“Well… let’s go…”
I was not, of course, the most accurate thrower of stones in Valdira, but it was going to be hard to miss a living mountain. So I was right on target— because it was like throwing a grain of salt at an elephant. The result was about the same. And I was not going to hit hard, but only enough to attract attention. And after a moment, it happened— the black eye turned to me and doused me with rage, turned its back on the village, and then set its sights on my crew, and the fisherman Afros, who continued to snore in the cart.
And then… something amazing!
The entire monster turned the front part of his body to the heavens, ripping the nets which held him with rage. He turned upwards and… and howled! It was a long wail, melancholy and piercing. The defenders standing in the front lines grabbed their ears. The creature broke through the nets. And I no longer had any doubt… it was a pike! An unthinkably huge one, but a pike! Spotted scales, and a thick lipped head— a shape well known to any fisherman.
But there was no need to look closely— the scarlet name of the monster flashed before me.
Zubrava the Obsessed!
The fanged terror of the lake Naykal!
Temple warrior!
Serves: bright goddess Iwawa!
Level: 401.
Terrible and predatory being from the deep of Naykal. Spawn of hatred and magic, obsession and possession— Zubrava!
Obsessed?
Possessed by what?
That was something new— a turn of events I didn’t expect.
But I can’t think about that now.
“Right to the shore!” I ordered. “Hit the creature! Only long range! Do not enter into close combat!
“Yes, sir!” Barked all in unison, without exception, and I continued:
“Continue to keep your eye on Afros! Show his face to Zubrava!”
I’m a mage! I have lots of combat spells!
When I was in the Outland, I forgot all about my magic. Even now, my hands desperately itched for a crossbow.
So stupid! Forgetting my own specialization!
Continuing to swear, I threw up my hands, and flame and ice crashed into the flanks of Zubrava. I yelled a war song which my father used to sing when he was in a good mood:
“Our tanks, our pride and beauty, machine guns on four wheels…”
The driver whipped the horses and we went straight towards the shore and the pike of Naykal.
I continued to sing the chorus. “Our pride and beauty… machine guns on four wheels…”
Fragments of ice, fiery hail— each of these crashed in succession into the pike… not leaving a single scratch. But the nets caught fire, and the pike was surrounded by flame.
There was another fierce howl. But it was strange how the pike howled— like a wolf howling at a full yellow moon.
A wolf!
The pike had swallowed the glove of the legendary set! I don’t know what the properties of that glove are. But the implications are quite interesting— there is a direct reference to the soul of the wolf. It looked exactly as though there was a wolf in the body of the pike… but that was crazy…
But maybe it has the effect of “awakening soul” or something! Perhaps?!
Damn… I am confused… maybe the bonuses of the left glove differ from those on the right?
A dozen arrows flew into the head of the mutant pike— archers were getting down to business.
P-P-P-A-N-G!
Something emerald flashed on a hill very far away. The howling Zubrava lurched back as if struck on the lower jaw. Her head jerked up, and her howling stopped as if cut off. The whole fish carcass slammed hard onto its belly. A very, very small piece of its life went down… Deciduous Dusk had stepped in and shot at the monster with their arrows.
P-P-P-A-N-G!
Zubrava tried to lift herself up, but was hit by the missile again and pressed to the ground. Our combat wagon cheerfully raced around the monster and abruptly turned and ripped along the coast, towards the edge where I first found Afros.
I turned around and saw with relief that Zubrava was after us. The pike was on its hands and knees and leaping towards us. Another rush, and it was already in the water. I noticed the terrible shadow, raving forwards to intercept us. And racing fast!
“Drive!” I yelled with all my might. “Drive like your life depends on it!”
There was a splash and time seemed frozen— the gigantic body of the pike jumped out of the water and into the air, her gigantic toothy mouth gaping… god… we’re going to have an accident involving horse carts and an overgrown fish…
B-bam!
The horses accelerated, and Zubrava only briefly touched out wagon’s tail with one of her fins.
“You’re so scary!” I think, and then our combat crew abruptly turns and we are flying upside down… everything is spinning before our eyes… earth, sky, earth, sky, Afros… I’ll kill the bastard!
The cart stopped slowly.
“O-oh,” I squeezed, rising to my feet and clutching my head in both hands, wrapped in a healing mist.
“R-r-r-a-a-a…” responded the huge fish, twenty feet away from me.
“O-oo-ooh,” said the fisherman, rising to his feet. Farther away, to the shore, they are trying to stop the horses and untangle them, to drag the overturned carriage. I do not see a servant anywhere…
In any case, they will all come back any minute…
But right now it’s just the three of us.
Afrosio. Zubrava. And me.
Good. Bad. And wicked. Not in that order.
Spitting to the side deliberately, I lowered my hand to the bag at my belt and reached for something there…
Afrosio swallowed, turned, looked towards his village, swallowed again, and moved his foot…
Zubrava focused her ugly eyes on Afros and then fixed them on me.
Silence… silence hung over us… the precursor of a lo-o-ot of sound…
“Phe-e-ew,” I breathed a long, weary sigh… and rushed forwards as hard as I could, right at Zubrava.
The pike looked at me, jerked, opened her fangs… again, that wild howl, bitter and dreary…
Hurry! Faster!
“Si-i-i-ir!” A scream called after me.
My servant is alive? Excellent!
Faster! Only five more steps…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One!
And I jumped forwards head first, arms stretched in front of me, legs tensed, aiming directly at her mouth.
Clap!
And there was darkness around me…
And I was drawn forwards… something clenched around me, and I could see the teeth too…
“I will live forever!”
Activation successful! Enjoy…
Crunch! Dozens of fangs… and the huge pike swallowed. And threw me forwards… straight into her stomach.
Well, now I only had to find it… and then maybe, just maybe, my plan would work…
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The beast chewed me like a chip!
And at the same time was propelling me deeper…
How was that possible? Hell knows!
I didn’t care, because I was only focused on two things. First, the crimson flashing timer counting down the moments of my immortality:
00:53… 00:52… 00:51…
Secondly, my eyes never left the dark pharynx, which was leading me further and further.
Was it possible to get an object from inside a creature? Maybe! If not— why the hell was I even here? The act would have looked like a strange suicide for the amusement of others. Right… the idiot first took the monster away from the village, and then jumped into her mouth and was devoured… what a laugh!
00:50… 00:49…
“Honey, how are you?” A message from Kira.
“I have been eaten! Everything’s perfect!” I replied mentally, because the answer was unthinkable. My hands grasped something that l
ooked like someone’s skeleton, and I dragged myself further.
00:48… 00:47…
Blup!
I went deeper and, judging by my surroundings, got to point X— that is, Zubrava’s stomach. It looked like the painting of a coal mine at night. But there was no flashlight. I couldn’t see anything.
But!
00:45… 00:44…
On my right hand side appeared a ball of fire, and illuminated the space with a shaky amber. The ball of fire was suspended above the surface of a greenish-yellow-brown liquid which looked like a slush of rubbish. On the surface swam bones, skulls, and guns… I understand. The stomach was filled with gastric juices. If not for the immortality, I would have dissolved.
Bahm! The fireball crashed into the stomach. And Zubrava did a kind of dance. I was knocked down, and took in a mouthful of gastric soup… Ugh! Emerging from the slush, I spat.
00:40… 00:39… 00:38…
My left hand activated the vine spell. I dragged myself forwards, but then understood I had nothing to hold on to… and so I dove in.
My eyes were wide open, but I saw nothing. I felt something nasty and slippery on my face. My hands rummaged at the bottom of the stomach. There was a long dagger, judging by the blade, which I felt with my palm. But I was immortal still! My hands continued to rummage…
00:28… 00:27… 00:26…
Rummaging, rummaging, come on! Pots, shards, pieces of wood, stones, bones, shoes…
00:22… 00:21… 00:20…
Knives, torn nets… I’m confused! I sent four fireballs out into the “water” and they fizzled quickly. But I had time to look quickly around. Gastric juices were bubbling everywhere around me. And Zubrava didn’t help, doing some kind of improvised dance maneuver. Bones everywhere, acid, corroded blades, sharp sticks… the horror!
00:13… 00:12… 00:11…
And then everything stopped…
And I grabbed my right hand with my left, my right hand onto which I had just put on a powerful glove… before my eyes I saw a long description, and my digital heart beat like a hammer.
You have found an object!
Type: equipment.
Title: Hand of Peace
Description: Glove for the right hand, part of the legendary armor of Grim the Silver Hammer.
Object Class: Legendary!
Durability: Impossible to destroy! In addition: it is impossible to steal!
Attention! The subject is part of the legendary set!
Number of items in the set: 14
No minimum character restrictions.
Optional: Let the subject effects increase in proportion to the level of the character.
Current effects:
+ * power?
+ * agility?
+ * protection?
Ability: x3 protection against physical damage when combined with Soul of the Silver Wolf.
Number of equipped items from the legendary Silver Set: 1/14
Additional bonuses: no.
But what was clutched in the right hand? What was the globe holding on to? Something oblong… and very familiar… a powerful jerk…
Zubrava shuddered all over…
00:07… 00:06… 00:05…
A strange guttural sound like the sob of a mad hippo and a sneeze at the same time. I am lurched up with the gastric juices…
00:03… 00:02…
I see the light! Misty light through the thick muck!
00:01…
Splash!
And I was lying in the grass, covered in slimy mucus.
I rolled quickly to the side, getting out of the big sizzling puddle, not paying attention to the huge shadow above me, its mouth open wide like a snakes. But Zubrava was a pike… her jaw was definitely broken.
My skin sizzled, something bright green bubbling on top of it.
00:01…
My hands were at my chest, using my frail healing abilities to all their capacity.
00:00…
Caution! The effect is deactivated!
My life ran down in leaps, and I ran also away from the huge fish carcass, trembling all over.
“Sir!” The faithful servant jumped to me, and I was immediately “pierced” by a bright lilac flash. My life was recovered in no time. Another flash through my body, and the acid was disintegrated.
“Thank you!” I heartily thanked the local who had saved me. “Thank you!”
“It is my duty, sir. But you shouldn’t have rushed into the jaws of that monstrous creature!” Remarked the servant reproachfully, shaking my shoulder. “I will bring you a change of clothes! But before that… do you want to kill it?”
The question, of course, was about Zubrava— who, writhing madly on the grass, was decreasing in size at every moment. Her levels ran quickly down, already reaching the value of “178.” And more importantly, her name turned green— she was no longer possessed. Her eyes were no longer red, and there was no more howling.
What the hell is happening with this pike?
The level reached 150 and then stopped. But the fish continued to decrease in size until it was no more than two meters. The gills flared, and she stared at me with mournful fish eyes.
Cursing, I went to Zubrava, shouting to the servant:
“Help! Help her into the water! Everyone!”
It wasn’t easy to do, considering the slippery body, but we still managed. And we, the five men, ran to the lake and dropped the creature into the shallow water.
A splash of the tail! A fountain of water. The spotted predatory body gracefully turned and went into the depths. And we remained standing knee deep in the water, silently cursing.
“You better be crossed out of the black book for this,” I muttered.
Wham! And a short distance away, the water splashed beneath her tail. Zubrava clearly heard me.
“I’m a moron,” I sighed, kneeling and washing away the muck from my outfit with water. “I should have just waited until the pike dried up. That would have been all. Mission accomplished… and now it’s over…
But the job “monster of the lake depths” remained active, because the monster pike was now rid of her possession and safely back in the water. The order given by Spruce to pursue Afrosio was not revoked. It would continue to go after the alcoholic fisherman.
But!
There was something that pleased me!
What exactly?
This:
Congratulations!
The job “Prayers for the goddess Snessa” is complete!
Reward:
A gift personally selected by the goddess Snessa will be awarded!
Experience: ***
Congratulations!
You got a new level!
You got a new level!
You got a new level!...
I got to the one hundred and eleventh level.
A quiet and extremely pleased whisper reached my ears:
“The goddess Sness-ssa is pleased with Ros-s-sgard. The award is-ss waiting! The bog-creatures are already notified and returning…”
A small body of a whitish snake flashed in the water, coiled around my feet, and disappeared.
I wonder, has anyone ever fulfilled an order from a deity as quickly as I have? They can now call me Rosgard the Flash!
I wasn’t given an award for this of course. But perhaps, in the future, there will be rewards for performing quests in less than an hour.
It was even a little disappointing— for such an achievement one can safely go ahead and take pictures to hang in the taverns and hotels.
I chuckled, and looked down at my hand— a new part of the legendary set. This was my real reward. I desire nothing more.
And what was trapped in the silver hand? What had it been holding? Mechanically, I had continued to squeeze my fingers even while carrying the fish— so the object was still there. An extremely familiar shape. I unclenched my hand:
You received an object!
Type: equipment
Titl
e: Soul of the Red Wolf.
Description: Left bracer of the armor of the legendary temple priestess Myrta!
Object Class: Legendary!
Durability: it is impossible to destroy! In addition: it is impossible to steal!
Attention! The object is part of the legendary set!
Number of items in this set: 5.
No minimum level restrictions.
Optional: Let the subject effects increase in proportion to the level of the character.
Current effects:
+ * power
+ * endurance
+ * protection
Ability: awakening the soul of the red wolf.
Number of objects equipped from Broodlord Blade Armor: 1/5
Additional bonuses: no.
ATTENTION!
Interaction of sets!
Unity aura activated!
Unity aura deactivated!
Reason: see explanation in the letter “Cooperation and Unity.”
Ding… I received a letter in my inbox. Apparently, about cooperation and unity.
This was too much.
In the fingers of my legendary glove was an object from another legendary set! And in the description were such important words as “temple priestess” and “Myrta.”
“Honey, are you okay?! Why are you silent?” Again, a message from Kira… Kira… Kirea the Protectress.
What did Grim give Kira that one time? Something on the neck, a golden chain.
The bracer which is clamped in my hand is like a thick golden bracelet, entirely covered with beautiful engravings. Almost exactly like mine— except the material is gold, not silver.
But they cannot be the same, because Grim gave Kira a medallion from the legendary armor of Myrtle. I am absolutely sure of it!
“Where is Afrosio?”
“Disappeared,” said the servant, who had returned from the carriage with something. “Here, sir. Cover yourself up.”
Taking the travelling cloak, I threw it over one shoulder and asked.
“Is the carriage on the move?”
“Yes, sir. But there is significant damage. Repair is needed.”
“Head for the village,” I sighed, going to the vehicle. “We need to find Afrosio immediately. And Spruce. But I’ll call her myself— hopefully she will respond. I have one reliable way… but I need the fisherman.”
The Way of the Clan 6: World of Valdira Page 25
