‘That would be appreciated,” Yar said, nodding. The restaurant shone with pure whiteness, refinement, with a fantastic view from the window and pleasant yet unobtrusive live music.
“I like the Wasp Castle more and more.”
However, he thought differently. Aren’t they being a little too courteous to me?
A whole team of staff lined up at the table. There were no other visitors in the small restaurant, and they treated Yar like a crowned person.
A man walked over to the table and then bowed. Yar did not feel the outgoing threat, though they were surely not the manager or even a hotel employee. He looked like a military man, judging by his bearing and movements. The clan leader read the man’s stats intuitively.
Ahas Butcher Level 3 175
Battle Wizard
Specialization— Assassin
“I apologize for disturbing you, Yar Solid. You wanted to see a manager. I am the owner of Wasp Castle, and I am ready to fulfill any of your wishes in order to express to you my gratitude and to make amends, so to speak, for the incident in the square and the kidnapping of your servant. Syndicate has already suffered losses from the system, for having broken our oath. The lord, Syndicate, and I personally, are asking for your forgiveness,” Ahas Butcher, deeply bowing, spoke.
They know everything, Yar thought, hoping that the light elves would not identify him as quickly, though...
Yar got up and answered, “Yes, of course. I have no complaints about Syndicate. In fact, I would like to buy Wasp Castle.”
Seeing Ahas’ gray face, Yar added, “The price should be market, without discounts for loyalty. It is important for me. Syndicate should not suffer in any way.”
Ahas Butcher croaked in a hushed voice, “It’s okay, Lord. It will take a few minutes for the paperwork, though. The castle is worth fourteen and a half billion gold.”
“Then I’m ready. Sit down, please, at the table. As I understand it, we have something to talk about,” Yar said good-naturedly.
Chapter 58. Big News
I n the tavern ‘Chow’ the time of day didn’t matter—whether it was early morning, noon, or late at night. It was always very noisy here and unrestrainedly merry, although it was also dangerous, but when did that stop anyone? The beer was cold, and the waitresses and dancers were incredibly sexy and responsive. While gold was strumming in your pocket. So… come in, drink, eat, rest, and if you die, don’t worry, the area of revivals is very close. Directly opposite the tavern, in fact.
However, this super-popular institution had another useful feature, which only a select few knew about. However, those curious creatures, who managed to learn something, didn’t tend to live long in this world.
There was another level under all the drinking rooms, secluded places, and cabinets. It was also always crowded there. Special services were carefully monitoring every yard of this tavern and, if required, information was recorded for the benefit of the light elven clans.
“Yes!” one of the excited employees exclaimed. He recorded a quiet conversation at the table and hoped for a good prize. The listener recorded the talk with shaking hands and sent his report on to the center.
***
The spymaster of the ruling White Irises clan, Litas Effie, felt some kind of inexplicable nervousness in the morning. This light elf, even among millennial elves, was considered to be an old elf with all the attendant problems of his age—insomnia and weather dependence. From early morning he felt a painful ache in all his joints—as if a powerful thunderstorm was approaching the capital. These unpleasant expectations came true at noon.
The fertile Totheme Star had not yet passed through the zenith when reports of unprecedented activity within criminal communities began to come to him as an endless stream from all ends of the metropolis. All this universal bustle related to the search for the human Yar Solid—a seven hundred twenty-eighth level wizard. The old elf was very experienced. He, like a good pedigree hound, sensed the smell of big game, and so he redirected all the forces of the analytical department to track this Yar Solid. A few hours later, he knew for sure that he was not mistaken and, most likely, today he would receive personal praise and favors from the top management of the clan. The old elf was already aware of the incident at the Water Armistice Square, and the battle clash in the Syndicate’s reverse tower, and the curse of the system—which had cut down Kuks in the capital—and the sale of one of the best hotels in the capital. He had long understood who was hiding under the modified frame, though the elf lacked only direct confirmation.
He got up and stretched his hands toward the imaginary sky when he received what he had been waiting for. It was a conversation from the ‘Chow’ tavern, and there were two involved—most likely, Syndicate guards and an employee of the Wasp Castle hotel.
At first, there was noise, a varied din, laughter, and drunken screams, followed by the clear sound of speech.
“Hi, Arri. Hello, Fox. I see you took me a beer. What did you find in him? Arri is handsome, smart, drinks little, and eats even less. This is wrong. A lover should be, like me, the exact opposite of Arri.”
The girl laughed loudly.
“Hi, Stuhr.” Sounds of kisses were heard. “Hands off me. Sit down, lover.” The chair creaked, and then there were beats of mugs and greedy gulps.
“How do you like today’s fuss? We were looking for Yar Solid everywhere,” the man who was called Arri asked.
“Yeah, the bosses made us run. I don’t remember when it happened before. I have not earned anything!”
At the table, someone choked.
“Stuhr, you freaked out. What kind of earnings? Fox told me the news five minutes ago, I’m still in shock.”
Arri continued in a whisper, “Butcher sold Wasp Castle hotel in under ten minutes of conversation with this human.”
“Heck! I don’t believe it!” Stuhr said sharply.
The unhappy but pleasant female voice was then heard. “I saw it with my own eyes. You know, I work as a secretary for the manager. I say, Butcher was kind with this handsome human, as though he was the Emperor himself. By the way, about five minutes before this Yar arrived, the manager and his son ran around the first level with bulging eyes, yelling, “Attention, staff, attention! Now the highest status client, Yar Solid, is going to visit us. He can do everything, you hear? For free!”
Redhead Ria—you know her, she is a brisk girl—said to the manager, “And if the highest one suddenly has a desire to have sex with the girls?”
“Then you’ll all try very hard to satisfy him, you fool! Work! I will fire you all otherwise!”
“That is, Stuhr, I had never seen such a fuss, even when crowned persons have arrived with us. Do you believe that Butcher and the whole management of Syndicate will bow in front of an unknown person with a level of only 700?”
“Yes, it’s odd…” There was a pause. Apparently, the interlocutors drank another beer.
Then the girl continued, “It became very interesting to me. All these clever people can do a lot of things, but they are sometimes mistaken and miss the little things, and maybe they don’t know everything at all. After all, they don’t clean, wash, or tidy the Wasp. So, on the foundation of the castle there is a small, one might say ‘tiny’, metal sign, on which the true owner is always displayed. As soon as I brought the document to the manager, he sent me away. But before I went to Arri at the tavern, I ran down to look at this metal sign.”
“Damn, what was there?” Shtur asked.
“Guys, it was written there:
Wasp Castle
Owner: Yar Row Dark
The girl whispered quietly and was most likely looking around. The two guards sitting at the table cursed in one voice.
“Be quiet, guys. Be quiet.” The girl was trying to calm them down.
“Then what?”
“Yeah, I wonder, too.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they are still in the restaurant. Looks like we are going to have fun.” Fox said.
Effie knew where the head of the clan was now, and therefore he knew well what to do and how to do it with the highest profit. In fact, he had no choice. Such news was brought in person because the elf was smart and wanted to earn money. The old elf rushed through the corridors. He hadn’t run for a good while, and so, approaching the portal, he wheezed and snuffled.
“Oh, light gods, help me.” The elf burst through the stationary portal, jumping into the White Irises’ palace. The lame and hoarse runner didn’t take a breath—apparently deciding that it was better to die than be late for His Greatness. He continued his noisy and incendiary run, surprising and scaring courtiers on his way. The guards of the palace did not detain him. On the contrary, they opened the doors helpfully. No one dared to stop the spymaster, who seemed about to drop at any moment.
“Sir, Yar Dark is in the capital!” Effie, who was out of breath, cried out as soon as he saw the head of the clan, not even looking for a place to sit down. The old elf fell to the floor.
Despite the fact that Uray Tox of the White Irises was often called Uray the Merciless, he shouted, “Call the doctor and the head of the sabotage service to me now!”
After a few moments, the best healer worked on Effie, but the frail old spymaster was not about to recover. He was a professional and had fulfilled his mission even in such conditions—the spymaster listened. Meanwhile, the head of the clan was walking excitedly, giving instructions to the person responsible for the sabotage.
“Send the three best groups of five destroyers. The head commander is appointed responsible for the operation.”
“Yes, my Lord. They were waiting for this bastard to show his face. Everyone has leveled-up additionally and they are well-coordinated.”
The ruler nodded and stopped, his eyes fixed on his subordinate. “Who is their chief, Ataz?”
The head of the sabotage department uttered loudly, “Esther Midday.”
The ruler of the light elves grinned, for he knew well who it was. He suddenly remembered the expression at the time when he was studying at the Academy—‘He doesn’t lose.’
***
Well, we will survive, the head of Syndicate thought, heading to the exit. Butcher had a two-fold feeling from his meeting with Yar. This man with the abilities of a God was extraordinary. Also, the all-powerful bandit was agitated by questions to which he had no answers. He walked, and they rolled around in his head, like heavy pebbles under the blows of huge waves.
Why did he pay? After all, he could have just taken the castle for free. Yar parted with a gigantic amount of money without regret. Why did he give up his legal interest? Yar ordered for this huge amount of money to be sent to a fund in support of vagrants, deprived persons, and prisoners. Why does he need all this?
Butcher stopped in the doorway at the exit, not noticing anyone around him. He suddenly appreciated the scale of his decision, realizing that the underworld in which he was born no longer truly existed.
Chapter 59. Wasp Castle Parasites
T he portaler is probably worried in the port, Yar thought with sympathy.
Through a tactical interface, he quickly contacted him.
Hey, Aire, don’t be surprised, it’s only me. You’d better listen. A portal will now appear next to you. I need you to step into it boldly.
A moment later, the portaler appeared right there, looking at the surrounding space in surprise.
Yar got up from the table, and immediately the chef approached him.
The clan leader liked him as he was stout and very neat, and his cap and snow-white uniform were perfect. The only thing about the man that did not correspond to the essence of the virtuoso of cooking was his name—Jour Dishwasher.
Why was he called that? Yar thought, saying, “It was well-cooked. Thank you. It was very tasty.”
The chef bowed and said in a very sincere voice, “Sir, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Master, will you leave me with the chef’s position?”
Yar nodded, a little taken aback.
“Of course, Jour. The kitchen remains at your disposal. Cook what you want. If you have any suggestions or requests, I am always ready to listen to them and take immediate action. Now, if you could please feed this guy, he is my friend and seems hungry. My friends should always be fed.” Yar pointed to the bewildered portaler. At the same time, the clan leader made changes to the chef’s name.
“Yes, Master,” Jour Magnificent said, bowing.
The chef couldn’t accelerate immediately, his muscles seemed to be paralyzed for a moment—he just saw a change in his status bar and was confused. Being in high spirits, Yar left the restaurant, surprised that there were almost no other visitors in the huge room.
While Yar walked to the reception, he tried to see the power of the castle. He managed to do it right away, however, he didn’t like what he saw and sensed that the castle was exhausted. There was energy in several towers, and the rest of the space was as if it was undermined by energy termites.
What’s this? Yar became interested, stopping and looking at how the staff lined up in a wide stance, and the nerve bastard was directing it.
Okay, what’s going on here?
He leaned against the nearest column to improve his perception and try to feel the castle more deeply. Now, closing his eyes and completely rejecting reality, Yar tried to embrace it with his perception. The sensations were deadly. It seemed that this massive building was moaning and crying hopelessly. The negative emotions were almost overwhelming.
“Well, no,” Yar hissed, increasing the sources and intuitively clinging to the column. At the same time, he thought, It seems that these are energy thieves.
For a few minutes, he seemed to unravel the rebus, before finally he found one of the ‘energy hole punchers’, and then a nest with three more in it. These creatures looked unusual. They were like puffy, long, and gray dust bags from a vacuum cleaner, about a yard long. Their narrow torsos consisted of five segments with eight legs, each ended with a curved, shiny white claw. The head of this monster was the most striking feature. Or rather, instead of a head, there was a round, shining cylindrical gizmo that stuck out of its thick body, as if it were assembled from pins, the tips of which glowed dazzlingly. It looked eerily and completely alien to Yar.
Crystalc
Parasite, 7696 level
Health 7422
Dexterity 7211
Intellect 2453
Transition into the energy structure 7998
Energy absorption 7859
Energy accumulation 7543
Energy Strike 7807
Mental Strike 2353
* Addition: When detected, it shows 100% aggression
“Alarm! Alarm!” Lyan roared deafeningly, strengthening Yar’s armor to the maximum. The crystalc had moved toward the energy structure and, like a shining meteor, rushed from the depths of the castle’s foundations, aiming at its hated enemy.
This warning, and the high stats, gave fractions of a second to take the right course of action. Yar didn’t manage to install his mental barrier thoroughly. It was like an awl that pierced his head. Yar leaned back against the pillar that prevented him from falling, and the pain disappeared very quickly.
For the first time, Yar saw his aura and the working YDSA with his ordinary vision. The whole space was lit up for around three yards, as if showing the thinnest multi-colored fabric and cute-looking symbiotes, now resembling rainbow-shining ladybirds, patching the damaged area. A message popped up before his eyes.
Attention!
A mental strike with a power of 2250 was partially deflected by Aura.
The breakdown is 368 (full recovery time is 39.4 seconds)
Yar was ready for the main strike. The wandering shield was launched at full capacity, power swords crackled in his hands, and the battle trance had already transformed his muscles, joints and ligaments. The fiercely flaming crystalc had not yet flown, but Yar had already begun a dodging movement.
“Well, let’s dance.”
***
Nobody liked the assistant manager of the hotel, Ogriz Junior, whom all employees called Stub. Frankly speaking, there was nothing to like or respect about the man. He was an opportunist. He was the manager’s son, but he had an unremarkable appearance and the reputation of a snitch with a dark soul and an extremely vile habit of revenge, annoying the hotel’s employees with his vulgar sentences and licentiousness.
All the girls working at the reception desk were very tired of him.
“Hey, babes! Your master is coming, so get up! Hurry!” the assistant manager said to the girls. “Stand as I taught you. Don’t smile, and don’t look at the master.”
“Mr. Junior-manager,” Redhead Ria said in a mocking voice. ‘It seems that the owner isn’t going to approach us at all. He’s busy.” She pointed with her finger in the direction of Yar Solid where he was standing tensely by the column.
Suddenly a roar was heard and a push felt. The security worked instantly, blocking all the entrances to the castle. Customers that were in the lobby were quickly brought out of the hotel. The staff was able to act smoothly and quickly because of a lot of arrogant and ambitious young people who were ready to fight anywhere and anytime.
The assistant manager showed the ‘highest’ training, self-evacuating at an arrow-like speed, forgetting both his subordinates and the customers of the hotel. The girls hiding behind the front desk were in no hurry to leave the Wasp Castle. Firstly, magical battles were a spectacle for which many people paid a lot of money; secondly, it was terribly interesting what was happening; and thirdly, it was not every day that they could see a powerful person in a magical battle.
In fact, the girls knew that it was completely safe behind the front desk. It was a massive basalt slab, upholstered with expensive wood, and it could withstand any strike. The girls watched closely at what was going on.
Redhead Ria, more than anyone versed in magic, commented admiringly,
“Oh, look! What a shield! It’s incredibly beautiful! I haven’t seen such a show before. He moves like a master with a level obviously higher than the seven hundredth. Oh, it’s unbelievable.”
Dark Legacy Page 33
