Tailyn’s mouth gaped. He never would have suspected that there could be a limit to the god’s influence on the planet. After clearing some space while doing his best not to touch anything with his palms, the boy stared down into the shaft that extended below him. There was no end in sight. To the contrary, it expanded, turning into an enormous cavern filled with blue light. The mist of noa was bright and thick, and there were even shadows flitting through it, though Tailyn was too preoccupied to take a closer look at them. The System had reacted to him touching the items around him.
Loot received...
Crystals +466 (474).
Coins +277000 (347067).
You found the final resting place of ancients (28).
Pickaxe-I (455).
Pickaxe-II (94).
Pickaxe-III (8).
Pickaxe-IV (2).
Pickaxe-V (1).
…
Compensation received for modified items with consideration for your level and status:
Legendary card: City Guard.
***
You were the first to reach the System’s border.
Level +1 (19).
Protection +1 (5).
Named item level +1 (9).
The list of everything he picked up was stunning. Over the three thousand years the hole had been there, quite a few creatures had fallen down it, both human and lix. The pickaxes obviously belonged to the lixes mining away a few kilometers up. For the first time in his life, Tailyn found himself holding a piece of level five equipment, so he couldn’t help pulling up the description.
Pickaxe-V. Description: an epic item used to mine minerals. Boosts the amount of mined resources by four. Requirements: Miner (150), Digger (150), Strength (150), Perception (150).
The boy swallowed hard as he read the requirements—it was hard to imagine who could measure up to them and how many decades they’d spent progressing to get that far. Of course, he could have gobbled down all the crystals he had, but that wouldn’t have left any for the taxes. The head of Mean Truk couldn’t be that selfish, and so he went ahead and sold the pickaxe for coins. Three hundred and fifty thousand was the most he’d ever gotten for a single item. And with that, the city could sleep peacefully knowing it had everything it needed. The other pickaxes, useless pants, a variety of coats, and everything else was also sold. All Tailyn decided to keep was eight level three pickaxes—they didn’t have any requirements, and they’d come in handy when it came time to mine the platinum. Everything else was earmarked for the store since coins were what the boy needed most.
Coins +844900 (1541967).
One thing Tailyn did use right away were some inventory expansions. He was always hitting the limit with his, and so another 120 slots was perfect for loading up on all the cards lying around. With the System confiscating all the equipment that had once belonged to the ancients, they were replaced by magic cards, though the crown jewel was the legendary city guard. It was linked to Mean Truk by default and could only be activated there. Unlike its epic cousin, the legendary version was also able to identify concealed creatures and even upgrade itself. The more intruders it caught, the stronger it got.
It didn’t take long for Tailyn to decide what to do with the money.
You transferred 1500000 coins to the city treasury.
Stunned by the mission update, Valia demanded an explanation, and Tailyn had to spend a few minutes filling her in on what was going on. To say she was furious would have been to say nothing at all. Her betrothed was a moron, a thick-headed oaf, a brainless idiot, and plenty more epithets she’d picked up from Motar and his guards. Unfazed by her aristocratic upbringing, she cursed away like any commoner.
“Enough!” Tailyn barked sharply when he’d had enough. “You should be supporting me, not yelling at me for my good fortune! I can curse well enough on my own. If you don’t have anything important to say, shut up and wait for me to ask for the portal.”
Clearly unexpecting that kind of reaction, Valia fell silent. Tailyn sighed when he was sure there wasn’t another stream of invective forthcoming and the girl didn’t show up in the virtual mountains. There was going to have to be an unpleasant conversation. No matter how highly he thought of his betrothed or how much he loved her, he had no intention of turning himself into an outlet for her frustrations. He hadn’t taken it from Dort and his ilk; he wasn’t going to take it from Valia. Even if that cost them unification.
There wasn’t anything interesting in the last statements, the ancients clearly having had problems in their final moments of life down there in the pit. Some had thrown themselves in; others had fallen. Mostly, they were crystal miners, with only two of the ancients actually having lived before the exodus. The compensation had been for their equipment. Everyone else had fallen in after the second System version had been rolled out.
Still angry at Valia, Tailyn made his way around the invisible floor, going from one end to the other and feeling around with his hands. He had no desire to head back quite yet. For the first little while, moving around was a strange sensation as the shaft continued below him—he felt like he was flying. But nothing is impossible to get used to, and soon enough Tailyn had stopped noticing the blue abyss beneath his feet.
It was only when another shadow flitted by that the boy stopped. If he was at the edge of the System, there shouldn’t have been anything below him. At least, that was what the updated mission had told him. But there was something there. It moved incredibly quickly, and it was only the boy’s perception that let him see the blurred outlines of whatever it was. Still, he couldn’t actually catch sight of it—the thing disappeared before he had the chance.
Tailyn’s curiosity got the upper hand, and he laid down on the invisible screen, resolving not to move until he’d figured out what was going on. For a while, nothing happened. The shadows did a good job hiding in the mist, only popping out for fractions of a second. But the boy had patience on his side. Continuing to lie there, he stared at the spot where a shadow appeared most frequently.
It happened an hour later. The mist darkened, swirled, and was sucked into something like a pipe, and while the space around it cleared for just a couple seconds, that was enough for Tailyn to see an enormous, smooth, and elongated body reminiscent of a pebble smoothed by running water. But the stone broke in one spot to release a giant tube that sucked in the blue noa. It wasn’t alive. It was a machine. Almost as if sensing someone watching it, the thing disappeared into the mist, though it was too late. It had been spotted.
And not only by Tailyn.
Attention! Noa poachers detected!
Player being redeployed to another location.
Tailyn barely had time to wrap his mind around what was going on before the space around him began to swirl. The blue glow disappeared, replaced by the familiar landscape of Mean Truk. Surprised by the sudden turn of events, the boy crouched, not sure what movement without a portal entailed. Nervous people and lixes began running around—they were just as shocked as Tailyn. What nobody expected was the light show that accompanied him, with sparks reaching higher into the sky than the mountains around them. Dashing over, the guard ran its tentacles over its master to make sure there were no irregularities. But it was actually Tailyn.
Just then, the entire vicinity shook. Boulders crashed down from the mountains, most of the ancient buildings still standing in Mean Truk collapsed for good, the humans and lixes were knocked off their feet, and a message from the god appeared in front of every intelligent being on the planet.
General notification!
A strict prohibition on the use and distribution of crystals is being instituted on the planet. For the next ten years, crystals may not be mined or used to boost personal parameters. All violators will be instantly destroyed. 50% of all mined crystals have been removed from circulation in order to restore the natural balance, and there will be no taxes for the indicated period.
“Tailyn, tell me you didn’t have anything to do with this,” For
ian called over. The boy glanced guiltily over at his treasurer, and the latter could only sigh and shake his head. He couldn’t have had more to do with it. Yet again, Tailyn had achieved the impossible—when were the people around him going to start getting used to that?
Valanil and Valia came over. When he saw the girl, Tailyn realized there was no need for the conversation he’d been dreading. His betrothed was eyeing her feet, everything about her oozing remorse. And judging by the way Valanil was looking at her charge, she’d been the one to talk sense into her, and she even gave her a shove as if reminding her about something. Valia looked up and took a breath, but Tailyn held up his hand before she could say anything. He’d gotten a personal message from the god:
Player Tailyn Vlashich!
The System thanks you for your timely assistance and saving the planet from destruction. As a reward, you are permitted to continue using crystals to create concentrated noa, and you have been given the coordinates of all remaining pools with dragon tears.
***
You pleased the god.
Level +3 (22).
Attribute and skill restrictions lifted.
You used free attribute points.
Enhancement +3 (18).
Following that came the cherry on top that Tailyn had been expecting for more than a week. The first few days had apparently gone toward setting up sales.
Over the previous week, 166 flasks of Trukian Potion were sold.
You’re receiving your share as the creator:
Coins +66400 (108367).
Tailyn pulled up his map and scowled when he saw the first point with a pool full of red acid not far from Mean Truk. Just as he’d suspected, Forian hadn’t been able to completely destroy it, something that required electricity or dragon fire. The boy looked over at his betrothed and put an end to their quarrel.
“Valia, we need to head back to Isr Kale’s tomb—there’s something we have to take care of right now. Forian, when we get back, we’ll leave for the empire. I only have fifty-two days left to get to the library. Hey, does anyone have food around here? I could eat a lix!”
Chapter 11
THE LEVEL TWO GRASSHOPPER pulled itself away from the withered grass it was munching on and stared up at the unusual sight. Even its underdeveloped insect brain could tell something incredible was happening, something that shouldn’t have been possible but was.
There was a human flying through the sky.
Valia’s riding lizard still refused to accept Tailyn. As soon as it saw the boy, it lost it, running away, hiding, growling, and even trying to attack. Tailyn was surprised, but all he had to do was summon his dragon to set things straight—the lizard immediately dashed off. From what they could tell, Valia’s companion had identified Tailyn as the owner of the dangerous creature and decided that if he crushed or ate the boy fast enough, the dragon wouldn’t show up. And nothing Valia tried reconciled the lizard to the boy. The animal would sooner have died and never again appeared under the sky than carry Tailyn.
That was a problem—Isr Kale’s tomb wasn’t exactly nearby. But that was when Tailyn came up with the trick that so impressed the grasshopper, not to mention the lixes, the numericals, and even the named portion of the city’s population. Everyone stopped to take in the spectacle. Having bought a long rope at the store and tied one end around his waist, the boy tied the other to Valia, who was astride her lizard, and activated his Talarii to fly up to an altitude of twenty meters. The wind immediately caught him, the rope tightened, and he was held in one spot not far from his betrothed. Happily, the wind wasn’t strong enough to pull Valia out of her saddle. Tailyn paused and flashed a thumbs-up—he felt great.
The lizard had no problem with the arrangement and dashed off. Tailyn flew along behind it, overjoyed that his plan was working, only to find himself cursing the Gray Lands just half an hour later. At least, he was cursing how uneven they were. The young sky-walker had set an altitude of twenty meters, and his Talarii did exactly what they were supposed to do, reacting to every little gully and stone. The jolting was unbearable. Finally, after spending a while bouncing along behind the lizard on straight legs, he adjusted to keep his insides from turning into jelly. The boy bent his knees and used them to cushion the impact of the ground below. That helped.
Three hours later, the city that had become the destroyer’s last resting place flashed by. The lizard was going at full speed, its mouth lolling open and its rough tongue flapping in the breeze. To its great delight, Valia was giving it all the rein it could handle. More familiar locations swept past—the last time they’d been there, they’d been fighting lervans. The sun was just about touching the horizon when Valia stopped the lizard at the foot of the mountain and turned it into a belt, though Tailyn’s momentum drove him forward until he crashed into the rocks. While Raptor cushioned the impact, the boy wasn’t happy with himself—he’d realized too late what was going on. After letting himself down, he took a few steps before collapsing onto the ground with a groan, his body having turned into a wad of hardened rubber. Regeneration and resilience had done their best, but the boy felt like a guard had chewed him up and spit him back out after deciding not to subject him to the tender mercies of its stomach.
“We have to hurry—the passageway is about to open,” Valia said, after which she came over to Tailyn and pulled him to his feet. The girl’s face shone. Just a couple years before, she wouldn’t have dreamed she could carry someone so heavy and drag him a few dozen meters, especially after she was reset. Tailyn tried to protest, but the rough road had beaten all the strength out of him.
There was an unpleasant sound of rocks grinding together just as the sun set to trigger the ancient magic. A stone slab slid upward to reveal the twenty-kilometer passageway, and Valia just about whispered her boo to attack the opponent she was expecting. But nobody popped out. If Berad and his bandits were still there, they were most likely closer to the mysterious door in the middle.
The trip through the mountains had to be postponed to give Tailyn’s regeneration the thirty minutes it needed. By the time the pair got to the door, it was late that night, though that wasn’t a problem for the scanners—they drew a complete picture of the corridor that included every bump and uneven spot the pair came across as they ran. But there were no crystal fences to be seen. From what it seemed like, Berad had realized the mages wouldn’t let the location go without someone to keep an eye on it. Breaking through the panel hadn’t worked, and so he’d simply pulled his troops out. The door had been too much for him.
Tailyn had long dreamed of the moment he’d once more come face to face with the ancients’ secret passageway. In his imaginings, he’d already hacked it and found himself the owner of an absurdly powerful weapon, perhaps even dragon’s blood, that made him the most powerful creature on the planet. And he hadn’t even had to get Isr Kale’s journal—the door was exactly the kind of place Lavr Nalin, the ancient warrior, might have hidden the container full of the valuable resource. Obviously, the god would immediately grab it, but Tailyn was definitely going to be well rewarded.
Barely able to hide his excitement, the boy placed a palm on the control panel and activated device control. An unwelcome message popped up in front of him:
Your Hacking level: 48.
Probability of successful hack: 0%.
The door’s protection was so powerful that even the 10% bonus from Raptor meant nothing. It hadn’t even registered. Meanwhile, one look at her betrothed’s drooping shoulders told Valia more than he ever could have, though she hadn’t really been anticipating anything but that particular outcome. The magic card dean was an intelligent character. Regardless of the fact that he worked at the academy, he presumably could have come to an agreement with someone from Crobar who had hacking—unlocking a secret like that was far more important than the enmity between the two schools. And when that plan didn’t work, he was forced to resort to mages entering passwords. Hacking had failed. While she hadn’t been about to
say it out loud, Valia had been sure Tailyn would have the same happen, though he did make a habit of surprising her.
Not that time, however.
The rest of the time, the children ran through the tunnel in complete darkness, only thinking to each other every once in a while. Neither was in the mood to talk. Both were aware that the coordinates mission was impossible—the provost wasn’t going to let them within a crossbow’s shot of Isr Kale’s journal, and they didn’t have any other way to decode the message. At least, unless they were able to set up a personal meeting with Mark Derwin.
It was just before dawn when Tailyn and Valia got to the tunnel exit. The stone slab had already started dropping to block off the passageway when two shadows slipped beneath it, the damp air immediately hitting them. A monster howled wildly off in the distance. With the arrival of the sun, the night monsters were unwilling giving way to their daytime counterparts, the latter every bit their equal in strength and power. Peeking out from behind the rocks, Tailyn noticed the thick carpet the experiment Griala’s sprouts formed. The green growths were soaking in the sunlight, feeding their master and prepared at any moment to grab hold of anyone attracted to their pleasant green color. Lightning flashed, too—clomping loudly and paying no attention to anything, the rhinoceros, Experiment 118, was up and about. And while the worm wasn’t visible from his vantage point, Tailyn was sure it had also awoken and pulled itself up from the depths of the swamp to get its fill of sunlight.
Isr Kale's Journal (The Alchemist Book #4): LitRPG Series Page 16
