Gloominess +3: Reign of Decay. A LitRPG series: Book 3

by Elian Tars

  Coffer of Righteousness

  Endowed with the power of the Righteous God, it hides its contents from other Gods and creatures of “Decay.”

  Cannot be lifted by other Gods and creatures of “Decay.”

  Chapter 7

  The Loot

  So what exactly had I stolen? Did it belong to some God who had turned against the other Gods? Or to a God who, even worse, equated the other Gods with the creatures of the Decay? That seemed unlikely. It was more likely that this God considered both the Decayed and other Gods to be their enemy. Or at least, their opponents.

  But why wasn’t I able touch the Coffer when I was in the Twilight? There was nothing about that in the description. Did Twilight have something divine in it then? If that was true, then I was damn lucky. But, on the other hand, there were too many conditions that had to be met to make me get the skill needed to get me into Twilight: having ancient powers inside me and being a pacifist, just to name two… Without the Old Man’s support, my hands would’ve become “dirty” long ago. But he kept saying that I was doing everything right.

  Oddly enough, thanks to Twilight Veil, I could put the Coffer into my “Twilight inventory,” so now it was under double protection; thieves and owners of items that allowed them to peek into other people’s inventories wouldn’t be able to get it, because they couldn’t get in the Twilight. Gods could see it, but they couldn’t touch it.

  I didn’t fully understand how any of this was possible. How exactly did Twilight Veil work? Why could the Coffer go through it and stay in the Twilight, but at the same time be protected from the Twilight? I assumed that when I put something into my inventory the Veil stopped working for a moment. And I assumed that the same thing happened when I took something out of it.

  Whatever the case was, it didn’t matter all that much right now. The most important thing was that I got a wonderful safe that no one could crack. Except me, of course. Although, I shouldn’t forget that there were a lot of creatures capable of taking control of other people’s will. So I really shouldn’t put all of my eggs in one basket, even if it was a super-safe one.

  Stroking my chin, I slowly breathed out and buried my fingers in my hair. My heart skipped a beat in anticipation of the moment when I’d open the Coffer. I had an idea about what could be inside. Okay, no more stalling!

  I materialized the Endless Set of Lock Picks and opened the lock within a second. I had picked it with such ease that I thought that I could’ve opened it with my fingers alone. Whoever had built it into the wall must’ve thought that other people wouldn’t be able to find it. They also probably didn’t want to make things harder for those the Coffer was intended for. But that didn’t mean that I could relax.

  Casting such thoughts aside, I carefully lifted the lid a little, ready to activate Wanderer in case of an explosion or some other trap.

  But I was worried for nothing. Everything went smoothly, and I saw what was in the Coffer. It was no wonder that I felt so excited before opening it.

  Two familiar, triangular stone pieces of the same size were lying inside.

  A Part of Zurtarn

  Legendary item

  Mana charge: 139,587/139,587

  A Part of Zurtarn

  Legendary item

  Mana charge: 158,759/158,759

  Another familiar item was lying in the chest. I had had an oppertunity to hold in my hands a similar angular, iridescent stone that shone brightly even in the dark.

  Splinter of Unity

  Global item

  One of the parts of “Unity,” endowed with a portion of its power.

  But that wasn’t all. The last thing that was lying at the very bottom of the Coffer was a wooden amulet with an engraving that resembled the Slavic symbol of the sun, kolovrat.

  Amulet of Righteousness

  Divine item

  Neither Gods nor the “Decay” can harm you.

  Activation: immediate

  Duration: 5 seconds

  Cooldown: 24 hours

  The Amulet was fastened to a most ordinary black cord. Without thinking twice, I put it on, placing it next to the Will Keeper. It was convenient that there was no limit to how many necklaces you could wear at the same time, unlike in most games. I could wear a hundred at the same time if I wanted to.

  The five-second invincibility was truly a divine gift. I just hoped that I could use it to its maximum; I was hardly strong enough to defeat a God, even if their attacks caused me no harm. But if the Old Man put on the Amulet, perhaps he would be able to defeat an enemy that was as strong as he was. Should I give it to him? No, he probably doesn’t need it. He’s always watching and is aware of my every move… He would’ve asked if he needed it.

  Closing the lid, I put the Coffer back into my inventory. Without much effort, I managed to get two more Parts of Zurtarn, and had only about twenty-nine left to go. Plus, I had two Shards of Unity now. How many of them were there and what they were needed for, I didn’t know. But the fact that these artifacts were hidden from the Gods and were lying in one chest, and that Elliot, who lived in Ekheim, had a Shard and was also trying to reassemble the Zurtarn, said a lot.

  I saw first-hand what the Shard was capable of. It united. So I assumed that these iridescent stones could put the Zurtarn back together. But would one Shard be enough to unite several pieces? Should I try it out? If I succeeded, I would make a third of the Zurtarn and it’d no longer fit in the Coffer. With that in mind, I decided that it’d be better to postpone the experiment.

  Eliot came to mind again and I was sure that I remembered the former mayor of Ekheim, Old Man rest his soul, for a reason. I remembered when he, together with Una and three other captains, appeared in the lands of the Decay, saving us from a horde of monsters. He blew the Horn of Righteousness, making my stats restore immediately; even the Decayed stopped attacking us. Perhaps I should find out more about this “Righteous God” and their artifacts.

  “I’m coming in,” Kane’s voice sounded outside, distracting me from my thoughts and brining me back to the dull reality and the dirty business that awaited me — sorting out the loot.

  ***

  We didn’t find any more artifacts, just junk. I had no doubts that it was expensive, but it was still junk, good enough only for trade or decoration. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to decorate my tent. Unfortunately, selling this stuff wouldn’t be easy either. It wasn’t like I could just start taking all these closets and cabinets out of my inventory right in front of the first merchant I meet. I’d reveal that I was a Gleam by doing that. And I didn’t need that at all.

  Having inspected every piece of furniture, I placed it all back into my inventory. When Kane and I were done with that, I looked outside and ordered Shawn to prepare a covered storehouse. How he was going to deal with that task was his problem.

  Then we got to the more pleasant things — the chests. To demonstrate my trust in Kane, I informed him of the exact amount of money that I had put into my inventory.

  “So, in total we have one million, eight hundred and fifty eight thousand, five hundred and forty gold pieces,” he said, having calculated it all in his head. Comparing what he had said with the number at the bottom of my inventory screen, and deducing what I already had from it, I nodded, impressed by his math skills. “You know, you could leave everything and go anywhere. To Ishiria, for example. Live a quiet, wealthy life,” he said, looking at me with a suspicious gaze.

  Falling into a muse, I caught myself thinking that Kane’s words made sense. I had in my inventory an entire treasury with which I could buy anything I wanted. Why should I risk my life any further? Why should I continue to hide in the woods, fighting with monsters and Followers of other Gods? Why should I continue looking for the Zurtarn and other things I knew nothing about? What prevented me from leaving the Old Man and the villagers?

  There were a lot of difficult questions, and I’ve had answers to only a couple of them. First of all, I wasn’t sure if a Gleam that bet
rayed their God could ever find a new one and continue living in this dark world. My soul was currently in another person’s body, and it could resurrect together with it. What was that if not magic? And the magic of this world depended on the will of divine forces. To use any ability, we exchanged mana for divine magic. I assumed that the same thing applied to the lives of Gleams, who just paid in a different way.

  And if, for example, I found another God, I doubted that they’d let me enjoy my wealthy life so easily.

  And besides, how could one relax in a foreign, dying world? Not that I was in a hurry to go back home, but it wouldn’t hurt to know where I am, how I got here and how to I get out.

  The third reason was the most subjective one, and although it could seem meaningless to most, it was very serious for me. In this world full of sly people under the patronage of even slyer Gods, there where those who were ready to stay by your side and fight to their dying breath. Knowing this kept me from becoming a selfish, backstabbing bastard.

  Staring at the ceiling, I formulated my thoughts. See, I’m not going to betray you.

  “Peaceful life isn’t for me,” I finally answered Kane, making it all a little more simple. “There are things that are more important than money. You of all people should know that,” I chuckled. He didn’t so much as look at the gold. Mara’s life was his most valuable treasure, and only the powers of Darkness could help save it. Not money. “Though you should get your cut,” I said after a moment of thinking. “Open your hands.”

  “Are you sure?” Kane asked seriously.

  “Oh, come on.”

  He didn’t ask any more questions. Giving him 10,000 coins, I offered him to take a walk with me. He didn’t argue, and a few minutes later we were outside.

  “Shawn!” I shouted, drawing the chief’s attention. “I bring gifts.”

  Curious, people quickly gathered around me. I announced that from now on we would have a common treasury, which would be in Disciple Kane’s inventory for now. With these words, and in front of everybody, I gave another 10,000 gold coins to the necromancer. The sum left the peasants speechless. I’d never forget how Ilsa’s parents, ordinary hunters, had less than eleven gold pieces saved up.

  “You’re going to meet the chiefs of the nearby villages. Take some money and buy all of the necessary supplies. But don’t be greedy, don’t overburden the Wolves and don’t even think about carts. Don’t forget that you need to cover your tracks on the way back,” I reminded the chief. “And don’t take too many people with you.”

  Once I handed out the tasks, I unloaded the furniture out of my inventory into the newly built “storage room” that was situated near two similar tents, where the camp’s provisions were being kept. I wanted to keep the mayor’s armchair for myself, but I had no idea where I’d put it. It’d be a pity to leave the stuff lying about. Taking it out in front of an astonished audience would’ve been spectacular, though. But I didn’t need any spectacular shows right now.

  After that, I made three buckets of Simple Tranquility Potion. There were almost one and a half thousand Potions. Just in case, I poured a bit of the Essence into a jug, filling it up to the brim. I left the rest for the villagers as the time had come to make trainings more intense. We had no more time for relaxing.

  I talked a bit more with Kane, had a snack, and returned to my tent. It was time for a short rest…

  Chapter 8

  The Third Point

  I slept for about ten hours. As soon as I lay down on the makeshift bed made out of hide and cloth, I passed out at once. I got cold after a while and, half asleep, took my irreplaceable bedcover out of my inventory. Damn it, I couldn’t believe how worn out I was.

  It was dark when I woke up, and only the chirping of insects could be heard outside. Getting out of the tent, I took a walk around the quiet camp, scaring the guys that were on guard.

  I sat down under the open sky, took a snack out of my inventory, and habitually looked at my stats.

  Level 64

  Vitality: 280

  Endurance: 163

  Strength: 192

  Agility: 280

  Intelligence: 220

  My numbers were pretty good. Just imagining what they’d become once I got to the stat points trader left me breathless. Tayon sold one such point for a hundred. With the fortune I had now, I’d become an invincible monster.

  Stop! The voice of reason interrupted the stream of my ludicrous fantasies. I listened to it and got sad. I wasn’t the first millionaire. Let’s not forget Elliot who could’ve used the treasury to his personal advantage if he wanted to. I was sure that he had did exactly that. However, his HP was less than 9,000. So, taking that and his equipment into account, his vitality was less than 900. Where was I going with this again? Oh yeah… The amount of points that could be bought wasn’t infinite. They didn’t appear out of thin air, but were “donated” by people like the beggar that I had met in Ekheim.

  Having the accelerated spreading of the Decay in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rich people had already bought everything they could to increase their chances of survival.

  Stop! I told myself again, realizing that my thoughts were getting too depressing. I had money and will, and I’d have an opportunity to do what I intended to do. I’d be able to make not only myself, but the Old Man’s Followers stronger, too.

  With these thoughts in my mind, I closed the stat window and opened the skills menu. There were two unspent skill points left and the same amount of Everyday Points. There was nothing to spend them on for now. I wanted to see the menu for a different reason.

  I stared with the Everyday Skills column.

  Acrobatics: 10

  Lock Picking: 5

  Stealth: 3

  Cooking: 1

  Riding: 3

  Orientation: 2

  Public Speaking: 3

  Love Mastery: 4

  Weakness Perception: 1

  Wow… There are some new ones.

  New Everyday Skills automatically appeared on the list whenever you did the actions required to unlock them. For example, I unlocked Cooking the first time I baked a potato on the fire. But digging out a Burdock Root and peeling it before eating it wasn’t enough to unlock the skill. I unlocked Orientation when Vella and I were trying to find the Part of Zurtarn that was hidden by Bon’s father. I leveled it up due to constant roaming around the woods. Public Speaking was unlocked after talking to Mayor Elliot, and it leveled due to my constant speeches. Love Mastery… Heh, after the night I had spent with the widow it reached level three at once. Now it got one more point. Why was that? In the last twenty-four hours, I upgraded both Acrobatics and agility. Did the system think that skills and stats were connected? That was quite possible.

  The last one was Weakness Perception, which allowed me to spot my opponent’s weak points easier. Did my precise blows in the battle against Lade unlock it? That’s an interesting skill. Should I spend points on it? Maybe, but first I need to deal with what I got into this menu for.

  Fixing my eyes on Acrobatics, I requested to be given more information about it. A system message appeared in front of my eyes at once.

  Further development is available:

  “Lightness”

  “Flexibility”

  “Speed”

  As it often happened, there was no description. And as usual, I had to decipher and figure out everything myself.

  Each path seemed important. Having Lightness would allow me jump more effectively. Flexibility would help me dodge attacks. And more Speed was always useful — you could be insanely strong, but easily die just because you wouldn’t to be the first to strike.

  So what should I choose? What did I need Acrobatics for the most?

  Scenes of my numerous fights floated through my head. I always soared over the Decayed and got on their backs; I was always dodging and jumping around like a ninja.

  Yes, all three options seemed good, but I could pick only one. So…

 
Acrobatics (Lightness): 10

  Well, that’s done. I decided not to spend any points now, but to save them until I really needed them. For rainy days, as they say.

  And now, for the last thing on today’s agenda...

  Taking the Altar of Darkness out of my inventory, I held it tightly in my hands and quietly said: “I dedicate all my deeds in the last twenty four hours to the Darkness. Praise the Darkness!”

  It got red-hot as usual; I clenched my teeth so as not to shout from pain and drop the Altar. The pain was even more difficult to endure than the one from that morning after the battle for Ilyenta. The Old Man duly appreciated my victories.

  You have received 480 Faith Points.

  The number was impressive. And though I was sure that I got some for saving Una, too, I doubted that that was the reason for such a generous reward. It must’ve had something to do with the Coffer.

  I now had 942 Faith Points in total. The last time I peeked into the Elemental Types menu, there was nothing available. Perhaps something had changed.

  With this thought in mind, I opened the necessary window and chuckled with satisfaction. There was only one new “goodie,” but that was still better than nothing. Judging by its name and price, something really impressive was being offered to me.

  Small Avatar of Darkness = 1,000 Faith Points

  I asked for a description and chuckled again. This time more happily.

  Small Avatar of Darkness

  Unlocks bonus skill “Small Avatar of Darkness.”

  Cost to unlock: 15 skill points; 1,000 Faith Points

  Available only for “Gleams.”

  Active skill

  Activation Time: 2 seconds (impossible to interrupt)

  Cost: 50 % HP; 50% mana; 50% energy; 1,000 Faith Points

  Cooldown: 6 hours