External Threat (Reality Benders Book #2) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  Hrm... not a great situation, to be honest. Although I could barely stop myself from asking a logical follow-up: if the killer looked like Ayni during the attack, what had led them all back to me? But it was good I didn’t ask. Such a phrasing of the question could lead the obviously intelligent Ayni to the idea that I knew Morphians could change shape. What was more, no one had told me the murderer’s race, so I’d be giving away too much.

  Instead, I asked her a totally neutral question about her plans for the future.

  “I don’t know yet. I don’t want to make any distant plans until after I talk with the Truth Seekers. You see, Gnat, I’ve spoken with Truth Seekers twice before, and I can tell you that it is a very unpleasant and painful procedure. Not physically painful but... how to put it... emotionally I guess.”

  “Emotionally?”

  “Yes. The Truth Seekers root around in your head and bring your darkest and most dubious actions, thoughts and memories to the fore. They make you relive difficult and painful events, reexperience your hardest and meanest decisions. And all of that is held up for all to see, comment on, savor... They turn you inside out, you see yourself as concentrated nastiness, evil, and filth. And you cannot close yourself off to it, either. It is impossible to lie, that’s why they call them Truth Seekers. They can detect falseness. You have to go through the whole procedure from beginning to end and admit every time you’ve ever broken a law or moral precept, or even considered it. It’s very hard to live with that. You start to despise and hate yourself... I very much hope you’re right, and you and I can prove that we were not involved in the murder of the great Priestess. Otherwise, I’m afraid I simply will not be able to live with the heavy burden. Only after it all ends for the best will I think about the future.”

  It should be said that her gloomy description of the upcoming procedure made me even more nervous. Meanwhile, we had already passed the long straight corridor and were now in a small dusky circular room. A blinding white spotlight streamed down from above on only the very middle of the floor, leaving thick shadows along the walls. Nevertheless, I could see fifteen chairs arranged in a semicircle, each occupied by a figure shrouded head to toe in black robes. I couldn’t read information on a single one of them...

  Eagle Eye skill increased to level fifty-two!

  Scanning skill increased to level forty-five!

  You have reached level fifty-two!

  You have received three skill points!

  I activated Scanning, which also gave me no additional information about the mysterious Truth Seekers, leaving me only more confused. Those shadowy characters weren’t even on my mini-map! How was that possible?!

  Lying on the floor, right in the middle of the bright light, folded up like a donut and covering his head with his hands, Tini Wi-Gnat was sobbing. It seemed like my kitten had just taken a long and hard beating. He looked tormented and pitiful. Then, staring at my foundling with horror, Ayni whispered that this was what she was talking about.

  “I’m very scared, Gnat. I could hardly survive a conversation with one Truth Seeker, but here there are many...”

  Two fearsome First Pride soldiers walked out into the middle of the room, grabbed the underage level-24 Thief by the arms and pulled him away. He was clearly totally out of it. The very same dispassionate mechanical voice rang out and ordered Ayni Uri-Miayuu to stand in the center of the circle.

  * * *

  THEY WERE SPEAKING in Miyelonian, so I didn’t even understand a tenth of what they were asking Ayni, or what she answered. But from my perspective, it looked really abhorrent. Just three minutes in, she was on her knees. Then she got on all fours and howled, as if in sharp pain. This was definitely not for the faint of heart! I had to admit, a few times I even felt like running into the circle to stop the sadistic torture.

  I didn’t, though. I understood that would only make things worse. But in that onerous moment, I decided I did not want to be tortured like that. I did not want them digging in my head. So, I finally and irreversibly chose a skill. I needed Mental Fortitude!!! After all, that would not only strengthen my psionic attacks, it improved my defenses against that same kind of magic.

  You have taken the skill Mental Fortitude level 1.

  I didn’t even have time to appreciate the new skill before I got a message:

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level two!

  What was more, my progress bar was going up very fast, right before my eyes. That meant not all the Truth Seekers were reading Ayni. Some of them were spying on me this whole time! I was being psionically attacked!!!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level three!

  I had no idea at all how to defend against it, other than by leveling the skill. I tried and failed to think about nothing, so I started imagining one of the cheesiest and most annoying pop songs off Russian radio with a large number of senseless repeating couplets. Read away! Let’s see how fast it turns your brains to mush! It took a second, but my tactic eventually worked. First, the Mental Fortitude progress bar started going up slower, then it stopped altogether just before reaching level 4. A bit after that, Ayni was dragged out of the room, senseless, and the voice called me to the center of the circle.

  I obediently went into the middle of the room and cringed in dismay, blinded by the spotlight. I could no longer even make out the figures sitting in a semicircle around me, and that was despite my high Perception. Apparently, that was all intentional, and the Truth Seekers didn’t want to be seen for some reason.

  Danger Sense skill increased to level twenty-five!

  It started!!! Now I could definitely feel it. It was like a bunch of gross, cold and slimy fingers were rooting around in my skull. It felt so awful, too bad to put into words... Come on, move along! Out of my head! I don’t want that, I don’t want you digging in my brains!!!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level four!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level five!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level six!

  Psionic skill increased to level fourteen!

  You have reached level fifty-three!

  You have received three skill points! (total points accumulated: six)

  I immediately put all six points into improving psionic defense, raising Mental Fortitude to twelve. The nasty squirming sensation in my brain faded away. I was just standing, barely able to conceal the smile of satisfaction trying to burst onto my face. At least, until a Truth Seeker asked the first question:

  “Gnat, you abandoned your friends to play the game that bends reality. How do you feel now, having traded such close and loyal companions for vibrant new experiences? Your old buddies don’t trouble you?”

  Not a trace of my confidence remained. I was instantly stitched through with superstitious fear. How did the Truth Seekers know about Vasily and Petka, my college roommates of three years? After all, I really did not know what became of them and, to my great shame, had barely even thought about my old friends until that very minute. Had they been sent to jail instead of me? Or, as the investigator promised, were they pressured into the army? How to find out?

  Stop! I couldn’t say exactly what grabbed me in the framing of the question, but it wasn’t exactly accurate, so I gave it another spin in my head. “Abandoned my friends to play the game that bends reality?” That would probably fit for practically anyone the question was asked to. After all, everyone regardless of race, gender or age must have had some friends or close relatives in the real world, who they couldn’t see as much anymore, possibly not even at all. Almost every individual that played this game would have had the same guilt baring down on them. Well, everyone except me!!! I didn’t abandon anyone! I was forced into this, placed under arrest and basically blackmailed into accepting an offer to “work in an institute in the Moscow Oblast.”

  So I... laughed instead of answering, because I suddenly realized how the Truth Seekers worked. A series of trick questions like that would force the interrogee to feel
doubt, shame, fear and remorse. That killed two birds with one stone: not only were they breaking down the mental defenses of the bewildered victim, forcing them to justify themselves, which would allow the experienced psionics to take advantage of their weakness and gain access to their memory, the prisoner would actually tell them their weakest and most vulnerable points without being asked. They would give names, dates, and circumstances, enumerate all their transgressions. And each answer enriched their arsenal. After all, no one knows you better than you know yourself. If they want a complete dossier, who better to turn to? What have you done wrong, when and why? If properly tuned, you will always be your harshest judge.

  “Honorable Truth Seekers, my conscious is clean, I didn’t abandon or betray anyone in the real world. And because I know your time is valuable, I suggest we skip this part of the torture. No need to worm out my past. I’m more than willing to tell you my life story if you want to know.”

  Fame increased to 46.

  A long silence came over the room, approximately forty seconds. After that, a green symbol lit up in the shape of a snaking line inside a square, something of a corkscrew in a box. I guessed that might mean “truth,” and was elated. Just like my first encounter with Thumor-Anhu La-Fin, I managed to deflect the mental attack!!!

  However, I wasn’t exultant for too long, just until the mysterious hidden investigator’s next sentence:

  “I doubt your old friends Vasily Sokolov and Pyotr Zhukov, who are now working off your shared crimes, would share the conviction that Kirill Ignatiev did not abandon them. But you’re right about the second part. Our time really is too valuable to waste it teasing out your biography prior to entering the game that bends reality.”

  Damn, they really got me... If this was not an interrogation, but a boxing match, I would have at least taken a knockdown... While I was coming to my senses, shocked and bewildered at the detailed information they fished out of my brain, the Truth Seekers hit me with another question:

  “Gerd Gnat, you are not a Diplomat by class, but your mind is closed off and cannot be read. Were you afraid of this interrogation and thus prepared for it? Do you have something to hide?”

  Now the questions were on topic and getting off to a bad start. I remembered Ayni saying that lying to Truth Seekers was pointless and dangerous, so I answered the pure truth and nothing but.

  I told them about my character’s high Intelligence and said I had just taken the skill Mental Fortitude. Then I admitted that I was afraid of this interrogation, so I had tried to mount a psychic defense of some kind. Also, I did have something to hide, but my secrets were first and foremost my faction’s plans, business dealings and financial information. I had none connected with the incarnation of the Great First Female. Perhaps it came across as rude and even blasphemous to the Truth Seekers, but I had to admit that I only found out about their universally famed Priestess Amiru after I saw crowds of pilgrims filling the space station. I had never seen the Priestess on a screen, and certainly not in person. I assured them I didn’t have any reason to wish ill on the great Miyelonian.

  A somewhat different symbol appeared in the air. A green corkscrew, only without a square. But most importantly, there was a bright orange pulsing spot next to it. Something in my mostly truthful answer was not to the Truth Seekers’ satisfaction. I even guessed what it was: my claim that I had no secrets related to their holy priestess. Crap. Crap! Crap!!! I should have just left that out, then everything would have been fine. I had to be proactive before the Truth Seekers said anything:

  “Let me tell you about my animal. As far as I understand, that is what you’d like to hear most.”

  No reaction followed from the Truth Seekers, so I hurried to take advantage of their silent assent and continued:

  “It all started when I was walking with a tray of food, looking for a seat in the café. I saw a group of Meleyephatians that were just leaving. I walked over to sit down but, when I got there, some little animal beat me to it. It looked very much like a species native to my home world so of course I was surprised, especially because I didn’t see it walking to the table. I am almost one hundred percent certain it was sitting with the Meleyephatians before I came. Anyway, the creature looked very hungry, so I fed it. After that, something strange happened: its information changed to say it was my pet. I didn’t see anything wrong with that and didn’t pay it much mind. It followed me for some time, I led it to my hotel and it even came into my capsule. At night, it ate all my rations...”

  At that point in my story, I was interrupted. A Truth Seeker was demanding I explain why I didn’t leave the game in the hotel green zone. They assumed I was waiting for a signal or afraid to miss a meeting.

  But here I was somewhat braver, because I had nothing to hide. I answered sincerely that I had broken my leg in the real world, so I was trying to spend as much time as possible in the game for medical purposes. My honesty was rewarded with a green corkscrew inside a square but... before I could celebrate the small victory, they asked the trickiest question of all:

  “Gerd Gnat, have you ever heard of the Morphian race?”

  Trying to hide my panic, I immediately started answering, again with the pure truth:

  “Yes, I have. Just yesterday, I had a long talk with a Diplomat of my faction about the various races inhabiting the cosmos and the topic of Morphians did come up. As far as I understand, they died off in the real world eons ago, and were once part of the Meleyephatian horde. Some Morphians remained in the game as NPC’s, though, and are renowned for their ability to change appearance.”

  I anxiously awaited their verdict. Green corkscrew! Truth!!! Everything was coming together so well! Yesterday at my housewarming party, Ivan Lozovsky and I had actually discussed the Morphians among other topics. Sure, I was doing the telling, and the Diplomat was just listening and asking follow-ups, but I just got away with implying the diplomat told it to me without actually lying. How fortunate!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level thirteen!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level fourteen!

  I celebrated too soon, though. The investigators found the truthful answer sign insufficient, and asked me to explain more:

  “Gerd Gnat, for some reason you experienced anxiety when answering that question, which was absent previously. Your heartbeat sped up, your body temperature increased, and your breathing became uneven. Explain.”

  So I did, improvising on the fly:

  “Well, of course I was worried. I mean, I can put two and two together! I know that someone disguised as my Miyelonian friend Ayni attacked your great Priestess. What’s more, the attack took place when the real Ayni was in a different part of the station. Add to that your stubborn interest in my one-time ‘pet,’ and the allegation that it killed Amiru, then mix that with the question about the Morphian race. It isn’t hard to follow the logic. The animal I met must have been a Morphian, who later changed form and attacked the Priestess Amiru!”

  Instead of an answer, a holographic screen lit up in the air before me. I saw a huge room packed to the brim with Miyelonian pilgrims. In the middle of the bustling rapturous crowd, there was a tall stage. On it, illuminated by many spotlights, there was a short figure dressed head to toe in free-flowing white clothing. First, I thought it was the head of the casino, but I quickly noticed the clothing and body proportions were different. Also, the Priestess was a bit shorter.

  And then came the murder itself! Standing in the very first row was Ayni’s frail, easily recognizable frame. In the blink of an eye, she climbed up onto the shoulders of a First Pride bodyguard next to her and took one long bound onto the stage. Immediately, the claws of her right paw extended and pierced the Priestess’s stomach, tearing through both the sheer fabric and living flesh. She twisted her bloodied paw in the wound, at the same time sinking her teeth into the Priestess’s neck. Amiru looked paralyzed in pain and fear. A fountain of blood erupted, instantly staining her white robe, then she fell to the f
loor breathless.

  The whole attack lasted two seconds at most. Afterward, the killer managed to cut the luxurious cream-white tail off her victim, hold it up triumphantly in her bloodied right hand, then slit her own throat with a claw and disappear without a trace.

  Unbelievable! Such speed! Miyelonians were thought to be unsurpassed melee fighters capable of truly remarkable agility but none of the many worshippers or guards had even realized what was happening yet much less tried to stop the Morphian. God forbid I ever have an enemy like that!

  I was simply astonished and did not know what to say, just opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water. Meanwhile, on the screen, the security footage played sped-up in reverse. Walking backward into the thick crowd, the short orange translator flickered through various corridors on the space station, and finally I saw what I was expecting. One of the cameras in the large room caught the Miyelonian lady in the dense crowd of pilgrims as she changed shape to a four-legged fox, then got down on all fours and trotted tail-first through the whole room to a stairway, which led to a balcony where she calmly lied down between me and the real Ayni.

  Well that was that. My connection with the ghastly fox had been conclusively proven. Good thing I hadn’t tried to deny it, or this all could have been worse. But now, in light of my evidence, I wondered what verdict the Truth Seekers would give.

  I felt the nasty sensation of fingers squirming in my head again. It quickly ended, then a metallic voice came down from the ceiling and said:

  “Unfortunately, the security cameras in the hotel and cafe were out of order, so we were not able to track the Morphian prior to this. But your evidence has been checked and fully corroborated. It allowed us to establish who was behind the murder. However, before we rule on your guilt or innocence, we need to see everything on your Prospector Scanner. The other items in your inventory, even the unusual ones like Relict artifacts, are not related to the case, so we make no claim to them.”