Then a miracle! The huge and terrible winged beast suddenly shone with multicolored sparks, and… disappeared!
CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully finished the challenge of Hundred Skull City!
Take your reward and use the portal to exit.
Your character is now level twenty-eight!
Reward: three skill points (total available: twenty-nine) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-seven).
A nine-foot tall orange oval portal appeared in the center of the arena, crackling with charges of electricity, intolerably bright after the dark that reigned in the hall. Sergeant winced in pain, covered his eyes with his hand. Then he moved it away and stared with amazement at the gold, red-glowing signet ring lying on the floor where the manticore had stood. It caught my interest too, and I read the item information:
Fiery Manticore Signet Ring. Regeneration +3. Fire Resistance +25. Ability to summon a level 80 fiery manticore (three times, with a cooldown of 24 hours between each summon).
Pretty nice signet ring! Far better than the mace offered to the human last time. But this was the Beast Catcher’s reward — where were the promised rewards for me and the rest of the group? As if in answer to my question, a stone slab shifted a few yards from the portal, and a white triangular altar rose up from the floor. Upon it were two identical one-handed crossbows, a stack of dark clothing and an ancient worn leather tome. All the same items as a few challenges ago, but this time they glowed with an orange aura instead of blue. They were clearly higher in quality and value.
But where was the kitten’s reward? There had been some scroll last time that I assumed was mine, but it was gone now.
Ah, there it is! A strange runic inscription had appeared on one of the altar’s smooth sides. As soon as I looked at it, the inscription shone, flashed and disappeared. The altar’s side was just smooth white stone again.
Bookworm skill increased to level twelve!
Advanced Curse Magic skill learned: Paralyze.
Just what I needed! Perfect for my character! It was hard to think of a reward that could be better and more specially tailored for a Shadow Hexxer. Now I could not only slow and weaken my enemies, I could completely paralyze them! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I couldn’t stop myself from jumping around for joy.
“Was it that easy?” the Philosopher said as he walked into the arena, now level twenty, and immediately scooped his ancient book from the altar, then stopped by Sergeant as he inspected his signet ring and read aloud the ring’s properties for the Beast Catcher.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” my master objected, putting his hard-earned signet ring on his right index finger. “The taming nearly broke at one point. I was right at the edge. The manticore was just about to burst into flames again, and then my Calming Touch wouldn’t have worked. And my Stamina Points went down to zero twice, even though Whiskers was doing all he could to help, as far as I can tell anyway. And I had to pick up the Beast Master skill right there, and put all my free points into it. Turns out that skill doesn’t just change the amount of pets you can have at any one time, it expands the list of creatures you can tame too. At level one hundred, I’ll even be able to tame night beasts. The point is, that manticore was tough. But the main thing is — it worked!”
All this time, Avelia Un Ponar and Avir Tan-Hoshi had been standing by the altar and trying to somehow split the three remaining trophies between themselves. The items in question were the two identical crossbows with magical properties and the fine form-hugging black clothes that looked perfectly suitable for either the Thief or the sherkh Swordmaiden.
“Sergeant, settle this for us!” the Swordmaiden demanded. My master approached the altar.
The beast catcher tried to take the dark outfit, but… his hand passed straight through the cloth. Interesting… so only the one for whom the trophy was intended could take it? Then what was the problem?
As it turned out, the Thief and Swordmaiden alike could pick up both the dark outfit and the crossbow. Avir Tan-Hoshi picked up the outfit, turned it over… and everyone could see the slits in the back of the outfit designed for wings.
“That’s obviously for you,” Sergeant tried to gesture his meaning to the winged boy.
“But then that means that both crossbows are for me!” the sherkh Swordmaiden said excitedly. “The Thief can’t just have more rewards than everyone else.”
I didn’t know why Avelia was given two crossbows at once, and why she even wanted two of the same kind — she could only use one at a time. In my view, one of the weapons had to be for someone else. But who? The Thief? The Beast Catcher? The Philosopher? All of them had already gotten their rewards!
What happened next was something I never expected!
A new figure appeared by the altar — a long-legged and long-eared sherkh in dark clothes! And many of those present in the hall, including me, recognized him right away — it was Arvedo Un Ponar, Avelia Un Ponar’s younger brother. He quickly grabbed one of the crossbows, then tried to take the second, but his fingers passed through the item. Without tarrying by the altar, the sherkh ran to the portal with his loot in hand. He stopped just outside the rift in space, turned and cast a malevolent eye at the Swordmaiden.
“Looks like we both got the same rewards, sister! And that means I win our main bet, because I didn’t need anyone’s help, I just walked into the center of Hundred Skull City behind a bunch of idiots! And father will be very interested to hear that you not only communicated with the Beast Catcher, to whom you were told to go no closer, but you even kissed him!”
With those words, Arvedo disappeared through the portal. Avelia moved to go after her brother, but stopped, dropped her hands to her sides helplessly — the invisible sherkh would be practically impossible to catch. Especially since he’d just demonstrated that he could walk the length of Hundred Skull City right next to the group and not be detected even once.
Sergeant’s words broke the silence and surprised us all:
“Take it!” The Beast Catcher offered Avelia Un Ponar the precious Fiery Manticore Signet Ring. “With this, the loot you bring out of Hundred Skull City will be more valuable than your brother’s! I want you to win the contest!”
The Swordmaiden looked at the Beast Catcher mistrustfully, as if fearing it was just a joke. But no, the human was deadly serious. He handed over his hard-won prize. The Swordmaiden took the precious reward and quickly hid it away in one of the pockets of her suit. She looked at Sergeant and tears filled her eyes.
“Sergeant, you… you’re amazing! Know that from now on, you’ll always have a friend among the sherkhs. Have no doubt — I will return this ring to you. But if my father takes it away from me, then I’ll work off its value in your League of Losers. I swear it!”
Avelia bowed slightly to Sergeant and ran through the portal, hurrying to be the first to report back to the leader of Eastern Garrison and show off her loot. As soon as her dark silhouette disappeared to flashes of lightning through the portal, crisp applause began to echo through the hall. Everyone turned sharply at the sound.
A painfully familiar figure stood by the arena doors. He wore an old-fashioned suit with golden buttons and cufflinks.
Chapter 15 [Sergeant]
Discussion with a Player
THE MYSTERIOUS MAN with whom all this had begun, back in that restaurant… Now that was last person I was expecting to see here in the new world! That same confident gaze, used to giving orders, those same piercing black eyes that contained the wisdom of a great many centuries lived, untenable to mortal man. There was no name above his head, which clearly contradicted the rules of this world and told me that it was not a player standing before me. Actually, that’s not quite right. It was actually a PLAYER standing before me, playing a hand of the Great Game, not a character in this game. Not a piece on a chessboard, but the chessmaster controlling the knights and pawns.
Although… was it so surprising? He and I had met the last time in the last Great Ga
me. But it was the reactions from my allies that surprised me — the Philosopher took a deep respectful bow, and Avir Tan-Hoshi just dropped down to his knees, pressed his face into the floor and started repeating “Vallar! Vallar! Vallar!” over and over until the gentleman in the dark suit stopped him with a light touch. I didn’t bother sucking up to him like that, just gave the mighty creature a short nod.
“Curious,” the PLAYER said with a slight smile, looking at me and the Philosopher. “Very few candidates have been able to get my attention and stand out from the monotonous gray crowd enough to merit a conversation before their transfer to the new world. In recent times, there have only been two. So it amuses me that you have both met in this huge world and joined forces. I feel providence at work here, the hand of fate. How interesting. Worth further study. But I am here on an entirely different matter…”
Whiskers suddenly fluffed up his fur and hissed, causing the gentleman in the old-fashioned suit to break off and turn to the kitten.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you. Incidentally, you’re the only one that didn’t give consent to be taken to the new world. That means you can go back. You don’t want to? Then why this show of displeasure? I can see that you are the most successful of your ‘league of losers,’ and you are very proud of your achievements. Despite your pitifully low initial stats, you were able to create a highly unusual and promising character that may grow into a true terror of this world. So what are you complaining about?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he having a conversation with the animal? Actually, I could recall the Cartographer talking to my kitten too. And Varya insisted that she’d found a way to understand my pet. And it seemed the cat could convey his own thoughts through his meowing, since the PLAYER nodded.
“Yes, well noted. I agree. There should be a way to increase transformation time. I believe that such a mutation or skill will appear soon. This world truly is new. It may lack a few features here and there. Incidentally, the other side is not against it. Consider the matter already resolved.”
The gentleman in the old-fashioned suit lost interest in the kitten, turned back to me.
“But now — to more important matters. Sergeant, you have amazed everyone. No, no, it’s nothing to do with the manticore. The guardian of these ruins has been defeated many times, albeit through different means. Usually by force. Sometimes it is lured out to the stairs where the massive beast gets stuck and becomes powerless. You are the first to have tamed it. And you know, there’s a certain irony in the fact that the sherkh Scout, who had no desire at all to help you, actually did. Arvedo Un Ponar remained in the arena, which is why the gates of the hall stayed open, allowing you all to regroup and heal your wounds. It is not the manticore of which I wish to speak — it is the fork you have created in possible global events.”
I have to admit, I didn’t understand a word of these confused explanations. What the hell was he talking about? Thankfully, the Philosopher stepped in to explain that he meant my generous gift to Avelia Un Ponar.
“Yes, exactly right. An unexpected decision that might change the course of history and fundamentally influence the future of this world. Forks like this happen rarely. If the eyes of Paris had fallen not on Helen of Troy, but on her younger sister Penelope, every bit as beautiful as the elder, then the Trojan War may never have happened. Yes, there would still have been a localized conflict between the isle of Ithaca and Troy, but the only consequence would have been reduced import tariffs for sardines and oysters, and cunning Odysseus would have been satisfied. Many great and just heroes of antiquity would have survived, and the Great Game on Earth would have ended two thousand years ago, with my opponents’ victory.”
Wow… A surprising rendering of the events of antiquity. I’d never thought of such an entirely possible alternative line of history. In the meantime, the mysterious man continued:
“If the hordes of Batu Khan had not been delayed at the small town of Kozelsk, losing precious time during their winter campaign, then Europe in the form that you know it would not exist. There would be entirely different countries, and they’d be called khanates. If the British had taken Rudolf Hess seriously, then the empire upon which the sun never sets might still persist to this day.”
Damn! It was hard to argue with such a powerful creature, capable of talking with such ease of the paths that human history never took. But never mind these old historical events that couldn’t be tested anyway — what did I have to do with all this? As if in answer to my unvoiced question, the gentleman in the old-fashioned suit continued.
“With your gift in hand, will the sherkh girl win her bet and become the general of Eastern Garrison’s army? If so, then Avelia will doubtless overturn her father and refuse to fight with the humans. She will take her clan beyond the barrier into the world outside. The sherkhs will weaken here. The New Pharaohs will take advantage, and there will be a great war with a great many losses, whose outcome even I cannot yet predict. The humans will most likely win, but it is not yet certain. Or will the leader of Eastern Garrison view his daughter’s deeds as dishonest, and declare Avelia’s brother the victor? In that case, the girl will be banished and you will gain a companion whose loyalty and good feeling toward you are under no doubt. But then it will be the sherkhs who start the war, and after two years of bloody battles, they will win, pushing the few surviving humans out through the barrier. An interesting choice upon which the future political landscape of this world depends. And since you have created this exciting situation, Sergeant, I have a gift for you — you can choose who shall win the feud of brother and sister. I promise you, the outcome will be exactly as you say!”
I stood stunned as if someone had hit me round the head with a sandbag. This was awful! The lives of many thousands of humans and sherkhs depended on my words! No. I couldn’t take on that kind of responsibility.
“You already took that responsibility when you gave your precious ring to Avelia Un Ponar,” the mysterious man said, easily reading my thoughts. “But I won’t rush you, Sergeant. There is still time. And although your pet clearly wants to tell you his own views of the situation, I will not translate his hint. Decide for yourself.”
The man in the old-fashioned costume moved his gaze onto the Philosopher, and now sadness and disappointment came through in his voice.
“As for you, old man, I do not understand. So many words about the ‘heritage of the old world,’ the ‘great mission of conveying the knowledge of hundreds of scientists to our descendants,’ and the need to ‘ensure that the new generation not be ignorant and primitive.’ Where is all that now? You’ve been here seventeen days already. And you thoughtlessly risk yourself, although your life is more valuable to the human race than the lives of hundreds of other humans put together. What if you had died in the night beasts’ attack on the river village, or here, in Hundred Skull City? What would have come of the priceless trove of knowledge in your head then?”
The Philosopher looked embarrassed. He lowered his eyes like a careless student before an angry teacher.
“My apologies,” our Diogenes agreed. “Routine got in the way. There were always urgent matters to attend to. But I’ll do better! Today, I’ll start writing an encyclopedia full of the scientific knowledge that must be kept for future generations! I even already found a compound suitable as an ink replacement. I can find wood to write on.”
“Here!” A big tube case appeared in the immortal creature’s hands, the kind engineers once used to carry diagrams. “You’ll find paper and writing instruments inside. But remember, old man, you are not young, and this world is full of danger. Each day could be your last. You can save your race the many centuries of effort that would be required to rediscover all those scientific formulas and laws of nature. But your descendants will only get the knowledge that you manage to save for them!”
“I understand, O Great One! I will make every effort to complete this epic work and preserve our priceless knowledge for h
uman civilization!”
“Only human?” the mighty creature shook his head in disapproval. “I expected more from you, old man. Actually, I expected much more from all the players called here! You have been presented with a huge world of endless possibility, yet here you are, getting caught up on old frameworks that have long since lost relevance, failing to see the freedoms given to you! What is the point in starting an interracial conflict when there will soon be a great many variations within each race, and the difference between individuals will be far greater than that between humans, sherkhs, veyers and veichs?! The concept of race will soon be blurred, and then will lose its relevance entirely! Long ears and huge eyes with nightvision, tails and wings, gills and extra pairs of arms, invisibility and instant teleportation, tentacles and scorpion venom… The game rules and the mutation points you earn allow all of this. And all of it will most certainly happen and will become part of the genes of subsequent generations. The future inhabitants of this world will be stronger than the superheroes from your silly comics, and it won’t matter to them at all what shape their neighbor’s body is or how many limbs it has.”
To me, the future he described was more frightening than exciting. Would all those countless mutants still be considered members of a single biological species? Would new bloody conflicts arise, this time over someone’s lack of a second pair of eyes or wings on their back? As if hearing my thoughts, the immortal stranger turned to me. He stood expecting a response, but I just shook my head.
“I won’t choose! May history go its own way, without my interference.”
I think my answer disappointed the gentleman, although no emotion showed on his face.
“As you wish, Sergeant. Even your refusal is a choice. The decision will be made without your involvement. Now it is time to hand out the gifts and penalties — there is a reason I came here, after all! From now on, the veyer shall be able to understand human speech and talk to humans. Diogenes, I leave you with only one life, so that you value it and the time you have left to you. You will get the maximum possible mutation points for what you have lost. Sergeant, your ability to attract girls is now defined in special characteristics — this is your reward and your curse. Whiskers, your leg is healed. There. All have been rewarded, and I have no further business here.”
In Service of the Pharaoh (League of Losers Book #2) Page 14
