Gloominess +2: Congregation. A LitRPG series: Book 2
Page 8
“Activate the Will Keeper.”
The “Will Keeper” has been activated. The effect will last for 1 minute.
Great. Let’s go… What did Una say? You need to synchronize health, mana and energy and spend them equally. Let’s give it a try then…
I closed my eyes. I felt better, but I was still groggy. Trying to ignore the dizziness, I imagined three scales of different colors. Surprisingly, I managed to do it at once. The lowest scale was red, the highest was yellow. Now I had to imagine three vertical lines that would divide the full parts of the scales from the empty parts. I managed to do that as well. Now let’s try moving all three cursors simultaneously.
A sword hit me twice. I cried and lost my concentration. I then felt that someone clutching my wrist.
I cursed loudly and jerked my hand away. These mind controlling skills were pissing me off! I gritted my teeth and imagined again the three scales and quickly moved all three cursors.
A crackling sound filled my ears; I grunted and opened my eyes. The world was slowly returning to normal. I chuckled, synchronized all of my stats again and started to move the cursors. I felt pain in my temples and beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. Damn it, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
The cursors began to skid. Hell no! I wasn’t about to lose now!
I coughed loudly, spat out a clot of blood and, jerking my whole body to the right with a roar, moved the cursors 20% further. The illusion shattered with a sound of breaking glass, revealing the true picture of the world to me. The bewildered Iron Faced, clutching the mana blocking shackles, looked pretty funny.
Without wasting any time, I pushed the warrior aside and rushed to the crossbow bolt stuck in the ground. Two enemies rushed at me at once; turning around, I circled them and found myself behind their backs.
“Stop him!” shouted a strong female voice. Three more enemies appeared beside me, but it was too late; jumping like a goal-keeper, I landed near the glowing bolt, yanked it out of the ground and put it into my inventory.
A second later, the snake like streams of lilac sand filled the nostrils of the Iron Faced surrounding me. They turned around synchronously and silently rushed in Astra’s direction.
“Thank you, Bale!” I heard Una’s cheerful voice. “Now get out of here the same way you ran away from the baron!”
The same lilac sand filled my nostrils. I managed to cast a surprising look in Una’s direction before I realized that I was casting Elusive Darkness. The last thing I managed to see was the battlefield, where the Iron Faced were fighting each other. Una and Jerome were controlling them like puppeteers, while Hulne was swinging his sword, shrouded with a cloud of lilac sand, slowing down the zealous monk with each swing. Berg was releasing one arrow after another. I wished I could fight beside my companions, but…
Darkness covered my eyes, and all of the surrounding sounds were gone.
Chapter 10
The Decay’s Grip
Choose the point of resurrection you wish to be teleported to:
● Listeri Cemetery
● Athefeh’s Gravestone
I didn’t even have the time to think about the choice, when I answered despite my own will:
“Listeri cemetery.”
Attention!
You don’t have enough HP to teleport to the selected location. You will die and be taken to your designated location.
You died.
You have been resurrected at your designated location. You have used 10 % of your rebirth.
The darkness around me stopped shifting and I, just like a day and a half ago, found myself in front of the familiar doors of the stone crypt.
“That damned Una!” I hissed through gritted teeth, clenching my fists. I cursed again and started walking back and forth around the cemetery.
We could have won together! And now nobody will know how our battle would end. I knew that she wouldn’t suffer a permanent death, and that she will likely resurrect here very soon. But what about the other three? What was going to happen to them? We fought side by side, and I couldn’t really say that I wouldn’t care if any of them died.
Especially, Berg.
I cursed again and then got a grip of myself. I would be able to get to him in twelve hours. Right now I needed to get myself together and try to get in touch with the Old Man.
Glancing at the cemetery one more time, I walked some hundred yards and hid behind the nearest trees. It wasn’t the best of covers, but it was better than standing in the open.
I took out the Altar of Darkness.
“All the deeds committed in the last couple of days, all my victories, my successful escape from the Mother of the Decayed and Baron Tsunter’s people, and, of course, finding the Part of Zurtarn, I dedicate to the Darkness. Hail, Darkness!”
The bar of the Wisdom Tree became so hot that I cried out with pain and almost unclenched my fingers. I endured it and broke into a triumphant smile.
You have received 250 faith points.
“Simplified Call of the Patron” has been activated.
You have spent 20 faith points.
What was that? Was that something new? It was called “simplified” and was thirty points cheaper. The Old Man was summoning himself at my cost again…
“Greetings, my boy,” his hiss-like voice sounded in my head. It seemed to be more cheerful than usual. “Congratulations on successfully finding another part of the Zurtarn.”
“Thank you,” I nodded. “How’s Berg?”
“The Disciple is alive, boy. Your companions were able to fight the enemy off. The enemies realized that the part of the Zurtarn disappeared together with you and retreated. Don’t worry about the Disciple, boy. I’m watching over him. Besides, he has a different task. But you, boy, should, first of all, concentrate on protecting that piece of the Zurtarn. Your second concern should be getting stronger.”
“What exactly am I to do?”
“First, activate the Altar of Twilight, then the Altar of Light, and then you’ll understand everything. After that you can proceed with the quest Rugus gave you, boy.”
“Do you really need the Congregation that much?” I asked carefully.
My Patron was silent for a few seconds. Once he answered, I was able to catch a note of sadness in his telepathic voice.
“That’s true, boy. Your success gives me strength, as you have already guessed, but not enough to do really great things.”
That really wasn’t a straight answer. Well, if he is in the mood to talk, I should to try to pry more information out of him.
“Please, tell me, why are you unique? Why did the Mother of the Decayed speak about you in plural? Why did she say that you had already been destroyed? If I know your story, I will be able to understand things better and will be more usef-…”
I bit my tongue, clearly realizing that he intentionally interrupted our conversation. A system message appeared before my eyes.
Attention! Quest is available.
Quest available: “The Altar of Twilight”
Quest giver: God of Darkness
Activate the “Altar of Twilight” within 5 minutes.
Reward: XP, and maybe something more
Reward giver: God of Darkness
Penalty for failure: loss of all faith points
Quest accepted. Impossible to decline.
Attention!
Quest available: “The Altar of Light”
Quest giver: God of Darkness
Activate the “Altar of Light” within 48 hours.
Reward: XP, and maybe something more
Reward giver: God of Darkness
Penalty for failure: loss of all faith points
Quest accepted. Impossible to decline.
Great, now I had two more quests from a God, this time from my own Patron, and I couldn’t decline them. Knowing such powerful creatures that could easily give you a difficult quest with high penalties in case you fail, and then disappear without a trace, was dangerous.
Depending on them was really annoying. However, I couldn’t do anything about it right now. I needed to hurry up, before my five minutes were over.
Materializing the wood bark, I stared at the Altar of Twilight. I needed 150 faith points to activate it and the same amount of “saved” lives. I wanted to leave this Altar for last and activate the Altar of Light first, but the Old Man made it clear what was top priority right now.
“Activate the Altar,” I mentally ordered.
The bark became warm and glowed for a couple of moments, but the special effects were soon gone. The color of the Altar changed a bit, becoming more intense, but that was where the transformation ended.
A system message about quest completion flashed in front of my eyes. Though it was written in the quest’s description that my Patron was to accept it and reward me, the Old Man didn’t need to be present in person — he accepted the quest right from his divine plane, or wherever he was now, and rewarded me with, to my great surprise, a big amount of XP. I thus reached level 57 and got two stat points and the same amount of skill points.
I opened the “Element Types” menu and was excited to find two new lines in the second column.
Twilight Veil
Activation requirements: 50 faith points; 50 lives, saved by a pure being.
Twilight Wanderer
Activation requirements: 50 faith points; 50 lives, saved by a pure being.
Focusing on each of the offered “goods” in turn, I read their description.
Twilight Veil
Unlocks the skill “Twilight Veil”.
Cost: 2 skill points
Level 1
Passive skill
You are covered with an invisible veil which transfers a part of your inventory into the Twilight plane.
Effect: Those who don’t possess the power of the Twilight element can’t look into your inventory or copy your skills.
Twilight Wanderer
Unlocks the skill “Twilight Wanderer”
Cost: 3 skill points
Level 1
Active skill
Activation time: instant
Cost: 300 mana
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Duration: 30 seconds (idle); 6 seconds (while moving)
Available only for “Gleams” and “Disciples”.
Transfers you to the “Twilight Plane”, making you invisible and unperceivable for the creatures of the “Material Plane”.
I thoroughly read the descriptions one more time, and chuckled. They were really cool. If I understood it right, Twilight Wanderer allowed you to go through walls. I could only imagine the things I could do with this skill, especially when combined with Acrobatics, Blind Eye, and Lock Picking…
I will take it without hesitation, but Twilight Veil... The Old man definitely hinted at it. It would allow me to protect the piece of Zurtarn that was in my inventory from being stolen. Though, someone could still steal it if they mind controlled me. The Mother of the Decayed almost succeeded in making me give her the artifact “on my own free will”.
But there was no time for hesitation now. I needed to protect my inventory from nimble-fingered robbers, even though my mind was still attracted by the Wanderer, wishing to get hold of such power.
“Unlock Twilight Veil.”
“Learn Twilight Veil.”
Being done with the Altar of Twilight, I decided to proceed with the next quest without delay and activate the Altar of Light. I couldn’t wait to learn the secrets that it was hiding, as well as why it was necessary to activate it.
I went south-south-west, though I wanted to go south-east. Something was hidden there; something that attracted the Decay. This mystery haunted my mind, and the realization that the answer to it was so close just added more fuel to the fire.
But I promised myself that I would first fulfill my Patron’s task. I shouldn’t ignore the given time limit. If I try to combine “saving lives” and exploring the, let’s call it, “Beacon of Decay”, I would probably fail both.
Thus I started my new routine job — finding forest creatures and casting Tranquility of Darkness on them. If I run into the creatures of Decay, I could defeat them without much problem. There were no powerful enemies for in this area.
Once it got dark, I took a break to have dinner and then continued hunting. I “saved” 150 lives before the dawn, received 10 faith points and allowed myself to get some sleep.
I was terribly tired. Settling myself on a thick branch, I suddenly felt like a well-beaten piece of meat. My bones ached and there was no muscle in my body left that didn’t hurt; in general, I felt like a limp sack of flesh. But I was safe and sound. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this tired; all that running around wore me out.
So much that I feel asleep the moment I closed my eyes.
When I woke up, the sun was already high on the horizon. I watched the sky for about a minute and came to a conclusion that it was already afternoon. I had slept on the uncomfortable branch for about ten hours. And even though my body ached for a few minutes after waking up, I felt much better.
I made a hurried lunch and resumed the hunt. I was able to get the necessary 300 “saved lives” before the next dawn.
Resting against an old pine, I took out the Piece of the Wisdom Tree, which was glowing with a warm light, out of my inventory.
“Activate the Altar.”
Just like the Altar of Twilight, the piece of wood got warm and glowed for a few seconds, after which it glew dimmer, as before the activation.
Quest complete: “Altar of Light”
You have received 53482 EXP.
Level up.
Current level: 58
Heart beating in excitement, I opened the “Elemental Types” menu, where two new lines appeared. I asked for information about the first of the two “goods”.
Converter
Sometimes, in order to follow the way of Light, you have to set limits for yourself. But the Light is fair and would never leave its “Followers”. At your request the “Altar of Light” can convert energy, born from your mercy, into rebirth energy.
To get 1 % of rebirth energy you need to save 5 lives.
Attention!
Minimum amount for conversion: 50 lives
Now I knew why the Old Man wanted me to concentrate on activation of the Altar of Light. It seemed like I was right — you couldn’t restore rebirth energy without killing Gleams. But now I had another way. So, to be able to resurrect one more time, I would need to spare fifty enemies. That was a manageable exchange. Well, what can I say; a lot of Gleams would die from envy if they knew about my new skill. It I would need to go hunting soon.
But before that I needed to see what else Light had to offer.
The Power of Light
Light is not always merciful, sometimes it punishes. Nothing can equal the power of true Light! Light is ready to endow its “Followers” with this power. At your request the “Altar of Light” will strike down your enemies with a beam of pure Light. The strength of this beam is limitless.
Attention!
Minimum amount of energy needed for activation: 100 lives. The maximum amount is not defined.
I dreaded to think what kind of weapon uses the energy of saved lives. It was really was pure power. More importantly, I didn’t need to spend skill points on learning it; it was enough to accumulate the required amount of lives.
I continued my farming, being surprised with how many animals were there in these woods. In the last twenty four hours I “calmed down” more than three hundred predators and creatures of Decay! And there were still a lot of animals on which Wolves and Bears could prey. I’d occasionally see fat hares passing by in large droves.
Finding “victims” wasn’t as difficult as I thought it’d be. Sometimes I’d bump into whole groups of them. I’d then climb a tree and, jumping from one branch to another, cast black smoke at the bare-teethed predators beneath me.
In a couple of hours I accumulated the
first 50 lives and activated the Converter. The rebirth energy I got was placed, just like I expected, into my personal reserve. In order to use it, I’d need to invest it into a resurrection point.
I went to sleep late, increasing my reserve of rebirth energy by 30%. I woke up earlier than yesterday and continued hunting. I took a nap after dinner…
By midnight, after walking miles through the forest, I came to a new border of Decay. My reserve of rebirth energy was now at 40%. The number of unused lives reached 153. I could convert them into another 30% of rebirth energy, but I decided to leave them be in case I had a chance to try using the Power of Light.
I distinctively saw the line where the decayed lands began. It definitely grew bigger. I didn’t like it. It seemed like the “Beacon of Decay” had been consumed. And it had been just four days. The Decay’s greedy grip stretched several miles further in such a short time.
I looked up at the sky.
Come on, move it, I rushed the lazy cloud.
Finally, it covered the moon. It got considerably darker, and I started staring intensely into the distance, hoping that Eyes in the Dark would still be able to detect a residual trail.
A light glimmered about a half a mile away from me. I hoped that it was a marker and not a trick of the eye.
Without wasting a second, I dashed toward it.
Chapter 11
The Guardians
About five minutes later, I crossed the conventional border that divided the dead and the living parts of the forest. I supposed that the Effect of Decay had already started working in this area, but the damage dealt to me on the border was so insignificant that my Dark Side of the World blocked it completely.
The cloud sailed further across the night sky, ceasing to cover the bellied moon. I moved in the dark, focused on the marker, and continued following the same route, when the dim glimmering disappeared with the light of the moon.
The decayed forest differed from the living one not only in the way it looked, but also in its density. There was no underbrush, some of the trees had fallen over, and there were no leaves on the boughs. It would seem that it was easier to move through such a forest but there were hardly many people who could, like me, last long in a place like this. The Glozeysk Crystals were for a trinket that only the elite could afford.