The Dark Herbalist

The adventures of Dog of the Forgotten Pack continue! Hardcore mode, the future with all its ups and downs, and the struggle to survive in both the real and virtual worlds all await him.

With no roof over his head while being hunted by the police, a ruthless corporation, and hitmen, our hero must hide and fight for his life. Every chance he gets, he dives into the virtual world as Dog of the Forgotten Pack, seeking to inch closer to his dream: the tantalizing yet distant treasures of Shadow Kane the Assassin. Though permanently banned by the administration of Shattered Empire Online, Shadow Kane had once managed to shake up the entire virtual world.

New friends and old, love and betrayal, a no-holds-barred battle for the Beastmen throne, and a truly unforgiving game mode lie ahead. Read on—you won't be disappointed!

They shouldn’t have pissed off a virtual world top player by erasing his character for a highly questionable “violation of game rules”— and taking away his valuable in-game possessions. After returning to the virtual world under a different nickname, an unknown newb puts everything on the line by selecting the most difficult Hardcore a single life that’s so easy to lose in the dangerous game world.

In search of his former character’s treasures, the newb breaks old stereotypes to become the sandbox terror, punishing those who banned him, monsters, rivals, enemy players, and anyone else who happens to get into his sharp-clawed paws!

Would you be prepared to work for free? How would you like to bust your hump for a large corporation 60-plus hours a week without a wage or a single day off for the vague promise of some mysterious perks in the distant future?

You'd refuse point blank, wouldn't you?

But what if the job in question was playing a state-of-the-art fantasy MMORPG game? And what if this was the only thing you're really good at? Especially considering that your in-game partner is someone really special to you - and this person already lives a virtual life?

Knowing all this, would you consider the mysterious future bonus worth your while? I dare you to try it!

The enemy’s at the gate, the situation getting worse by the second... and Ruslan’s employer hasn’t done a good job (to put it mildly) of securing his successes. Now the star system Unatari is under threat from the Aliens. It’s high time Ruslan came back in order to rescue everything he holds dear from imminent destruction and save Perimeter Defense - the game that has become his life.

Ceasefires have one big downside: they eventually come to an end. And when they do, once again game nodes are set ablaze, and platoons of Dark Faction soldiers threaten our customary world with destruction. The enemy has grown stronger and more numerous. To make matters worse, they also got their hands on even deadlier weaponry. They have learned painful lessons from previous encounters and adjusted their tactics accordingly. What's more, the vast hordes of enemies are led by the greatest strategist of modern times, and his mage advisors can see all possible futures so they always know just what to do.

How can our world possibly stand up against such an enemy? Our only hope is the bravery and tenacity of our best fighters, those who’d rather die than surrender. Well, that and a starship captained by one lone mage.

The Empire is splitting at the seams. The Great Houses refuse to obey the Throne World and have begun to conduct increasingly independent politics. Sensing the weakness of the central government, even the most loyal star systems of the Imperial Core are refusing to take orders from above. Is this just a string of coincidences, or a coordinated campaign?

Can a disjointed humanity rally around a strong leader to deflect an alien invasion? Who of the many figures in intergalactic politics can rise to this challenge? And is there a basis to the creeping rumors that some influential aristocrats have joined forces with the enemy and allied with the aliens?

This book will be the last in the series and will give the readers the answers to all their questions, including the most important of all: "What is Perimeter Defense?"

Playing by the book? That’s not how we do it! In his attempt to delay his appearance in Emperor’s court, Crown Prince Georg triggers an alien invasion of his own star system. The whole of the Empire watches the live broadcast with bated breath as his fleet battles the awesome invaders. The Iseyeks - gigantic sentient praying mantises - are suitably impressed too, so they promptly remind the Crown Prince of his allied duties. The Sector Eight Fleet hurries to the Swarm’s aid… but sadly disregards the insects’ hive mentality.

At long last, an extraterrestrial civilization reached out and made the First Contact. However, no one on Earth took their communique for the genuine article. In a similar vein, very few people appreciated just how little time our new suzerains had promised to keep our planet safe.

Regardless, the end of their message showed humankind how to access a mysterious game. The objective of this game is unclear. No one can say where its servers are located, and its inner workings are beyond comprehension. But the game slowly gained momentum, pulling in more and more players. Soon enough, it became impossible to ignore the fact that things that happened in the game had a direct impact on our reality. And not only ours...

But as people figure out this mysterious game, the countdown timer ticks away. And no one can say exactly what will happen when Earth’s safety is no longer guaranteed.

A new series in the LitRPG genre set in virtual reality!

A strange body that refuses to obey you; a weird game you can't quit until your contract expires; a world teeming with powerful and very real enemies. The game in which your reputation and faction relationship are the only things that matter.

These are the conditions of the agreement Ruslan signs without reading. The only thing he remembers is that he's been contracted to command a space fleet in a brand new game he knows nothing about. Objective: to survive for six months. After having made some inevitable newb mistakes, Ruslan has to rethink his strategy, dropping traditional gaming conventions. But what will it cost him? What new trials and tribulations await him that even the game designers have failed to anticipate?