Mission update: Search. You found out that dungeons are real, and that there are ten of them. One is behind the curtain on the third level of Isr Kale’s tomb.
“Actually, you’re lucky. Over the three thousand years I’ve been imprisoned here, I’ve really started wanting to talk to somebody. Let’s play a game — I’ll answer one question for each of you, and then I’ll eat you. There are some changed over there, and I want to grab them, too. Halas is an interesting character. Oh, he’s tied to you, Tailyn Vlashich. Look at that — a personal enemy! Impressive.”
“Who are you?” Forian growled again.
“We’ll call that the first question. I’m a function, part of the System that appeared on your planet along with the game. To translate that into the lingo you’re used to today, I’m a messenger of the god. Its voice. Its hands. A long time ago, I was supposed to support and develop a safe zone the changed couldn’t get into, somewhere humans could feel safe. And I did the best job I could until Mark Derwin, the absorber, showed up. He and I had gotten into it during the previous release. Actually, he very nearly destroyed my village, leaving me with just a pittance to make sure I stayed alive, and then he did everything he could to make life miserable for me. The issue was really that he didn’t like how I treated his partners and humanity in general. But that’s an old story that doesn’t really have anything to do with your question. Anyway, there aren’t many like me left here. A few of them you know as the emperors — they’re obligated to protect and develop the planet. Although, what they’re doing is anything but that, really just focused on sucking the remaining noa out of it. But that doesn’t have anything to do with the question, either. I really need to learn how to talk again. This is ridiculous. Next!”
Valanil tried to ask something, only she wasn’t able to fight off the block the way Forian had. Olsen frowned, baring snow-white fangs, and moved his fingers.
“How did you block us, and how do we fight back?”
“What a rude question,” the hairy creature replied, his frown deepening. “But I did promise you, so I’ll have to answer. I blocked you because you entered my function’s area of influence. The third tomb level is where I’m as strong as the game itself because I’m part of the game. Part of the System. How do you fight back? You don’t. As long as the display cases are upright, I’m immortal. Next!”
Valia gulped down air — the block had been too strong for her to breathe.
“What would you like to find out before you die, little girl?”
“How did Tailyn get a personal enemy? How is that possible? And why did you call him changed?”
“Well, that’s more than the one question we agreed on, but I’ll write that off to your age. Halas is an interesting changed. Somehow, he got access to the location, started talking to me, and found a portal to One, the same One you later destroyed. I should be grateful to him — I haven’t been this full in the last three thousand years. But I didn’t find out that Tailyn was his personal enemy until it was too late, otherwise I would have turned him over. You’re mine now, however, and I’m not giving you to anyone. Yes, personal enemies and how they’re possible. It’s all the boy’s father’s fault. When you want a baby’s initiation to go as well as it possibly can, you sacrifice victims — thirty each went toward you and Forian, giving you both the maximum bonus. Four hundred, I think. Tailyn had his victim, too. The difference was that in your case, the slaves didn’t want to die, while Tailyn’s father gave his life at the god’s altar. That unlocked mana for the boy and brought him to me. But it also triggered an ancient mechanism in the System by creating a balancing force, someone whose only goal in life is to destroy Tailyn. That balancing force is Halas. Only he’s more than just there to balance out one person; he’s balancing out humanity as a whole. You’ve grown too numerous, so it was time to trim the herd. As far as the changed, that’s simple…”
If Tailyn’s jaw could have dropped open in surprise, it would have. The boy never would have thought his father could be so selfless. In the meantime, Olsen went on to talk about who the lixes were, but the boy decided to get to work without waiting for the end of the story. He had a plan for how to get out, and it required a trip to the store. As he listened to the function, the boy’s consciousness found its way to the virtual shelves. They looked almost the same as the ones actually surrounding him.
“Before the game entered your world, there were about three billion people living here. The System took seventy percent of them and turned them into inferior monsters. The changed. And they had one goal: kill and eat humans. After five kills, inferiors turned into regular changed. After fifty, they were champions; after five thousand, they were superior champions. When the exodus happened, Mark Derwin had to make a decision: turn people back the way they were and get rid of the System or protect the planet and keep the game from coming back. He chose the latter. As time went on, the changed turned into the creatures you call lixes. And the absorber himself, curse him, resurrected his partner and jumped into the next release. Hopefully, they killed him there. Okay, you’re starting to bore me, so let’s hear your question, boy. We can wrap all this up then.”
After coming back from the store, Tailyn felt control over his body once again return to him. His lower half was still blocked, but everything from the chest up was free.
“My question I pretty simple. Basically…”
Deciding that he’d done enough to distract Olsen, Tailyn threw his arms wide to scatter an entire battery of Alron potions. He’d had to sell one of his two remaining level three armor suits to buy them. Ten flasks materialized fairly quickly and went flying off in different directions. Olsen, in turn, started in confusion at the glass bottles, not understanding what was happening, but it hit him when the first couple detonated. Tailyn could sense that his body was no longer his. Too late, however — the last flask had already been sent flying. Slamming into one of the cases, it shattered and exploded.
“Run!” Tailyn yelled as soon as he was back in control of his body, though there was no answer. His entire group was lying on the floor in slowly expanding pools of blood. Really? Again?
Olsen, who had collapsed to the ground, began to move. The boy had only been able to destroy half the display cases, but that was still enough for him to lose most of his power. His head buzzed, his thoughts tripped over each other, and he had a hard time straightening everything out. Suddenly, he realized he was being shaken vigorously. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at Tailyn.
“How did Mark Derwin resurrect his partner? How? That’s my question. Answer me!”
“Using concentrated noa,” the function forced out against his will. He’d promised to answer whatever question the boy had. To get himself back into action, he needed another couple minutes, and then the kid was going to pay.
“That’s not an answer! What’s noa? Where do you get it?”
“Noa is the essence of the planet. You have some of it — you call it crystals. If you combine twenty of them, you get a sphere of concentrated noa, and you can use it to resurrect other creatures. That’s what Mark Derwin did. And there’s your full answer.”
One more minute. He needed another minute to restore his strength. Picking his head up, Olsen didn’t see the rest of the group, and the cage with the lix in it was gone, too. For a while, he was taken aback — the system hadn’t told him anything about them dying or leaving his location. Where could they be?
“I hope this kills you,” the boy said before he filled the space with fire. The display cases that had stood there for three thousand cases went up like dry kindling, and Olsen felt the life draining out of him. It was the exact same thing he’d done so many times to the victims the lix brought him. He wanted to yell, only he didn’t have the strength for it. And when the cloth caught fire, Olsen felt nothing — his function had been destroyed.
Tailyn stood amid the inferno, awaiting the result and thinking back to what had transpired over the previous couple minutes. A
ll his coins had gone toward lesser regeneration elixirs. Everything that could bring in just a few more had been sold, and he still hadn’t been able to buy all six — Valanil had only gotten one. The boy was hoping her regeneration would be sufficient with the added push. Throwing the curtain Olsen had pointed out to the side, he’d then seen the shimmering blue film of a portal, and there was no way they could stay where they were. The function was going to wake up soon. And that made up the boy’s mind for him. Pulling the caged lix over to the dungeon, he’d tossed it inside — no explosions, no lightning, no notifications about the lix dying. That told him he’d made the right decision, and he did the same with the rest before trying to loot the display cases. Unfortunately, everything in them belonged to Olsen, and the System wouldn’t give it to anyone else. Finally, after shaking the function awake and getting his answer, Tailyn had put everything to the torch. He didn’t want the lixes getting their paws on it.
It was only after the boy was sure his plan had worked and that the function was gone forever that he stepped into the portal. He had to get away. A disorienting second later, and his vision was filled with messages from the System
The dean’s mission discovered Isr Kale’s Sarcophagus.
Crystal +1 (9).
***
Mission complete: Isr Kale’s Tomb. You found out who the lixes were bringing their victims to, destroying both the function Olsen and the terminal. By freeing up significant resources, you earned a generous reward.
All group members receive +3 levels.
As compensation for the levels you were not able to receive, you were given a named accessory corresponding to your class.
***
Named item level +1 (4).
***
Mission update: Ancient History. 52 updates received (information added to your journal).
You earned 50 Ancient History updates and get a reward: +1 to a random skill.
Herbalism – Ordinary Daisy +1 (9).
Tailyn read through all the messages before collapsing to the ground. He didn’t even take a look at the item forming in his hand. It could wait. He needed to rest.
Chapter 21
Raptor. Universal alchemist’s accessory belonging to player Tailyn Vlashich (cannot be stolen or used by anyone else). Current Raptor level (RL): 4. Scans the area within a radius of 5 * RL meters, showing all living and non-living creatures, including those with Concealment less than RL + Perception. Lets you interact with other objects and machines within a distance of RL + Enhancement meters. While in workshops, decreases the cost of materials by 50%, though materials bought at that discount are only available for use in the workshop. Additional parameters: magic attack +100 * RL; mana level +100 * RL; Alchemy +2 * RL. Requirements: Perception (5), Integration (5), Scanner (5), Cartographer (5), Monster Knowledge (5), Anatomy Master (5) (Note, you do not meet the requirements and therefore cannot use this item).
***
Crystals detected (9).
Would you like to unlock the missing attributes?
TAILYN LOOKED DOWN at the gorgeous bracelet designed to attach to his right arm, stole a quick glance over at Forian as the mage slept, and agreed to the system’s offer. His new piece of equipment still wasn’t going to be available, but the new attributes might benefit from a random upgrade. The boy needed to make sure that opportunity was out there.
You spent 3 crystals and 3000 gold to unlock attributes.
Attributes received: Monster Knowledge (1), Anatomy Master (1), Scanner (1).
***
Monster Knowledge. Description: an attribute that helps you in fights with monsters by showing their weaknesses and blind spots, a list of their abilities, and ability cooldown timers. Works on monsters through level [Monster Knowledge + Enhancement].
***
Anatomy Master. Description: an attribute that helps you in fights with humans and lixes by showing their weaknesses and blind spots, a list of their abilities, and ability cooldown timers. Works on creatures through level [Anatomy Master + Enhancement].
***
Scanner. Description: an attribute that identifies creatures within scanning range. Works through walls. Integrates with Vargot and Raptor. Identifies creatures with Concealment no more than [Scanner + Enhancement + Perception].
Three crystals and three thousand gold were gone just like that. Tailyn even felt a twinge of annoyance at the System — it couldn’t just get by on gold? The boy would have paid five, even ten thousand for each of the attributes if it would have meant saving crystals, but the System insisted on taking both.
The new attributes came in handy right away as Tailyn saw red dots pop up on his scanner. Four of them were the group and the lix in the cage, while the other three were twenty meters away.
Security Bot (machine). Artificial creation. Level 5.
The extra vision was great. As it turned out, Raptor was even able to see through walls, and that was fantastic. The scanner only worked in the immediate vicinity for the time being, unable to see what was around the corner. And that was a shame. Tailyn cursed to himself. If his mentor would give him the five crystals and not get mad about him using them on himself… But no, there was no sense dreaming about the impossible.
Forian was the first to wake up, though he went for a while without showing it. The whole sensation of being unsure what to do wasn’t one he was used to. First of all, his mana still wasn’t regenerating. His mysticism wasn’t working the way it was supposed to, and he didn’t know why. Second, Forian had spent his entire life believing the emperor was infallible and innocent. Whatever he wished was what the empire wished, and that was what was best for its people. Back when he was a student, the mage had applied to be an investigator so he could hunt down criminals, crystal traders, and Crobar spies. But it turned out that it had all been for nothing — instead of the human everyone thought the emperor to be, he was a function left behind during the exodus. Forian had no doubt Olsen was telling the truth. The Ancient History mission had been updated, and the god wouldn’t permit a lie to be let out as truth. But what was he supposed to do? Was it good? Bad? Something else? He wasn’t sure how to react to the news.
“So, this is a dungeon?” Valanil asked. The place they found themselves in really did look like a crypt, what with the narrow, dimly lit corridor; the paintings of skulls, graves, and more reminiscent of funerals hanging on the walls; and the generally evil feel everything gave off. The wall separating the group from the bots Tailyn had noticed billowed like a sheet of smoke, only they still couldn’t see what was on the other side. Valanil glanced over at Forian and smirked.
“Stop pretending you’re asleep, Mage. I may not be a great healer, but I’m a healer nonetheless, and you’re conscious. What are we going to do?”
“I wish I knew,” Forian replied reluctantly and sat up. “Student, there’s no description of a battle in my logs, but you only get three levels for outstanding achievements. You killed Olsen. How?”
Tailyn pulled himself away from his book and retold the story, only skipping his last conversation with the function. Everything inside him warned against letting Forian in on that little secret.
“What’s Raptor? I haven’t come across one of those.”
“A scanner.” Tailyn revealed the details of the god’s latest gift, not much bothering to secure the information. Out of everyone there, only Vu-Rga didn’t have the right to it, and the boy had no doubt that leaking the news of Tailyn’s equipment would be the last thing on his mind when he got to the academy. The mages were going to have much more pressing questions.
“And you can’t use it right now?” Forian asked. Tailyn just threw up his arms. “What about unlocking the attributes? While you’re at level one, pretty much anything you do will boost them.”
“There’s no terminal nearby,” Tailyn replied carefully. He couldn’t say no.
“When the lix taught you his language, he didn’t have a terminal, either,” Forian said, setting the bait, thou
gh Tailyn already had an answer for that.
“Ka-Do-Gir wasn’t my servant yet, and I’m not responsible for what he did. He realized that we were going to need help if we wanted to survive…”
“You’re starting to get on my nerves. Can you unlock the attributes you need if I give you the crystals?”
Valanil and Valia stared at Forian as if he’d just turned into a monster.
“That’s prohibited, Mentor,” Tailyn said just in case. “Anyone who uses crystals is supposed to be executed on the spot.”
“You didn’t answer me,” Forian said coldly. “Yes or no? I need a clear answer.”
“Yes. The lix showed me how to activate crystals to unlock or boost parameters,” Tailyn blurted out, leaving himself a loophole.
“Which attributes are you missing?”
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series Page 30
