“In addition, I will require a personal discount for your work in alchemy after we complete the Academy – a 100 percent one.” I found a solution. Despite my surprise I was not going to let my quarry get away. “In other words, you’ll make elixirs for me at the cost of the ingredients.”
“I agree,” another notice of the Game came and went quickly. The agreement was made. However, as I already knew, an agreement was not a contract: it could be broken.
“In this case I suggest we allow the Game to prepare the text of the contract,” I said, in my mind already rubbing my hands in anticipation of loot. Zangar humphed, but agreed to draw the contract for our agreement to take official form. Marinar had no objection.
“Wonderful. Now tell me, how did you restore Marinar’s head? For I am going to develop an inferiority complex if my hand is not restored soon…”
The day that it took Dolgunata to bring back the Paladins turned out to be a busy one. Zangar, carefully searching for words, told me about life after the Academy — what would be a good thing to do and where to go immediately after getting to the main world. In some ways his recommendations were similar to Gromana’s, yet there were nuances: Zangar suggested that the first thing I should do was to visit an auction and upgrade my inventory. Understanding that I wouldn’t get much out of the necromancer, I asked him and Marinar to tell me about their worlds. While Zangar answered reluctantly, obviously withholding information, the mage was unstoppable. I learned practically everything about Varnax, starting from its political framework to the details of microbiology on which the girl had been working. The Book of Knowledge purred and burped quietly, digesting more information; by the time we ought to have slept the artifact had easily acquired an additional level, increasing the “Neuronal Network” to 2 units. Internally, I reproached myself: nothing had been keeping me from doing it before. Just grab any player and interrogate him, torturing him as needed to get him to talk about his world.
At the second level of “Neuronal Network”, the space around me was transformed. Here and there areas were highlighted in a greenish fog. I started exploring the forest around me in detail, looking at every tree and blade of grass; that raised the artifact experience bar by another 30 percent. I owed Gromana: because of her hint it was becoming easier to level the artifact up with every new level.
“Get up, loafers!” Dolgunata’s loud voice jerked me from the pleasant state I had encountered in the Academy for the first time: sleep. Over the few years of my personal time I had become unused to lying down and closing my eyes; at first for a couple of hours I just lounged on the ground, counting the stars. There were alternating days and nights in the Labyrinth. When Morpheus finally took pity on me and I sank into sleep it seemed to me that I was rudely yanked out of it at once by Nata, who was hanging over us three with a pleased smirk. “Who would ever set up camp in the middle of the road? Killing you would be a piece of cake!”
“No one here to kill us.” Zangar remarked to her, rising to his feet. Stretching to loosen his limbs that had stiffened during the night, he asked: “Where are Paladins?”
“They’ll be here any minute now; I decided to show up a little early. Yari, activate the stone.”
“Not so fast,” I cut the druid short and followed the necromancer’s example by standing up and stretching. “First I want to make sure we discuss what I will be getting for that.”
“WHAT?!” The druid exclaimed in astonishment, and immediately her eyes shifted to Zangar: “Is this your doing?!”
“Yari figured himself,” the necromancer shook his head. “We bargained too. Your turn now. Our agreement secret. And Marinar too. No one makes you. Can leave group. Return in three days. Such is Game. Yari begins understand it.”
“Somehow he began understanding it at a really bad time,” Dolgunata scowled and turned to me: “What do you want?”
The bargaining with the druid took so long that the Paladins came up to us. Having understood what the issue was, they agreed without question to share half of their loot and information on their world. They mumbled something about Marinar and mages generally; the Paladins encountered a steady stare from Zangar, dropped their eyes, and finally joined the group. Seeing the current levels of the newly arrived players, I was barely able to contain a surprised cry: only Teart could boast level 2, everyone else had dropped back to 1.
“Where did that happen to you?” I asked carefully, letting Dolgunata think over my next proposal.
“Mages,” Sartal grimaced. “Th-th-the was-s-stelands-s-s are full of mages-s-s. Th-th-they catch everyone. They mas-s-stered defens-s-se and it’s-s-s hard to kill them now. Almos-s-st imposs-s-ssible. They s-s-search for you. S-s-so much more s-s-surpris-s-sing that you are with-th-th a mage.”
“She is one of us, and we won’t have problems with her,” I assured him, trying to lighten the situation. It didn’t work very well, but at least the Paladins stopped looking at her with open anger. The girl moved closer to Zangar, looking for protection in his shadow.
“I agree to your conditions,” Dolgunata decided, and another agreement flashed before me. In addition to fifty percent of loot and information about her world of origin, I secured for myself such a great thing as help in passing through the Dungeons after the Academy. I would have to complete three of those in any case to get so-called “Dungeon clearance”, so why not do it together with such an experienced and strong player as Dolgunata? I was not planning to develop as a fighter; my explorer’s path was more than enough for me.
“So! Now that we have figured out our participation in future events, I have a global question: how do I activate the stone?” I asked with a grin, as soon as the last contract was approved by the Game.
“Touch seal to forehead,” Zangar clarified. “Wish to receive attribute. Choose Luck. Enjoy result.”
New character attribute is available: Luck
Would you like to activate it?
The steel hexagon faded in my hands like morning fog. A system message and a new record on the character qualities were the only proof that I had received a new attribute. Amazing, but there were no revelations or visions from on high.
“And?” I even managed to look accusingly at the group, who froze in place as the space around me was transformed. Previously objects and phenomena unknown to me were highlighted in green; now a red highlight appeared as well. It fully covered a small bush a hundred yards ahead.
“What the hell?” I frowned and, accompanied by the team of nine beings, approached the bush. At first glance there was nothing remarkable about it, it was exactly the same as the one growing next to it; yet the Game insistently pointed out this particular bush, and not another.
“Can anyone see what’s wrong with it?” I asked, and immediately received a contemplative answer from Dolgunata:
“It’s fine. Look at the roots!”
The group squatted and amazed “oh”s and “what the hell”s sounded in the air. The reddish glow disappeared, replaced by greenish fog. It covered the skull with three eyeholes that were barely visible, as it was half-buried and concealed by the grass covering it. It looked exactly like the one you could see on the icons of hidden abilities. The seal of the Emperor. Only here it was not a pattern or a flat projection, but an actual real skull.
“What, did the Emperor croak right here?” Teart stated everyone’s thought out loud, and the space around me exploded with a host of system messages.
Chapter Eleven. Wastelands
“DOES ANYONE KNOW what this is?” I was holding a small tightly sealed box, carefully stifling my desire to throw it away as if it were something extremely unpleasant. As soon as I touched the skull, the latter disappeared, revealing this, for some reason distasteful, object.
“Distiller of emotions.” Marinar took my find, allowing me to sigh with relief. “It converts emotions into energy that is necessary for alchemical recipes and preparation of elixirs. Zangar bought me one like that in the previous village. I wouldn’t sa
y this is a better one. It looks exactly like mine, at least at first glance.”
“So it seems we don’t really need it?” I asked for clarification and the mage shook her head. “How much did you pay for it?”
“Barely over one thousandth of a granis. Now to start making basic Energy elixirs I just need to collect a few herbs; I hope there will be no problem with that in the wastelands.”
“So then you have the recipe for that already?” I drawled sadly, making one mental note for myself that the inscriptions we found in the forest would not yield much.
“Of course, it’s one of the basic recipes in alchemy. It’s provided by default.”
“So, then, there isn’t anything else there? Curious Teart took advantage of his short stature and poked his nose under the bush. “Just some useless piece of metal junk.”
“We found a treasure, ya stupid! Shut up now! “Monstrichello boomed. “Yari’ll now find a hundred of ‘em for us, ‘nough for all!”
The entire group stared at me questioningly, so I had to explain:
“I don’t think there will be so many. After the seal was activated the Game showed the closest buried thing with a warning: that’s a onetime thing. Everything else I’d have to find on my own, looking for three-eyed skulls, which could be anywhere. The more I concentrate on the detail the higher the chances that I’ll find a trove, but I’d turn into a snail. We need to decide what’s more important: these distillers or the speed.”
The sigh of disappointment sounded over the land, and I finally dismissed the bothersome messages. I should have become used to this by now: the Game had once again kicked me in the gut: it showed that the Academy was full of secret troves; it even revealed one of them as an example, and then clearly explained that if someone wanted to find the next treasure, he’d have to forget about moving forward and study not just every bush and blade of grass, but also look under stones, downed trees and holes in the trunks of all the trees that happened to be on the way. The three-eyed skull, which was a virtual chest, could appear anywhere, and the loot in it could vary. From a distiller for alchemists to a sack of granises. I didn’t even get any achievement points for this.
“The Boar’s den is a kilometer away from here.” Dolgunata reminded us. “We only have three days of luck. Shall we stand here and play dumb, or shall we go on?”
There were no objections. Monstrichello habitually stepped forward, expecting to deflect potential attacks, and in a friendly crowd we moved on.
“Here.” Teart transferred the video to me. “That’s all I was able to find and keep accessible. I’ll give you the other seven recipes after the Academy‒ they had already sunk into long-term storage before I learned to copy information locally. Did you find anything yourself?”
I waved my hand vaguely, studying the three recipes I received. They were written in an unknown language, which told me one thing: it was impossible to use them in draftsmanship.
No matter how much I tried, I did not see a single area highlighted in red throughout the distance remaining till we reached the Boar. A couple of times I noticed green fog, but it covered a previously unknown mushroom and a tree. There was nothing else new or unusual in this patch of forest. Once I got free time, I should review the video in detail; it will certainly be possible to earn a few more units of experience for the artifact. It was vitally important to bring the “Neuronal Network” to the 15th level as quickly as possible.
“R-R-A!” I was looking at yet another bush, and nearly ran into the back of Logir, who had stopped, when, with a thunderous roar, a two-meter-tall Neanderthal jumped onto the path. The hairy thug barely looked human – well, he did have two legs, two arms and one head. As for everything else, apparently the Boar (the artifact definitely identified the creature) had gotten it from some kind of fire sale: long hair covering his body all over, arms with two elbows, very disproportionate face and a meter and a half club, which the Boar was swinging from side to side, making the trees nearby sway.
“I’ll work on him,” Dolgunata stepped forward, and softly, in a sort of purring and soporific voice, addressed the core of the third test of the Labyrinth: “Hello, my sweet! Do you remember me? I missed you. Such primeval power could not leave a girl cold, and I came back.”
“R-a-a?” The Boar roared less menacingly, and stopped swinging his club.
“You are right‒ our first meeting didn’t go too well. But I get it, and I want it to be better. You will forgive me, my dear, right?” Nata took a few more steps forward, now standing between the Boar and the frowning Monstrichello. Our tank obviously disliked what was going on; apparently, when the Paladins had tried to go through this test, the fuzzy monster had beaten them up pretty badly.
“Gra-ra!” the Neanderthal growled forcefully and swung the club over his shoulder. “Gra-gra-ra!”
Nata took a few more steps forward, stopping literally a meter away from the Boar. Next to the seven-foot monster the diminutive druid looked like a child.
“Don’t roar,” Dolgunata’s aura of seduction was so strong that the faces of practically all the group, including Logir and Marinar, sported happy smiles, like schoolchildren who had earned their first kiss from the object of their ardent crush. Only the necromancer and I glumly watched Dolgunata clever manipulating the hairy thug.
“Something wrong,” Zangar noted quietly so that I would be the only one to hear him. “Last time was faster. Animal resists mental attack. Looks like it. Dolgunata in danger.”
Perhaps I should have answered something and just nod in agreement, but I decided to act. I didn’t get the group together only to have it killed by some hairy freak.
“Monster, defense!” I shouted instantly. “Nata, get back! Everyone ready for battle!”
“R-R-A-A!” the Boar roared triumphantly, concurrently with my shout and, using his shoulder as a lever, swung the club and hit the druid from above. “BOOM!” There was a weighty blow and Dolgunata was driven into the ground practically up to her waist; she lost consciousness at once. Her protection saved her from the direct blow, but the laws of physics still worked. The Boar swung for a second blow, but then Monstrichello, who was about as big, crashed into him, shield forward:
“BASH’EM ALL!”
Apparently, the Paladin had completely replaced his old battle cry “All the Way!” with “BASH’EM ALL!” The Boar was thrown off a few meters and wagged his head in bewilderment: it was not common for him to encounter an enemy equal in size.
“Marinar, Zangar‒kill him!" I kept giving orders. “Monster, don’t let him close! Teart, Dirion‒grab the druid! Logir, Sartal, Refor‒ hold the Monster and don’t let the Boar get to us!”
I would not call myself a born leader used to commanding people; it was just that under the circumstances someone had to make decisions fast; the only other person capable of that was lying unconscious, not showing any signs of being alive at all. Logir, as practice had showed, was unable to lead the group.
“R-R-A!” the Boar grumbled, sounding almost offended; apparently, he hadn’t expected such ardor from our group. Sniffling, he swung the club; with a loud clang it came down onto the shield extended by Monstrichello.
“BOOM!”
Two things happened at the same time: the club of the chief local rogue shattered to splinters and the shield of our tank vibrated so hard that Monster sank into the ground up to his knees, as if it were quicksand. Shield vibration had turned the path flattened by many hundreds of players into a non-Newtonian fluid. My teeth hurt like I had eaten something tart: vibration was transferred to us as well, making us feel incredibly uncomfortable. The Monster stayed on his feet for a few seconds, then crashed onto the ground and disappeared a moment later; apparently, neither the material nor the energy shield were able to save him from the deadly blow of the Boar.
“Let’s finish him off!” I growled, overcoming the pain, and the spells flashed from Marinar’s and Zangar’s hands. The hairy monster stood motionless, swaying a little; app
arently, he was not feeling all that well after the joint blow. Logir and Refor unsheathed their weapons, sprung forward and pierced the Boar, shouting an enhancement incantation as they did it. The Boar, a figment of the Chancellor’s sick imagination, had not expected such a powerful attack; he fell backwards. The message with great news flashed before my eyes: I had completed the third test.
“So that was the forest rogue?” I asked a rhetorical question as soon as the Boar’s body glimmered and then disappeared, We had not received either loot or experience from the downed enemy, while the informational message that appeared in front of me strongly recommended that I start on the last test of the Labyrinth: climbing over Kindo Logjams, which separated the Labyrinth and the wastelands.
“Who knows where the respawn stone is; and what’s going on with Dolgunata?” I finished my thought, ignoring the message. First we needed to investigate the den of the dead freak.
“Her legs are shattered; apparently, the blow ate up almost all the Energy and the druid was able to drop her defense at the last moment, so the residual blow hit her on the head,” Dirion explained. “That’s why she’s unconscious. Her ability to survive is quite impressive‒ she had completed training with the armor teacher already. But her legs took the hit as the armor redistributed the blow to the extent possible, but all the impact went to the body parts that are the least useful in battle. In the druid’s case those were her legs. So, it’s best to put her out of her misery: as she is she’s a goner anyway.”
“But the one who kills her will be sent to respawn as well,” Logir noted. “Don’t forget, we’re still in the Labyrinth. Damn! For us that jerk was calmer and not so strong!”
“Because you were here in a group of six, and you didn’t have a full-fledged player with you,” I clarified, guessing the reasons for the inexplicable strength of the Boar. Besides, I had another guess which I was not too eager to share with the rest: the Chancellor continued to perfect his creations. So now it was the Boar’s turn. While during the first pass it was an easy job for Dolgunata to take him under control, now the monster was equipped with immunity to mental attacks. I grimaced in displeasure, realizing that there wouldn’t be much special help from Dolgunata now: the groups the clever druid had killed in the wastelands would have updated as well by now.
The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 39
