Yeah, right. If the ‘Hunt for the Ifrit’ information lot sold, I’d be able to buy or rent a modest apartment and then what?
I never found a definite answer that night.
* * *
In the morning, Jeb and I returned to town. The clearing would now be our temporary camp. This was convenient since it was not far from Forest Hill.
We went to see André first. I apologized to the master for the delay, collected my order and left Jeb to choose his outfit while I exited the game and went into my personal space.
Sasha hadn’t yet left the regeneration chamber, but he was completely healthy. He still had a few days of rehabilitation left so we spoke online.
“Andrey Dmitrievich, I can barely recognize you!” Lourier appreciated the change in me.
“It’s thanks to the Arena of Long-armed_Kyle.”
“What percentage of realism?”
“Seventy-five over the last two weeks. All very grown-up,” I joked, although I had also noticed that my extra fat had disappeared and I was moving more confidently. The forces that I was being exposed to through the VR capsule’s unique sensory gel technology were clearly benefiting my body.
“Sasha, do you have a place to go once you’ve been discharged?”
“Yes, of course. I have my own apartment although I’m still paying it off.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll return to the Edge of the Abyss. I have to make money, and it’s interesting there. By the way, I have enough space for a second VR capsule, if you need it.”
“Thank you, I might take you up on your offer. Still, nobody is driving me out of Max’ apartment just yet. He hasn’t reappeared?”
“No,” Lourier sighed heavily.
“Did you learn anything about Jeb?” I moved away from the topic that was upsetting for both of us.
“That’s why I called you.”
“Did you trace his location?”
“That’s the thing, I couldn’t.”
“Why? Did the admin device not work?”
“I traced his data exchange channel. It led me to one of the World Space Agency servers. It’s a dead end. I can’t get through their defenses and it would be dangerous, anyway.”
“This means that Jeb logged into the Edge of the Abyss through the WSA’s local network?”
“Yes. And logically, his VR capsule should be supervised.”
“Then how was he allowed to get to such a state?”
“One possibility could be an experiment to determine the limits of human capabilities,” Lourier replied. “I’ve heard of such experiments. Records for continuously staying in a VR capsule and such. Jeb is probably a volunteer and knew the risks.”
“But he doesn’t remember anything from his real life! His mind has clearly swapped such concepts around!”
“Andrey Dmitrievich, we can’t pull him out of there. Not with our level of influence and contacts. Not unless he remembers something himself.”
“All right,” I sighed. “I won’t force him but I’ll try to stir up his memories.”
“How are things going with the Forest Hill quest?”
“I’m going there today. I think I’ve found the solution.”
Chapter Eighteen
THE NOON HEAT shimmered over the land.
The grass had wilted in some places. Not a drop of rain had fallen around Anchor for the past two weeks and I had heard the farmers complaining about the unusual drought.
The longer I spent in the Edge of the Abyss, the thinner the line between the two realities.
My dig was a mysterious dark spot on the slope.
In my youth, I had dreamed of becoming an archaeologist and looking for traces of lost civilizations but life had decided differently. Now, it seemed, my dream was coming true.
Something ancient and undiscovered was lurking here. I jumped down into the narrow space and approached the melted and cracked stone slab that blocked my way.
The sun was directly overhead.
Well, shall I?
I took the Soul Crystal out of my inventory and placed it in the recess. My fingers prickled as if from a discharge of current. The magical key fitted perfectly into the niche, just like last time, and became transparent, revealing the flickering flame inside.
I listened but nothing was happening.
The ground didn’t shake and I couldn’t feel the heavy tread of the guard. I quickly climbed out of the excavation and looked around.
Where are you, lizard?
I was ready to fight. I wore my old leather armor restored to its full durability. It should be enough to withstand a single Crushing Roar. My star metal shield hung across my back. My wide belt contained three vials of healing potion and two scrolls purchased from the Mage Guild, which I could quickly access. I held a bastard sword in my hands, with scaling according to Strength. It suited my character’s current characteristics perfectly.
Silence. Only a faint breeze carried the heady scent of meadow grasses.
Was the beast not going to show up at all? I refused to believe it.
The branches of a briar bush shifted suddenly. A gap appeared in the thorny thicket, yet I couldn’t see the enemy.
The grass was compressed by a chain of footprints. He was moving in Stealth mode, probably another ability of the Shadow Warriors. How did they remain invisible in the bright midday sun?
I kept completely still, pretending not to notice the approaching enemy. The lizard was moving almost silently, clearly intending to sneak up from behind and perform a critical strike out of Stealth.
I didn’t react, only shifted my pupils to follow his movements by the stirring of the grass.
The tread was too light for a massive opponent encased in armor! The cicadas sang annoyingly loudly, drowning out the rustle of his steps.
I could sense him behind me already. A chill ran down my spine.
One second...
Two...
There was the hoarse exhalation!
I ducked rapidly, simultaneously performing a spinning strike, which I had practiced until it had become completely automatic. The bastard sword spun in a blurred silver circle and produced an angry howl of pain.
I rolled to get out of the way.
A shimmering outline appeared a few steps away from me. The sudden attack and resulting damage dispelled the invisibility.
…
Havl. Shadow Warrior. A creature from the Abyss. Cursed guard. Level 32.
…
My guess about the position of the sun had been correct!
My opponent was only a little taller than me now. The right greave was sliced right through and the leg was bleeding. Excellent! A deep dent was visible on the helmet, evidence of my failed attempt to break the statue into pieces.
He lunged and I dodged easily. We circled, getting a sense of each other. Did you think of me, lizard? I thought of you hundreds of times while training in the arena, mentally working through possible combat scenarios.
Havl was massive and strong. His sword was longer than mine and inflicted more damage but the Shadow Warrior’s abilities were the greatest threat. I first had to annul and survive his abilities. I slowly retreated up the slope, which angered the lizard. He couldn’t end the fight with one blow as he had surely hoped and was now forced to expend his energy by hobbling after me.
He was going to snap...
Exactly! There was a short cast, followed by a hollow roar.
A smoke-blue haze spread over the slope. The earth moved and my Life bar dropped by a third.
…
You have been affected by the Aura of Petrifaction. Effect: immobilization for 5 seconds.
You have been affected by the Aura of Fear. Effect: you cannot attack creatures whose level exceeds yours for 5 seconds.
You have been affected by the Aura of the Abyss. Effect: random damage to all living things.
You have been hit by Crushing Roar. Effect: all types of armor is reduced
by 50 hit points.
…
A moment earlier, noting the movement of the staff, I had managed to jump back, increasing the distance between us.
Five seconds!
The earth churned. All around me, shaking off the sandy loam stuck to them, arose the remains of long-dead creatures, summoned by the Aura of the Abyss.
They weren’t only animals. Unable to move, I could only numbly watch as skeleton warriors in rusty armor and liches[1] in ragged robes stood up here and there…
The limping Havl snarled and tried to rush at me, but the crowd of summoned beings got in his way. This hill had seen too many deaths.
Four seconds... Five seconds!
The debuff stopped working. I could move again, sweeping aside the ancient, slow-moving undead, chopping my way up the slope, with enough time to pull a scroll from my belt and break the magical seal.
…
You have cast the Stone Skin spell.
Absorption of all incoming damage is increased by 25%. Duration: 3 minutes.
…
The midday sun was on my side. Its blazing light made the yellowed bones smoke and the liches howl as they hurriedly cast protective spells on themselves.
The gray haze caused the grass to crumble into dust. Leaves wilted on the sparse trees. The bushes curled and blackened, beginning to resemble coils of barbed wire.
Havl was having trouble clambering up the slope as he tried to reach me, ruthlessly trampling the undead in his way.
Soon this flood of creatures would boil away. The sun’s rays would incinerate the long-dead beings, dust to dust.
I drank a healing potion while on the move. The wound on the lizard’s leg was gradually healing since the Shadow Warrior’s regeneration was very fast and powerful.
Havl’s figure was suddenly enveloped in gloom. He tried to enter Stealth mode again but I didn’t let him, attacking at once with a combination of strikes. He was lower down the slope than me and most of the damage landed on his head, making the lizard stagger and fall back.
“You will not get inside!” he wheezed.
I rolled under the whistling blow of his sword. It grazed me but the pain was bearable.
“What’s inside?” I asked as I got him with a stabbing lunge.
Ash swirled around us.
“You shall never find out!”
I mustn’t delay. The buff compensating for my armor’s reduced hit points would not last forever. If Havl was to use his auras again, I’d be in trouble.
I intensified my onslaught, spending all my Stamina and not giving him a moment’s respite, forcing him to retreat to where a fragment of ancient masonry protruded from the ground.
The lizard stumbled, lost his balance and tipped onto his back. I saw the loose skin under his chin again, where the breastplate didn’t fit properly, and leaped forward, intent on finishing him off.
Havl reacted at the last possible moment. Something immaterial blocked my blade, there was a ringing sound and the steel shattered into tiny fragments, but I could not stop the movement. The lizard’s teeth clashed, it’s reeking breath washed over me and a piercing pain nearly made me lose consciousness.
I managed to escape, leaving my punctured left vambrace and a piece of flesh in his mouth.
He was already back on his feet and rushing at me!
I barely avoided the vertical slash and rolled away from the whistling spinning strike. Havl was furious and desperate to finish me off in any way possible: crush me, tear me, bite my head off...
He finally stopped, exhausted, his eyes bloodshot. I had enough time to drink a healing potion and change weapons, grabbing two one-handed swords from my quick access panel — the one I had found at the Deadly Crag and the Chaotic one bought by mistake, since I didn’t have anything else at hand right now.
The lizard took a deep breath and rushed to attack again.
I used my two blades. Long-armed_Kyle had taught me this technique. Havl was a large, strong but not very mobile opponent. I waited until he ran out of Stamina, performed a series of short ‘spamming’ blows, then rapidly retreated.
The extreme combat acrobatics produced a wave of dizziness but I had been successful in making the Shadow Warrior slow down. His armor had been pierced in numerous places. Blood flowed freely from the shallow but extremely painful wounds.
Havl was quickly losing strength. His regeneration could no longer keep up with the damage.
I snatched up the second scroll that I had bought from the Mage Guild. My fingers broke the seal and we were enveloped in a heavy and tangible silence, as if the air around us had suddenly solidified.
Havl raised his staff but with no result.
The Silence affected us both. Neither of us could use magic.
The lizard realized this and flew into a rage. His blows could cleave me in two but would I let him? I evaded his attacks again and again. My left hand grew numb and no longer obeyed me while sweat and blood dripped into my eyes.
I couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer. Havl sensed my weakness and redoubled his efforts.
Seizing a free moment, I drank the last healing potion. My wounds closed but the Silence would soon stop working and then I would lose for certain.
The lizard attacked again. Only a third of his Life points remained but his longer sword prevented me from coming any closer.
Wounded by the Chaotic blade, I threw it at the lizard. Havl instinctively recoiled, which gave me a couple of seconds to move the shield to my left hand and activate Rage.
Now my defense and inflicted damage both increased by 5%.
This was the decisive moment in the battle. The Silence continued to work.
The lizard roared, threw away his staff and held his sword in a two-handed grip, beginning a deadly combo of three spinning strikes.
I didn’t retreat. I blocked the first two attacks with minimal damage and parried the third one.
A sharp swing of my shield knocked the sword out of his hands.
Havl staggered and dropped to one knee. His Stamina was at zero, for he had spent it all on the failed combo.
The lizard was immobilized for a moment and I thrust the blade into his head, aiming for the dent in his forehead.
There was a dull thud, the screech of pierced metal, a deep roar...
His figure became indistinct. With the last of his effort, Havl managed to slash me with his claws, leaving five deep wounds on my chest, and then fell sideways.
I vomited blood. My internal organs were pulverized and my Life bar flickered in the red zone.
My mind went fuzzy. My legs gave out from under me and everything doubled before my eyes.
The HP bar shuddered, growing and then dropping down due to the Bleeding damage.
* * *
I don’t know how long I lay unconscious beside the defeated Havl but eventually, my natural regeneration triumphed and my wounds began to heal.
Once I recovered a little, I went into my inventory. I had used up all the healing potions in my quick access panel, but there were others in my bag.
Damn it... A strange brown liquid was bubbling in the vials! Either the merchant had tricked me or this instance had certain restrictions that the system hadn’t warned me about.
There was nobody around. Only a light breeze mixed the stench of decay from the Aura of the Abyss with the scent of meadow grasses.
The wilted grass was blackened in places and splattered with blood. I could see rusty armor and scraps of clothing scattered around.
The staff of the Shadow Warrior lay a little to the side. He was still clutching the sword.
My throat was parched. I took a long, deep drink from the flask (water also restored a small number of HP), then changed my outfit, putting on the armor made by Master André.
I slung the shield across my back. In my hand, I held the long sword found on the Deadly Crag.
I opened the message window.
You have completed the Cursed Guard hidden ques
t.
You have defeated Havl, thus removing an ancient curse. The last statue has now been destroyed.
You have received 20,000 Exp.
You have regained the lost level.
Edge of the Abyss (Respawn Trials Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 29