Kvalen: Give me the Glaive of Seth.
Eredani: I should probably have told you about my test earlier…
Kvalen: Later. The glaive!
“I can do lots!” I raised the glaive above my head, eliciting a gasp of amazement from the NPC. Unlike players, NPCs could see the properties of the object. Of course it came out somewhat melodramatically, but that was just fine. “I propose a swap. Aniram in exchange for the glaive.”
“Oh really?” Ireness twitched, but didn’t recoil as my demoness had. Throwing Aniram’s body to the ground, the higher came closer to me. “Where did you get that?” she asked keenly.
“Where I got it… it is the only one. Shall we swap?” I replied simply.
“An exchange, my son! I will gladly see your bondmaid back with me when she becomes supersaturated with energy. Feed her more often.”
The glaive melted away in my hands, and a system notification immediately informed me of the return of my demonic abilities. Aniram was unconscious, so I deactivated her just in case.
“Farewell, traitor!” Ireness smiled at the darkling Hermit, while demonstratively ignoring everybody else. “Make more warriors! My army needs fighters! As for you, children of mine” — her gaze rested on me and Eredani — “we shall meet soon. Barliona will know the wrath of Seth!” With a dull clap the demoness disappeared.
Argalot plonked himself down wearily on the rocks and looked at us reproachfully. “You’ve made a big mistake. And the whole world will have to put it right.”
“The Glaive of Seth,” Uldaron chimed in. “I considered it a myth. A children’s spooky story. You have brought pain and suffering upon Barliona. You placed the personal higher than the whole world. You are not worthy of the honorary ribbon of a graduate. I do not want to see you in my camp anymore. Get out of here! Abigail was mistaken — a tiefling will always remain a demon, no matter how much you purify him.”
The mass of demon hunters ran to form a living tunnel to the portal. Eredani chuckled and shuffled off after them. Evidently our adventure in the nursery was at an end. It was a shame we didn’t manage to get a handle on the dwarf; after all, a student of the incomprehensible Borh is an interesting story. An NPC prodded me, wanting to rid the camp of our presence. I sighed, and dived into the portal. It was time to end the farce.
Information for player
You have left the nursery and been transferred to the town of Lok’dar, continent of Stivala. We wish you a pleasant game!
“Let’s go!” Eredani was already waiting for me. Lok’dar was a huge city decked out in medieval style. Taverns, bakeries, workshops, babble, din, and hubbub were integral features of its streets. And our appearance did not go unnoticed. A detachment of guardians stood nearby, their eagle eyes fixed on us.
Eredani headed straight for the commander. A couple of phrases, and the general tension eased — it was negligible, but our reputation with the Light of Barliona faction had done its thing. Having got our bearings, Eredani guided me through the windy streets of the city as surely as if it were his home town, and few minutes later we stood at the entrance to the registrar’s chamber.
“Make a clan. We must show we have serious intentions,” he said, pushing me inside. “Don’t forget to put ten thousand into the account. When we buy a castle, we’ll choose its location.”
The registrar, an elderly and portly human with fabulous whiskers and a no less fabulous belly, was standing by a board and unhurriedly writing something on it. Registering a clan was absurdly simple: pay five thousand gold and choose from a list of available names. Job done. The system automatically generated patches, which you could edit if you could be bothered, and inserted the clan logo into the names of the players. Strictly speaking that was all.
After paying the required tax, I opened the list. The name of the clan, just as the names of players, were theoretically unique within one continent. And with very few clans on Stivala, the list contained more than ten thousand possibilities. I had long had a name in mind and, to my delight, it was free:
The Pareto clan has been created. Clan leader: Kvalen.
And that was that. The registrar gave me a piece of paper confirming my right to ownership of the clan and the possibility to choose a location for the castle. I opened my properties to admire my successes. Not bad for the nursery, not bad at all.
I didn’t overlook my criteria either. Somehow or other, fulfilling them ought to guarantee me a job.
Criteria
Numerical value
Fulfillment status
1
Reach level 50
50
14
2
Become a full clan member
1
3
Pass 20 dungeons of any level. Group must not be organized by you
20
1
4
Receive Friend status from 5 players
5
3
5
Fulfil 50 socially important tasks
50
0
6
Help players fulfil tasks 20 times. One player must have no rights
20
5
7
Fulfil 10 requests from other players
10
1
8
Extended communication with another player. No fewer than 2,400 minutes in 6 months
2,400
2,400
9
Participate actively in 2 festivals in Barliona
2
0
10
Receive 80 Agreeability points from two Barliona NPCs
2
0
“An eloquent name.” Eredani accepted the invitation to join the clan, and by his name appeared a pictogram: 80/20.
Wilfried Pareto, after whom I named the clan, formulated a well-known rule of thumb: twenty percent of the effort yields eighty percent of the result. Which means superfluous stress should be avoided. An ideal law for making a profit.
We approached a wall on which three ratings were displayed: the game’s best clans, continents, and locations. We were last — 250th place. A clan of two players.
“First we rise to here.” My partner and now official adviser pointed to the line under number 1 of the local rating. “Then further.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“I have more than a plan. I have experience, desire, and an understanding of what must be done. How are you with stepping on people’s toes?”
“You know I’m all for it.”
“In which case, operation “Rip ‘Em to Shreds” begins! The province of Lok’dar will be ours!”
End of Book One
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ALL BOOKS BY VASILY MAHANENKO:
The Bard from Barliona LitRPG Series:
The Renegades (The Bard from Barliona Book #1)
A Song of Shadow (The Bard from Barliona Book #2)
The Way of the Shaman LitRPG Series:
Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1)
The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2)
The Secret of the Dark Forest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3)
The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4)
The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman: Book #5)
Shaman's Revenge (The Way of the Shaman Book #6)
Clans War (The Way of the Shaman: Book #7)
The Hour of Pain (The Way of the Shaman Bonus Story)
The Way of the Shaman Comic Book:
The Way of the Shaman. Step 1: The Beginning: Volume One
The Way of the Shaman. Step 2: The First Day: Volume Two
Dark Paladin LitRPG Series:
The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1)
The Quest (Dark Paladin Book #2)
Restart (Dark Paladin Book #3)
Galactogon LitRPG Series:
Start The Game (Galactogon: Book #1)
In Search of the Uldans (Galactogon Book #2)
A Check for a Billion (Galactogon Book #3)
Invasion LitRPG Series:
A Second Chance (Invasion Book #1)
Short Stories:
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(LitRPG Stories from Bestselling Authors)
You’re In Game-2
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The Hour of Pain (The Way of the Shaman Bonus Story)
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About the Author
Vasily Mahanenko is a fantasy author working in the new genre of LitRPG - the MMO-based fantasy and sci fi. His Way of the Shaman series took Russian literature by storm in 2012.
Vasily dipped into his college-days insider knowledge as a hardcore gamer in order to create a believable world of the virtual-reality MMO game. His bestselling series combines fiction and video games, telling the story of Shaman and his friends stuck in the ruthless reality of Barliona. He used his more than ten years' experience as an ERP implementation project manager to approach his writing in a well-organized manner, working to a strict schedule, a set of deadlines and even a budget. At the moment, the series boasts six novels with the seventh one in the works - this time the author expands on stories of Shaman's companions and those who helped and supported him in his trials and tribulations.
The English translation of The Way of the Shaman series is now available to the English-language reader in its entirety. So is his other LitRPG series, The Dark Paladin. Vasily’s latest project to date is also set in the world of Barliona: The Renegades (The Bard from Barliona Book #1) LitRPG Series, co-written with another Russian author, Eugenia Dmitrieva.
Vasily's other passion is space exploration which is why he works on a sci fi LitRPG series entitled Galactogon. Set in a space-simulator based world, the first two books of the series are already available in English on Amazon.
He’s also released a graphic novel series based on his bestselling series: The Way of the Shaman Comic Book. The English translation of the first two installments are available here and here. Alternatively, check the book on the author's site: http://mahanenko.ru/en/Comics-1.
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