"That's true," confirmed the half-orc mercenary who emerged from the darkness. "In the clan chat, they're writing that our leader invited Mariam himself, as she now had nothing to do. But her application will only be approved after the contract with you is up — we don't want a conflict of interest. By the way, the assault group says the corridor has been fully cleared, and they're now checking the side corridors and area around the exit. There's less than a kilometer between here and the surface. Hurry!"
I jumped onto Akella and commanded my crew to move out. My sister summoned the magical torch again, so I could make out the picture of the bloody struggle revealing itself a hundred meters in front of us in great detail. There were shells of big insects chopped into sauerkraut... Body fragments lying here and there... Jointed feet... Decapitated heads with many-faceted eyes and fearsome mandibles... Chitin sheets... Wings... Bits of web... It was all smeared with a greenish orange sludge that covered the whole floor and was splattered on the walls.
Despite the nausea creeping up my throat, I decisively jumped off the wolf:
"Friends, wait one minute. I have to collect alchemical reagents — when will I ever get such a rare chance again? Blood samples and body fragments from these subterranean creatures are quite rare."
It quickly became clear that there were four totally different species in the ghastly mess of chopped up body parts: subterranean spiders, gigantic dragonflies, arachnids and scorpions. I gathered blood samples from all those creatures and, after letting my companions get a good head start, lagged slightly behind the group and drank down the four vials of smelly viscous blood:
Achievement unlocked: Taste tester (37/1000)
Achievement unlocked: Taste tester (38/1000)
Achievement unlocked: Taste tester (39/1000)
Achievement unlocked: Taste tester (40/1000)
Regeneration improved to 5 HP/Minute
Five hitpoints per minute wasn't so very much, but it was still nice! I caught up to my companions, who were stopped in the next room. The necromancer, leader of the group of mercenaries, met me there and reported back that the contract was completed:
"Amra, the path has been cleared. We overcame all the NPC monsters. We met one living player. In fact, in this very room, but he ran nimbly up the vertical walls and jumped into that shaft. I sent my soldiers out after him, but they returned with nothing. The arachnid was far too fast."
"An arachnid player?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah, we were surprised, too," the necromancer confirmed. "We've already checked the knowledge base. It was only recently made possible to play this race. But, it seems, it has not gained significant popularity. After all, I'd never heard of people living on the edge like this before. Perhaps this was a game tester, a company employee. I've heard that the corporation tests out new and unusual paths and races before advertising them to normal players. In any case, the runaway arachnid doesn't present a threat. That upward corridor there goes to the surface. We checked the surroundings meticulously — no dangerous beasts, and no living players. So, I consider the contract to have been completed."
I squeezed hands with the mercenary, thanking him for the help. The group of mercs wished me luck and headed back to meet up with the group of five behind us, so they could all return together in one portal to their castle. We then headed for the surface.
There was an enchantingly beautiful starry night ensconcing the rocky desert. The innumerable bright stars and huge moon made so much light that it seemed like day. Myriads of crickets, having crawled up out of their burrows, were cutting through the air with their chirping. My big-eared goblin took a deep breath of the chilly air and said blissfully:
"Woah! It's really nice here! And the weather is perfect for night travel! We have the whole night ahead of us! We should try to get as far from Dotur-Khawe as possible. There are still a whole seven hours until the sun rises, so we can easily make it two hundred kilometers on wolfback. What do you say, Val?"
Instead of an answer, my sister just shrugged her shoulders unconfidently and smiled a tortured smile. I noticed that she was wrapped up tight in a light cape, even though the night was warm. Maybe Valeria was getting sick?
"Hey, what's that thing over there behind those ruins to the east?" asked Yunna, pointing at some dark wreckage, barely distinct from the distant cliffs.
"Maybe those are the abandoned copper mines Vanessa told us about!" I suggested. "We should be going that way, anyhow. I planned to run east through the Great Desert, so let's ride up closer to the ruins now and see with our own eyes."
A few minutes later, we were already standing next to a brick fence and stone arch adorned with metal letters that had darkened with time: "Pr_ka Copper Pit." It was missing one letter, so I couldn't read the last word. Praka? Prika? Pruka? I didn't know. All that was clear was that it was a proper noun, as it was written with a capital letter. Probably someone’s name.
From the stone arch, we caught a glimpse of the deep wide pit with small rectangular buildings at the bottom — just bare walls with no roof. The depth was substantial. At least a hundred meters. There was a forking path leading to the bottom, in places entirely covered with sand. Having stared into the abandoned pit long enough, I wanted to get on our way to the east, but the wood nymph stopped me:
"Based on the mini-map, there's a spring down there. This seems like a great time to fill up on water, if we're planning to cross the Great Desert."
My sister's voice was hoarse and quiet like she was sick, which just further confirmed my suspicion that Valeria was unwell. I had no desire to go down there, but the wood nymph was right — we really did need water. So, I sent Akella down the slippery sand path. It was a miracle the descent didn’t break my neck. I led the wolf to the stream, which emptied into a small round pond. Scaring away the many level-1 Rats taking water near the pond, I gathered fresh water in a canteen from the spring, and drank a swallow.
Endurance points restored
Well, well. This spring contained special water! Even a small gulp of it fully cured my fatigue. This was the first time I’d encountered such a wonder. After filling my vessels with the magical water, I took a look around.
The mavka had already drunk her fill and was headed for the ruins of what looked to be a barracks. I followed after her. Based on the remains of a smelting furnace, broken bellows and abandoned old tools, this had once been a smithy. Under our feet, there were bunches of old copper wire. Over a stone step, leading across the smoke-stained brick walls, there was a snaking gnarled message carved, in places totally rubbed out: "_oss_did_time_her_." Although the first letter in the last word bore a great resemblance to the letter "P," I could clearly tell the intended word was "boss." After all, from what I'd heard of the dwarves' tales, there had once been a prison here. And what could I say? This was a pretty sweet spot for a boss, in the warmth near the furnace, and with a good view.
But just then, my sister suddenly stumbled and fell face down. I was next to her instantly, helping her up, and holding her there, as the mavka's knees were shaking. My sister was completely weak. She was shivering all over. After returning to me and focusing her gaze with difficulty, Val said:
"I'm sorry if I'm not doing good enough, Timothy. But it should be working. I thought it all through carefully..."
The mavka's eyes closed. What was she talking about? What was supposed to be "working" or "not working?" I shook my sister with all my might and Valerianna Quickfoot peeked open an eye with difficulty. I demanded that she explain herself. The mavka gave a tortured smile and said in a barely audible voice:
"In the virtual reality capsule settings, I turned off... shutdown in case of emergency health issues. I took a strong sleeping medicine... A whole pack..."
"Why did you do that?!" I shouted out in fear.
Valerianna focused her gaze on me with difficulty and smiled. Then she slowly raised her arm and led the tips of her fingers tenderly over the cheek of my goblin.
"Timothy
, I want to live fully, not just exist as a legless cripple... Don't worry, Tim. I've read all the existing literature about digitizing consciousness in a virtual reality capsule... Many famous authors have described successful cases when a person became part of a game forever... And I want that for myself... I decided a long time ago and was preparing for this moment... I was waiting for the chance to get into a virtual reality capsule, if only for a few hours... And I followed all the instructions to a 'T...' It should work..."
Valerianna's eyes closed. Her arms fell limply downward. I held the hand of my sister's dying body and didn't know what I should do. It would be pointless to give Valerianna Quickfoot healing elixirs — after all, she was dying in real life, and her bad feelings were just being shown through the character. But there was some feedback here, and the virtual reality capsule was transmitting some effects to the body, but clearly not enough to save a poisoned body. What should I do? Exit immediately? But what about the thirty-second delay before opening the virtual reality capsule, specially formulated to allow the player's consciousness time to reorient? A whole thirty seconds! My sister might die in that time!!!
So, I did something else — I activated the in-game menu and opened the window for paid calls directly from Boundless Realm. Yes, it was expensive, but for me now, the price had no meaning. My sister's life was incommensurately more important. After calling the emergency services number, I told them about Val’s overdose, then gave her age and our address. The operator confirmed that she had received the information and asked me to give a phone number for them to call back. I dictated my number and reminded her again that the issue was very urgent.
"The ambulance team is already on the way," the operator assured me, and the call ended.
"What's happening, Amra? Why isn't Valerianna Quickfoot getting up?" There was no time to indulge Taisha’s curiosity now, so I just waved her off — I had no patience for her at this moment.
The main thing was that help was on the way! But I was still in a state of alarm — what if the ambulance didn't make it?! I made use of another paid call, this one to Kira. If her Black Crystal was here in the underground parking lot, that would be the fastest way of getting to the apartment. But my red-headed acquaintance didn't pick up — she must have already been in Boundless Realm.
Then I used another paid game function and called a magical messenger. After dictating my message to the winged pink demon that appeared, I sent him to the ruler of the Land of Gloom, the queen of the harpies Kirra'ellita, Huntress of the Night.
But Taisha just wouldn't buzz off and continued the interrogations about what was happening. I answered just to get her out of my hair:
"Taisha, my sister took poison in the realm of the undying so she could stay here in Boundless Realm forever."
It was surprising, but the NPC understood everything and even came to certain conclusions:
"Valerianna Quickfoot decided to live here in Boundless Realm and never leave? Did she want to become like me? What's so bad about that? There she's a cripple, here she's a beauty. Any girl would want to do the same in her position!"
"Fool! Stay out of matters you don't comprehend!" I burst out with rage at my NPC girlfriend. "If you want to be useful, don't just stand there like a stone. Give the mavka artificial resuscitation. In the world of the undying, that might help. But right now, I've gotta go to my sister."
Successful check for Taisha's reaction
Experience received: 200 Exp.
"Amra, when should I expect your return?" Taisha asked, taking a seat next to the wood nymph’s lifeless body.
"I don't know, Taisha. I'll try to be back soon, but it isn't up to me now. I can say one thing for certain — if my sister does not survive, I'll never return to Boundless Realm. So, pray for my sister to pull through."
* * *
Over the half-deserted night streets, the taxi driver raced to our residential neighborhood, having received a generous bonus for increasing his speed. I ran across the vestibule and called the elevator. The elevator rose unbearably slowly to the 333rd floor. I was just all wound up in terror. But then the elevator doors opened, and I threw myself down the hallway to my apartment. Hooray! The door was smashed in — the ambulance beat me here!
"Where is she? Where is the girl who took sleeping medicine?" I blurted out in the doorway to an unfamiliar man in a police uniform.
"She was taken away a few minutes ago by the medics," a mustached policeman with sergeant patches told me, demanding that I present my papers.
The sergeant scanned my identification card with a special device. Then he suddenly got on edge, placing his hand on his holster and demanding I immediately explain what I was doing at night in an apartment that didn't belong to me, and asking where the owner was.
"I am the owner!" said Kira, looking disheveled. She ran into the room at the perfect moment! "Everything's fine, sergeant. This is my common-law husband, Timothy. His younger sister also lives with us in the apartment."
The beautiful red-head placed her hand under the scanner beam readily, and the vigilant policeman read the data from the identification chip implanted under the girl's skin.
"Kirena Tyle... Yep, everything looks right," the policeman said, immediately growing calm and buttoning his belt holster shut. "The ambulance team was forced to break in the door to get into the apartment. So go through the rooms and check to see if all of your things are in place — I need to write up my report."
Kira tried to object, saying that there was no need for her to check all that, because she'd crossed paths with the ambulance brigade in the vestibule. The medics, wearing hospital whites, hurriedly pushing a stretcher to their vehicle with the lifeless girl and an oxygen mask. She didn't see any of her possessions. But the policeman was a pedant and insisted all rules be followed — if protocol said she should look over the apartment and sign a report, then that was what had to be done.
As soon as Kira was off looking over the rooms, the sergeant said quietly to me:
"I heard that your sister's heart stopped. The ambulance brigade called a special quadrocopter by radio with resuscitation equipment... So..."
My heart was just pounding wildly as I listened to the horrible news. My eyes glazed over. Val, how could you do such a thing?! How will I live without you?! But meanwhile, the policeman continued:
"There have been a lot of such cases before. As soon as the virtual reality capsule came on the market, an epidemic of suicides began. There were even groups in social networks where inveterate gamers would discuss how to kill one's self in order to later be reborn in the game. They even thought up a term for it: digitization. There were always rumors swirling about someone meeting a player in the game after their death. Nonsense, of course. Not a single instance was confirmed. The police tried to track down these groups of suicidal maniacs and stop them, arrest activists, but it only got worse — these fanatics thought the government was trying to hide the truth from the people. But after that, all the noise about virtual reality capsules and 'digitization' fizzled out. There haven't been any cases like this in my area for two years. It's actually strange that your sister decided to try so late..."
The sergeant went silent, because Kira came up to us and said that all her things were in place. The policeman extended a tablet, and the apartment owner placed her palm on it, authenticating the report.
"You should call a locksmith to get a new lock put in," the mustached policeman said, already in the doorway, to which Kira answered that her husband could take care of it.
The policeman left. I, though, took a seat in an armchair, entirely overcome with sorrow. So, I didn't hear Kira's words right away, she had to repeat herself two times:
"Why are you sitting there? Let's fly off to hospital number four. That's where they brought Valeria. We can get the latest updates."
My first hope, a very timid one, flickered up in my soul. Maybe this wasn't the end? Val wasn't dead? It would seem I asked that question out loud, because
my redheaded girlfriend started frowning:
"Timothy, what are you talking about?! I talked with the doctors at the elevator, and even had a brief chat with them. Yes, it's a severe case. They even told me that your sister's heart stopped for a minute and a half. But the ambulance came in time, and the medics pumped her stomach right away. Valeria has already expelled the pills, so the poison has left her body and your sister should be on the mend soon. Timothy, are you crying?! Calm down, everything's fine now!"
I turned away, embarrassed to show my feelings.
"Sorry, I couldn't hold back. I'll get myself in order, wash up, and we can go."
Once in the Black Crystal, racing across the night sky, I started a conversation:
"So, does this mean your full name is Kirena Tyle? You wouldn't happen to be related to the vice president of the Boundless Realm corporation Inessa Tyle, would you?"
My companion clearly didn't like the topic. Kira cringed in dissatisfaction.
"I was hoping greatly that you wouldn't notice that... Although, I suppose you would have found out sooner or later anyway, so maybe this is for the best. Yes, Inessa Tyle is my grandmother. But that doesn't mean I had any privileges in comparison with the other testers! I achieved everything in Boundless Realm on my own. My influential relative never once came to my aid!"
By the end of her speech, Kira was nearly screaming. I became firmly convinced that the close relationship of my girlfriend with the vice president of the corporation had served as a reason for conflict with colleagues on a few occasions in the past. Or perhaps, they had caused suspicions she wasn't playing fair. I apologized to the girl for the tactless question. The beautiful redhead calmed down and said:
Stay on the Wing Page 33
