Win, lose, or die, a true Battle Artist is in a constant state of creation and destruction.”
“This feels like old times. This feels like the start of something.” Teddy’s voice was soft, like he was talking to himself. “Creation and destruction. Not sure I get that. Boil it down for me.”
Niko remembered his high school sage, what he always said. “A lot of people will talk about the Arts, especially other Battle Artists, but not many will really practice them. In the end, the deal is to do it.”
“Then let’s do it.” Teddy laughed.
It did feel like old times, which scared Niko. It frightened him far more than what Stan Howling might do to him. Or that Andrew J. Coffey was going to watch him fight. The celebrity Artist was there, standing with his arms crossed, in the sparse crowd around the Arena.
The day had gone from mildly annoying to straight-up terrifying. A guy’s day off shouldn’t be so fraught with danger and intrigue.
Click here to continue reading Sages of the Underpass (Battle Artists Book 1).
Books by Shadow Alley Press
LitRPG
Rogue Dungeon: The Rogue Dungeon Series (Book 1)
Civil War: The Rogue Dungeon Series (Book 2)
Troll Nation: The Rogue Dungeon Series (Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online (LitRPG)
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Crimson Alliance (Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord (Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online: Imperial Legion (Book 4)
Viridian Gate Online: The Lich Priest (Book 5)
Viridian Gate Online: Doom Forge (Book 6)
Viridian Gate Online: Side Quests (Anthology)
Viridian Gate Online: The Artificer (Imperial Initiative 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul (The Illusionist Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Dead Man’s Tide (The Illusionist Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: Inquisitor’s Foil (The Illusionist Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online: Firebrand (The Firebrand Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Embers of Rebellion (The Firebrand Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: Path of the Blood Phoenix (The Firebrand Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online: Vindication (The Alchemic Weaponeer Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Absolution (The Alchemic Weaponeer Book 2)
GameLit/Harem
War God’s Mantle: Ascension (Book 1)
War God’s Mantle: Descent (Book 2)
War God’s Mantle: Underworld (Book 3)
Denver Fury: American Dragons (Book 1)
Cheyenne Magic: American Dragons (Book 2)
Montana Firestorm: American Dragons (Book 3)
Texas Showdown: American Dragons (Book 4)
California Imperium: American Dragons (Book 5)
Dodge City Knights: American Dragons (Book 6)
Leadville Crucible: American Dragons (Book 7)
Dungeon Bringer 1
Dungeon Bringer 2
Dungeon Bringer 3
Witch King 1
Witch King 2
Robot Bangarang: Full Frontal Galaxy (Book 1)
Space Dragon Boogaloo: Full Frontal Galaxy (Book 2)
Wuxia
Darkening Skies (Path of the Thunderbird Book 1)
Stone Soul (Path of the Thunderbird Book 2)
Hollow Core (School of Sword and Serpents Book 1)
Eclipse Core (School of Swords and Serpents Book 2)
Sages of the Underpass (Battle Artists Book 1)
Urban Fantasy
Strange Magic (Yancy Lazarus Episode One)
Cold Hearted (Yancy Lazarus Episode Two)
Flashback: Siren Song (Yancy Lazarus Episode 2.5)
Wendigo Rising (Yancy Lazarus Episode Three)
Flashback: The Morrigan (Yancy Lazarus Episode 3.5)
Savage Prophet (Yancy Lazarus Episode Four)
Brimstone Blues: A Yancy Lazarus Novel
MudMan (A Lazarus World Novel)
Two-Faced: Legend of the Treesinger (Book 1)
Soul Game: Legend of the Treesinger (Book 2)
Post-apocalyptic
Armageddon Girls (The Juniper Wars Book 1)
Machine-Gun Girls (The Juniper Wars Book 2)
Inferno Girls (The Juniper Wars Book 3)
Storm Girls (The Juniper Wars Book 4)
litRPG on Facebook
YOU CAN FIND EVEN MORE books and awesome recommendations by checking out the litRPG Group on Facebook!
GameLit on Facebook
AND, IF YOU LOVE LITRPG and want to find more wonky books like Viridian Gate Online, check out the GameLit Society on Facebook!
Dedication
For DJB and QJA. Hope is a strategy.
Copyright
Storm Girls is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Aaron Michael Ritchey and Shadow Alley Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher, subject line “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address below.
About the Author
Aaron Michael Ritchey is the author of The Never Prayer, Long Live the Suicide King, and Elizabeth’s Midnight. He was born on a cold and snowy September day in Denver, Colorado, and while he’s lived and traveled all over the world, he’s a child of the American West. Sagebrush makes him homesick. While he pines for Paris, he still lives in Colorado with his cactus flower of a wife and two stormy daughters.
About the Publisher
We love books and we are crazy-passionate about publishing the best adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Action-Adventure around.
Though our stories
