by Scar, Rick
“Then let’s kill him when he comes out.” Gordon could not reconcile himself to the quest loss.
“Shut up. His level is much higher than ours. Did you see his eyes? They’re like nothing a normal rogue can have.”
“I’m straight. Why would I look into his fucking eyes?”
“Oh. You are an idiot.” The bespectacled guy, nicknamed Oz, shook his head, approaching the lake’s edge. Through the transparent water, he could clearly see Player Number One reach the tablet and disappear once touching it. “Damn him.”
Congratulations! You have discovered an unexplored area.
+25 Influence points
+4% XP in this area
+2 Strength
A tablet has been activated. Complete the challenge and find a way out.
Rewards:
A hint at another tablet location;
??;
??;
??
Note: The exact reward will depend on many things, from your player level to the game sensitivity level.
Note2: ATTENTION! MAKE SURE TO READ!
Dear Player,
Your current sensitivity level at 100% allows for a full synchronization with your mind and memory. Data obtained this way will be used to enrich your gaming experience and for no other purpose. Neither the corporation owning this game nor its developers will be able to access your data.
You have two options:
1) Proceed on the quest without your memories being integrated into the storyline;
2) Live a real nightmare based on your memories and feelings.
ATTENTION!
We ask you to consider this choice carefully.
For Option 1, leave the signature field blank and press Yes. For Option 2, put your digital signature in the blank field and press Yes.
If you choose Option 2, your rewards will be doubled AND you get a special bonus from The Emperor.
Good luck, White Raven.
Accept: Yes/No? Signature:
“What the fuck? What real nightmare? Hey, system?”
There was no reply but the cold from the icy walls around him.
“Holy crap. What the shit? What have I had before if not real nightmares? A fucking comedy or what?” Will kept swearing for a minute or two until, carefully considering both options, he resolved to endure whatever pain came to him, in exchange for a truly outstanding reward. Clenching his teeth, he put down his signature and accepted the task.
Hold on.
This brief message scared him more than the previous, large one.
The place Raven found himself in was all icy walls but for a small, branching passage in front of him.
“A labyrinth? Seriously? The best idea a legendary hero could come up with?” Touching one of the walls, Will felt freezing cold. Removing his hand, he sighed, foreseeing a tiresome walk along these icy corridors. He drove away all the thoughts about the quest description and notes, focusing on the task at hand. Retrieving his dagger and selecting a spot for his first strike, he started a conquest of icy caves.
Crack! Crack!
Another wall—or rather a tiny section—cracked all over and collapsed at Raven’s feet. Stepping over this heap of ice (probably twenty-first on his way), he started on another wall.
He’d been colonizing this place for a full five hours. It then took him a while to realize this latest wall he was trying to put down was formed by stone, not ice. The difference was not immediately apparent as it was heavily coated with ice.
Taking this as a hint, Will moved on along this wall. Reaching a connection with another wall, he checked to see if it had stone under the ice and followed the new wall if it had.
He proceeded quickly now. Another hour later, he reached a passage with dozens of lights shining inside it. Will had been in the game for quite a while; he hoped that was already the end, otherwise he might get in trouble.
Entering the passage, Will found himself in a long corridor ending with a tapestry, with hundreds of paintings, portraits, and pencil drawings on both walls. The rogue could see the faces of men, women, and children as he passed by, and aerial views of cities, mountains, forests, and seas. They all seemed so familiar. He’d seen something like that at the very start of the game.
“Is this the old world?” A question escaped his lips, resounding through this empty, spacious hall like thunder.
“Old and new. Pure and messy. Born and dead. White and…”
“…black.”
“Yes.” This female voice seemed to come from all the pictures at once, stirring them into motion, bringing all the painted characters within to life. “We invented this world in our image and likeness. We’ve cursed those who challenged our worldview, calling them monsters, demons, and possessed. A change. Oh, I wanted it badly. My magic was Art. But the dwellers of this world decided to bury me alive under the ice. If I hadn’t got my insights here, I’d never have become a hero. I… I’d have destroyed this world through anger, malice, and endless loathing. I would have been the devil.”
Will listened to the sorceress’s residual mind without interrupting her.
“Do you know why we’ve selected you messengers as our successors?”
“No.”
“Have you at least given it some thought?”
Will said nothing.
“You have a choice. Stay here and answer my question, or I will send you back and wait for the one who knows the answer.”
Stay here? How long exactly does she want to keep me?
“How much time will you give me to answer it?”
“However much you need, be it a day or an eternity. I can’t know in advance how long it will take you. It is up to you to decide.”
“Well, I’m staying. I know my purpose, by the way, but it’s unrelated to your goals.”
“Tell me it.”
“You won’t understand.”
“Are you afraid your purpose is worthless? Laughable? Are you afraid of being labelled as a fanatic or black sheep?”
“No. But you’re just…” Raven was about to say she was just a piece of code, but he stopped himself. Although she was exactly that, he’d seen too much in this game to avoid such a conversation.
“Why not? My purpose is to drag my family and myself out of the pit. To help my current and future friends. To thank those who helped me when I was weak.”
“So, you’re seeking salvation, but not for yourself. You’re just a shadow in the sun. They say… he who wants to make a sacrifice will always find an altar. Isn’t that true?”
“I’d rather say: no sacrifice is too great for a truly great cause.”
“Is that all? The whole of your great cause?”
“Personal philosophy is personal, you know. It’s one of the matters you can argue on endlessly and never reach an agreement. What about your goal? Is it to find a successor?”
“Yes. That’s my purpose.”
“How do you determine who is worthy? What challenge have you prepared?”
“It’s long started. Look around yourself.” Her loud voice suddenly became distant. Where the wall with pictures had just been, Will now saw… his sister?!
“Lerleah? Leah!” The girl stood facing Will, but she didn’t seem to see or hear him.
“Leah!” Will started towards her, but he ran into an invisible barrier. And…
…and his body was petrified as he saw his greatest fear come true. The fear chaining his body and freezing his heart every time he’d thought it could happen in real life. Reading Note2, he’d totally forgotten it, but…
“I’ll kill you all, fucking bastards!”
A group of men, appearing from devil knows where, started to harass his sister. Trying to rip her clothes off, they smiled lustfully and devoured her body with their eyes.
“AAAAH! Let me! Let me through! You fucking system! ARRRGH!”
Will tried to activate Dancing of Time, his most powerful skill, but nothing happened. He could not take the golden dragon form eit
her, or use any other skill.
This truly was his worst nightmare coming true. He could do nothing to help her stay as pure and innocent as she should have.
All the pain and suffering he’d endured to gain these skills turned out to be in vain. The Emperor showed him what he feared more than death, more than humiliation and torture. His greatest fear was some scum doing that to his little sister, with all his influence, power, and money useless to prevent it all.
Will was paralyzed, feeling completely powerless. He saw one man grab Leah by the breasts, saying…
“RRRAGH!”
Feeling helpless in a situation like this was appalling torture. Will was seething with rage, his urge to rip their faces to pieces clawing at his head like a venomous snake.
Kill! Kill them! Kill everyone who touches her! I will destroy them!
Do it! Do it! MOVE, you bastard! Move, motherfucker! Come on! On! On! On! Raven’s mind, chained with terror, exploded at hearing the words said by one of the monsters encircling his light in the dark. His body was set into motion.
“You! Are! All! Dead!”
His body filled with power, becoming as hard as metal. His lust for blood took shape, enveloping him in soft fire, his eyes turning dark. His hair lengthened, transforming into metal snakes, his arms covering themselves with black tattoos of infuriated demons.
BOOM!
He swept the invisible barrier away. One of the men was ripped to pieces by the blast. Will reached for another, tearing his head off like a chicken’s.
He killed them all, one after another. Looking around, he saw Leah weeping but, once he took a step towards her, he collapsed to the ground and fainted.
***
He did not know how long he’d been unconscious for. Coming to, he saw the same wide corridor, and a woman in her forties was now standing by his side. She was short, with short white hair, wearing a white dress. Her whole figure was rippling; she was formed by air.
“Ahennia?”
“Once I was her.”
“What’s go— Leah!” Will tried to jump up but could not move. “What the? …”
Looking down, Will did not recognize his body. Barely anything was left of it but ripped pieces of meat, grinded bones, and gallons of blood spread over the floor. Strangely, he did not feel any pain.
“Why don’t I feel anything?”
“I’ve isolated your ability to feel pain. Otherwise, you would have been cast out and could not return. This challenge can only be taken once.”
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Not long.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“You’ve reached a new level.”
Raven glanced at his status. It still had Level 75. What is she talking about?
“I don’t understand.”
“Look at your inner world.”
“Inner world?”
Will examined his stats and skills, but he could see no changes… until he opened the specialization tree.
You have unlocked a new demon form early.
Inner Demon Form II: Demon of Murder (Apprentice)
+ 10 Agility
+ 50 Strength
+ 150 Endurance
+ 65% Critical damage
Duration: Depends on spending.
Spending: 5% XP/min
Note:
1) You will be paralyzed for 60 seconds after activation;
2) Unlock the development tree of your demon form to upgrade its stats, skills, and appearance.
Are you mocking me?!
Chapter 140. The Challenge Continues
W ill was down, regenerating slowly. His body restored as if it were a jigsaw being put together. 5% XP per minute is cruel. He could not see the skills coming with this form, but its price was extremely high. The higher the level he reached, the more XP he’d be losing.
His main concern was that he hadn’t yet received the challenge completion message—and that filled him with a sense of foreboding. Like hell I’ll ever take part in another such experiment. He did not think he could endure seeing anything like that ever again.
His own body could be injured, tortured, or sliced to pieces, but his family was not be messed with. Even their virtual copies weren’t.
Thirty minutes later, his body regenerated completely. The potion he’d drunk sped up this process. The debuffs put on him had expired as well.
Standing up, Will saw another change to his body. Now it was his hair looking like thin, long metal snakes that stirred lazily. He realized his acquisition of scaly eyes back then was nothing exceptional. He had taken one new feature from each of his inner demons, as a reminder that he’d released them.
“Are you ready to give me the answer?”
So that’s what it was about.
“So that… that… was just to help me come up with it?” He scowled at the woman’s projected image, struggling to forget the recent scene.
“Yes.”
“But how? In what damn way could it help? That’s total bullshit. Don’t you know what you did to me?” Raven flared up with fury, almost slashing at the figure with his dagger.
“I know. I’ve passed a similar challenge myself.”
“You’re just a damn—” Clenching his teeth, Will swallowed the words piece of software. Thrusting his dagger in one of the pictures, he rested on it, staring down at the floor. “So what was the question?”
“Do you know why messengers have been selected as our successors?”
“Is that why you dragged my worst fear out? To help me answer?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh, well. Because we’re the only ones who can receive your knowledge and power?”
“…”
“Because we can save the world… the worlds?”
“…”
“So you’re playing a classical game of silence.”
“Give me the answer, not your comments.”
This psychologically draining challenge had already worn the rogue down. Glancing at his watch, he realized he’d spent over six hours in the game. The last time he took a break and a snack was back in the woods.
What the hell does she want from me? I can’t exit. I can’t. I’ll fail this challenge if I do.
Answering her apparently simple question was not easy at all, particularly with his brain so exhausted. The most obvious answer was getting the heroes’ power, but she hadn’t confirmed that. Perhaps he’d worded it in a wrong way?
“Only we messengers can get your power… No. Wait.” Sitting with his back rested against the wall, the rogue looked up at the hero’s residual mind when he suddenly realized the main difference between players and NPCs. “Only we messengers will be able to use your power.”
“Is that your answer?”
“Yeah. I can think of nothing else.”
“You are really close. Maybe the next challenge will help.”
“NO! Sto-o-o…” Will jumped up at hearing that, but the woman was no longer there. In her place, he saw his mirror reflection, grinning and swirling the dagger on his palm.
The double’s eyes flashed with something familiar; in a moment, his dagger hit Will’s shoulder.
- 0
“Huh?!” Reflectively, Raven applied Leap to reach his clone and, without any further thought, thrust his dagger into the other Will’s eye socket.
- 456
You are blinded in one eye.
“FUUUCK!” Looking at his one-eyed double, he realized any damage he’d do to the other Will would rebound on himself.
The double kept glaring at Will. More and more daggers, flying out of the blue, hit the rogue, inflicting zero damage.
- 0
- 0
- 0
“That’s fucking crazy. What’s the point?” Will would rather not land blows on his double, and the double could not do any damage to him. He applied Inspection but saw absolutely nothing. His tired, bewildered mind demanded rest.
Studded wit
h daggers like a hedgehog with spines, Raven lay down and forced himself to think it over.
Does she want me to kill myself? Or am I supposed to just endure his attacks? Or maybe there is some other solution? But what else can I do here? What?
***
Time passed. His double was taking demonic forms and using all of his skills, even those spending influence points, but all his attempts failed. He thrust his daggers into Raven’s head one after another, put his eyes out, cut his neck, tried to pierce his heart and other vulnerable spots—all in vain. He was as harmless as a caged monkey.
Watching him, Will realized an important thing. Pulling the daggers out, he came up to the double and looked into his eyes full of powerless malice.
“Take this.” The rogue handed his dagger to the clone. The clone who was just as helpless as Raven had been a short time before, with no one around to lend him a hand. A terrible feeling.
His double glanced at him with surprise, smiled with gratitude, and vanished into the air.
You gave your weapon (Flying Dagger) as a gift.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Will winced at this message. Closing it, he saw the familiar corridor around.
“What is your answer now?”
“We are those who can use your power to help others when no one else can.” Raven sighed, sitting down.
“You are close. Let’s continue.”
“As though I have a choice.” Before he could properly sit down, he saw himself standing on the edge. Hanging down from it on Will’s right and struggling to keep his grip was one of the men who’d tried to rape Leah.
And Leah was hanging down just the same on his left.
Will’s body reacted faster than his mind. With his arm ripped off, the man started his fall down.
The world faded.
Hanging down on Will’s right, struggling to keep his grip, was one of the men who tried to rape Leah. And Leah was hanging down on the left.
The man’s head was blown up by the golden dragon’s paw hitting it. He fell like a sack.
