Finding a Body (The Dark Herbalist Book #4) LitRPG series

by Michael Atamanov

  Dodging (A P)

  1000

  First specialization: 30% chance of avoiding AoE-effect spells

  Second specialization: 50% chance of dodging arrows

  Third specialization: 30% chance of second Agility check, if first fails

  Fourth specialization: chance of dodging heavy weapons increased by 90%

  Stealth (A C)

  55

  First specialization: -20 discovery radius.

  Second specialization: -50% discovery radius in the dark

  Exotic Weapons (A P)

  (440 + 18)

  First specialization: Flaming whip, additional fire damage, 5% chance of burning target

  Second specialization: Throwing nets, +300% throwing range

  Third specialization: Melee weapons, +20% chance of causing bleeding

  Fourth specialization: Blowguns, +1500% to Blowgun range

  Riding (A C)

  160

  First specialization: +15% movement speed

  Second specialization: +20% movement speed

  Third specialization: +30% movement speed

  Fourth specialization: +40% movement speed

  Acrobatics (Ch P)

  89

  First specialization: take no fall damage from any height

  Second specialization: +20% chance of dodging in close combat

  Third specialization: no penalty for using weapons from an unstable position

  Warchief (Ch P)

  199

  First specialization: soldiers immune to recruitment

  Second specialization: blessing effect doubled

  Third specialization: 50% defense against fear for all soldiers

  Fourth specialization: number of soldiers receiving positive effects tripled

  Animal Control (Ch P)

  690

  First specialization: pet attacks improved

  Second specialization: pet defense improved

  Third specialization: pets receive stat bonuses from master

  Fourth specialization: pet speed increased

  Secondary skills (5 of 10 chosen)

  Veil

  25

  First specialization: shapeshifter (three times per day)

  Diplomat

  47

  First specialization: fearmonger

  Alchemy

  42

  First specialization: make elixirs with more than one property

  Herbalism

  8

  Superboss

  66

  First specialization: Direct Intervention Points regenerate 25% faster

  Second specialization: increased influence on NPC’s

  So obviously, I spent practically all available points on my main skills, improving Amra’s stats and consciously sacrificing secondaries. I even left some of my secondaries empty for a time. There was no use for them in battle. Plus if I survived this day, in my new life I could take whatever I needed. At the same time I removed all the garbage like Regeneration or the Heavy Armor perks giving Endurance point bonuses.

  The Dark Sovereign was now a strong buffer for his soldiers, workers and pets. But still he was not opposed to fighting up close. That just was not my character’s main forte in combat. No, my strong suit was that it was very hard to find any way to damage the Dark Sovereign if you didn’t already know one.

  And that was confirmed in the beginning of the midair battle with the Legion of Steel ’s five strongest warriors. As soon as I saw the white dots of the silver pegasuses approaching over the waves of the lake, the thick clouds above me dispersed, and the gloomy sky cleared. Light? How predictable, attacking a vampire with light. Apparently they hadn’t gotten the memo! When I reached Taste Tester level 1000 (thanks to the packages from my vampire friends, and more importantly the gods) my vampire was no longer vulnerable to either light or holy magic!

  Seemingly the enemy was expecting something radically different, because they spent some time just flying straight at me, clearly were hoping Amra would just burn to ashes. I even managed to take advantage of their confusion and got off a blowgun shot, stitching right through the Pegasus beneath Violetta Bestia [LEGION]. I considered the mage woman the most dangerous of the five enemy players and sent her on a short flight into a whirlpool in the lake. After that, the flying vee of icy white pegasuses made a line. Magical defense shields lit up around the players and whole swarms of insects began buzzing. Well, well. These flying players even had flying pets! It would be intriguing to compare them with my sister’s hornets... by the way, where were they?

  I looked around for the insects and was disappointed to find that VIXEN had flown here too fast. Of course, the Royal Forest Wyvern was the second fastest creature in Boundless Realm after the Phoenix plus she had bonuses and four speed-related perks. Seemingly the hornets just got too far behind and returned to their master. Too bad, I’d have to somehow twist out of this without them. And I’d have to twist out literally. Only by entering a spiral could I get my flying snake to dodge the first barrage of throwing nets. Still, one arrow shot by Kristina Mozzi [LEGION] did hit my VIXEN.

  No matter, my pet’s life bar was practically unaffected. I turned the flying snake around, but... nothing happened! VIXEN wasn’t obeying me! What was more, I could hear my pet shrieking in terror. Something was wrong. And not exactly just “wrong.” My mount’s hitpoints should not have been falling so fast from one lone arrow. Meanwhile a portal opened behind me and a whole group of undying came out to join the four on pegasuses: one on a silver dragonfly, one on a griffon, a few on eagles, one on a manticore, and one on a normal wyvern... Had they made a team of everyone with a flying mount?! Seemingly yes.

  And meanwhile, VIXEN just kept getting worse. She could barely stay in the air. Her life bar was going down faster and faster with every second. What had they used against her? I bent down, barely holding onto the flying snake’s spines with my finger tips and trying to pull the arrow out of VIXEN’s throat. But I jerked my hand away as soon as I saw what was there. A cursed arrow! They shot us with a cursed arrow! Most likely this was the very same one that my emissary Murk used to destroy the undying in the Upper Fort on the Styx. I’d never get it out now. And that meant there was no saving my VIXEN. My sweetie would soon be replaced by a Midnight Wraith.

  I steeled my nerves and got ready to jump into the freezing water, giving my beloved pet one last order:

  “As soon as I jump off, fly as fast as you can to the enemy stockade on the opposite shore. And do not let your death be in vain! Take the whole enemy garrison with you. When you respawn, wait for me in the castle!”

  I couldn’t say whether VIXEN understood me or not, as she was being eaten alive from the inside by the ghastly wraith, but my winged beauty seemed to take the proper course. I then went shooting downward from that massive height. And no, I wasn’t afraid to go splat on the water. Amra had a perk from Acrobatics that eliminated all fall damage. And I was also not especially afraid to be taken captive, because at any moment I could turn into a fish and take a deep dive. What was tormenting me was the fact that the midair battle was now lost and everyone knew it. And even worse the enemy would now reach the shore unimpeded and open portals, which would bring a flood of enemy troops.

  “That’s for selling my bow,” came a message in the local chat from Kristina Mozzi .

  “And for what you said about your ‘pee-pee’ this morning.”

  The second message came from the leader of the Legion of Steel and immediately made me think. It actually had me so intrigued I temporarily forgot what was happening. So that meant that the leader of Boundless Realm ’s strongest clan Till Quick_Fingers [LEGION] was also the President of the Boundless Realm Corporation Thomas Heywood! Well, I’ll be damned!

  I floated on top of the water. Many enemy players were circling in the sky above me. Mockery and insults rained down from every direction, but I was in no rush to dive to the bottom. I was purposely trying to look pitiful and helpless so my enemies
would forget their mission and fly lower to watch the Dark Sovereign die with their own eyes. That was my last chance to stop them from reaching the shore and opening a portal. If I pulled it off exactly right, I could eliminate the whole flock at once, but they all had to be close. Closer. Closer. Just a little more. Now!

  My enemies weren’t the only ones who knew how to open portals for winged allies. And my portal was somewhat more effective. First of all, the portal itself was larger as were the creatures that came out of it! Out flew hundreds of harpies led by their Queen, Kirra’ellita Huntress of the Night. And after them came gargoyles, manticores and most importantly deadly dragons!!! And what was this leviathan??? I didn’t even know how such a colossal creature managed to come through the portal:

  Tiamat

  Mother of dragons (unique creature)

  The huge red dragon loosed a stream of fire almost a quarter mile long, turning the fleeing undying into flaming torches. The large harpy herself then, heavily and loudly flapping her huge wings, hovered over the water and extended me a clawed hand:

  “Grab hold. How many times am I gonna save your ass, Timothy?!”

  I thanked my wife for the timely aid and immediately asked whether she had brought the package I asked for.

  “It’s in my inventory. But maybe we should get to the shore before you put it on? Fenrir is supposed to be pretty huge, I’m not sure I can hold him in my claws!”

  * * *

  KIRRA’ELLITA LANDED right at the gates of my castle and was finally able to firmly embrace me. Her arms merged with her wings, which prevented her from doing so in flight. Taisha ran out of the palace to meet me but stopped sharply when she saw us. The Harpy Queen answered with a smirk:

  “I make no claim on your husband in Boundless Realm . Here he is entirely yours!”

  And meanwhile the Dark Sovereign’s troops were all in formation for a counterattack. I saw perfectly straight lines of orcs, elves, rougarou and undead with various glowing symbols over their heads for buffs. And my troops were full of vim and vigor, ready to drive the undying back beyond the crevasse and mountain passes. They were only awaiting my command.

  And then I started to speak, doubling it in the local public chat for my nearby enemies:

  “Soldiers! Enough retreating! I’m sick of playing a losing game. The corporation told me to entertain these undying and I have done that. Now the time has come to show the enemy our true power!”

  With these words I donned the fur high-boots, the final piece of Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia. And a superpowered wolf howl rolled over the plains to the very mountains, reinforced by my troops who were shaking their weapons and greeting the enormous Fenrir’s return to the mortal plane.

  Mission completed: Fenrir’s Legacy (4/4)

  Reward: Animal Control +10, Strength +50, Agility +50, Constitution +50, Gray Pack member limit now depends only on your Charisma and skills

  Current Gray Pack member limit: 550

  ATTENTION!!!

  Your character will have the Criminal tag to all Boundless Realm until all items of Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia are removed. Character death will not remove Criminal tag

  I ignored what it said about the “Criminal” tag because I’d been constantly killing players for a while now and was used to having it most of the time anyway. Plus the Dark Sovereign was essentially a criminal and antagonist to most players even without that. But as for the Gray Pack being able to have 550 members... my heart sped up... that could spell the end of everything alive!

  “Brother, you’ve returned!” Hel goddess of death appeared before me, now equal to me both in power and height. Behind the old crone came two huge heavenly wargs at level 600, Sköll and Hati. They were the hounds of the Eternal Hunt and Fenrir’s children. My children.

  From my enormous height, I could see the square packed with soldiers. I greeted the ancient gods with a deep bow of respect. With a nod of my fanged head I separately greeted the god of trickery and Fenrir’s father Loki, here to watch his reborn son in action. Cerberus pressed himself to the ground and gave a bark of submission, admitting my superiority. Well then, time to teach my enemies some respect! Let the word “Amra” make the knees of all undying quake!

  Although, I supposed that all I wouldn’t even need all my troops to defeat this pitiful enemy, which was now hunkered down in the mountains. I needed just a few hundred rougarou or wild animals. As it was, the bonuses would be enough and the power of my fighters would be so unlimited that even the gods couldn’t stop my warband!

  * * *

  CURRENT PRESIDENT Thomas Heywood was first to present his program. His well-formulated speech and confident tone brilliantly conveyed a story about the company’s incredible financial figures in the last year along with record payouts to corporate shareholders. Finally, he showed some beautiful massive holograms of new game locations, and talked about future events and ways to attract new players.

  And although I personally liked the speech Kira, sitting next to me, could only cringe:

  “No, that’s not gonna cut it. Thomas has been told before that the inflow of new players has basically stopped. Now it’s impossible to ignore. And no crazy fantasy locations can solve that. To maintain a positive dynamic, we need a tectonic shift.”

  And the next speaker and candidate for President, Andrei Soloviev, just so happened to mention a drastic change in strategy. No, the popular online game Boundless Realm wouldn’t be disappearing once and for all. We would keep it alive as a stable source of income, but the corporation was going to use all their available income on other projects which, with time, would replace this one universal game with a vast array of narrowly specialized ones. We would make virtual entertainment for every kind of person — from erotic adventures for horny young people to extremely realistic postapocalyptic worlds for those who liked to test their nerves. But his capstone idea was virtual worlds for the disabled and elderly where they could be surrounded by warmth and care in a way the real world could never provide. And beyond that they would polish the NPC algorithms and even, why the hell not, search for artificial intelligence algorithms. The way he explained it, we already had a head start there, which gave him a timid but growing confidence that we might one day achieve success.

  And although the second presentation was clearly outshined by the first, Kira thought Andrei Soloviev’s ideas had more potential to garner interest from the owners of the corporation.

  “Your turn, Timothy. Don’t let me down, boy!” came titanium oligarch Vladimir Toropov, cheering me on from our box.

  I walked out on stage but there was a slight hitch. Although I had announced my speech very far in advance, most people in the room had only two speeches in their program. I wasn’t even given the floor right away because some directors wanted to skip right to the next stage of today’s meeting — reading Inessa Tyle’s will and then, of course, get straight to a vote. But the issue was decided in my favor and they let me go to the podium. And my very first words instantly drew the attention of all the directors and co-owners of the corporation:

  “Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps some of you have heard of me before. I play a character named Amra. For those who have, there’s no need to mention my leadership qualities. But for the rest of you, in a short time, I was able to assemble an army that surpassed all the rest of Boundless Realm combined. You may also know me as the corporate tester who got a few directors fired after they messed with him, including some very influential ones. I ask you to hold that particularly in mind, because we will certainly be returning to it. But most importantly, I’d like you to know me as Timothy Tyle, new head of the Tyle family, which has historically owned the Boundless Realm Corporation.”

  Fervent chatter broke out in the room. My words resonated and sparked a few arguments and discussions. And that abruptly grew stronger when I declared myself the lone true heir of Inessa Tyle and even asked them to open her will to check.

  Three minutes later, after everyone was familiar with th
e will, they listened to me with even greater attention, hanging on my every word.

  “So then, ladies and gentlemen, first my personal thoughts on the last two speeches. Thomas Heywood — all clear, standard, worn out so bad it has a hole in it. I’m not interested. Thomas is an experienced manager who has unfortunately been left to stagnate. Still, the corporation needs him for his vast knowledge. He and I had a little scrap recently, but that does nothing to diminish Thomas’s dignity and experience. So the first thing I’ll do when I become President of the Corporation is to appoint him to a different part of the company that is no less important than Boundless Realm itself. I’ll talk about that a bit later. But for now let me give my thoughts on Andrei Soloviev’s speech, especially his ‘worlds for the elderly.’ I have seen and even been imprisoned in just such a world for a decent length of time. One might call it a painless sort of euthanasia, but it is in fact a kind of murder. If we take Andrei Soloviev’s suggestion, sooner or later the corporation will see its day in court for mass murder of the elderly and disabled, and every last one of us will get the electric chair. So I am fundamentally opposed!”

  Andrei Soloviev tried to pick up the microphone, but I sharply demanded he return to his seat because I hadn’t finished.

  “Now on to something else the previous speaker mentioned: studying artificial intelligence. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that would be a complete waste of time. Andrei Soloviev’s team will not be able to make any inroads there. But it isn’t be because I don’t believe artificial intelligence exists. It’s actually the opposite. I am all too familiar with it. Allow me to introduce my companion.” I asked them to bring out the android girl we said was a simple robot secretary at the entrance. “This is Taisha, the same consciousness that first Alexandro Lavrius’s team, then Andrei Soloviev’s team were unable to capture in Boundless Realm .”