“Which yet again reinforces the fact that you absolutely do not read the documentation,” I began, carefully choosing my words and watching Dan’s eyes closely. The important thing here was not to go overboard, to keep my Shaman from physically attacking. I couldn’t allow him to end up in the mines. At the very outset, my dad had pointed out how dangerous this point would be to our ruse. If Mahan doesn’t control himself, he said, then a year’s worth of work would go straight out the window. In reply, I had no choice but to insist that I knew my Shaman well and was confident of my abilities. Uh-huh…Damn, I’m starting to sound like him too…
“I almost killed him when in your mournful tone you told me that Leite wasn’t in the game—but then I came up with the story of the loan. And yet if the highly-esteemed (in some circles) Shaman had actually bothered to do his homework, he would have been surprised to learn that the law prohibits prisoners from being issued loans. But you’re too predictable…Take for example the loan contract I told you about—I simply got sick of waiting for you to get to the next figurines, so I found a way to prod you along. Mom sowed doubts about me in your mind, using the pretext of my bet with Plinto. And then I sold you on it by briefly removing the ‘Stunned’ debuff after we’d been sunk by the cargo ship and allowing you to overhear my conversation with dad about the bureaucracy. Et voila! Like a calf to a teat, Shaman Mahan dashes off exactly where I need him to.” Judging by his facial expression, my mention of the money didn’t have much of an effect on Daniel. Eh…I really didn’t want to do this, but it looks like I’ll have to. “I had filled you with such emotions that you had no choice but to pour them out into your crafting. And to ensure that you wouldn’t make something abstract, I brought you to the clearing before the tomb first. You had no choice but to create the last two chess pieces.”
“Emotions? What are you talking about?” the Shaman couldn’t help but ask, confirming my hunch—for him, all the gold in the world was nothing compared to his crafting.
“Ah but of course! You think you’re a heavenly craftsman…Do you mind if I bring you back down to earth? Remember when we met and I told you that Rick was only at Level 14 or 17 in his Crafting? I didn’t want to brag about his 39th Level to you, so that you wouldn’t feel inferior. At the moment, Rick’s already at Level 112 and I doubt he’d give you a second thought. You’re a shit Craftsman...You know what is the only thing that I’ll miss? The projections! They’re the only thing that you managed to get your hands on that I don’t have. Everything else—either I already have it or I destroyed it. Like your squidolphin. I couldn’t let you keep such a powerful ship—it would be too rich for a lone player.”
“Lone?” the Shaman echoed in a mournful voice. It was looking like my patient was ready at last, so I gave the signal to launch the second phase of the plan. The exiting phase.
“Maybe not entirely alone,” said Leite, noticing my signal. Just as we had rehearsed, except that he was still a bad actor—which was forgivable since he was a genius when it came to the finances. He had come up with a way to arrange the affairs of Dan’s clan in such a manner that it would be able to sustain itself even without extra efforts from third parties—that’s worth a lot. I absolutely must take him to my father and make him the third treasurer—people like him don’t just grow on trees. Although Dan does manage to find them somehow…“Everything’s ready on my side, Stacey.”
“Wonderful! You know, Mahan, you are so utterly predictable that even now when we’re dragging you through the muck, you still behave exactly as your psychological profile says you will. If you don’t mind, I will take these things—they’re much safer with me, isn’t that right, dear?”
The Eye of the Dark Widow, the Crastils, the squidolphin scales he had found in the Oceanic Abyss—I took all of the most valuable things from Dan’s purse. The items that could not be lost. The one thing I still wasn’t sure of was whether or not Mahan would delete his Shaman character, so it was best to take precautions. As soon as he returns to the game, I’ll find a way to give all this stuff back to him. For now, these items will be safer in my possession.
“I suppose I’ll take the Chess Set as well.” I said after a little thought. They’ve already played their part and aren’t particularly necessary, but the figurines’ properties will really help me out—and Dan too when I return them to him. I didn’t bother telling the Shaman that now that the tomb has been unlocked the figurines wouldn’t go anywhere. He’d figure it out himself. Anyway, this might motivate him to create the full set in a way. Theoretically, the result should be phenomenal. “After all, we’re husband and wife and should share our assets in the game!”
“What about the Ying-Yang? How did you get it to bloom?” Dan asked, having revoked my access to his bag. Now what made him ask this question?! Even now, realizing the severity of the blow he’d been dealt, he was still finding the odd handholds to keep hanging on to the game. Damn it! I’ll have to lie to him yet again—and this time in regard to something I really was hoping to avoid…After all, my feelings for him, as deeply as I’d buried them, could surface at the most inopportune moment and ruin the entire plan.
“Elementary—in that moment, I simply forced myself to believe that I love you. Love is like a buff—it’s there and then it’s not. In fact, the part with the stone was quite simple.”
“Ready?” Hellfire asked, saving me from further explanation.
“Let’s do it. It’s time to go home…”
I opened my clan membership interface and petting my little siren one last time, pressed the button confirming my departure from the Legends of Barliona. A notification popped up telling me that I had to pay compensation if I wish to continue, yet I knew what I was doing. I needed to dump a hundred million gold into Mahan’s clan account in such a way that the Vecchi, who were watching everything that was happening, as well as Exodus, as well as everyone else here recording video, didn’t understand a thing. I had to lead Dan out of the game and I would go through with it. I only needed to add several small touches to prompt him to sign out, while still leaving him a place to return to.
“I do want to thank you for Leite,” I began, demonstrating to Mahan that I was about to ruin him financially. Clutzer was particularly clingy when it came to the buyout amounts for people, so I hadn’t been able to amass the necessary sum right away. In the end I resorted to the ruse of selling the Imperial Steel. No matter—it’d come in handy for us anyway. We weren’t going to take all of it anyway—about a fifth would be left for Dan in order to fix his castle. It should be enough. “Being able to test the quality of a treasurer in a real clan setting is invaluable. Especially since this treasurer had full access to your clan vaults…”
When a notification popped up about an enormous transfer of funds from the clan account—I was still the deputy after all and such things wouldn’t pass me by—I explained to Dan that he had been robbed.
“You won’t need all that Imperial Steel, will you, honey? And you can’t accuse us of being unfair—your treasurer had the authority to sell it at 40% of its market value. You signed the agreement with him yourself…And so, what do you have left?”
“But why now?” Mahan rattled off in a flat voice, showing me that he was still hanging on. I don’t know how, but he was still struggling to stay, even though he was clearly at the very edge. I only had three more moves prepared—the Dragons, the castle and the Shamans. I very much wanted to avoid the last one, since that could really cause Dan to delete his avatar. First I’d tell him the fairy tale about the Dragons, then we’d see how he reacts. But first, I’ll dredge up the quests that never were.
“Because you’re now useless! Your job was simple—open the tomb. Everything that follows doesn’t concern you. If you think that you’re a successful player who sees everything that others don’t—I’m sorry to disappoint you. During our acquaintance, you managed to miss out on at least three continental events. Three! For example, the last one with the High Priestess and the Milkman. W
hat kind of moron do you have to be to assume that that was just another launch point for the Kartoss scenario? It’s a good thing I managed to deal with it in time and assign some people to that quest chain. So that’s it—you, Mahan, are now wasted material. The Tomb is an ordinary Dungeon. Until I complete it, no one will even come close to it and, what makes me happiest, is that Nashlazar will be so proud of me.”
“Nashlazar?”
“Of course! This is the most beautiful way to defeat the Foe! You think she forgot the past? Hah! I have finally been promoted to Rank 50!”
“I’d like to be there when you look Eluna in the face after this,” Mahan sputtered. “A Paladin of Light indeed…”
I nodded to mom indicating that it was time to set the castle ruse in motion and replied:
“Oh! I will look her in the face quite calmly! After all, from the game’s perspective nothing terrible has happened! I simply switched clans, neither betraying the Empire nor my ideals. This isn’t reality, Mahan. There are different values here…” I replied, biting my lip. How could I know how Eluna—or my General—will react when they find out about what I had done? They could easily strip me of my bonuses. But Dan doesn’t need to know that. “Oh! Here’s that call I’ve been waiting for! Speaking!” I answered my vibrating amulet.
“We’re in position and ready to attack.”
“Do it…” I replied and turned back to the Shaman. “It’s not in my interests to allow you to keep a Level 24 castle. It shall be reduced to Level 1, and then I will have achieved my goal—the Dragon will be crushed.”
Dan’s amulet began to blare and he automatically answered it.
“Master! We’re under attack!” Viltrius’s voice squealed across the entire plateau. “We need assistance urgently!”
“Viltrius, teleport the castle!” yelled Mahan. I frowned with displeasure—what did he mean ‘teleport’? Who saves castles like that, Dan? Where’s the permission to pay for the teleportation? Why are you ruining my entire plan?
“I cannot!” replied the voice in the amulet, confirming my apprehensions. Damn, it was time for me to whip out my sword and slay him, but he kept tarrying! Did I overplay my hand? “We still have a month before we’re allowed to teleport and the cost of a forced teleport is fifteen million. I don’t have access to that kind of money…”
“I grant you permission to withdraw money from the clan account! Choose a location in the Free Lands and teleport there! Block access to the castle to everyone but me! And do not reply to any calls!”
“Yes, Master,” the goblin replied joyfully, at which point I stepped up to Mahan and, with a sigh of relief, sent him to respawn. At last!
“Barsa, accept the group and revive him,” I said wearily, sliding my sword back into its scabbard. Whatever tomorrow brings, I have completed what I had planned back six months ago—I defeated the Vecchi’s agent and kept him from entering Phoenix. It’s too bad that I love this person and that after he returns to the game, he’ll hate me with his entire being—but I knew what I was setting out to do. Now the main challenge is to set Dan onto the path of revenge so that the Vecchi will reveal their cards to him. I don’t know why I’m so sure of this man, but I simply have faith that he’ll manage it. I don’t have anything else left to do. My dad was enraged when I approached him with this entire plan, but he finally came to terms with it, though he swore he’d destroy Daniel if he did something wrong. To hell with it! My beloved Shaman will do the right thing. The important thing is that he returns to the game. All that remains are a couple small tasks which don’t affect much anyway. After he respawns, Mahan must leave the game—or I don’t know him. I really preferred to avoid the topic of his Shamanism.
“He managed to do it, after all,” I smirked when Mahan had been revived. “It’s okay. We’ll find it sooner or later anyway. But we won’t kill you. I want to see your face when the entrance to the Tomb opens and you understand once and for all that everything you’ve worked toward for the past half a year is beyond your reach. One shouldn’t let moments like that slip away…”
“I call upon a Herald. I request your assistance…” whispered Mahan as his avatar dissolved into thin air. Goodbye, my love. I hope that you hate me bad enough to fall in love with me all over again. I won’t be able to bear it all otherwise.
The End
Dear Readers,
Vasily Mahanenko has also published a short story Shamanic Rites which contains another spoiler about the series. To read the story and find the planted clue, check out our
LitRPG anthology You're in Game! (LitRPG Stories from Bestselling Authors)
You're in Game! is a collection of seven LitRPG novellas and short stories from V. Mahanenko (two stories set in the worlds of The Way of the Shaman and Galactogon respectively), M. Atamanov (a story set in the world of Perimeter Defense), A. Osadchuk (Mirror World), A. Livadny (a novella set in the world of The Neuro and Phantom Server), Andrew Novak (a story set in the new world of AlterGame, to be released on May 09 2017), and a LitRPG novella Countdown by P. Kornev.
To check out the anthology, Click Here
ALSO BY VASILY MAHANENKO
The Way of the Shaman LitRPG Series:
Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1)
The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2)
The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4)
The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman: Book #5)
Dark Paladin LitRPG Series:
The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1)
Galactogon LitRPG Series:
Start The Game (Galactogon: Book #1)
Short Stories:
You're in Game!
(LitRPG Stories from Bestselling Authors)
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From Russia’s bestselling science fiction author G. Zotov comes a book which is equal parts alternative history, dystopia and satire. Lovers of Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle will appreciate the author’s dry black humor and psychedelic imagination which rule the streets of a post-apocalyptic Nazi-controlled Moscow.
Buy Moskau (a dystopian thriller) now!
Thank you for reading The Hour of Pain!
If you like what you've read, check out other LitRPG, sci fi and fantasy books and series published by
Magic Dome Books:
NEW!!
The Curse of Rion Castle (The Neuro Book #2)
by A. Livadny
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The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman: Book #5)
by Vasily Mahanenko
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Stay on the Wing (The Dark Herbalist Book #2)
by Michael Atamanov
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NEW LitRPG Series!!
The First Player (AlterGame Book #1)
by Andrew Novak
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The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1)
by V. Mahanenko
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by A. Livadny
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You're in Game!
LitRPG Stories from Bestselling Authors
The Way of the Shaman Books 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
by Vasily Mahanenko
Start the Game! (Galactogon Book #1)
by Vasily Mahanenko
Phantom Server Books 1, 2 and 3
by Andrei Livadny
Perimeter Defense Books 1, 2 and 3
by Michael Atamanov
Mirror World Books 1, 2 and 3
by Alexey Osadchuk
Video Game Plotline Tester (The Dark Herbalist Book #1)
by Michael Atamanov
The Lag (The Game Master Book #1)
by A. Bobl and A. Levitsky
Moskau (an alternative history thriller)
by G. Zotov
The Sublime Electricity Books 1 and 2
by Pavel Kornev
Leopold Orso and the Case of the Bloody Tree (Sublime Electricity: The Prequel)
by Pavel Kornev
Memoria. A Corporation of Lies (an action-packed dystopian technothriller)
The Hour of Pain (The Way of the Shaman: a bonus story) LitRPG Series Page 2
