“What happened to Cerberus? I mean, Kartol. Did he escape?” For some reason, the fate of the mage didn’t let Ivan have peace.
“No. Archon has deceived you. Cerberus was captured, and an antenna was implanted in his head, giving the old mage complete control of the creature.”
“But what about the force field that protects the City from the dark forces?” I asked.
“Think. If they really had a ‘force field,’ how would you have entered the city? You, a black mage? And why would the white mages even need that, when Archon has the potentially most dangerous creature in the entire Games at his disposal? Years, centuries, millennia passed... Cerberus has long since ceased to be a brain-washed player that was once known as Kartol. His strength grew, his size increased, and, at some point, he began to grow metal. Kartol was slowly turning into what we now call the Steel Giant.”
This conclusion was expected, but some of us still let out an exclamation of surprise. Kay-Si, apparently expecting a stronger reaction, paused and continued:
“I see you understand. I think Archon never shared the idea of ‘protecting the disadvantaged.’ The reason for the confrontation with his brothers was the selfish desire to concentrate power on growing an ‘empire.’ According to some reports, he was the one who organized the Hunt for players, in which half of the First from other factions died. It wasn’t a very successful venture but the old man still profited from it: he blamed Aslan and Loris for everything. As you may have noticed, Archon didn’t hesitate to use his brother’s experiments and create servants. The White Pilgrims are the result of Priest’s wild imagination. What a family these guys are...” He sighed. “I fear Aslan and Loris would’ve followed in their footsteps had they gotten a chance. Anyway, Archon used the Giant to get rid of potential competitors: he simply sent the titan to attack factions that, in theory, could survive the ‘Three Trials.’ The Forces of Darkness never recovered from their first defeat. One day, the white mages will destroy them. That’s inevitable. But why would the white mages need another opponent? Using the Giant isn’t as easy as it looks... Several times, he almost managed to break free. But that happened only a handful of times. No matter what, he will always be activated. Now, as for the trials... There’s almost no information about them in the manuscripts. Perhaps they were taken for granted, I don’t know. There were a couple of different takes on them, but the point is the same: climate change, an NPC attacking, and an epidemic. They can happen in any order. My faction, for example, survived a drought but was killed by a disease. In your case, you have the cold as your first test. I think the second was the fight with the Bison.”
“It didn’t seem like much of a test,” Valkyrie said doubtfully. “We quickly drove them away from the base. They hardly posed a challenge.”
“I agree.” Kay-Si smiled. “Which is why I have another theory. Perhaps the Black Pilgrims were supposed to act as the NPCs. Their lair was very close to your base. However, Loki managed to... Well, let’s say that the attack was the first trial then. He simply eliminated the second trial before it even began. Hah! In short, the white mages realized that you need to be removed. This became especially clear once you killed Graybeard, the mage responsible for you and all neighboring locations. Though, this is only my interpretation.”
***
Kay-Si’s story explained a lot. Archon didn’t organize a normal pursuit not because he didn’t have time but because he knew that the Giant was close and that, soon, there’d be no stone left unturned in search of us.
And we still didn’t have the seventh piece of the Key. Moreover, the Compass simply refused to point toward it! Either the skill was bugged or something or there was something interfering with it.
I got up to stretch my stiff body. After a sleepless night, I wanted nothing more than just to pass out for a couple of days and forget about all of this. And curse whoever had put us in this situation. Fuck the white mages. Fuck Archon. Fuck the Giant. And fuck this bullshit of a Game.
“Loki, where are you going?” Kay-Si asked. “I haven’t told you the most important thing.”
Chapter 22
GAME OVER
Several days flew by as if they were an instant.
Pavel commanded, conducting rehearsals of the upcoming events, seeking to analyze literally every possible combination of circumstances. We made plans, prepared, ate, slept — and danced the same dance over and over again.
I had to admit that the Giant chose the best time to attack (sarcasm intended): it had become really cold recently — we were overwhelmed by the third wave of frost and snow. The generators were running at full power, and both the players and Goblins were gradually moving underground into the relatively warm tunnels. We no longer hunted; fortunately, there was enough food. Even some of the cattle had been saved and were now being held in one of the dead ends, which stank of manure.
On the morning of the fourth day, Falcon, responsible for the western tunnels, came running to the base.
“It’s here!” Was all he could say, panting heavily from running in the cold.
He didn’t have to say it twice.
We raced toward the passageway leading to the Hall. One of the Werewolves carried the Leshy wrapped in warm furs on its shaggy back and bolted for the Magi’s Abode. I jumped on Rat and dashed toward the southeast, where I had discovered the passage leading to the Black Pilgrims a few weeks earlier.
As expected, the Giant decided to cut us off from the Hall and came in from the west. It wouldn’t be long before he arrived. Fortunately, Greek and Fedor managed to dig about two-thirds of the required distance and hid the tunnel exit between the densely growing trees. All we needed to do was to lure the Giant away from there to give the players hiding underground the opportunity to get to the Hall safely.
***
This time, the Black Pilgrims didn’t even try to resist. When they saw me descending into their abode, they immediately rushed into hiding. I had to literally catch them, tame as much as I could grab, and let a whole bunch of them go through different tunnels. The pile of bodies crashed into the runaways, making them a part of the rolling wave as well. Avalanches of black bodies clashed in the same huge cavern that once housed the self-proclaimed ruler of the Pilgrims — a member of the Violet faction whose name I never managed to read.
I found myself in the center of the hall surrounded by hundred mobs, twitching in a living mass.
“System, activate The Pied Piper of Hamelin.”
My voice ran through the entire cavern. An unknown force caught me, lifting me into the air. The huge pile of twitching creatures rose with me. Rays of concentrated Darkness shot out of my eyes but I couldn’t help but laugh, once again feeling the incredible power of the six-ton organism that had rolled through the Burgundy faction a month ago.
Dark Augmentation has been automatically activated.
######### ### ###... ##3349@.. ##
It bugged out again. By adding one Black Pilgrim, I gained control of the entire pile at once. All I had to do was go to the Modification Lab and construct a body according to the plan I was already familiar with.
My left arm (or appendage) was a jelly-like mass that took away souls, and my right was an armored fist, as strong as a sledgehammer. My chest, formed from Black Pilgrims, hid an electric organ that was accumulating a charge.
A bolt of concentrated Darkness burst from my translucent eye sockets, and a low-frequency roar escaped my throat.
Well, Giant, I’m ready... Are you?
However, this time, my body seemed smaller. Significantly smaller.
Apparently, the Pilgrims hadn’t had time to recover from the first battle when about a third of their entire population died, crashing into the water. Instead of a forty-foot-tall monstrosity whose level exceeded seven hundred, I managed to create a five-ton body and got stuck at level six hundred. It was unfortunate, but I had a feeling that something like this would happen, so I had ‘Plan B.’
What helped me win last
time? Soul stealing. But where could I get that many souls this time?
***
Once out of the lair, I saw a strange picture: Chernous and his scouts were running away from a group of ten mobs that were chasing after them. Well, they weren’t exactly running. Rather, they were clearly leading them somewhere, occasionally turning around to throw poisoned darts at them. What surprised me wasn’t the small amount of damage that they were dealing, but just how pissed off the mobs were.
Mammoth Leader
Legendary
Level 98
Mammoth
Legendary
Level 69
...
I recalled Chernous and his group chasing the herd through the woods for the past week. It seemed that Kay-Si was wrong about trials. The attack wasn’t supposed to be conducted by the Black Pilgrims or the Bison but by these wooly giants. All of them were of Legendary rank.
But he was right about one thing: I’d definitely stand in the System’s way. That is, I’d attack the mobs before they could attack us.
When the scouts saw the monster that had literally crawled out of the ground, they stopped for a moment and were almost impaled on tusks. However, they quickly realized that the giant humanoid that was rushing in their direction was an ally, and turned sharply to the left, leading the Mammoths close to the riverbank.
The angry mobs didn’t even pay attention to me, crossing the frozen river (I didn’t dare follow their example). It was only when two black beams from my eyes crossed the ground in front of their leader that they stopped and stared blankly ahead. And then I flattened them with the ground with my fist. While the “soul” was still in the leader’s body, I grabbed its corpse with my left hand.
[Mammoth Leader] soul has been successfully extracted from [Mammoth Leader].
[Mammoth Leader] corpse has been successfully digested. The nutrients were fed to the [Black Pilgrim].
What do you want to do with [Mammoth Leader Soul]?
* Imprison (requires [Trap])
* Sacrifice to the Darkness
* Grant salvation by giving it [Light] (unavailable due to specialization XCUS-22309-SJSA-22032-11)
* Release
Why are you even asking? Of course I’m going to sacrifice it!
Chose a modification:
Electric Organs (based on your preferences)
Partial recovery of the body (respiratory system, cardiovascular system, leg armor) – not necessary
Left appendage enhancement (Demonic Tentacle: soul sucking, whiplash, spikes, petrification, splinters, blades)
Right appendage enhancement (hammer, spikes, blades)
Mouth enhancement (deafening roar, steel jaws, sharp fangs, venom)
...
Following the plan, I chose the Electric Organs mod, waved to the scouts (which probably looked a little scary), and began to chop up the other Mammoths. The scouts helped, throwing darts at the mobs who threw themselves in our direction. My current level and skills made killing legendary mobs a breeze. They fell like flies. The Mammoths blew their trunks, tried to butt me with their tusks, but all of them met the same fate — death.
Wanting to complicate the trial by sending legendary opponents at us, the System made a mistake: instead of killing me, it gave me ten free souls. If they had been of any other rank, I wouldn’t have been able to gather the necessary energy.
***
We were standing across one another in the middle of a snowy field.
Two monsters: the silent Giant and the roaring beast made of twitching bodies. Like two ancient gods, each of whom wanted to take over the entire world, enslave the souls of its inhabitants, and sit on Archon’s throne.
The Giant didn’t seem to have any emotions. In his only “living” part of the body — his eyes — there was only a momentary flicker of interest in the strange opponent who dared to challenge him.
A thick neck, broad shoulders, a strong body with defined muscles and joints, and his towering height of thirty feet... He wore what looked like a Maratha helmet over his head, adorned with a small antenna made of reddish material, built into his head near the right temple.
His gaze was piercing and heavy. It was so frightening that it’d make his opponent think twice before opposing him. It was how he chased away Progl-Log centuries ago. But that trick wouldn’t work on me.
I laughed in his face and roared.
“What is it, Kartol?! Didn’t think someone would dare stand here?! Ha! Let’s settle this! Mage against mage! MENTAL ATTACK!”
When he heard his own name, which he seemed to have forgotten a long time ago, or was simply made to forget, he started and looked at me with completely different eyes: with surprise and a mute question. It was as if he wanted to ask something, to tear off the mask that covered his mouth and exclaim: “How do you know my name?!” But a flash of lightning struck the antenna, heating the metal, and suppressing his will.
Archon had no intention of losing his personal slave. He was watching closely.
After the shock, the Giant once again lost control of his body. With a roar of its engine, he shot forward, crossing the snow-covered field in a few seconds. I dodged the first blow and even tried to punch him in the stomach... and immediately regretted it. Hitting metal almost broke my fist. Several of the Pilgrims were dead, their bodies smeared on the Giant’s abdomen. He didn’t even feel the impact.
He didn’t hesitate. A moment later, his knee hit me in the torso, instantly breaking my shield. Turning, he hit me in the head, almost breaking my neck. It was by sheer luck that I remained standing.
I tried to hit back but I received a series of blows that killed about two dozen Pilgrims. And then, realizing the futility of resistance, I activated the electric charge — potentially the only effective weapon in my arsenal.
All I had to do now was to survive.
Attention! Your head has been injured!
Efficiency of the nervous system reduced to 64%.
Attention! Your legs have been injured!
Attention! Your lungs have been injured!
You are having difficulty breathing.
Your HP will reach 0 in a few minutes.
23 Black Pilgrims have been killed.
...
Attention!
Voltage: 500kV
No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t do any damage! And I didn’t even try to dodge the blows, knowing that I’d rather break a limb than be unable to break through the Giant’s metal shell and reach the engines.
***
My body was falling apart.
When it seemed that one of the next blows would be the last, the ground under the Giant’s feet came alive. A second later, the titan was knee-deep in a gray mass that suddenly rose above the snow. From the south, the direction of the Magi’s Abode, came a chilling roar.
Three dozen or so Worm clones slid under the Giant’s feet at once. For two weeks, they crawled through the forest, devouring all living things in their path, and grew big enough to be able to fulfill their task — slow down the Giant and prevent him from landing the last blow. Even at the cost of their own lives. He crushed a dozen of them at once.
There was another roar from the south.
It was Scar, led by no one other than Ulter.
Days before, I had put an implant that simplified the process of taming into the Bargola’s head. With it, he had enough power to tame the stupid beast, so all he had to do was sit and wait for my signal.
This morning, Hamster went through the portal that led to the Valley and replayed the recorded command, summoning Ulter and Scar.
Unfortunately, for this to happen, we had to demolish both the cave and the entire Abode together with the Elder; otherwise, Scar wouldn’t have managed to get through. I was afraid of letting the Bargola go on his own and that Scar wouldn’t be able to get into our world. I was glad to see that I had been paranoid over nothing.
Whether all the inhabitants of the Valley had the abili
ty to pass through portals without a problem or whether Ulter’s magical powers were really high, I didn’t know. What mattered was that they were here.
***
Scar roared. Ulter loosened his control over him a little, sending him straight at the Giant. The latter’s mass was greater than that of the forest creature: after all, his body was made of metal. But Scar’s speed was enough to knock him to the ground. And along with the Giant, he knocked me down as well.
Like a mad beast, Scar jumped at his opponent, trying to grab his throat. I emerged from the pile, dragging my failing legs, and crawled to the side, slowly accumulating a charge.
Attention! Your lungs have been injured!
You are having difficulty breathing.
23 Black Pilgrims have been killed.
Attention! Your legs will slowly fall off.
Reason: lack of material
Attention!
...
Voltage: 650kV
Falling apart, I leaned on the hillside and waited, watching the battle. The two most powerful creatures in the entire Game were tearing at each other. Each sought to destroy the other, tear out their heart, and break their skull. They didn’t even seem to notice the trees that were falling on them, breaking them like straws, much less the remains of the crushed Worms.
Reborn: Evolution: A LitRPG Series (Warlock Chronicles Book 3) Page 27