…
Lot No. 3. Farming creatures from the Abyss (Levels 35+). Guaranteed drop of unique alchemical ingredients + unique (smoky) chitin for making armor. Exclusive: coordinates of the portal + active respawn point. Starting price is 25,000 gold.
…
Sasha didn’t just surprise me. I was in shock. A hundred thousand gold instead of fifteen thousand? Everything was set out clearly and attractively. I certainly didn’t possess such a talent and hadn’t noticed or appreciated the potential of the discovered areas...
“Sasha, even 100,000 won’t be enough.”
“This is only the starting price. Not many people have gone beyond the foothills of the Dark Frontier, which means our offers are very ‘tasty’. The clans will fight over them and drive up the price. Leave it to the pros at the auction. They don’t charge their percentage for nothing.”
“Got it. I’ll post them now. One question, though. I have an open quest related to the Ifrit. I’ve told you about it.”
“Yes, I remember. But where does it say you need to personally destroy the creature? It says, ‘find a way to banish the Ifrit’. It doesn’t matter who gets rid of it, the quest will still count for you.”
* * *
I placed the lots, and Sasha and I sat in the tavern for a bit longer since he was in no hurry to leave.
“Why didn’t the Mongooses help you and why won’t they answer me?”
“They’re in crisis right now. The idea of concentrating their forces in the real world turned out to be dumb and dangerous. Can you imagine what’s happening in the Clan’s other regional centers right now? They’re frantically changing locations, and people are dispersing so as not to repeat the tragedy at Mainstream.”
“So, they just abandoned you? What does it all mean? Why are virtual wars spilling out into the real world?”
“I can’t explain it. I don’t know where this sudden outburst of cruelty came from and why the problems are being projected onto the real world.”
“Fine. Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out in time. Speaking of the real world. Do you remember Jeber_Arium?”
“Of course.”
“I managed to bring the guy back to his senses and he started communicating again. We’re in a party now. We escaped from the Dark Frontier together. There is a problem, however. He remembers almost nothing about his past life and can’t even tell me where he lives. His VR capsule is preventing him from logging out for ‘medical reasons’.”
“We need to get Jeb out.” Sasha perked up.
“That’s what I’m saying... but how? I can’t even call the emergency services since I don’t know where he’s based. He could be on the other side of the globe.”
Lourier pondered the problem, then dug around in his inventory and gave me a tiny pin.
“Pin this to his clothes.”
“What for?”
“I’ll be able to track his communication channel.”
“Back to the VR capsule?”
“If Jeb isn’t heavily encrypted, then yes.”
“He won’t get banned? This must be illegal.”
“It’s an admin thing. I’ll be quick so there’ll be no ban. You’ll then return the pin to me. I have nothing to do right now anyway, while the regeneration is taking place. I’ll try to find out who he is, where he’s from and how we can help him.”
“Great. Thank you. We really need to rescue the guy.”
“If he has the latest VR capsule model, you don’t need to worry too much about him. It has a rehabilitation exit system. I’ll try to find out everything.”
“Right. I will go out into my personal space from time to time. But you shouldn’t risk it.”
“You mean, I shouldn’t log into the Edge of the Abyss? I’ll go mad with boredom.”
“Read something. It helps. The world is more than just virtual reality.”
“Fine,” Sasha sighed. “But don’t you disappear, either. Keep me posted on how the lots are going, okay?”
“Agreed.”
“And another thing,” he hesitated for a moment. “I don’t want to return to the Mongooses.”
“I understand.”
“Will you take me?”
“Into my group? Of course, I’d be happy to.”
He cheered up visibly.
We shook hands and a few seconds later, Alexander_Lourier vanished into thin air.
Chapter Sixteen
I RETURNED to the tavern close to noon.
Jeb was still sleeping. Poor bastard. I had read on the forums and in guides that sleep was vital for a person fully immersed in virtual reality. Our brain couldn’t work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in a state of constant wakefulness. This led to irreversible and harmful consequences.
While he had been surviving in the dungeon, Jeber_Arium could only sleep in snatches, so I decided not to disturb him.
Weasel had found something to occupy him by sitting on the windowsill and watching the passers-by. What a quirky, nimble and quick-witted little animal. A great example of how artificial neural networks, which formed the basis of NPCs in the virtual world, could begin to sporadically develop.
I pinned the tracker to Jeb’s clothing and wrote him a note, asking him not to leave the inn before I get back. The coins that we had found below Noogard and in the basement of the Miner’s Hut would be enough to live comfortably for several days.
The Secret of Forest Hill kept gnawing at me. I was planning to go there and start digging. I thought I’d be done by evening.
I went down to the main hall, briefly spoke to the innkeeper, paid for another day of accommodation and asked him to feed my companion when he awoke.
Now, into the woods!
I hadn’t even realized how intensely I was interested in the first quest that I had received in the Edge of the Abyss.
I passed through the town gates, used the map to find my old route and turned decisively into the forest. I was no longer afraid of meeting an adult bear since we were now on equal levels. I’d seen worse mobs since we had last met.
I was in an excellent mood. Sasha’s a champ. That’s what it means when a person known the virtual world well. To figure out what to do so quickly!
I didn’t end up meeting the bear. Maybe someone had dispatched it?
I cut through the brambles, following an animal track the meandered through the prickly bushes. Low-level mobs were studiously avoiding me. It was all part of the gameplay. While you were weak, even trying to catch a hare was a whole battle. As soon as you leveled up a bit, obtaining a piece of meat and a pelt suitable for clothing wasn’t so simple either. You’d have to work up a sweat, chasing the prey. Nothing was easy here.
Ah, I was back in familiar territory. Nothing had changed below the wooded hill. The dead tree immediately caught my eye. I wondered where I had crossed the border of the instance, without even noticing that I was entering a personally generated location.
Roughly hewn stones jutted out from the ground. Yellow bones lay in the grass nearby, covered with scraps of decaying clothing. This was where I had found the Guardian’s Amulet and the Soul Crystal.
Had it really only been a week?
I squatted down and examined the remains. A light breeze ruffled my hair. Judging by the shreds of clothing, a mage had died here. I didn’t notice any weapons or armor but found a decomposing bag and a fragment of a wooden staff.
All right, let’s see... I used my dagger to carefully peel away the scraps of old fabric. The contents of the canvas bag had been heavily damaged by rain, insects and a brown mold. A waterlogged book, a pouch with five silver coins and two vials containing a reddish liquid. Not much, really. I read the description,
Minor regeneration potion. Restores 3 HP/sec, counteracts the negative effects of poisoning and bleeding.
…
This would come in useful. The vials shifted into my inventory.
Now the book. I gently turned the soaked pages but couldn’t
make out a word. Most of the text and drawings had blurred and were damaged beyond repair. The ink must have been of poor quality and unable to withstand moisture.
I managed to find a couple of well-preserved pages in the middle of the tome. One page depicted a battle scene, done in the manner of a child’s sketch. Many figures armed with something like short rods that emitted multicolored energy sparks. I hadn’t come across magic like this before.
There was a clear difference between the warring sides, which even the clumsy artist had managed to emphasize. Some were wearing Guardian Amulets while the others were enveloped in a gray aura.
Perhaps the text on the second page would explain what was going on?
I squinted at the blurred lines. The handwriting was hard to read. The book seemed similar to my field diary.
Gradually, by deciphering the remaining sentences, I discovered that the remains belonged to an NPC, who had survived the invasion of the Abyss.
He had never been the mysterious Guardian. He must have taken the crystal and amulet from a dead body.
There was a curious note. Some of the words could not be read but I understood the meaning.
‘...dying from wounds... gave him tisanes... he awoke... told me about the forest hill... gave me the key and amulet, asked me to go there...
Died...
There must be treasures hidden there... rich and move to town... My abilities should be enough... I will rob the treasury and then throw away the amulet and key...’
The following picture formed in my head: there had been a battle between the Guardians and the equally mysterious (to me, at least) Shadows during the invasion of the Abyss. It appeared that the Guardians had lost. A local resident, probably a novice magician, found one of the wounded Guardians and tried to heal him, but unsuccessfully. The Guardian told him about the treasures hidden in the depths of the forest hill.
So, the Soul Crystal is a key. The entrance must be somewhere nearby. I had no idea what could be hidden inside.
…
The Secret of Forest Hill quest has been updated. You found out who the unknown prospector was.
Find the entrance to the treasury and try to use the Soul Crystal as a key.
…
Fine. I would start with the roughly hewn stones sunk into the ground. They had to be removed. What alarmed me was that the mage, who had gone in search of the treasure, hadn’t succeeded with such a simple task.
Who killed him?
It obviously wasn’t a person or they would have taken the money, amulet and crystal.
As I stood there thinking, the remains of the unfortunate prospector suddenly grew hazy and disappeared.
There was nobody around, the sun beating down on my head. An unnatural silence hung over the area.
Seeing no obvious signs of danger, I turned back to the stones and began to remove the turf, surprised to find an unusual type of soil underneath. It consisted of black grains with an abundance of solid glass pellets and small metal fragments. A very strange kind of soil for a wooded hill!
The soil was loose and easy to shift. I dug into it with my dagger and moved it out of the way with my hands. There were frequent lumps of rust, among which I suddenly spotted a flash of silver.
…
A tiny and shapeless mithril ingot. It must have been part of a weapon but is now only good for selling due to its value as ‘true silver’.
…
It looked like the site of a grand battle and maybe some serious magic had been used?
Considering the softness of the soil, I expected to finish quite quickly. I thought to loosen the stones so that they would roll down the slope on their own, but soon the obsidian-colored sandy loam[9] ended and firmly packed slag lay beneath. My dagger was no match for it, I needed a more serious implement.
After resting a little and having a drink of water, I returned to the dried-up tree, found a suitable bough and broke it off. My high Strength allowed me to do it without using an axe.
I sat down in the shade and used a knife to carve out a rough handle, to which I attached the rusty pickaxe that I had found near the mage.
Why hadn’t he used elemental forces rather than digging manually?
* * *
After about an hour, I managed to topple and roll away all the stones protruding from the slope. I was left with an elongated, asymmetrical excavation site. I tried to dig deeper but the pickaxe only produced sparks as it bounced off the hard surface.
I sat down on the pile of dug-up soil and wiped the sweat off my brow.
The new obstacle looked like pavement. The closely fitted blocks formed a surface that ran deep into the hill but didn’t match the angle of the slope.
Perhaps it was time for me to use my head rather than my hands? I could dig and break up the stone for the rest of eternity. What was hidden below? How did this elevation form, anyway?
The quest, which had seemed simple at first glance, was becoming more and more interesting and difficult.
Also, my Life bar had dropped slightly. Just a little, by a couple of percent, but in recent days I had learned to pay attention to such ‘small things’.
I expanded my system messages window.
…
You have been working at maximum endurance for a whole hour.
You have dug up two cubic meters of soil.
New skill available: Miner. Effect: +1 to Strength, +5% to Stamina (when using the skill). Level 1 of the skill enables you to identify the most common minerals and ores.
…
You are exhausted. Negative effect: Strength is reduced by 1 point. Regeneration slowed down by 5%. You will lose 1 HP every 10 seconds until you rest and regain your strength.
…
Ain’t I delicate...
My fingers were bleeding from the scratches on them and blisters had appeared on my palms. I didn’t really have time to sit around since evening was fast approaching. I could remove the debuffs another way. I drank one of the regeneration potions that I had found and waited for my cuts to heal, then started climbing to the top of the hill.
I wanted to study my surroundings before it got dark. Perhaps the overall picture would help me to understand what was hidden beneath the mysterious mound?
The slope turned out to be treacherous. It was strewn with shallow ravines formed by rainwater. I couldn’t hear any beasts or birds, the oppressive silence continuing to hang over the area. I often came across the shoots of young trees that had found shelter in the terraces, of which there were many. I couldn’t help but think of an architectural structure, covered in ash and slag, which had turned into a hill...
The sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon when I finally reached the flat top.
Impressively large granite fragments lay scattered around. I examined the mossy surfaces and realized that they were pieces of enormous statues. They had once formed a square but were now broken and meaningless... except one figure.
A strange creature clad in armor stood on a massive pedestal. It reminded me of a lizard, vaguely similar to a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with a huge elongated head, its torso leaning forward, the front limbs short and similar to human arms, while the rear ones looked very powerful. To my surprise, the tail was long but thin and covered in spikes. It looked more like a natural weapon than an extra support point.
The creature held a staff in one hand and a huge sword in the other, which made the human great swords look rather modest in comparison.
The presence of a sword and staff, as far as I understood, was the symbol of a multiclass character.
What a death machine! I wouldn’t want to run into such a thing. Not at my current level, at least.
Someone had scratched a crooked inscription on the pedestal,
Watch the sun. Think.
I squinted and looked west. The fiery drop reaching for the horizon looked like a ball of primitive chaos, flooding the surroundings with crimson and making all the objects cast long shadows.
&n
bsp; I had no idea what the inscription on the pedestal meant but it confirmed my suspicion that the hill was actually a formidable artificial structure. Too tall and compact for a town, too small for a castle. It was most likely a single building with a terraced architecture forming five tiers. It used to be surrounded by squares, with roads leading to it, but now the base of the hill was densely overgrown with grass and shrubs, as well as the occasional tree.
Edge of the Abyss (Respawn Trials Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 25
