City of the Dead

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “We may not kill it, but we’re certainly going to try. Tell me what you found out.”

  Having heard the boy out, Valia felt much better. One was locked up, and that made their prospects much brighter.

  “Have you charged your cards? What are you doing just standing here?” Valia had already figured out that Tailyn was uneducated, unprepared, and with nary a single lesson in self-control to his name. He was really just a village kid who’d happened across a few strong cards and didn’t know what to do with them. And so, if she wanted to get home, she was going to have to take things into her own hands.

  Tailyn sniffed one more time and looked over in surprise at the girl. She’d transformed, to the point that he even whirled around to face her. For some reason, he wanted to bow, show her reverence and awe, and it took quite an effort for him to keep his back straight. He didn’t bow to girls. And really, what was with his mood? The lix had left—so what? They’d be fine without him. The most important thing was finding a way down to the underground level.

  “Thanks,” Tailyn said to his own surprise as he looked at Valia. She blushed but held his gaze. They looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, the moment only interrupted when the screams of the inferior minions broke out from the other side of the wall. Some of them had woken up and were heading off to patrol the metro tunnels. When the sound hit them, the pair of young mages jumped and quickly began studying their respective footwear, their lowered gazes lacking not one bit of the intensity with which they’d been staring at each other.

  “I know how to get underground,” Tailyn said, still not finding the strength to look up at the girl. He liked her so much that all he wanted to do was leap for joy and blubber idiotically. But he couldn’t. Valia might have misunderstood him. And it was the first time Tailyn was feeling like that, having never found anyone attractive at his age. But there… Too much was going on to get distracted by his feelings.

  “Lead the way—no sense wasting time,” Valia said, looking for any reason to go anywhere else. The spot they were standing clearly had some kind of crosswind blowing that was weakening her and clouding her brain. Neither her teacher nor her parents would have approved. Yes, it had to be the spot she was standing in, and definitely not the shaggy villager who still didn’t know the basics of magic. Valia wasn’t supposed to even look at people like him.

  There weren’t that many ways down into the underground part of the city. And judging by the projection, they were all cut off, with Lirhart all too reticent to hand over access. But while Tailyn had been looking over the layout of the city, he’d noticed something, and he wanted to give his theory a try. There was a way down. It was just going to take some work.

  “What are we doing here?” Valia asked when they finally got to the remote terminal. That was where the sacrifices were made, where the blood of the human victims flowed right down into One’s lair. And while everything that touched the black stone was supposed to burn up for lack of access, Tailyn had gotten incredibly lucky. His incomplete initiation had turned out to be a loophole that broke through the protection. But in that moment, the boy was planning to break something else.

  There was just something he had to buy first.

  Hefty Rope Coil. 10 meters long. Cost: 1 coin.

  Tailyn couldn’t resist taking a look at how much everything he’d picked up recently was worth. He just wanted to know what he could count on in case of an emergency.

  Fireball-II card valued at 780 (200 base + remaining charges) coins.

  Last Chance card valued at 8020 (8000 base + remaining charges) coins.

  Booster-III amulet valued at 1500 coins.

  That was about what the boy had been expecting, but he’d wanted to make sure. Of course, he could have also stopped by the workshop to make himself some mana elixirs, but the +8 mana from each really wouldn’t have made a difference right then. He was better off saving the flowers for when he boosted the skill or his enhancement.

  After heading back out to rejoin Valia, Tailyn began wrapping the rope around the black stone, doing his best to tie knots into it. The passageway was right under the stone, which meant moving the hulk. Finally, the rope tightened, and Tailyn pulled as hard as he could, feet slipping on the floor. A couple seconds later, he roared helplessly. No matter how hard he tried, the stone was too heavy. If he’d had that back-stabbing lix with him…

  “Here, let me help,” Valia said. Tailyn jumped away, keeping the rope safe, but the girl explained. “The terminal is sitting on the floor. If it were dangerous, I would have died as soon as I set foot in here. We’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, let’s try,” Tailyn said tentatively, though he stopped short when he saw the girl’s reaction. Turning her aristocracy all the way up, she boomed at him threateningly.

  “Forget that word! There is no ‘try.’ There’s only ‘do!’ Got it?”

  “Got it,” Tailyn replied, nodding and holding the rope out to the girl. But suddenly, an idea hit him.

  “I have an idea! Go over to the other end, and let’s take turns pulling. First, me, then you.”

  “You want to try to rock it out of place? That’s a great idea! Sure, let’s do it.”

  The work really was easier with both of them involved. For a little while, the terminal didn’t budge, but the kids kept at it, tugging alternately on the rope. Three minutes later, it moved ever so slightly, wobbling harder with each passing second until Tailyn pulled with all his might, and it toppled over onto its side. A narrow opening was revealed below it. If Tailyn had been any older, he definitely wouldn’t have fit down. Happily, he was just the right size.

  The boy untied the rope from around the fallen terminal, went over to the opening, and was about to dive in when he stopped. The god had figured out and approved of what he and Valia were up to.

  Mission update: City of the Dead. You destroyed 1 of 4 sacrificial stones located on the surface of the city. Keep it up to make One’s revival much more difficult.

  Without even glancing at each other, the kids dashed out of the room. The long spiral staircase tempered their excitement, only not enough to keep them from pushing straight on ahead. Over in the next tower, Tailyn didn’t bother hopping into the store. He had everything he needed right there—the rope and a beautiful girl.

  An hour later, they were standing next to the final terminal lying on its side. Their hands and arms shook with exhaustion as they’d had to cope without the right attributes, but the job was done. The black stones no longer hid the passageways down under ground.

  Mission update: City of the Dead. You destroyed 4 of 4 sacrificial stones located on the surface of the city. One’s revival will be much more difficult, and Lirhart, the senior minion, has lost touch with the surface. The access terminals in the upper part of the city have been disconnected. Continue by destroying the sacrificial stones in the underground level.

  ***

  Your group receives a reward: +1 to a random skill.

  Herbalism (Ordinary Loach) +1 (3).

  Tailyn frowned—the god hadn’t given him the best of upgrades. It was entirely useless, in fact. And one glance at how happy Valia was told him she’d gotten something much better.

  “Okay, I’m going in…”

  Just the idea of diving into the black hole was terrifying, but Tailyn wanted to show off the kind of person he was for Valia. Gathering up his courage, he took a step forward and felt an unpleasant sensation in the area of his crotch—it was like everything was rising up and about to jump out. It tickled unpleasantly, too. The thought crossed his mind that the landing might prove deadly, but the slope of the pipe changed so gradually that he didn’t even notice when the fall turned into a slide. His outfit held up against the friction, and his feet soon banged against a wall. The pipe had come to an end.

  But there was no time for the boy to be scared as the wall fell away upward to let in the green light cast by the ancients’ eternal lamps. The pipe was level with the floor, so Tailyn ju
st slid out and looked around. The room he found himself in was terrifying. As the blood had been squeezed from the victims up above, it had dripped down the pipes to form a dark crust that twinkled in the lamplight. It hit the boy what he’d just slid through. Looking down at his body in horror, he found that he was smeared from head to toe with a dark slime. The sickly smell hit his nose, and he lost his entire daily ration all over the floor. However, that showed him that the floor was actually a large grill that let small objects and blood through to land on the force dome a level below. An enormous statue of a man sitting with folded arms and detached expression was inside the shimmering film, and Tailyn had never seen such workmanship. Each detail was crafted with incredible care. The ancients were good…

  When the message popped up in front of him, Tailyn froze, forgetting all about the horrifying room and smell.

  RNK-98-1 (One). Demigod. No age. No level.

  Almost as if sensing the boy, One opened its eyes and looked up. Tailyn felt the strange sensation of being laid out on an operating table, each organ pulled apart and studied with the utmost care to see if it was good enough for use.

  “Yoo-hoo!” someone shouted, and two small legs smacked into Tailyn’s back. Valia had thrown caution to the winds and jumped into the pipe after Tailyn. And as he worried about the girl, he found himself once more in control of his body—he didn’t want her to see where they were. One incredibly quick look around told him exactly where they needed to go. Four tubes emptied out into the room, but there was a door, as well, and the boy was already dragging his companion in that direction by the time she got to her feet.

  “Follow me!” he yelled, and Valia obeyed, grimacing from the smell. Grabbing her by the hand, Tailyn opened the door, and the pair found themselves in a small room that looked something like a tavern bathroom. Everything was smooth. There was also a drain in the middle of the floor.

  “What’s—” Valia started, though she was interrupted by the door slamming shut behind them to cut them off from the smell. A message popped up in front of them, too:

  Cleansing begun. Hold your breath.

  The warning was just in time. Valia had a whole litany of questions for Tailyn, but she was forced to shut her mouth tightly to keep out the forceful stream of water pouring in from all sides. Immediately after that, they were hit with a warm breeze that dried them out faster than the summer sun. The door on the other side of the room opened once that was done to show them they were free to go.

  “My hair,” the girl mumbled unhappily as she tried to brush back the mess on top of her head. It looked like a dandelion, sticking out in all directions and categorically refusing to settle back into place. Tailyn couldn’t keep from laughing—that was apparently the only thing bothering her. Not the blood, not One, but her hair. Girls were strange creatures…

  “What, I’m so ugly you can laugh at me now?” the girl asked with hurt in her voice.

  “What? No, you’re beautiful! So beautiful!” Tailyn replied ardently, though he quickly bit his tongue when he realized he’d said too much. Valia stopped working on her hair and threw an interested look at the boy. He turned pink and ran out of the cleansing room.

  You were identified as Tailyn Vlashich, level 1 player. Partial initiation…

  Verifying access…

  No connection with the control blocks in the aboveground part of the city.

  Error identified…

  Addition algorithm applied. Player Tailyn Vlashich added to white list for underground part of the palace.

  “Wait!” Tailyn yelled at Valia, though it was too late. She’d already set foot in the lower levels.

  “Oops,” was all she had time to say before the system identified her, too.

  Intruder detected! All systems in combat mode!

  The door to the cleansing room slammed shut. A row of steel balls streaked through space and slammed into the wall right where the kids had been standing, but they were no longer there. Tailyn’s speed surprised even him—grabbing Valia, he dashed off down the corridor, counting doors as he went. One, two, three…there it was. Still holding onto the girl’s hand, he begged the god for help. His prayer was answered.

  Access confirmed.

  As soon as the doors opened, Valia swept inside, pulling Tailyn in with her. And they were just in time—a wave of fire roared down the hallway behind them. The force was so strong, in fact, that the flames rushed right by them too quickly to make the turn. But the pair didn’t wait for the inferno to die away, throwing the door shut and even heaving their full weight against it for good measure. It was dark, with just a few dim lamps to light up the area, but they could see that the room was full of display cases loaded with items. Tailyn sighed with relief that he’d led them right to where they needed to go. It was the second storeroom on the lower level.

  The siren kept right on wailing, but nothing was going to hurt them there. For a while, they stayed by the door, worried the fiery flow would push it open. Soon enough, their fears subsided, and Tailyn didn’t have time to take a step away from the door before Valia threw herself at the cases with a shriek of joy.

  You are about to loot the 2nd storeroom on the lower level. Note that you will lose access to the 1st storeroom if you take out so much as one item.

  “Oh…” Valia quickly pulled her hands away from a pillow-like object identified as DR-V Drone. “Tailyn, what if we head over to the first one? There’s reason it’s the first—I’m sure that’s where all the really good stuff is.”

  “No.” Tailyn went over where the girl and squinted, trying to spot the book amidst the shadows. “What I’m looking for is here.”

  “You’re talking about the coordinates? I’ve been wanting to ask you—why don’t I have the mission? Did you not share it?”

  “I can’t,” the boy replied. “I still haven’t finished my initiation.”

  “What do you mean, you haven’t finished it?!” Valia’s shock was so unfeigned that she even forgot about the loot. “But how did you get your… Oh, is that why you’re still at level one?”

  “Yep. Forian Tarn, my mentor, gave me a mission to make sure I don’t finish my initiation until I turn twelve, and that’s why I don’t know anything. Really, nothing. I can’t share missions, check my logs, nothing. Although, that’s been a big help, too. If you want, I can tell you why that’s happening, but you have to swear not to tell anyone! My mentor will give up on me if he finds out I said anything.”

  “I swear by the game!” Without thinking twice, Valia bound herself by one of the world’s most fearsome oaths. And the god did not take kindly to oath breakers.

  A white glow appeared around the girl to confirm the oath, and Tailyn sighed in relief. He’d been wanting to get the whole thing off his chest for a long time. Tell someone about his adventures. Mistress Valanil would have been a great option, only something was holding him back. From what he could tell, the herbalist had changed while in captivity, turning into someone completely different. But Valia… Tailyn looked over at the girl warmly. He enjoyed being with her, looking at her, spending time with her. And the fact that she took the oath so quickly spoke volumes. For example, it told him she liked talking with him, too. Shaking his head to drive away that line of thinking, Tailyn began his story with his search for flowers using the herbalist’s pictures. That was where it had all gotten started, after all…

  “That’s incredible!” Valia whispered when he got to the end. From her perspective, what the boy had accomplished was nothing short of heroic, every bit worthy of a good ten levels. Although, what did Tailyn need them for since he had enhancement? Valia had never heard of enhancement before that moment, and it had jumped right to the top of what she was going to buy the next time she found herself in a temple. At least, if the god was gracious enough to give it to her.

  “That’s why I didn’t think you’d come down after me,” Tailyn said, wrapping up his story. “It’s dangerous for everyone else.”

  “Sounds like i
t all calmed down.” Valia strained her ears. The siren was silent, there was no noise coming from the corridor, and the door wasn’t glowing from the incredible temperature. It looked like the system had lost track of them.

  “But I should keep going by myself until I find a way out, okay?” Tailyn looked at the girl hopefully; she nodded. Getting herself killed was the last thing she wanted.

  “Well, shall we get down to business, then?” Tailyn asked with flesh-eating grin. Valia tensed up, unsure of what he meant, and got ready to throw him to the ground if he tried anything with her. But it turned out to be much more trivial. Seeing the girl’s confusion, Tailyn uttered his favorite word: “Loot.”

  At the same time, he placed a hand on the same puffy pillow with the strange name—drone. Yes, he was going to loot the storeroom. That’s why they were there.