Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  Congratulations! You have entered the path of recreating the Legendary Chess Set of Emperor Karmadont, the founder of the Malabar Empire. Wise and just, the Emperor offered his opponents to settle disputes on the chess board instead of the battlefield. Each type of Chess piece was made from a different stone. Pawns: Orc Warriors from Malachite and Dwarf Warriors from Lapis-lazuli. Rooks: A Battle Ogre from Alexandrite and a Giant from Tanzanite. Knights: A War Lizard from Tourmaline and a War Horse from Amethyst. Officers (Bishops): Troll Archers from Emerald and Elf Archers from Aquamarine. Queens: An Orc Shaman from Peridot and Elemental Archmage, a human, from Sapphire. Kings: The head of the White Wolf Clans, an orc from green Diamond and the Emperor of the Malabar Empire, a human from blue Diamond. The Chessboard: black Onyx and white Opal, framed by white and yellow Gold. Numbers and letters on the chessboard: Platinum.

  After the death of the Emperor the chess set was destroyed. Now it is only up to your skill whether Barliona would again see this truly great wonder of the world - the Legendary Chess Set of Emperor Karmadont.

  You have created the Malachite Orc Warriors from the Legendary Chess Set of Emperor Karmadont. While the chess pieces are in your possession, each minute you will regenerate 1% of your Hit Points, Mana and Energy in addition to your standard regeneration; Strength is increased by 10%.

  Skill increase:

  +1 to Crafting. Total: 3.

  +1 to primary profession of Jewelcraft. Total: 12.

  You created a Legendary Item. Your reputation with all previously encountered factions has increased by 500.

  I could barely keep up with the appearing messages and so took little notice of my surroundings. There was plenty to see though - I was enveloped in a pillar of light, some melodious solemn music played and a rainbow was flashing periodically above the orc figurines. The world of Barliona welcomed Legendary Items.

  "Mahan, the camp boss wants to see you right away," the shout of the guard sounded through the mine as soon as the pillar of light around me faded. I put the figurines in the bag and headed off to the administration building.

  Contrary to his habit the orc was not seated behind his great table, but was studying a painting on the wall that was usually covered by a curtain. I always thought that the curtain covered a window... I stood myself quietly by the table, reluctant to break the silence and waited for the governor's reaction.

  "The race of orcs in its long history had many great warriors and fighters of its own. We are born warriors, live like warriors and die like warriors. This is our fate. But even among us there are those whose names are remembered for centuries. The Eight Great Warriors, whose deeds have been forever imprinted on the memory of my race. Look at them," said the orc without turning around. I stood by him and looked at the painting. It was split into eight parts, each of which depicted an orc. Well I'll be... I was looking at the very same orcs that now lay as chess pieces in my bag.

  "These Great Ones are the pride of my people. Just a couple of dozen minutes ago an announcement shook the world of Barliona: one of the Great Jewelers in Barliona had created the Legendary Malachite Orc Warrior chess pieces from Karmadont's chess set. Our world has several billion souls, but I think I know whom the troubadours are shouting about in every square," the orc turned around and looked me in the eye. "A Legendary Item had just been made in my mine; what it is remains unknown. This has been put into all the reports and sent to all the relevant authorities. This object was created by you, which has also been included in all the reports. You have only two crafting professions - Jewelcraft and Cooking. I doubt that you've cooked up the Legendary Fried Rat."

  After a few moments of silence the governor continued:

  "A word of warning. In this world you can only steal money from player's bags. But there is one exception to this rule. It does not apply to Legendary Items carried by the player either on himself or in his bag. If you carry an item on yourself, it has a 10% chance to be left behind in place of the dead body. If the item is in the bag, with the sufficiently high level of shady skills it would be possible to pick it out of the bag. Remember these words."

  Message for the owner of the Legendary Item!

  In the event of your Death there is a 10% drop chance for the equipped Legendary Item. If the Legendary Item is in your sack, there is a 10% chance that it could be stolen by another player using the 'Theft' ability. Requirements for stealing a Legendary Item: (The level of Meanness of the thieving player / Level of your Character) > 0.5.

  It was just as well that I was next to a wall, so instead of falling down I simply leant on it. What the mine governor just said completely changed my subsequent life in the Game. First of all, I'm a dolt. If I'd bothered to unlock Leatherworking and Smithing, the orc wouldn't have me against the wall now. Secondly, the very fact that Legendary Items could be stolen... This explains the reason why people level up in Meanness in the gameworld: why go through tedious crafting and boss raids when you can simply steal. And steal not just any item, but a Legendary one. Thirdly, as soon as other players find out that I'm the Jeweler who made the chess pieces it'll be the end of me. There are enough people in Barliona hunting for Legendary Items even without those trying to level up in Meanness. If without Meanness it's impossible to take the figurines off me directly, it's easy enough to make me practically beg to be relieved of them. As soon as I get out of the mine, a red band would be tied on me, allowing people to kill me without any penalties. This would only work outside the town, but either way a player that kills me will not have any PK (player killer) tag debuffs imposed on them. Now this meant that, aside from every death being very painful until I sufficiently raised my Endurance, it looked like with this 10% chance I was likely to lose my chess pieces too. And all of it would be strictly lawful: if you don't want others to hunt you - sit out the rest of your prison term inside a town, not daring to set your foot outside. Because as soon as you do, you have to be ready for an open season on your hide. So if anyone at all found out that I was the owner of these figurines, there'd be hell to pay. The hunt will begin, followed by torture and killing. There is no ban on torture either. In normal capsules the players don't feel a thing - they're even curious to watch themselves being skinned alive and will make fake faces to simulate excruciating pain, while in real life they'd scream their heads off if you just step on their toes. A bunch of perverts! Thus, I can't tell anyone that I have these figurines - at least until I level up somewhat. But the orc wasn't ordering me to show him the chess pieces. He was just warning me of possible dangers. I automatically opened my bag to get the orc figurines. Shameful as it was to admit this, but I wanted to boast. In the three months that I spent on the mine this was my third serious work as a Jeweler: the Rose, the Kameamia and now these chess pieces. It was, of course, strange that I could make such things at level 7, but it was certainly pleasing. I took out the figurines and put them on the table. Next I'd have to get the mine governor to write off my daily quota: I had no need of it, since other prisoners handed it in for me, but for the sake of principle...

  The orc carefully picked up the first figurine. Usually he was calm as a rock, but now he looked shaken and inspired at the same time, holding the figurine in his huge hands so carefully, you'd think it was made of air and he was afraid to crush it. Suddenly he spoke, looking at the figurine in his hands:

  "This is Pandyar the Killer. Five thousand years ago the orcs of the Trapp Clan were attacked by spirits. These possessed the orcs, gaining control over them, and then killed every living thing, savoring the agony of their victims. In the course of a week the body of the orc possessed by a spirit completely burned from the inside, after which the spirit would leave this body and move on to possess another. It was impossible to exorcise the spirits, but it was possible to fight them: if the orc died the spirit that possessed him died with him. When 90% of the tribe became victims of the spirits and those that remained had nowhere left to run, Pandyar the Killer, using the only mind-shielding charm that could protect
him, stood before the army of spirits in the Pass of Fear. Alone against several thousand of his brothers and sisters, against his followers and against his teachers. The fight lasted several days. Pandyar killed two of his brothers, his father and destroyed nearly two thousand orcs. The Trapp tribe ceased to exist, but thanks to Pandyar some orcs survived, giving the world the Great Clan Chief two generations later. Shaine mor, Pandyar Kahandr (Orcish: Rest in peace, Pandyar the Killer)", the governor said suddenly and put the Pandyar figurine on the table and picked up the next.

  "Grichin the Unbreakable. Around three thousand years ago the orc tribes were gripped by internal strife. Clan went against clan, tribe against tribe. The dark elves of Aldora decided to take advantage of this situation - they invaded our lands and began to systematically exterminate my race. Ten orcs under Grichin's leadership stood in their way, having sent messengers to all the clans to warn them of the coming danger. Everyone in Grichin's band understood that they wouldn't survive and that the elves would wipe them out in a few hours, but they could not abandon the women and children fleeing from the nearest settlements to their fate. They met the elves in the Thunder Ridge Pass. In the meantime the leaders of the tribes agreed to lay aside their enmity, united and moved as one to meet the invaders, but these were nowhere to be seen. When the warriors of the united orc army approached the Thunder Ridge Pass, they saw Grichin pinned to a tree with spears, yatagans strapped to each hand and in full battle gear. His unseeing gaze looked in the direction of the pass, where the elf army stood. As the orcs prepared for battle, the elves sent out heralds with flags of truce, bearing the tale of what had happened in the pass. Ten orcs had held off the elves for three days - three heavy days, fighting off wave after wave of elf attacks. When only Grichin remained alive, he charged in attack, breaking through the ranks of the elves, through the personal guard of the elvish battle commanders and, despite his wounds from arrows and spears, managed to destroy almost all of the elven King's command post. Grichin died and the elves, stunned by his deed, self-sacrifice and rage, nailed him with spears to a tree, showing respect for the great warrior. The orc died, but remained undefeated. Shocked by Grichin's fierce strength, the dark elves of Aldora swore an oath of friendship with the orc people, and for thousands of years since have been our brothers, ready to die for orcs and for whom any orc would give his life. Shaine mor, Grichin Parkat.

  "Leite Doubleblow, Varsis the Furious, Vankhor Heavyhand, Grovor Dreadshout, Ksor the Merciless, Duku the Bloody," the orc continued to list the Great Orc Warriors and the deeds that earned them their place in history.

  Your reputation with the Pryke Mine Guards has increased by 200 points. Current level: Friendly. You are 314 points away from the status of Respect.

  I gathered the pieces back into my bag and looked at the governor. His face was once again inscrutable and he continued in his usual calm, chilling voice:

  "Each of these warriors was known for his incredible Strength, so when their figurines or images are collected together they increase the Strength of their owner. I believe you've felt this already. And now go, you still have much to do. You don't have to hand in your quota tomorrow, I'll warn Rine."

  The next day I decided to spend on my own precious self and remake my chain and all my rings. The third level in Crafting allowed me to make +4 items, so it was worth spending some time on this. Buying another twenty pieces of granite off Rine, I decided to experiment in creating a gem ring. It was stupid, having the ability to make stones and rings, not to try to combine the two into one. I decided to make something like a wolf's fang for my chain and a stone cut diamond for each ring. It should look pretty good. And if anyone's bothered by the fact that the cut diamond will be made of granite rather than real diamond, that's their own problem.

  First I had to create a new Jewelcraft recipe. 'I'm thinking of such things so casually already,' I chuckled, 'create a new recipe - as if that's nothing special.' I spent several hours in the design mode trying to imagine the forms of a royal diamond and a wolf's fang and then embodied their essences in stone, destroying about nine stones in the process. They just didn't want to become cut diamonds. As soon as I was finished with the stones, there came the expected message that I learned new Jewelcraft recipes - Precious Stone: 'Stone Cut Diamond' and Precious Stone: 'Stone Fang', each adding +3 to a Stat. Before the day ended I made eight rings and a neck chain, inserted the stones in them and was now enjoying the result.

  Lesser Copper Ring. Durability 27. + 4 Intellect. Bonus for inserted stone: +3 Intellect. Total: +7 Intellect. Minimum level: 7

  Lesser Copper Chain. Durability 27. +4 Intellect. Bonus for inserted stone: +3 Intellect. Total: +7 Intellect. Minimum level: 7

  Yup, I was some cheater: to have +71 to Intellect and 27 unallocated stat points at level 7 was sheer outrage. And it wasn't a problem that all my ring bonuses were with Intellect, since I could change them at any time, either to Strength or to Stamina or a mixture of them all. Surprisingly, my Hunter only had four +20 rings, which had to be bought for a steep price from a Jeweler, and the rest were just +10 rings. This really was an outrage, but if I was the one getting up to it - all the more reason to be pleased.

  I spent the next seven days levelling up my stats, using Rats and mining to increase my Strength to 7, Stamina to 11, Intellect to 9, Agility to 6 and Endurance to 7. In seven days I brought down 87 Rats, after I resumed patrolling other prisoners' sections, so I was only 86 points away from level 8 and 140 points away from Respect. If I was to translate that into Rats, I had 70 of them left to kill until I could leave the mine. Four days at the most.

  The day barely dawned when all my plans were ruined by the shout of the overseer:

  “Mahan, the boss wants to see you right away!"

  The orc's place was surprisingly crowded. The owner of the office stood by the bookshelf and was leafing through a tome. The sight of the enormous six-foot-tall orc holding a small book in his hands was so unnatural that I struggled to suppress a smile. 'Why is he not at his usual place?' I wondered and looked in the direction where I usually saw the mine governor.

  The huge and very comfortable chair wasn't just occupied, but also surrounded by a detachment of impressive-looking guards. And these guys are still alive? The boss must be getting old. The place behind the orc's table was occupied by a plump, short-armed man with a fat glossy face. It would have been easier to call him a toad - one that's been blown up to the size of a dwarf. I realized who graced us with his presence when I saw the Kameamia around this character's neck: the Regional Governor was visiting the mine.

  The Game Developers always give the NPCs a behavior pattern and temperament that corresponded to their appearance. I wondered what the inspiration behind this NPC was: did his creator remember his mother in law at the wrong time or did he just have a weird sense of humor? Whatever the case may be, I had every reason to believe that the Regional Governor was a rare bastard and that it was dangerous to get involved with him. If what the boss recently told me about the chess set was true, I can probably guess on whose account this weird creature came here.

  "So that's who made my Kameamia?" when I heard this Governor's voice, I once again silently swore at the developers. They sure knew how to troll. They decided to make a play of contrasts - this picturesque toad spoke in a high squeaky voice, smacking his spittle-filled lips at every word. I had to muster all my self-control to endure the start of this acquaintance and not break out in stupid laughter. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying instead.

  "I decided to put all my business aside and come to have a look at the name behind my Kameamia. Come closer and accept my gratitude. I know how to value those who are capable of bringing joy to their Governor with truly Unique Items. Or even Legendary ones," he stretched out his hand with his palm facing upwards, fingers slightly bent.

  I didn't get it: was he asking me for alms?

  "I believe that such a master must grace my town with his presence. So, what do you say? Read
y to move to my town? I can arrange this. All you have to do is say that you're the Great Jeweler who makes Legendary Items and give them to me. Well, don't just stand there! I'm waiting to see your handiwork," the Regional Governor jerked his hand impatiently, dispelling any remaining doubts. He thought that this was the cue for me to fall to my knees, kiss the floor to honor of my benefactor's arrival and immediately confess: 'I'm that Jeweler and here are the figurines, please take them'.

  "I am waiting! Don't you want to get out of here? Be careful, I am very easily angered," squeaked this man-like ridiculousness.