What could it mean? I had no idea. I’d try to find some information about the Soul Crystal later but now I had to hurry!
* * *
It was after midday when I reached the forest glade with the marker.
I smelled smoke from a fire and picked up my pace, but then stopped when I heard the voices.
“A hundred gold. Hand them over and we’ll go our separate ways. You’ll wake up in respawn.”
There was a sickening moan in response.
“Hey, Wang, heal her up a bit or she’ll kick the bucket before long.”
I carefully made my way through the bushes framing the clearing, crawled to the top of a small rise and peeked through a gap in the tree branches.
“Assholes! Let the girl go!” came a voice from a deep hole.
There was a camp set up in the clearing. I stared at the roughly assembled cages. A wounded wolf sat in one of them and a girl about five years old huddled at the bottom of the other: frightened, in rags and with a tear-streaked face.
The three players looked quite average, except that their avatars emanated a strange, misty aura.
“Worry about yourself instead,” snapped back Impatient_Wang, Dark Mage, Level 30. He was easily distinguished from the others with his long staff and draping garments. He approached the edge of the hole and cast a spell. The red light of the special effect briefly illuminated the unsightly details. I managed to spot the same female elf that had I met this morning. She had landed in a trap and was caught on the sharpened spears at the bottom. The elf’s Life bar was almost empty but the mage’s intervention had extended her suffering. The healing spell made her HP jump to the middle of the bar and change to a yellow color.
“What the hell do you want with this NPC?” asked Savage_Hulk, Dark Assassin, Level 30, as he also approached the edge of the hole. He seemed to be in charge. “Did you accept a quest from the village elder to free her?”
“Have a heart, filth!” the elven woman wheezed out. “She’s but a child.”
“Yup,” Savage gave her a crooked smile. “She’s a piece of code wrapped in a soppy avatar. It’s only a game, or have you forgotten that? You’ve got your quests and we’ve got ours. You want to free the girl? Not a problem. Another hundred gold and she’s yours.”
“I don’t have that many...” the elven woman moaned in pain again.
The third PKer (the usual name for player killers) sat off to the side, beside the fire. Fierce_Zarek. Dark Warrior, Level 31.
Is this how Denis earned his money? Nobody would trade with criminals and the town guard wouldn’t let them near the town, but this didn’t seem to be much of a problem. My inventory was full of parcels of food, vials and parchment, everything that they needed, delivered straight to their forest camp.
“Alright, have a think, maybe it’ll make you more talkative,” Savage_Hulk lost interest in the female elf and returned to the fire.
“Dan’s running late today,” noted the Dark Warrior. “He’s still got to take the loot back to town.”
Indeed, there was armor, weapons and chunks of some kind of ore laid out not far from the cages.
“You’re going to get banned, scumbags,” groaned the elf.
“Nope,” Savage replied lazily, “Nobody’s going to touch us. Even if you write to support, we’ll show them our logs. You fell into that hole by yourself. Wang here was healing you, trying to save your life. What’s the problem? There’s no torture. Plus, we’ve got Dark auras, remember?”
I didn’t understand a lot from their dialog. My body was suddenly flooded with uncontrollable rage. I thought that I’d gotten rid of such feelings long ago and had regained my self-control, leaving the past in the past... but a crimson mist descended over my mind.
The trembling quickly reached my scalp and made the skin there feel too tight for my skull. My fingers clenched the shaft of my makeshift spear.
…
You cannot attack other players while you are under the Aura of Immunity. Reach Level 11 to unblock the PvP option.
…
The message didn’t reassure me in the slightest. My heart felt like it was ready to jump out of my chest. I couldn’t think straight.
‘Breathe in...out... In... out... Think... It’s easy enough to die a pointless death... You’re alone, unprepared, practically weaponless...’ Snatches of thought flashed through my mind. ‘Look in the inventory. What did you bring for these jerks?’
I could feel my blood singing in my veins, my heartbeat thumping in my ears.
The scrolls wouldn’t help. I didn’t know how to use them. What about the vials?
I noticed that the crystal I had found had begun to glow again. The orange flame with the black border leaped and flickered inside.
The letters on the labels grew blurry. I read the names with difficulty. This one would do. And this one.
Now, I had to get a grip on myself and pretend that nothing was happening. I was still trembling. The adrenalin couldn’t find a way out.
I crawled backwards, stood up, brushed my clothes off and walked through the shrubs, no longer trying to hide. As I walked past the pitfall, I surreptitiously dropped two large healing potions, a levitation potion and a couple of vials of poison into it. There was no time to read what kind of poison it was.
“Dan, where the hell have you been? You’re late!” Savage reproached me.
The elven woman understood everything and immediately sent me a private message.
Thanks. I’ll deal with them. If you want to help, free the girl. Grab her and run. There’s a path beyond the fire that turns to the right. Follow it. The village elder will protect you. I’ve dropped a marker.
“You’ve got a bear around here!” I snapped back. “Level 30, at least! It almost tore me to shreds!”
Savage spat to the side scornfully.
“Fine, drop off your stuff, take the loot and run back. You need to deliver the goods to the trader before evening.”
“Yep.” I gave him the parcels of food, parchment and vials, then, barely holding myself back from punching Savage in the face, approached the stolen goods. I spotted a morning star among the weapons. Quashing the rage inside me, I focused my gaze with difficulty and read the object’s properties. It was the perfect level for me...
“What are you lagging for?” the Dark Warrior was watching me closely.
“Yeah, coming. What an interesting object,” I picked up the weapon and pretended to examine it.
A suspicious noise came from the pitfall.
“Wang, go and take a look!” Savage ordered at once.
“She’s trying to escape!” Yelled the mage.
Using the moment when they were all distracted, I smashed the morning star into the cobbled-together cages. The wood splintered into pieces. The girl turned out to be a bright one and ran towards me.
…
You have completed the first part of a secret quest, Rural Days.
You have gained 500 Exp.
You have reached a new level.
Attention, now that you have reached Level 11, you have lost the Aura of Immunity. PvP mode unblocked.
The Rural Days quest has been updated. Take the girl to the village.
…
I picked up the girl. Now I had to get out of here!
The freed wolf shot past me like a gray shadow. Wang gave a full-throated scream as the animal sunk its teeth into his ankle, disrupting the casting.
The levitation glow died down in a shower of special effects. I could hear shouts and the clash of weapons behind me but I didn’t look back. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, past the fire and to the right, onto a path that led steeply down the slope.
I wasn’t being followed yet but I doubted that the elf would last long alone against three opponents. The girl clung to me, sobbing.
Chapter Two
THERE WAS a logging area immediately beyond the hill, then the path took me to the forest edge and joined a dusty country road.
> My strength was ebbing away rapidly. My Stamina was almost at zero. I had to watch the green bar constantly, switching to a fast walk to let it regenerate a little.
“I see him!”
The shout sounded dangerously close so I started running again. The road dipped into a narrow valley between the hills. It was damp and muddy, with horse tracks visible.
My chest was hurting. I was out of breath and wouldn’t last much longer.
…
You ran for three kilometers without stopping. The Field Athlete skill is available. Would you like to select it?
…
There’s no time... I’ll sort it out later... The road went uphill again while my pursuers drew closer and closer. With a low-pitched buzz, a fireball shot past me and set the grass alight.
The mage was going to aim better next time. I zig-zagged instinctively. There was a splash of flame and clouds of smoke and steam. You missed me, jerk!
Where was the village?!
There! Another three hundred meters... I wasn’t sure that I was going to reach the palisade that the peaceful farmers had built around their village. Only one thing cheered me up — the gates had watchtowers and I’d been spotted.
Would they help? As if in response, there came a shout, “Bandits! Bandits! Sound the alarm!”
Arrows whistled over my head, dampening my pursuers’ fervor. The local farmers weren’t so helpless after all!
The gates trembled and began to open. Men ran out to meet me. They were armed with all sorts of things: plows, axes and pitchforks, but there were many of them! Their frames were yellow, meaning that they were neutral towards me. Their levels were 30 and higher.
Staggering a little, I slowed down to a walk.
There was the village elder. Short, silver hair, walking with a limp. “Granddaughter!”
…
The second part of the quest Rural Days has been completed.
You have gained 500 Exp.
…
That’s it... I couldn’t go any further.
I fell to my knees. The girl was no longer crying, she slipped out of my arms and raced towards her grandfather. I fell on my side.
…
Emergency exit from virtual reality is recommended with a reduction in the realism level and feedback calibration.
Call an ambulance?
…
With a flick of my pupils, I canceled the recommended actions. I wasn’t finished here yet. I wanted to see these bastards getting pitchforked!
But no. Savage and his gang decided not to get into a fight with a crowd of villagers. The mage set alight a wheat field with his fireballs and the Dark players retreated to the forest using the fire as a cover.
The elder approached me. His frame was now green.
“Thank you, stranger. You have saved my granddaughter!”
The message icon blinked. I opened it. It was a note from Savage:
You’re dead. Don’t think that you can hide out in the village.
I dropped the three into the KOS list[1]. Now the system would automatically warn me if they were to appear nearby.
The envelope symbol appeared again. The message was from the elf this time,
They killed me. Respawn in 20 minutes. How are you?
…
I’m in the village. I got the points for your task. I went up a level.
…
Dan, I can hardly recognize you, but thanks anyway.
A word of advice — kill yourself a couple of times. Or write to support and say that you went up a level by accident. Maybe they’ll restore your Aura of Immunity.
…
I’m not going to do that.
…
I caught my breath a bit. The men were putting out the fire, the village elder helped me to my feet and critically inspected my clothes, which were now in tatters.
“This won’t do. Come, I have some old leather armor. It will fit you perfectly. I haven’t seen you around these parts before. What is your name?”
“Dan.”
“They call me Craig.” Said the old man and his frame immediately displayed his name.
We entered the gates. It was a small village, only about twenty houses.
“What are you defending yourself from?” I indicated the palisade.
“These are dark times,” complained the elder. “Sometimes it’s bandits and sometimes it’s wild animals.”
“What kind of animals? Bears? I met one today.”
“If only. We hunt those with bear spears. Werewolves have appeared in the woods again,” he sighed heavily. “We haven’t suffered any for ages. They must have returned to their old den. Maybe you will vanquish them? I have an infusion of a rare root, from days long gone. I have never tried it myself but my father told me that if you drink the potion, the beasts will think you are one of them and won’t attack. It doesn’t last long, however.”
“Where is their den?”
“There’s an old cave in the forest. I can show you from afar, if you like, or note it on the map. Will you kill them for me?”
“I’ll try.”
…
You have received a new quest: Rural Days. Monsters’ Lair.
Figure out how to deal with the werewolves.
Reward: 1,000 Exp.
* * *
I didn’t spend long in the village. As soon as I received a set of old leather armor from the village elder, the surrounding world went crimson.
There was no time to realize what was happening or even get scared. I was suddenly enveloped by darkness with a message coming through it: Emergency exit, then I heard a hissing sound and a dull light flooded the capsule.
I lay on the bed, my breathing irregular. The bed of the VR capsule had again become a smooth and rigid surface. A signal was nervously beeping at the head of the bed.
To my surprise, the interface was still there. I could still see the semitransparent icons and a message window.
…
Metabolic correction completed.
Warning, access to the VR capsule has been blocked for 8 hours until the medicines finish acting.
…
In accordance with the User Agreement (item 234.1), you have been implanted with a standard interface module. Data is displayed via contact lenses.
…
I reflexively touched my right temple, where I had felt a strong burning sensation when the game was loading. That’s right. I could feel a small swelling beneath the skin, like a tiny ball had been inserted there. I didn’t feel the contact lenses but I could still see the icons, although they had grown duller.
I lay there and listened to my body. It ached as if all my adventures in the virtual world had taken place for real. Was it the feedback? My muscles received nerve impulses and tensed according to those 25% of realism?
I was starving. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so hungry! How long had I spent in the game?
A message instantly appeared.
You have played for 6 hours and 39 minutes.
It is now 12:24 pm. The outside temperature is 12 ºC, the forecast is cloudy with some drizzle.
I was shown the menu of the nearest cafe offering home delivery, then I was told that I hadn’t logged into my social network accounts since I had registered, invited to use the latest search system, shown the currency rates...
Close!
I wasn’t against progress but this was too much. The last thing I needed was to start getting news from all over the planet! I didn’t bother configuring the unexpectedly obtained interface right away but simply switched off the information input.
…
Emergency service notifications and biomonitoring data cannot be switched off.
…
Fine. I minimized the window and clambered out of the virtual capsule. Wash my face, eat and sleep... I had no other desires.
The range of icons before my gaze immediately changed. Now I could see the controls for the smart house. How c
onvenient! I held my gaze on the image of the shower and a wall panel slid aside, exposing the entrance to the hygiene module. I focused on the funny icon for ‘rest’ and a section of the wall began moving, with a made-up bed descending from the alcove. Perhaps people were mistaken in their fear of neurotechnology?
Edge of the Abyss (Respawn Trials Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 3
