by Rick Scar
“I chose it from the start. Because of the perks. And then I got sent to a floor other than the first three. Sure, I ticked random placement, but that was too much. Okay, enough about that. We can discuss that later if you like.”
Her words were really disturbing. Hearing them, Will felt a click inside his head and a light buzzing sensation. “I’d like to. But I still don’t get it: what kind of help do you want?”
“I knew you’d take an interest in my bet. As far as I know, you’ve accepted an item like that as payment from your RD friends once before.”
“It was a smart move, I’ll admit. I don’t know what floor you’ve been playing on, but it’s hardly the same as mine. So, I’m going to ask you again, what do you want from me? How could I possibly help you? I’d love to have your stone arm if it doesn’t require too much work.” Will preferred not to let her see just how much he needed that arm.
“Oh yeah, I see.” Her mutilated Elven face, which had as many holes as a piece of Dutch cheese, showed an exaggerated—and probably false—acceptance of his explanation. “Everyone in Ascension knows you can do so much more than the pros can. I’ll show you what information I have about my curse, and you can tell me how to remove it.”
“Oh. I’m at a loss for words.” Will winced as he cocked his head to the side. “Okay. Let’s see what I can do, although, I can’t guarantee it’ll work. It’s like I already told one guy before, I’m not a miracle worker. How strong is it?”
“Look.”
Mystical Darkness wants to add you as a friend.
After accepting the invitation, Will received a screenshot.
Azi Dahaka’s Curse
Description: An invader is coming in pursuit of adventure. A heaven-born immortal, who is unaware that death is a privilege, and that a life spent in the bliss of carelessness can lead you into the jaws of paralyzing fear. Take my gift. With it, you will crave death, but you will find only endless pain.
There is no way to escape your punishment.
There is no way to escape pain.
There is no way to escape life.
You must live and suffer.
You have failed to clear the Corrupted Tomb of Three Nightmares.
Remember what was promised to you: “Clear it and receive a handsome reward; fail and you will be cursed”.
Curse effects:
1) You cannot die while this curse is in effect;
2) You get no XP while playing at a lower sensitivity level than that at which you were cursed;
3) No local will give you any quests out of a fear of becoming affected by your curse.
Curse duration: 3 weeks
“Uh-oh. That’s a really weird one. But… but if you can’t die, why don’t you go and kill some high-level mobs?”
“That’s not the full description. It also says I can’t use any spells or weapons.”
“Oh. Even…”
“Yeah. Even from scrolls, runes, stones, and other items. Its purpose must be to make you realize the cost of your mistake. I fucked that tomb up. That’s a fact. Next time I’ll need to be one hundred percent sure before I take another challenge like that. Or at least I’m supposed to.”
“Oh. Don’t you think it’s a bit too much?”
“As if I’ve got any choice. What do you say, Raven? As you can see, there’s no mention of a way to remove it. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but…”
“You understand your stone arm won’t help. Don’t you?”
“Are you telling me you know what will help?” Her doubt was understandable; she was probably surprised that he had agreed to help so soon, even though that’s what she had secretly hoped for. But she couldn’t turn her back on a chance like this. “Oh. I hope you do. What would you like in return?”
“First, your signature on this NDA.” Having learned from experience, Will always had it close to hand now.
“Oh. Seriously? Ahahaha.” Reading through the Penalties section, she laughed. “Now I’m really curious as to what kind of secret you have for it to be protected by a clause like that.”
“You’re the only one who’ll see it. So, if this information gets leaked…”
Obviously, this wasn’t true, but Raven still told everyone this to make sure they would keep his secret.
“Don’t worry. I’m not one to dig holes for others.” After sending her signed copy back to him, Mystical Darkness smiled a disgusting smile. She is the most obnoxious and sickening Elf I’ve ever met.
While he was telling her the same story he had recently told Mollie and Sky Maiden, Will gave her an honest warning that he had no idea how this would work out for a player. It was up to her to decide whether she was willing to take this risk. She could take some time to consider the possibility of losing her levels, stats, or something even more important.
Will was curious to see what would happen to a player if they used the Box of Wishes. What price would that wish-granting thing make them pay?
“Is that clear? If you think of making any other wish than the curse removal, you’d better remember how you were cursed in the first place. This game won’t let you have anything just because you’ve wished for it.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not an idiot. But I have to ask you one question: is there no other way to do it? This Box sounds really, really dangerous.”
“Are you asking me?”
“Er…”
“It’s totally up to you. I can’t give you any advice.”
Silence fell. Raven was perched on the edge of a half-destroyed stone foundation, looking around, enjoying the sight of the overgrown ruins of a large building that might once have been a castle, or a cathedral. Now it was ruled by wild vegetation, with small trees having planted their roots here and there. The set of stairs and broken, stained glass windows were engulfed in ivy. This place was full of wonderful, fantasy-world flowers. Drops of dew sparkled like diamonds in the sun rays, and a warm breeze was caressing the rogue’s face.
Will closed his eyes and enjoyed this peaceful ambience for five long minutes before the girl called out to him. “Fine. I agree. Let’s do it. I really, really want to join the tournament, but I can’t do it while I’m cursed. Even if I lose some levels, stats, or skills. I can easily get them back again on my floor.”
“Okay. But don’t forget, it can mess with your head. You’ve played at 100% sensitivity, so you probably know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know. But I think I can survive it. By the way, will you be fighting in the tournament?”
“Sure. That reward is really something.” Will stretched, stood up and flashed a broad smile at her. “If you’re agreeing to do it, let’s discuss the price.”
“I’m listening.”
“I need the location of that tomb.”
“And… is that all?” She lifted the remains of her eyebrows, which were splattered with blood and brains.
“Yeah. That, and I’ll learn about the consequences of using this box from your experience.”
“Huh. I’m starting to like you, man. It’s a deal.”
“Good luck.”
“Eh? Thanks.”
“No, I really mean it. Good luck.” As he passed the box to the female player, Will peered into her serious face. She was going to be his guinea pig, and he really hoped that no real harm would come to her.
He wasn’t afraid she might run away with his epic item; her signature on the contract prevented that.
She sat down on the ground and read the item’s description. Then, glancing up at Raven through her mask and clapping her hands, she said softly: “I wish…”
They waited for several heartbeats. Nothing happened.
“Raven? Why isn’t it working?”
“I… I don’t know.” Will stared at the box, pondering over what the problem could be. Could the system be preventing players from using it? No. That’s total bullshit. What then? “Um. I have one idea… But I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
“Oh, I think I know what it is.” Her muffled voice quavered as she apparently reached the same conclusion as Will. Using the Box of Wishes required a high sensitivity level. That meant… that meant that she would have to experience the full, agonizing pain of her body being eaten alive once again.
“You don’t have to do it.” Raven had to admit he’d not go through anything like that. Never. Not for all the money in the world.
“Oh my God. What a horrible way to make fun of us. Which maniac invented that?”
“It’s kinda weird, you know, to hear that from someone who keeps playing this game.”
“Oh. You’re damn right. I’m fucking terrified of what might be coming next for me in this game, but the devs, those damn bastards, know what we all need.” Her voice, distorted by the mask, was still quavering, but Will seemed to hear a new emotion in it. Was it… satisfaction?
“Oh, I see. Our thirst for adventure. For real fear and real survival in a primal world ruled by power.”
“Yeah. Damn right again. Not everyone can see it, but those who do know they come here to get a hit of all sorts of emotions that they can’t get in the real world. I… I seem to want this pain, even though I know it will be almost impossible to bear. Well, whatever. Fuck it.” She was breathing quickly, bracing herself for the disgustingly real and truly hellish pain she was about to suffer. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Will squinted at where the girl had just been, thinking about what he had just heard. Another player had made the same choices as he had at the start, and had supposedly been placed on the wrong floor, just like he had been. That couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. But if it wasn’t… what the hell was going on?
Once again, he remembered what the stranger in that video he had seen during the interview had said: “What is the true reason behind us starting on a different floor to the rest?”
Chapter 223. The Curse Squeezer
S he soon returned, but… Will wished she hadn’t. Her body was twisting from side to side, bending at unnatural angles like a broken puppet. She was being tortured by the excruciating pain of her flesh being ripped apart on the inside by the hordes of ghastly critters. The box was clutched between her thighs as she struggled to bring her hands together to clap.
“AAAAAH! Damn! Damn! Damn! AAAAAH!” Ripping her cloak off, she scratched at her face and body, craving at least a moment’s relief from this hell. Her screams resounded through place, echoing off the ruins. Will counted five heartbeats, all the while cringing as he thought of the price she was paying She eventually managed to clap, her broken throat repeatedly rasping a single word: “Wish…wish…wish…wish.”
…and suddenly it stopped. Her body froze, as if it were a statue of a plagued leper; even the snakes and rats that had been tormenting it stopped in their tracks as the box’s magic caught them.
All Will could do now was wait and see what would happen next. Will she survive it or not? What price will she pay?
Again, Raven thought of what he would ask the box for. His one and only wish that would be sure to come true in this game world, in spite of any laws, logic and balance. But the system charged a tremendous price for allowing you to break the rules. The question Will kept asking himself was: What kind of power was worth such a risk? What could he bet everything he already had against?
***
She had been standing still for two hours already. The rogue had started to lose his temper half-way through this time, but he had to wait for the outcome – and surely he couldn’t leave without his epic item.
Looking for something to busy himself with, Will opened the Royal Blood development branch. He wondered what other privileges, except royal audiences or special quests, he would get with these skills, and he started to choose his purchases.
ROYAL PACE
Passive skill: Apprentice
Description: Commoners of any citizenship will be making way for you wherever you go.
Effect:
+10% to character speed
Note: This skill only affects ordinary people. At the maximum level, it will make them worship you.
By worshipping, the system meant that this skill would also affect warriors, merchants, gangsters, and everyone else up to the members of the nobility, on all floors.
The Royal Blood skills had no ranks and were outrageously expensive.
For the Royal Pace alone Will paid 100 units of rare Armisar steel, 10 rare animal skins, and three Dragrassor Deer antlers: that’s 3,000 gold’s worth of resources! Plus 1,500 gold’s worth in plain, magic-rite resources. Each of these skills could easily be purchased from the auction, but the price was still intimidating, especially considering this was the very first skill in the branch.
But Will wasn’t going to let the price stop him, and he had soon spent all his money except for 53 gold and 40 silver coins. Praying his newly purchased skills were worth it, he went over them once again:
ROYAL WILL
Passive skill: Apprentice
Description: Your aura fills your subjects with awe.
Effect:
+15% chance of the resources spent in construction and state development returning to the treasury as voluntary contributions from your subjects.
DIVINE RIGHT
Passive skill: Apprentice
Description: Priests of all religions are glad to welcome you in their temples and appreciate your advice.
Effect:
You are praised as a godly ruler in all the churches in your land.
+1 Influence point per day
This one was insanely expensive, as well as the next one:
ROYAL LEGACY
Active skill: Apprentice
Description: You and your children can exchange XP, stats, and skills among yourselves.
Note: Exchange is only available when your relationship with your children is at the Deference level (press for more details on family relationship levels).
Upon opening the link, Will saw a new list that was drastically different from the conventional NPC relationships one:
Death List: -1600 and below;
Implacable Enmity: -1600;
Loathing: -800;
Hatred: -400;
Hostility: -200;
Resentment: -100;
Neutral: 0 to 100;
Friendly: 200;
Trust: 400;
Admiration: 800;
Worship: 1600;
Blind Faith: 1600+
The relationship levels he could achieve with his children and wife were different:
Patricide: -1600 and below;
Bitter Loathing: -1600;
Hated Father: -800;
Unforgivable: -400;
Stay Away: -200;
Family Quarrel: -100;
Neutral: 0 to 100;
Good Father: 200;
Trust: 400;
Deference: 800;
Following in the Footsteps: 1600;
Blind Love: 1600+
Mariticide: -1600 and below;
Bitter Loathing: -1600;
Hated Husband: -800;
Unforgivable: -400;
Stay Away: -200;
Family Quarrel: -100;
Neutral: 0 to 100;
Romance: 200;
Trust: 400;
Affection: 800;
Inseparable: 1600;
Blind Love: 1600+
The weirdest part was that these wife relationship levels didn’t apply to Nanel. After thinking about this for a second, Will realized that the system probably didn’t consider their marriage to be real, which it actually wasn’t. For Nanel to count as his real wife, Will would have to win her over, just like he would a real woman.
Having invested four available points in leveling up his character stats, Raven closed the menu and, suppressing a yawn, resumed waiting.
As the second hour was coming to an end, the female player’s motionless body slowly rose into the air…
Raven’s back grew cold. An unbelievable shri
ek tore through the stale silence. The half-rotten Elven body was compressed by an unknown force, as if it were garbage. Bones crunched and blood poured down in torrents, drenching the spot of ground beneath. As the girl’s spine broke with a crack, she screamed even louder.
Her limbs were pressed tighter and tighter into her body until it was shaped into a cube with a side length of about three feet. All the snakes and rats that had been living in her torso were squeezed out of this cube and they flopped down to the ground along with the last drops of blood.
Will’s mind refused to accept that this was real. No human-size body could possibly have contained so fucking many of these horrid creatures! But they were still coming out, convulsing violently as they left her body, before being added to the huge, stinking pile of lifeless pieces of flesh. His eardrums were being tormented by the girl’s endless screams of agony that seemed to be coming out of nowhere.
Minutes later, the bloody cube of flesh and bone began its reverse transformation into a female Elf’s body. It was now whole again, unharmed.
“Ahahaha! I have granted your wish, Mystical Darkness! It was a whole lotta fun.”
Her naked body was shivering all over as her glassy, unblinking eyes stared at the pile of dead animals formed by her curse. Will took out the piece of fabric he had won in duel a couple of days ago from his inventory and used it to cover the girl.
Being squeezed into a cube at 100% sensitivity… that must have been really hard on her. Having seen the Box in action for the second time, Will concluded that this was the item’s way of removing the most powerful curses and debuffs.
“Hey, Raven? Are you there?”
“Um… yes.” The softness of her voice was foreboding. “How are you?”
“I… I feel like I’m blind.”
It took Will some time to understand what she meant. “Blind?”
“I can’t see anything. Not even the menu. Raven… I can’t exit the game! Hey! What the fuck?!” her voice trembled as her unblinking eyes (blinded and not merely confused like Will had first thought) stared at the pile of vermin.
