But what he didn’t know was that a timer was counting down in front of the unconscious prisoners, just three hours left until their bodies were completely free of the foreign poison. Their low regeneration values were definitely holding them back—it would have been easier to regrow an arm than clear out the nasty substance coursing through their veins...
“What brings such a young man here?” Madame Lazul asked politely as she smiled at Tailyn. Rather, at Lutar Shars, a twelve-year-old boy, given that Tailyn hadn’t changed his disguise. Imperial law said nothing about children visiting public houses. They were pointless places for them to go to given the god’s careful handling of minors—the underwear generated by the System for everyone under the age of eighteen protected them from untoward thoughts. In fact, the underwear was generated for both minors and anyone around them who undressed, which was the reason there was no problem with children going to public houses. The god wasn’t going to let sweet moans reach the ears of children. It was the perfect protection.
“I’d like to see some beautiful dances,” Tailyn said as he pulled out three gold coins. That was the entrance fee. The madame eyed the academy student—there wasn’t a problem with the dances. If the undersized boy wanted to watch grown women dance and was prepared to spend his earnings on the sight, that was his business. It wasn’t even unusual for the capital since lots of academy students and even military cadets stopped by to watch the dances. Still, rules were rules, and the madame held out a hand.
“Fifty gold. We take payment in advance.”
Tailyn counted out the sum and headed off after the woman. The mysterious dances happened in a separate and dimly lit room where the boy settled into a luxurious chair, stared at the vertical pole jutting out of the stage, and wondered what it was there for. Dancing around it was going to be very inconvenient. But a few minutes later, the boy’s jaw dropped. He even forgot why he was there as the acrobatic girl pulled off such elaborate moves on the pole itself that a bright and previously unknown flame was lit in his chest. As his head spun, his breathing quickened, and everything in him wanted to jump and shout for joy. Valia was a better, more beautiful dancer, but she didn’t have that animalistic element that awakened the hidden strength in him. But there... Tailyn had never dreamed that ordinary moves by what wasn’t a particularly attractive woman could arrest his attention so thoroughly. Apparently, that didn’t just happen with the real Tailyn—the one in the virtual mountains was excited, too.
Are you okay? Valia’s projection asked nervously, her question shaking Tailyn out of his trance. Raptor had long since scanned the area to show that Ronan was two rooms away. With his guards outside, there were three more red dots situated around Ronan’s, all girls aged twenty to twenty-two.
Stepping into the store brought Tailyn the rest of the way back to his senses. There was going to be no more killing—it wasn’t the girl’s fault he wasn’t there for her.
Shocker-II. Description: a paralyzing device that immobilizes the target for 10 minutes. Ignores level 1 armor.
The boy didn’t need anything more than that. After parting with fifteen hundred coins, Tailyn pointed the device at the girl and pressed the button regretfully. The dance had once again begun to grab his attention, and it took an effort to interrupt it, dropping the unarmored girl to the ground. Out came the rope. The boy had no idea how much time he was going to need, and he couldn’t risk anything less than the half hour the dance was supposed to last. When Tailyn had walked into the public house, he’d noticed an oversized warrior at level twenty-three presumably responsible for security. He was the perfect target for a new disguise. The boy didn’t have mimicry, but nobody was going to be checking behind his face mask anyway, and so he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway once he’d made sure the girl was secured and breathing.
Raptor led its owner right to his target. Ronan’s guards eyed the approaching fighter warily, though neither of them made any sudden moves. Although, one of them did put a feeler out that told Tailyn exactly where he’d studied. Crobar.
Mehar Ehars tried to hack you.
Mehar Ehars’s Hacking level: 66.
Your protection level: 84.
Hack failed. Initiating protocol Counterfeit.
Mehar Ehars gained access to fictitious logs, armor, and inventory.
Nobody had ever tried to hack Tailyn while he was using concealment, so he didn’t know the sleight of hand happened in the virtual world, as well. His opponents were serious characters—at that hacking level, Ronan’s guard could easily root through the inventories of the people around him, pulling out the most intriguing contents for his master.
For some reason, Tailyn’s resolution not to kill anyone else disappeared. He’d been planning on just blocking the guards and stepping quietly inside, but that plan changed when he realized he couldn’t leave enemies like that alive. The viceroy would be out for vengeance. Mean Truk’s residents didn’t have sufficient protection, which meant they wouldn’t have a shot if that pair showed up.
Attempting to hack Mehar Ehars.
Your Hacking level: 129.
Mehar Ehars’s protection level: 105.
Probability of successful hack: 34%.
Attempt 1... Successful.
That was followed by a quick block.
Mehar turned into a statue, and the panicking boy activated Valkyrie. It wasn’t every day he came up against someone whose protection and hacking were both at sixty-five, and the guard’s forty points of level four armor combined with his protection to turn him into a monster. Really, Tailyn had gotten incredibly lucky to hack him on the first try. If a fight had broken out, it was far from certain that he would have won. Judging by the description, Mehar had a level thirteen named item hanging from his belt, and his partner presumably had the same. The viceroy had assigned to his son the best bodyguards he could find.
It took just a second for Tailyn to lift his arm and pull the trigger. The armor-piercing bolt shot towards its target, turning the second bodyguard’s head into a bloody mess. And while Tailyn knew he was making a mistake, the time factor left him with no other choice. Mehar was doing everything he could to regain control of his armor, and the description told the boy he would pull it off within three or four tries. The god had given him a 25% probability.
Valkyrie’s aim shifted slightly to send another bolt flying. Mehar wasn’t in time. After kicking in the door, Tailyn grabbed both bodies and ducked inside. Fun and games were over; time was running out. Ronan was lounging on a bed, girls dressed only in the System’s underwear writhing around him, though Tailyn didn’t take the time to figure out why Ronan needed them. With the god’s rules applying equally to everyone, the viceroy’s son included, he couldn’t use the beauties for what they were there for.
Everyone in the room froze as they stared at the bloodied bodies, the silence only broken when one of the girls began screaming hysterically. The others joined her to force a move from Tailyn. One by one, they dropped to the ground as the boy’s shocker got some more work in.
“What are you doing?! Do you know who my father is?!” Ronan tried to jump up, though the red ropes made that a challenge—he turned out to be tied to the bed. The ropes weren’t tight, though they were still enough to keep him in place.
Tailyn said nothing. On the one hand, he couldn’t block Ronan since the other boy was naked. On the other hand, he didn’t have a shred of protection.
Attempting to hack Ronan Diteon.
Your Hacking level: 129.
Ronan Diteon’s protection level: 83.
Probability of successful hack: 54%.
Attempt 3… Successful.
It took Tailyn ten seconds to beat through his target’s defenses. The first two attempts failed when they came up against Ronan’s incredible protection level, though it finally worked. And as soon as it did, Tailyn stripped the other boy of everything he had, bag included.
Loot received:
Gold +27433 (96295).
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Coins + 2440 (77707).
Active deck with 15 cards.
Vargot.
Matilda.
Named star (1).
Regeneration potion (2).
Mana regeneration elixir +100% (18).
Intercom-II.
Virtual inventory expansion with 80 slots.
The viceroy’s son had level five named items, which meant it would have taken level 150 hacking to destroy them. Apparently, his father hadn’t just handed his son equipment; he’d also given him a mountain of crystals and heroic achievements to make sure his named items leveled-up. That was the only way Tailyn could explain how Ronan had gotten his parameters as high as they were. Every one of his attributes was higher than eighty. On the other hand, Ronan’s inventory turned out to be surprisingly light—there were no valuables or unique items to be found. The only big win was the active deck and its two legendary cards: the familiar Lernean hydra and a diamond shield that threw up an absolute shield that protected the caster for two minutes without restricting their movement. It was a powerful card. If Ronan had had it in the arena, Tailyn would probably not have been able to defeat him.
“How many crystals did you eat?” Tailyn asked as he disengaged his disguise. For whatever reason, he wanted the other boy to know who he was up against. And indeed, Ronan paled when he saw the truth. All he could manage was a stunned whisper.
“You? But how?”
“You’re looking at me,” Tailyn replied as he activated the shocker once again. The boy didn’t think the ropes holding Ronan down looked sturdy enough, and Valanil always told him to avoid talking to the enemy until they no longer had a shot at freedom. That made them much more compliant and talkative. Tying up the innocent girls as well as Ronan, Tailyn cleared the bodyguards’ inventories and chuckled. The loot there was much better. Potions, daggers, poisons, antidotes, picklocks...the variety was impressive. Two bags with forty slots were earmarked for Valia while the rest was going to go to Motar—he would know how best to distribute it. But Tailyn did keep one set of his tools for himself, the description telling him they were for torture.
The boy wasn’t allowed to enjoy his loot, however. He was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Sir, is everything okay?”
Madame Lazul had shown up personally to find out why her girls had been screaming a few moments before, and Raptor showed the security guard right next to her. There were no other red dots. With that information in hand, Tailyn decided to block the guard and hit the madame with a shocker, the move taking mere seconds. Once again, out came the rope. Another cocoon, that one housing the owner of the establishment, plopped down next to the three girls. But the guard was sent off to his eternal rest—Tailyn couldn’t ignore a complete set of level four armor. Motar and his people needed protection.
“You won’t get away with this!” Ronan had regained consciousness. Unlike the rest, Tailyn hadn’t gagged him.
“The entire empire is after me as it is,” Tailyn replied, just shrugging as he sat down next to the other boy. “But you didn’t answer my question. How many crystals did you eat to get as advanced as you are?”
A notification popped up saying that Ronan was trying to hack him, only the System gave a zero percent chance of that happening successfully. Tailyn’s only response was to lay out his new kit on the bed and inspect the contents. The viceroy’s son paled.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Ronan said fearfully. “The god doesn’t tolerate torturing minors!”
“Look around you,” Tailyn replied with a nod at the dead guards. “Do you think that’s going to stop me? Besides, you’re already fifteen, so the god’s on my side. Here, at least. I need information, you’re the only one who can give it to me, and so you get to decide if you’re going to just tell me what I need to know or suffer before telling me what I need to know. There aren’t actually that many choices.”
“What do you need crystals for? The god prohibited their use!” Ronan was barely clinging to reason, the delicate situation driving him out of his mind. Only the ingrained habit of controlling the situation was keeping him from panicking. And then, there were the strange questions Tailyn was asking. Would the empire’s biggest enemy have come so far for that little?
“Well, it’ll be easy enough for you to answer in that case,” Tailyn replied insistently. The time he’d spent chatting with Bar-Truk was paying off. The red lix shaman always recommended starting off a torture session with simple questions to get the victim talking, after which it was difficult for them to stop.
“I didn’t count how many crystals I ate,” Ronan said, deciding Tailyn wouldn’t get anything out of the truth, anyway. “It’s a one-for-one gain through level seventy, and then the probability drops off. Through level seventy-five, it’s fifty percent, then just ten. I wasn’t able to go any further than eighty-three—the crystals were just wasted. Happy?”
“Almost,” Tailyn replied. He was chuckling on the inside, having found out that he wasn’t going to be able to run with the idea he’d had of turning into a god with nothing but crystals. Of course, over ten years he could still pick up enough to make himself practically invincible.
“Almost? I told you everything!”
“Not quite. You know, Ronan, there’s something I need to take care of at the academy, only I’m not able to get in for reasons I’m sure you’re aware of. But you can help me. You already pulled off a trick like that once, no?”
Tailyn himself was surprised by the way he was talking. It was unusual for him, though in that moment he was inspired, presumably something in the ancient books he’d read finding application. For his part, Ronan was so confused he even stopped shaking. Tailyn sighed before continuing.
“I need to know where and how to activate the portal you used to get a nameless into the academy. Is that clearer?”
Ronan was well and truly stunned. The nameless had guaranteed nobody would discover the portal, and the boy had sworn nobody would ever find out about it. They’d even somehow cleared his logs to preserve the secret. But there was Tailyn demanding he break his vow, and Ronan twitched. Neither pity nor fear could be seen in the twelve-year-old’s eyes. All they held was a firm determination to get what he needed.
“That’s impossible,” Ronan rattled. “If I tell you, the god will kill me! I can’t give you that information. I took an oath!”
“And it’s such a shame you’re going to have to break it.” Tailyn picked up the first tool. “Remember, I don’t know how to use this, though I’m not going to let you die. I’ll just keep healing you until you crack. One more time—where’s the portal?”
“Screw you!” was all Ronan had time to get out before his world exploded in pain. It burned. It was inhumane. On multiple occasions, Tailyn lost his lunch at the sight of what he was doing, but he wasn’t about to stop. It was him or Ronan. There was no other choice.
His hands shook. Sweat dripped off him. Twice, he had to pour Ronan’s own regeneration potions down his throat, having just about polished off the poor guy with his utter lack of expertise. Nobody came running at the sound of the screams—Madame Lazul had taught her underlings well. Still, Ronan refused to give in. His fear of the god outweighed the pain he was going through, not to mention his fear of dying at the hands of an enemy. After emptying his mana once again to heal his victim, Tailyn collapsed on the bed wearily. It was over. There was nothing he could do without Valanil, who still hadn’t changed the group name.
Suddenly, Madame Lazul moved to grab his attention. She motioned at the gag with her eyes as if telling the boy she had something to say. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt, Tailyn pulled it out.
“Water! Please, water, and then everything else.”
There was a pitcher on a side table. Once she’d taken a drink and coughed, the madame continued.
“Tailyn, he’s not going to tell you anything. He’s the viceroy’s son—it would be better for him to die than to break his oath. That’s what he was taught.”
“That’s what you wanted to tell me?” the boy replied irritably. “I’m already aware.”
“No!” she hurried. “He can’t say anything, but he can help you. From what I heard, the portal is activated from inside the academy. He can do that. With him helping you get in, you’ll guarantee his life, and you can both go your separate ways when you’re done. He’ll keep his secret. You’ll get what you want. And you’ll both walk away with your lives.”
Isr Kale's Journal (The Alchemist Book #4): LitRPG Series Page 23
