1
Acid
1
Lesser Regeneration Potion
*
Card Saturation
4
Alchemy
Points invested:
22
Alchemical Fire (rare recipe). Current level: 1. You learned how to make alchemical fire that burns for 1 minute (depends on the recipe level). Note! Ignites when it comes into contact with oxygen. Required ingredients: Alchemical Flask (1), Salamander Saliva (2), Basic Thickener (1), Basic Thinner (1).
***
Cold Explosion (rare recipe). Current level: 1. You learned how to make cold explosion potions that hit opponents with a charge of cold. The temperature depends on the recipe level. Initial temperature: -40 degrees. Required ingredients: Alchemical Flask (1), Edelweiss (2), Ice Rose (2).
***
Acid (rare recipe). Current level: 1. You learned how to make acid capable of corroding most metals. Does not work on glass. Duration in open air: 1 minute (depends on the recipe level). Required ingredients: Alchemical Flask (1), Basilisk Sweat (2), Sulfur (2).
***
Lesser Regeneration Potion (epic recipe). You learned how to make lesser regeneration potions that can heal beings that have lost no more than 50% of their organism. Required: level 20 Alchemy or higher. Required ingredients: Alchemical Flask (1), Amilio (1), Phoenix Feather (1), Living Water (2).
As soon as he read through the recipes and found out the kind of requirements they came with, Tailyn’s excitement quickly died away. The first three needed fairly rare ingredients: edelweiss, basilisk sweat, and salamander saliva. Luckily, there were enough of them in the alchemist’s bag for ten potions or so, but that was the end of the good news. Of the four ingredients needed to make the last potion, Tailyn only had the alchemical flasks. And he had no idea where to get the rest. He’d seen how tricky it was to get your hands on an amilio, and if the others were just as rare, he might as well not have the recipe in the first place.
That just left going through the loot he’d gotten earlier. With the potions, everything made sense — he was going to be able to use them as needed. That had just happened, in fact, and Tailyn shivered, thinking back to the fire.
Lesser Armor (8). Description: ordinary item that protects the wearer. Shield level +20.
Lesser Staff. Description: ordinary item that lets its owner both use magic and brush aside its enemies. That’s all this stick is good for. Physical attack +30. Magic attack +30.
Intellect Ring-I. Description: ordinary item with no special characteristics. Intellect +1.
The armor was entirely useless, good just for selling and forgetting. The ring and staff were a different story, however. Finally, Tailyn had something he could hit people over the head with. Pulling up his status table, Tailyn looked through the changes. There weren’t many since his return from the City of the Dead, but there were some.
Status table
General character information
Tailyn Vlashich, betrothed to Valia Levor
Alchemist
Level
1
Age
11
Yearly tax (crystals)
1 (beginning at age 16)
Coins
384
Gold
2727
Main parameters
Shield level
0 (3231)
Mana level
4200 (5211)
Physical attack
97
Magic attack
447
Attributes
Enhancement
13
Mysticism
7
Intellect
6
Armor
4
Wisdom
4
Perception
2
Regeneration
3
Agility
2
Strength
1
Concealment
1
Skills
Alchemy
Points invested:
22
Herbalism
Points invested:
13
Linguist
Points invested:
1
“Tailyn, time to go!” Valanil yelled. “Enough enjoying your loot. Stick the ring on your finger and the staff in your teeth and get over here. Time to become a man!”
Chapter 3
TAILYN STARED at the shimmering boxes and realized that nothing in the world could have made him touch them, not even if someone said there were a hundred crystals inside. That was all that was left of the poor numericals. Having found their way into Berad’s hands by a cruel twist of fate and been burned during the red lix attack, they’d ended their lives in a wave cast by the boy. He twitched as he remembered the faces begging for the sweet release of death. All they cared about was not being left to the lixes.
They’d never had a shot. Really, it was a surprise they’d lived that long without regeneration, healing, or food. Valanil had categorically refused to help them, calling it a waste of mana. Instead, she told the boy about the place the lixes had been taking them.
“The lixes need humans for the Forest of Desire. It’s an ancient legend wrapped in fable and contradictions, and we don’t know much about it. Only shamans, chiefs, and a particular caste of traffickers are allowed in. Although, okay, slaves can go in, too, as long as they have the special mark. Everyone else is kept out or destroyed at the entrance. Nobody knows what happens, though the lixes come back out covered in blood and holding rich gifts. But without the humans. When these poor creatures are caught, and they will be caught since they won’t get far in their condition, they’ll be taken to the Forest of Desire. Believe me, something worse than being stripped of their souls will happen to them there. Eternal torment? Maybe. There’s something about that in the ancient texts. You need to make a decision, Tailyn Vlashich. Either you let the lixes have them so they can limp along another couple days, or… You know what to do.”
Tailyn had never had other people beg him to kill them before. And they were serious, too. The numericals were scared, but they were terrified of what awaited them. Ultimately, the whole thing took just a single charge and a couple moments.
After sitting down next to Valanil, Tailyn stared off into space as he tried to push back the feeling of guilt over what he’d done. It didn’t work. Over and over again, he played through what had happened, trying to find a way to save the other humans. They could have hauled them away into the steppe using the wagons. Healed them. Found a portal, jumped back to safety. Anything. At some point, his reason won over, and Tailyn asked a question to avoid falling into another round of self-recrimination.
“That’s not everything you know about the Forest of Desire, is it? Can you tell me more?”
Valanil fell silent for a while. She was deciding whether to take the next step or not — she hadn’t sworn to take that knowledge with her to the grave. Sure, Crobar graduates didn’t share information about the Forest of Desire as a rule, but there was no direct prohibition. And just when Tailyn was beginning to suspect he wasn’t going to hear anything, the woman jumped into the story.
“There isn’t much information available. Too much time has passed; too much knowledge has been lost. Really, the only thing we know for sure is that it’s the tomb of the founder of Crobar, the great Isr Kale. His last wish was to — ”
“Isr Kale? The ancient general who fought the whites?” Tailyn asked in excitement, and the herbalist very nearly lost her composure. The reflexes beaten into her since she was little demanded she kill anyone who knew that much about the school’s founder. If he was a secret Crobar agent, he’d be expecting the attack. If not, nobody would blame her. The only problem was that she didn’t owe Crobar anything anymore, and that saved Tailyn’s life. Almost as if reading her mind, the god sent her a mission update:
Mission update: Ancient History. Secret mission. The li
st of people (42) you can discuss this with has been updated. New addition: Tailyn Vlashich, human, level 1.
“You have the mission, too?” Tailyn asked with surprise when he got a similar notification. The only difference was that he didn’t have a list — just Ka-Do-Gir, Valia, and Valanil.
“Sure, it’s useless,” the herbalist snorted. “So secret that everyone knows about it. Almost everybody out there has it, you can’t turn it down, and it never ends. Yes, I have it, too.”
“Can you tell me something? What’s the exodus? Why are people called players? Where — ”
“Not so fast, Tailyn. Knowledge is never free, and I paid a terrible price for mine. You wanted to know who General Isr Kale was? That’s all you get. If there’s something else you’re looking to find out about, figure out how you can pay for it. Anyway, a few thousand years ago, there was an event you called the exodus. The other races left our planet, leaving behind humans, monsters, and lixes. But the humans weren’t united. Instead, they’d split into several groups. One of them was the whites, the ones we call mages now. They founded the academy and cared only about ruling the entire world with the knowledge, abilities, and magic strength the god gave them. But against them were the soldiers, those who relied on weaponry and their own strength rather than divine intervention. After all, any magic is first and foremost the god’s will. Isr Kale was the leader of the soldiers. We’re not sure how he kept the world from falling into the whites’ hands, though rumor has it the mages weren’t able to handle a mission from the god, and it punished them by stripping them of their strength. Now, the whites have to use a facilitator for their magic — cards. Isr Kale himself founded a school that trained people to fight the mages, people capable of maintaining peace in the world and keeping it from being turned over to the ruinous whims of the academy provost. When the general died, his body and all the equipment he’d compiled over the years were enclosed in the area we now call the Forest of Desire. It was sealed up to make sure no living creatures could break in and get their hands on dangerous equipment, though the black lixes found a way around that. They were the ones who gave the location its name; they’re the ones who learned how to trade humans for devices. Nobody knows how that’s possible. Perhaps, there’s a security system or minions similar to what One had. I don’t know… And hopefully, I’ll never find out, as nobody has ever come back from the forest.”
Mission update: Search for Coordinates. You found out that General Isr Kale was buried along with his belongings in a zone called the Forest of Desire. The key to Lavr Nalin’s notebook might be in the tomb.
“Why is ancient history a useless mission? It comes from the god…”
“Because it never ends. You find out something new, and that just opens up even more you’re supposed to learn. The mission updates again and again, over and over. At the academy, where I hope you’ll end up studying, there’s a whole group of fanatics determined to find out the whole history of the ancients. They were there twenty years ago, and I’m sure they’re still there. It’s impossible to tell how far you have to go. Okay, that’s enough. You learned about Isr, and the rest is only once I’m paid.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“Wait. I have another two hours to go before I’m healed, and then it’ll be time to run. For a while. And quickly. Here.”
Valanil made a few adjustments, and a map projected onto the ground. The area they were currently in was just an empty space with no mountains or names to be seen. Although, no, there was one name: Gray Lands. And Tailyn had to agree — there was definitely something gray about the space around them regardless of the greenery. The woman was pointing at a city called Salin. Tailyn found Culmart and whistled, finding the distance between the two cities to be half as long as the distance they were going to have to cover just to get to Salin. Somehow, he knew it was going to take them a good week.
“Yes, kind of far,” the herbalist said, correctly diagnosing the boy’s reaction and tracing a route with her finger. “First, we’ll go here — I’ve heard there’s an abandoned ancient city in this area, so we’ll find it and hunker down for a couple days. That should be enough for whoever’s following us to skip by. Then, we’ll head straight. I have no idea what to expect, but get ready to be hungry. I don’t have any food with me.”
“What about the horses? The wagons? What are we doing with them?”
“Leaving them here. However good Berad’s troops are, they won’t be able to find our tracks in the stone, especially after a couple days. And they won’t show up sooner than that. First, they have to get to the red lix camp, where they’ll figure out something’s wrong, and then they’ll head back here. Yes, we definitely have two days. We’re not taking anything with us, and I’m tired. We should get some sleep before heading out.”
Once the sun was up, Tailyn and Valanil set off along the steppe at a light jog. There weren’t too many trees around, though the numerous hills and high ground kept them hidden from stray glances. A few times, there was a protracted howl from some monster that was taken up by another dozen of them. The mages didn’t have any problems, however. As might have been expected, Tailyn threw in the towel first, his legs simply refusing to go any further an hour later. Valanil had a hard time suppressing a smile. She’d been anticipating that for a while, and the boy had surprised her.
“Ten minutes,” she said, and Tailyn flopped onto the ground. “When did you boost your agility?”
“It was a reward for killing the lixes,” the boy wheezed, and Valanil grimaced — she definitely wasn’t going to be getting anything like that. She’d forgotten Tailyn was still down at level one, which meant nearly all the opponents they were going to be up against were going to give him bonuses. The lucky bastard.
“We’re moving too slowly. Berad should already be starting to worry, so let’s go. The next break will be in two hours.”
Valanil had only said that to spur Tailyn on, but she was right on the money. Just then, one of the shamans in the red lix camp stepped into the middle of it and pulled out a portal card. Every day, right at nine in the morning, he activated a portal that let anyone with a copy of the card activate it at the same time and come home to the tribe. And the list of “anyones” was restricted to the shaman and his apprentices. After waiting a couple moments the way he usually did, the lix was about to turn off the portal when it suddenly opened — someone was looking to come home. An instant later, a semicircle flickered in the square, and creatures started pouring out. A crowd of inferior lixes came out first with a merry howl. Having gotten their fill of meat, they dashed over to the enclosure looking to get some sleep. It had been a fun night. Those who had survived had feasted, and they were followed by weak and bound humans with dead eyes. They’d already resigned themselves to their fate. Next, there were red lix warriors, Berad’s mercenaries with a few mages bound arm and leg, and finally the two leaders. Shaman Mu-Ro-Div and Berad Gor the crystal fence stepped out, and the portal closed behind them.
The mercenary leader was in a great mood. Not only had he gotten rid of a direct competitor; he’d picked up a great load. Eighty slaves. That was more than they’d been counting on, especially when you threw in the three mages. Stripped of their shields and mana, their mouths gagged, they were perfect for trading to the blacks. Speaking of which, there was one right there. Heading back and forth to inspect the humans, the black lix was counting them like cattle. The quality didn’t matter. What was important was that they stay alive until they could be sacrificed.
“Eighty regulars,” he said, though he paused when he saw the mages. “Three mages! Okay, that makes fourteen crystals. Not a bad haul, Berad Gor! You…”
The lix trailed off the moment he read the description of one of the mages. Shaking his head, almost as if he were having a hard time believing his eyes, he read it again. Just to make sure, he even stepped to the side, paced quickly back and forth for a while, and headed back.
Berad tensed up. He didn’
t like the black’s behavior in the least, and Mu-Ro-Div backed up his partner, not sure what else to do. If they made a mistake, Halas’ wrath would be fearsome. The red lixes would be goners. Just take the greens — after some lix named Ka-Do-Gir, his name be cursed among the lixes, had made a mistake, they’d been just about wiped out.
“You know how to please, Berad Gor,” the lix finally said as he read the mage’s description one last time.
Valia Levor (human). Mage. Age 11. Level 13. Betrothed to Tailyn Vlashich.
“You’ll get ten crystals for this mage, and the red lixes and Berad Gor are both under the protection of Halas from this moment onward. That is his will! Just one more enemy, and the blacks will be avenged.”
“That last enemy isn’t Tailyn Vlashich, is it?” Berad asked cautiously after he read the girl’s description. She was pretty despite the cuts and bruises — ten years older, and she definitely would have piqued his interest, but not at that age. Children didn’t do it for him. But one thing that did occur to him was that she was the very same girl the reward had been set for. Interesting… The duke was offering a hundred thousand coins for his daughter, or ten times more than Berad was hoping to get for the ten crystals. Only the duke’s coins didn’t interest him in the least. They came with too much attention.
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series Page 4
