I checked his stats. So! Level 9! He must have acquired his first abilities already. Unfortunately, Enea was the only one capable of seeing them.
"Aha," I said. "Enjoying a bit of leveling?"
She smiled but stayed seated. Was she afraid of the rats?
Enea must have read it in my gaze. She shrugged. "If you wanna kiss me, come and do it yourself."
Alpha cast an annoyed glance at us.
"Keep working," she whispered to him, draping her arms around me.
I slid the bracelet onto her wrist.
"It's beautiful," she said, admiring the fine silverwork of ancient symbols against the purple glow of cargonite. The item looked like a great work of jewelry indeed. "A Bracelet of a Metamorph?" she looked up at me askance, awaiting a further explanation.
"You wanted a multiclass, remember?"
"I did," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "How can I do that? Do I need to apply to the admins?"
"All you need to do is install a certain macro, then touch the bracelet."
"You're a magician!"
"I'm a Neuro," I forwarded her the data. "Have you got it?"
"Yeah... I'm installing it... done it. Nothing's changed."
"Take this," I reached into my inventory for two more items: a light but sturdy shield made of dragon hide and an elegant one-handed sword made of enchanted cargonite. Both items had been discovered on one of the upper floors of the east tower. Judging by the dainty runic script covering the sword, I wouldn't be surprised if this fine example of the Founders' weaponry had been the prototype for Elven swords.
"Alex, but I'm not a warrior! I don't even know how to use these things!"
"You'll have to learn," I replied in earnest. "How do you feel when your mana is at zero with no vials to bring it back up and the enemy keeps on coming?"
"I feel lost," she admitted. "I just don't know what to do in those situations. Now I'm curious. What can this bracelet do?"
"It allows you to briefly switch your class with a fifteen-minute cooldown."
"But what about my armor?" forgetting about the rats, she ported to the center of the room. Sunrays poured down through the breaches in the walls, illuminating her shapely form.
"That's the whole thing," I said. "Thanks to Master Jurg you don't need it yet. The set he made is brilliant against physical damage. You wanna try?"
"It feels scary... yes, actually I do," she burst out laughing, trying on the shield and weighing up the light sword that seemed to have been made for her hand. "You're full of surprises, you! I just hope you won't make me sweat in the practice room."
"Oh yes, I will."
"No!" she tried to fake fear but the pimples on her cheeks refused to comply. "Can we try now?"
She touched the bracelet. The name tag over her head blinked, changing class. The Staff of a Hydra automatically disappeared within her inventory.
Awkwardly she raised the sword and the shield, stepping toward me. I rolled over toward her, ducked under her sword blade and sprang to my feet, slapping her unprotected upper arm. She shrieked. I stood up and took her in my arms.
She threw her head back, laughing. "Is this what you call practice?"
"Your hold on the shield is wrong. And you forgot the sword completely. Let's do it again. Watch me."
"Okay. I'm afraid I might hurt you."
"We'll see."
I let her go and stepped back a few paces, then repeated my "surprise attack".
This time my hand slapped the shield. Before I could roll back, I received a quite tangible blow to my legs and collapsed in a heap, breaking a few rotten planks and raising a cloud of dust.
"Alpha!" Enea exclaimed.
"He's right," I scrambled back to my feet and brushed off my clothes, watching the mantis warily approach me sideways. "You shouldn't be angry with him. A pet is obliged to defend you in any situation. What you should do is change my status to Friend."
Alpha stopped but kept watching my every move. He was level 11 already! He'd purged the room of all the rats!
"What did he just use to bring me down?" I asked Enea.
"He has this ability called a Disabling Blow... Ouch!"
The bracelet's effect had expired. Both the sword and the shield went into Enea's inventory. The Staff of a Hydra reappeared in her hands.
"Let's go now," I said. "You'll be practicing with the Cargonite Golem. That's what he's meant for. As soon as we sort out all the pressing issues, we'll go on vacation, you and I."
"Where to?"
"We could go camping to the Savage Lands. How about that? We could do a bit of leveling, cook on a campfire and bathe in forest lakes."
She seemed to like the idea. Her face brightened. "That would be great. Where are we going now?"
"Rodrigo and Iskandar are here. They want to talk. Also, we have an old reporter friend of ours that we've locked up. He somehow managed to sneak in here and film last night's defeat of the goblin raid. We also have a lot of new clan applications from both warriors and wizards. We need to come up with some kind of a test for them, like an entry exam. Also, we have the missing runic sequences to find. Last night Togien and I saw some stones cemented into the walls with runes inscribed into them. We only have one runic sequence working so we need to restore the other three. This is what's urgent. Tomorrow we'll have enough Spectral Dust to go visit the dwarves again. We also need to decide who we need to hire to restore the castle walls. Lots of things to do."
"Too much for the two of us."
"Don't forget Lethmiel. He's a good manager and a very interesting guy."
"Still we need more people to help us. I know. I've been researching clan management while waiting for my in-mode capsule to be installed."
She nodded to Alpha. With her permission, he happily flitted up her shoulder. He was way too big to lurk in her hair now.
We continued discussing clan affairs while walking to the portal.
"We'll need some players to head the clan's combat section," Enea continued. "A few trustworthy mid-rank warriors and wizards."
"Question is, where are we supposed to find them? I actually have an idea about the combat section. I'll tell you at lunch. But how we're going to staff all the other sections, I just don't know..."
* * *
WE PORTED to the Resurrection Hall.
It had already been cleaned up: the floor swept, the debris removed, the artifacts collected and put away. The walls had been washed of the centuries' worth of cobwebs and grime. A few tables and easy chairs from the upper floors had been set up in a corner, forming some sort of leisure zone.
Several rows of chests were lined up next to the respawn point, ready to receive the players' backup gear sets.
Iskandar and Rodrigo sat at a table, their faces grim.
"Hi there," I said.
Both beamed. "Alexatis! Enea!"
I pulled out a chair for Enea. I loved doing that sort of thing for her. Her return had added a new touch to my life: something indescribably beautiful that held the promise of a better future. We kept catching glances and touching each other, the growing desire burning us up from the inside.
I shook off the momentary obsession. The two wizards must have had a good reason to come to see me here. "Now. What's up?"
"Our group is gone," Iskandar replied. "Virgil and Tylor seem to have botched their characters."
"How about Zander?"
"He's gone nuts."
I remembered the paladin's weird behavior immediately after our Dietrich encounter. "Did he rip you off or something?"
"Oh no. He paid us in full. But then it got weird. He dumped the group, just like that. Apparently, he's gone solo. We met him last night at the market in Agrion: he walked right past us as if he didn't even see us. He's level 72 already."
"I'm not surprised. The bracers and the runic tablet I gave him have enhanced his Paladin abilities giving him a considerable advantage over any NPCs within a two or three day walk. He must be on his
way to the Top 100."
"He's already made it," Rodrigo said. "But that's not why we came here."
"What can we do for you?" Enea asked.
"We're looking for a temp job while we're putting a new group together," Iskandar said bluntly. "We can't earn money without warriors."
"Or should I say, we don't feel like joining any dubious raid or party we might come across," Rodrigo corrected him. "Earning a pittance doing one-off jobs isn't an option, either."
"Do I understand that money is the only thing that keeps you in the Crystal Sphere?" I asked. "No interest in the gameplay at all?"
"We've done it all, man," Iskandar replied. "Interest alone doesn't cut it. Yes, we're in it for the money. Anything we can earn in the real world is peanuts compared to what we can make here."
Enea and I exchanged glances.
Was she thinking the same thing as I was?
I didn't say anything. She smiled, taking over from me, "We have a counter-proposition for you."
"To join your clan," Rodrigo chuckled knowingly.
She cheerily ignored the sarcasm in his voice. "We have a few commanding positions open. Some of them are quite interesting."
"Like what?" Iskandar leaned forward, curious. He seemed to like Enea as a person, especially seeing how expertly she's just ironed out a potentially sensitive situation.
"Well," her eyeballs twitched as she zoned out, pretending she was scrolling through a non-existent list for the right contract, "how about the clan's combat section? You'd be in charge of other wizards during raids. It would be your job to screen any new clan applicants and assign them to groups. Or," she blinked as if leafing through imaginary pages, "we have the position of the Keeper of the Wizards Tower still open. His responsibilities include the teaching position in the Mastery School we're about to open once the Wizards Tower is restored. But if you find that too difficult — because not everyone enjoys public speaking — I could offer you the position of clan librarian. We have a whole archive of unique manuscripts containing the precious crumbs of the Founders' magic which absolutely have to be decrypted and preserved. Also, we have-"
I just sat there admiring her panache. She was doing a faultless job, describing a whole plethora of secondary tasks I'd never had the time to think about; the tasks that had been marring my inner vision as the yet unsurmountable problems which we couldn't tackle with our current numbers.
Rodrigo rubbed his chin.
Enea's comeback had been a great addition to our clan. I was a warrior; admittedly I could handle an arch demon or channel an Elemental force but I was no good at negotiating with experienced players like these.
She, however, immediately knew how to approach them. Nobody trusts mercs; they're not the most popular bunch of people. Few treat them as friends which is a great shame. Every person has his or her own philosophy and convictions, as well as a few cherished but yet unattainable dreams. Of stability, for instance. Or of their own hard-earned top place in the gaming community.
A vagabond mercenary or an arch mage in charge of the Wizards Guild of Rion Castle? This was a no-brainer. A soldier of fortune hired to cut throats for someone else's advantage or a legendary commander of the Black Mantises' combat section?
"There're certain drawbacks, too," Enea added calmly. "You should be aware of them."
The two wizards looked admittedly lost, as if some magic door to a worldful of opportunities had just slammed shut in their faces. "What's the catch?"
"There's no catch. Rather an agreement. Rion Castle is a very special place. The Founders' legacy. There is a certain blood magic artifact — the Oathing Stone — which was central to the curse we've just removed. We've purged it from evil. All new clan members must seal their oaths with a drop of their own blood. The Cohort of the Fallen is a good example of what might happen to a traitor."
"In other words, once you join you can't quit?" Rodrigo asked, fidgeting.
"Oh yes, you can. You can always quit if you want to. You can also be expelled for a number of serious offences. The Oathing Stone guards the clan against traitors alone. Alex and I decided not to make a secret of it. All new applicants will receive a fact sheet of the Oathing Stone's properties. That will allow them to make an informed choice."
Rodrigo and Iskandar exchanged glances. "All this sounds very interesting. Can we think about it?"
Enea flashed them a smile. "Absolutely. These kinds of decisions can't be made lightly. Still, we don't seem to have much time. The goblins might not be the only ones crazy enough to challenge these walls."
"Actually," Rodrigo interrupted her, still fidgeting, "Alexatis, can you tell me now? It was an uncategorized spell, wasn't it? We couldn't believe our eyes watching that video! To command Earth the way you did, you had to be level 100 at least!"
"You'll know it when the time is right," I said. "We'll be awaiting your decision."
"Very well," Iskandar gave me a hearty handshake, then turned to Enea. "Say, tomorrow morning?"
She flashed them another smile. "Absolutely."
* * *
THE PAIR OF WIZARDS headed toward the portal, closely watched by the two Guards of Gloom. They were on sentry duty today: I had been forced to post them here to guard our "strategic facility" if I wanted to get a few moments of privacy in Enea's company.
"The reporter is probably waiting for us," I said. "The Curse of Stone must have already expired."
"Alex, please don't be too hard on him. If you think about it, everything he did was in our interest. The camera angle was fantastic. I couldn't have chosen a better one myself."
"Did you see it?"
"What do you think? By the way, you really can't see the castle on the video, only a dark outline in the background. They mainly filmed the goblins. They must have set up the camera on some isle behind their backs."
"How did I look?"
"Like yourself but very impressive. A powerful uncategorized wizard, a real clan leader. And the golem behind your back! He was awesome! This place was a mess, wasn't it? And I missed it!" she hooked her arm through mine. "Let's finish whatever we have to do first. I still have the wizards' contracts to prepare."
"You think they'll be back?"
"A hundred percent. They're both good guys and excellent wizards. We couldn't have found better ones if we'd tried. Actually, I meant to ask you. Do you have any old friends here, someone you know really well? It would be great to completely staff the clan's combat section with good commanders before we go back to see the dwarves."
I gave it some thought. I used to know this guy... we'd started out together back in Middle Earth. He was a good sort and excellent warrior. I knew him in real life too: he actually used to live next door. He was a perfect candidate. Problem was, I'd lost contact with him over a year ago just as Christa and I had begun tackling that complex plot line.
I'd love to know where he was now. Considering the fact that the Crystal Sphere had been aggressively devouring other game worlds ever since, it stood to reason he might have ended up here.
Should I try and look for him? Why not? I still remembered his nickname: I knew he'd bought it with the intention of never changing it.
My mind expander kicked in, helpfully entering a search term:
Archibald_2020
Got him! Excellent. I typed off a quick message hoping for a prompt reply.
It came within a few seconds:
Archibald_2020 has blocked your message.
Excuse me? WTF? So we hadn't seen each other for a couple of years, so what? Why blacklist me?
Never mind. No skin off my nose.
As I closed the message, I glimpsed the flashing of the map icon.
How interesting. Apparently, my Pioneer achievement allowed me to pinpoint a message sender's location provided it was situated in the vicinity of a public teleport.
The map opened on an unknown region predictably clouded by the Mist of War. I noticed a small gap in it and zoomed in. A village called Idyll. A smat
tering of cottages and a stream on the forest edge. And what's this marker?
Archibald_2020
The marker was green. How weird. Red dots grouped all around it.
Now I knew it. My friend was in trouble. He probably had all incoming messages blocked by an enemy app to prevent their victim from contacting anyone.
What now? This Idyll, where was it?
I zoomed out. It wasn't that far from Agrion, actually. I'd never been there before.
"Enea, you think you can handle the reporter without me?"
"Absolutely. Something happened?"
"I found an old friend. He's in a village near Agrion. Not far from the portal. My map-making app located him."
"Can you ask him to join us?"
"I don't think so. He seems to be in trouble."
"Can't I come with you, then?"
"No, you can't," I gave her a peck on the cheek. "In any case, the place must be crawling with guards already. I'll take my rapid response team just in case."
"Alex, please take me with you!"
"And how about the reporter? We can't keep him for more than twenty-four hours. Please talk to him. I won't be long."
"All right," she said reluctantly. "Is it because of my implant?"
"Also," I admitted. I didn't want to lie to her. "Tonight we'll go to the practice hall and find out both your pain threshold and combat feedback. I'm sorry but I'm not risking it. We should do some practice and analyze your logs first."
The Curse of Rion Castle (The Neuro Book #2) LitRPG Series Page 20
