Life Reset: Salvation (Life Reset - Neo Book 6)

by Shemer Kuznits

“Are you still on about us having to use the last of our gold to pull together enough believers to establish that church?” Misa asked lightly.

  “It was too much of a coincidence,” Riley said. “Someone up there has it out for us.”

  “Yeah, the asshole’s name is Shiva,” Fox said. “But I don’t think he’ll care about us borrowing a book. We’re allowed free rein in the city now.”

  “Come on, let’s get inside,” Misa said, leading the way.

  The first obstacle appeared as they tried walking past the librarian’s booth.

  “You can’t come inside,” a tall and gangly human told them. His nose twitched as he eyed them up and down.

  “And why’s that?” Fox asked with a dangerous tone.

  “It's obvious you do not belong here.”

  “Why you piece of racist fu—”

  “Please, sir,” Raystia cut off the enraged bugbear, throwing him a meaningful look. She approached the librarian and her eyes widened pleadingly. “Will you please let us in? We were really hoping to look through your amazing collection.”

  The librarian huffed, though the woman’s demeanor seemed to put him at ease. “As I was starting to tell your rude, furry friend, you can’t enter. It’s members-only, and you aren’t members.”

  “How can we become members, sir?” Raystia asked, her eyes somehow growing even rounder.

  “You’ll need to fill out this form and get one of our existing members’ signatures to show that they endorse you,” the man explained.

  “Oh,” Raystia’s ears and face fell in an expression capturing the epitome of misery, though her big, pleading eyes never left the man’s.

  “I’m really sorry, miss,” the librarian said, sounding distraught at the young woman’s obvious desperation. “But I’m afraid the rules are there for a reason; there’s nothing I can do.”

  Raystia sniffed. “My poor uncle will be so devastated. He’s on his deathbed, and it’s his dying wish to complete his lifelong research. The book we’re looking for is the last piece of the puzzle he needs to complete it.” Actual tears started to flow down the young woman’s face, and she hung her head.

  “I’m so sorry, miss,” the man said, and he looked the part. “But you’ll have to locate a member who will endorse your entry.”

  “What about you?” The woman raised her teary face at the perplexed man. “I’m sure a prominent librarian such as yourself has the authority to endorse new members.”

  “Well …” The perplexed man was taken aback. “I mean … I guess I do, it’s just that …”

  “Please,” Raystia teary eyes went impossibly large, slamming the librarian with a look of utter despair. “It would mean so much for my poor uncle and me.”

  The librarian hesitated. “I guess I can do that. But I can get in trouble. I mean, the joining fee isn’t all that high …” He looked at her hopefully.

  “We’d be delighted to triple the fee,” Raystia said, her eyes still watery. “Anything for my poor uncle.”

  “Well, alright … I mean if you’re willing to pay … what book are you looking for again?”

  “Treaties of Structural Conception.”

  “Hmm, this is a popular one today. Very well, I’ll help you out.”

  ***

  “Very smooth, Kitty,” Misa said admiringly as the four entered the main library building. “That was a masterful manipulation act; switching so smoothly from catering to his sympathy, to flattery, to bribery.”

  Raystia winked at her. “It’s easy, once you learn how to read their reactions.”

  “The bastard charged us 300 gold!” Riley said grumpily. “There was a sign right there next to him. A yearly membership fee is only ten gold.”

  Misa shrugged. “We’ll split the cost with our quest reward. If all it takes is an hour’s work, a few cat tears, and some gold, this will be the easiest, most lucrative quest we’ve received in a year.”

  “There it is,” Fox said as he consulted the note the librarian had given them. “Row 18, shelf D4, third book from the right.”

  The four friends groaned together as they spotted the obvious gap where their prize was supposed to be.

  “Of course it’s never that easy,” Misa said.

  “The librarian did say someone else looked for the book today,” Raystia reminded them. “But they didn’t check it out.”

  “Err … am I the only one seeing this?” Riley asked, pointing at a thin dark line going from the gap on the shelf to the floor and trailing on down the aisle.

  “I see it too.” Fox frowned. “Is that black paint?”

  Riley shook his head and raised his hand. The black line started to shift like a snake before the priest lowered his hand again. “This is dense darkness, placed here by someone with high dark mana control.”

  “Sounds suspicious to me,” the bugbear said. “Who can it be?”

  “No one else except Shadow-Touched creatures will be able to see it,” Riley pointed out.

  “So it was left here for our benefit,” Misa contemplated.

  “It’s a trap for sure,” Fox said. “But who the hell knows we were coming to get this book? I doubt that insect-faced hob would tell anyone else.”

  “So what do we do?” Riley asked nervously.

  “You guys wait here,” Raystia said as she drew a black hood over her face, blending into the shadows. “I’ll scout ahead.”

  “Be careful, Kitty!” Misa called after the dwindling shape.

  ***

  The catgirl nimbly made her way through the towering bookshelves, making sure to stick to the shadows. The line of darkness was clearly discernible to her, leading through the narrow rows.

  Her path led her to a corridor lined with bookshelves that ended in a stone archway. Searching carefully, the woman noted a small knob at the end of one of the shelves. She pressed it and a brief ‘click’ came from the wall as a hidden door opened.

  Listening first, then carefully peeking inside, Raystia saw a long staircase leading downward. Through the distant darkness, she was able to see two men standing at the bottom. The two seemed bored, and judging by the lit lamps they held, had no hope of spotting her through the darkness at this distance.

  Gingerly, the catgirl pried the secret door open and slipped through. The corridor was lined with rough bricks. With feline agility, the woman scaled the side wall, her strong nails easily finding purchase among the seams. She reached the ceiling and, hanging upside down, started making her way down the passage.

  She reached the area above the two oblivious guards and looked ahead. The underground corridor seemed to stretch on forever.

  The men below her were a mere level 10. They posed no threat, but she still had to be careful. Whoever orchestrated this trap was not to be trifled with.

  The two guards blinked as several soft flower petals floated down between them.

  “I’m feeling very tired all of a sudden,” one of them said, closing his eyes and letting out a deep yawn. When he finished yawning, he opened his eyes and stared stupidly at his unresponsive partner. A dagger was planted firmly through each of the other man’s eyes. The guard opened his mouth to shout, only for another yawn to take him over. He barely saw the glint of steel before his throat was ripped open, and he joined his friend on the floor in endless slumber.

  ***

  The other members of the Mob Squad gawked at the two brutally murdered guardsmen lying on the floor.

  “Damn, Kitty.” Misa shook her head. “That whole innocent act you threw earlier almost made me forget what a stone-cold killer you really are.”

  Raystia’s expression grew hurt and her big eyes watered as she returned her friend’s look.

  The half-elven woman scoffed. “Don’t give me that! I’m not one of your marks.”

  The catgirl’s expression instantly turned into a smirk. “Just keeping you on your toes. We all need to play to our own strengths, right?”

  “So where does this place lead to?” Fox asked.<
br />
  “Aren’t you the architect?” Raystia asked him. “Play to our own strengths.”

  “Yeah,” the bugbear grunted. “We’re above the sewer level, and there are water aqueducts all over this area, so this tunnel can’t go too far. The two closest buildings that might connect are the moneylender guild or that embassy we saw on our way in.”

  “My money’s on the guild then,” Raystia said and smiled. “Pun intended.”

  “What makes you say that?” Riley asked.

  The catgirl cocked her head. “You don’t know? It’s common knowledge that it’s just a front for one of the organized crime families in the city.”

  “Damn it,” Fox huffed. “And Oren crossed them when he first got here. How the hell did they learn we need the book?”

  “Something isn’t right here,” Raystia said. “If this is supposed to be a trap, where are all the guards? The ones I killed were barely novices. They must have known that whoever came after them would be more powerful than that.”

  “Maybe they were counting on the two guards to sound the alarm, but you silenced them before they could do that?” Riley suggested.

  “Could be.” Raystia seemed unconvinced. “We should move in carefully. I’ll scout ahead.”

  “Be careful,” Misa called after the quickly disappearing ninja-girl. “I worry about her sometimes.”

  “I’d worry more for her enemies,” Fox said. “It’s a good thing she’s on our side.”

  ***

  The three friends waited tensely for several long minutes.

  The shadows shifted then Raystia dropped between them, causing the three to jump back in surprise.

  “Damn it, Raystia, I asked you not to do that!” Fox said angrily.

  “Sorry,” the girl said with a mischievous grin. “Old habits.”

  “What did you find, kitty?” Misa asked.

  “This tunnel leads to the moneylender guild alright. The black line ends right at the underground entrance. I made a quick tour of the place. The tunnel leads to a subfloor – the guild’s basement, I think, though I couldn’t see any obvious way of getting through to the higher floor. I think the basement’s supposed to be a secret level, only accessible via this tunnel.”

  “Great,” Fox said dryly. “So we found the secret headquarters of a known corrupt organization and there’s only one way in or out. What could go wrong? What’s the layout like?”

  “The corridor forms into a square shape with several doors along it. I didn’t see or hear anyone else inside. I tested the doors; only two of them were locked.

  “So no obvious traps?” Riley asked.

  “None that I could see.”

  “So that leaves just the non-obvious ones,” Fox said. “Great.”

  Raystia shrugged. “I think it's safe enough for us to go in and inspect the rooms more closely.”

  “I’ll be pissed if I die trying to retrieve a book,” the bugbear said. “Ah, what the hell, lead the way.”

  The four friends walked down the tunnel, arriving at an open metal door.

  “This is the entrance,” Raystia said.

  “So,” Misa said airily, “do we go in fast and dirty or slow and boring?”

  “We’re looking for a book,” Riley pointed out. “So we should be methodical.”

  “Unless that’s the trap, and the book is the bait,” Fox huffed.

  Misa shrugged. “It might be a trap, in which case it doesn’t matter what we’ll do – we’ll probably die, but that means we’ll simply respawn back at the clan. But if it isn’t, we should be thorough.”

  “I agree,” Raystia said, leading her party to the first door. “This one is unlocked.”

  The door opened into what appeared to be a storeroom filled with wooden boxes. Fox reached out to a container and pried off one of the planks, his muscles bulging from the effort. The box was full of dried packs of plant matter.

  “Those are Weisflower stems,” Raystia said. “The petals are worth a lot for alchemists, but the stems are also useful.”

  “Umph,” Fox grunted and opened more boxes. Several held some type of alchemy-related agent. Other boxes were empty.

  “I think it's safe to assume we won’t find the book here,” Misa whispered. “Let’s continue.”

  “That one is locked,” Raystia said as they approached the next door.

  “Can you pick the lock?” Misa asked.

  Raystia looked affronted. “I’m an assassin, not a thief.”

  “I’ll do it,” Riley said. He held up his palm and concentrated briefly, forming a simple key made of darkness. He stuck the key into the keyhole and closed his eyes as he turned the key back and forth until a click informed them that he had succeeded.

  “Neat trick,” Fox said.

  Riley grinned. “Just one of the perks of worshiping a dark god. We get dental, too.”

  The door swung open to reveal a richly decorated office. A heavy-looking table stood at the far end, laden with stacks of paper. Bookshelves lined the wall behind it. Six statues stood across the side walls leading to the table, each depicting a beautifully carved human figure.

  “Love the decor,” Fox said dryly. “Think those are guardian golems?”

  Riley muttered a quick incantation and all six began glowing. “Yep.”

  “Lovely. So they’ll attack as soon as we cross the room?”

  “Could be.”

  “It’s possible, but I don’t think so,” Raystia said. “This is a commonly visited room, and it’s unlikely the enchantment would account for all the people who might wander inside. There’s probably a specific trigger to activate them or even a command word. I think it’s safe to just walk inside.”

  “What if you’re wrong?”

  The catgirl shrugged. “Then we’ll probably be killed, but this room still seems our best chance to find that book. We should check it out.”

  “You’re the ninja, Kitty,” Misa said brightly, sweeping her arm forward.

  “Yeah …” The catgirl cautiously walked into the room, ready to jump back out at a moment’s notice.

  Nothing happened.

  Raystia sighed in relief and went over to the table. “It looks safe. Come on in.”

  The others joined her and began carefully leafing through the papers and books.

  “The book’s not here,” Riley said after he went through the shelves. “These are all bookkeeping ledgers.”

  “And the tables just hold shipping times and inventory lists,” Fox said in disgust. “For a shady underground organization, they sure have tight bookkeeping.”

  “Found something,” Misa said. “Thank god for elf senses, eh?”

  “What do you see?” Riley asked.

  “A button,” the half-elven woman answered as she passed her fingers underneath the table.

  “Don’t press it!” Raystia and Fox said together, but it was already too late.

  There was a click as Misa pressed the button, then the floor started vibrating.

  “Get ready,” Fox cried, bracing his shield toward the nearest statues.

  But the stone figures remained immobile.

  A flagstone in the center of the floor slid open and from it rose a marble pedestal holding a brilliant, diamond-shaped crystal.

  The four friends gasped in unison as pain flooded them, the brilliant light blinding and searing their skin.

  “Argh, get out!” Fox shouted, and they dashed toward the door.

  They spilled out into the corridor, their skin red and smoking.

  “What the bloody hell was that?” Misa panted. “I just lost half my HP.”

  “Holy light.” Riley grimaced from the pain. As a priest of darkness, his injuries were more severe than that of his Shadow-Touched friends. “The book’s not in there. I vote we give this room a wide berth.”

  “Got no argument from me,” Fox said. “Let’s check out the next door.”

  The corridor angled 90 degrees to the right with only one visible door before the nex
t bend. The door was unlocked and held several beds. Each bed had a medium storage chest in front of it, and after a quick search through the stored linen, the Mob Squad’s funds got a boost of 120 gold.

  “This is a barracks of some sort,” Misa said. “I find it increasingly weird the place is empty. No one would leave gold just lying around – not to mention valuable cargo and paperwork – for anyone to just wander into.”

  “But if we’re looking at the trap scenario, why are they not attacking?” Riley objected as they followed the next bend to the right, reaching the only visible door that had a locking bar on their side.

  “I’m guessing we simply didn’t reach the ambush point yet,” Fox said when they opened the door, revealing a deserted, gloomy prison cell. “Yep, something that looks exactly like that. My money’s on the door closing in and trapping us inside the second we put our foot in there.”

  Raystia glanced inside. “There’s skeletal remains underneath some cloth scraps. I think I see something glinting inside the ribcage.”

  “So clichéd,” Misa sighed. “All in favor of not stepping into the obvious trap and keep on looking?”

  They all raised their hands.

  “It’s settled then.”

  They continued down the corridor, intending to make the third and final turn that would connect them back to the entrance, when Fox suddenly halted. “Hmm.”

  “What is it?” Raystia asked.

  “The cell we just saw didn’t extend this far.” He pointed to a small, barred hatch high up on the wall. “So what’s behind that?”

  “My heightened elf senses don’t detect any secret doors,” Misa said. “Maybe it’s just an air vent?”

  “Playing to my strengths as you suggested earlier, I’m telling you there’s no way this is a vent.”

  “I’m feeling weird all of a sudden,” Riley said. “I don’t know … more energized. It’s hard to describe.”

  “Lift me up and I’ll take a look,” Raystia said.

  Fox obediently locked his fingers together, forming a platform for the catgirl to stand on.

  “It’s just a small chamber,” she said. “I see some chains hanging down from the ceiling. I think there's something below me just on the other side of the wall, but it’s out of eyesight. Other than that, the place is empty.”