by Scar, Rick
PLAYER REACHED
THE TOP
BOOK II
by Rick Scar
Text Copyright © 2020 Dmitry Mikhalek
All rights reserved.
No part of this book can be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
Introduced by Valeria Kornosenko.
Translated by Ingrid Wolf
Cover design by Baya Ochkaeva
Hello all!
My name is Rick Scar and you are reading my adventure LitRPG wuxia saga.
The whole story is planned out and will have 1000 chapters. Now the story has almost 400 chapters spanning 7 books.
Guys, download the 1st book again, please, it was proofread. And thanks for your support!
The beginning of the story (click the link):
Player reached the top chapters 1-88
Chapter 89. Take Your Mask Off!
W ill spent the next week cleaning the forest and regaining his lost levels without taking any rest. On the third day, his father got summoned to work and left, saying goodbye.
***
Of the three months Raven had allocated to finding any info about the box, three weeks still remained. The items that he used to wear before but were now far above his current level were stored in the trunk in his rented room in Latakhorgh.
He’d just achieved Level 51 (again), and this crazy leveling powered by Daltaro made him feel pretty well about himself, but his past condition was still five long levels away.
At times the archer would complain about his powers being overexploited, but every time he got the same reply from Will: “I’ve promised to help you and rescue your daughter. So stop that.” And that shut him up.
The ad he’d posted at the auction had already been responded to by several hundred people, each offering some strange, shapeless piece of rock. Those who’d found any genuine parts were apparently reluctant to show them, or maybe no one had discovered any yet. The other body parts could be placed on the floors higher than the third. Even Will’s floor could have one fragment of this stone puzzle.
You have cleaned 23/50 cursed places in the Taargada Forest. Clean the rest, and the Senior Dryad will reward you.
Cursed Crystal
Rank: Unique Item
Load: 412/600
Their crusade over the cursed places was going reasonably well, but after the shard was transformed into a crystal, filling it started to take significantly more energy. Will cleaned as many as fourteen places, but he could only charge the crystal by 309 points.
Taking a brief rest, Raven called to the archer who napped with his face covered by his hat. Waiting for his companion to mumble the usual words of protest, the rogue headed towards another unexplored location.
***
Four days later.
You have cleaned 31/50 cursed places in the Taargada Forest. Clean the rest, and the Senior Dryad will reward you.
Cursed Crystal
Rank: Unique Item
Load: 589/600
The rogue killed, killed, and killed like a bobble-headed doll. He reached Level 54, but this endless grind was making him sick. Even with his steel patience, repeating the same sequence of steps over and over, again and again, was the worst sort of madness.
Another day came, and just like any recent other, it began with another death.
Then they heard someone singing a tune.
Glancing over his shoulder to see Daltaro in his proper place (Will knew no other character who’d sing or whistle while roaming the woods), the rogue frowned and approached the stranger’s voice.
Several minutes later, they saw him—a short boy in a dirty, shabby black cassock, with a loot bag over his shoulder, rummaging inside the dead body of a ten-foot wolf with a twenty-foot snake as its tail.
Raven and Daltaro had already fought a creature like this: a malista—half-wolf, half-snake. Killing it was anything but easy. Its usual battle tactic was the snake part striking quickly to paralyze the enemy, and the wolf part then finished them off with teeth and claws.
The stranger was pale and a bit shorter than Will, his eyes betraying him as a shrewd but insane one. The rogue was already out of the habit of applying Inspection to sapient creatures. Instead, he tried to estimate the ways in which this stranger could be useful. Friend or foe, Will surely could benefit from him.
“You must be very strong to kill this malista alone.”
“Oh, stop praising me. I already know I am.” Eyeing the two of them briefly, the boy continued: “Now let me give you a piece of advice. Run away as fast as you can before I kill you.”
His face and voice did not change, still friendly as he spoke, which made him sound pretty weird. Leaving the mob’s body, he stood up, facing them with bloody hands.
Will’s expression turned harsh. He pondered on if he should apply Inspection or just keep talking to this apparently crazy one at his own risk. Why is he warning us, not killing?
“No, guys, seriously. Run. I’m begging you.” The boy sniggered. Peering closely into his eyes, Raven saw hell’s fire raging inside.
“Daltaro,” the rogue whispered. “Listen to me. Run to Latakhorgh. Now. Wait for me there. Don’t ask anything. You shouldn’t die like that.”
Glancing at his companion, the archer nodded and vanished into thin air.
“Why don’t you run?” the boy inquired, cocking his head slightly.
“I want to know one thing.”
“Um. What thing? Tell me, tell me it!” The boy jumped, smiling like a normal child.
“What did you hope to find inside that monster?”
“Er.” The small stranger, the long flaps of his cassock trailing behind him on the ground, shifted his gaze to the malista, then back to Will. He then asked, unable to hide his surprise: “Is that all? Are you such an idiot to die for the answer to such a trivial question?”
“No. I’m happy with my intelligence. And I’m ready to die, hearing the answer.”
The boy put his index finger to his cheek, scratching it as he pondered over these words. The blood from his hand stained his face, lending him an even wilder look. “Stop this nonsense! No sane person would ever die for such a thing.” The boy’s brows knitted as he glared at the rogue. “But…maybe you’re one like me. Hey! Show me your true self!”
His childish face lit up again, flashing a broad smile resembling a vile demon’s mask. He went dancing around the monster, singing in a language unknown to Will. Then he said: “Hey! If you’re the one like me, come join the fun I’m having. Ahahaha. Hey! Ahahaha.” He whirled on and on. The rogue failed to spot when exactly a piece of malista flesh appeared in this apparently crazy child’s hand.
The stranger placed it on his disheveled, greasy hair like a hat and bowed to the dead body. “Oh, sir, please forgive me for borrowing a piece of you. Ahahaha. Hey! Why are you standing like that?” He stopped abruptly, right before the rogue, his voice turning into a deep growl: “Take your mask off, now! Or I will remove it.”
His claw became a narrow, lancet-like blade pressing against Will’s forehead.
Damn. Damn. What level is that?
The next moment, Will remembered the promise he’d made to himself. If I must become crazy for a while to reach my goal, then this kid came to the right guy. Masks off. Brace up, you crazy bastard!
Chapter 90. Destroyers of Worlds
E verything became blurred. Erasing his moral and ethical borders, Will played the demon’s game, ripping off his mask…no, ripping away the safety valve
separating what’s was allowed for a human being from what was strictly prohibited. From what you should never do. But Raven did exactly that, succumbing to his inner beast.
Who is he? What’s going on? Does that matter? Um. Ha, ha. Ahahaha! Does that really matter?
It was known you should overcome obstacles on your way. If his obstacle was being civilized, he would become an immoral demon just like this boy was.
Creating a clone, the rogue bathed with it in the disemboweled beast’s blood, splashing blood and entrails all about the glade. The two blooded characters were doing unimaginable things. Should some other players happen to be there, and should the game enable fainting through ultimate disgust and terror, they’d surely have experienced exactly that.
The rogue applied his skills to the monster—already reduced to such small bits it was hard to believe what a menacing enemy it had been a short time ago.
Hard at this inhuman and loathsome stuff, Will managed to apply Identification to the kid. After doing that, he decided not to stop for the world. Just the opposite, he worked himself into more and more of a frenzy.
Name: Farris
Level: ???
??? — Wizard
Health: ???
The boy seemed to pay no heed, fully engrossed in this madness shared by the rogue.
When at last the dead body was gone completely, the wizard stopped abruptly. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “What a good, good, good day. Yum. What a great walk I’ve had.” Opening his eyes, he stared at Raven, who was still trying to restore his past personality settings.
He struggled with that. Looking back, he failed to fathom how many of the things he did could ever cross a human’s mind. Was it the game that brought out all that creepy shit in him? Or was it some hair-rising thing lurking inside him and now set free?
“Hey! Did you have a good rest? You have such a catching laughter, you know that? You, you, you…know that?” Farris clicked his fingers, producing a metal clang. The voice he now spoke was all but youthful, his weird mood swings and childish behavior gone. He continued as though talking to himself: “Hey! Look at me! LOOK AT ME, I SAY!”
The wizard yelled, infuriated by Will’s lack of attention. Grabbing the rogue by his hair, he pulled his head back, staring into his face. “I’ll cut off your damn ears, you scum, and knock them to a rat’s head. It’ll make a better use of them than you do. It’s ME speaking! Listen or die like this puny creature. I. Hate”—his face twisted with rage—“I. Hate. Not. Being. Listened. To! That’s all. Ha, ha! I’m calm. Where did I stop, dear friend? Ah. Do you know what it feels like to be insane?”
Still holding the rogue by the hair, he looked up and took another deep breath. “The madness shaking the foundations is inside everyone from the very start…”
The index finger of his other hand turned into a narrow blade. Using it, the boy started to carve some symbols into the rogue’s forehead.
“Being insane… Yes, I know more about it than anyone else. We’re all trapped in this world, slaves to its rules. Everyone around here is a madman convincing himself he’s completely normal. Like animals, they’re oblivious of themselves getting crazier with every passing day. My world is another…Hey! Are you listening to me? Yes. My world blocked by that damn dog is not much different from yours. I, I felt those chains all over me. Getting them off, I saw a wonderful picture. A world where you can do everything. And HER. Ha, ha. SHE is the one who opened it to me.”
The finger-blade pressed against Raven’s forehead, carving more signs. The boy talked on, paying absolutely no attention to Will’s attempts to break free from his grip.
“Hey! Yes. I see you are listening. Good. So tell me: what do you know about being insane, human?” Farris sent the rogue sprawling to the ground and, licking his claw, he squatted beside him.
Attention! You’ve been marked by the Seal of Insanity.
This seal was created by one of the six demons previously imprisoned in Hell, known as Destroyers of Worlds: Insanity, Chaos, Discord, Guilt, Envy, and Void.
Effects: The seal has the power of Insanity.
Your worldview has been altered. Now your words will have a different meaning for others. You will bring insanity with you wherever you go. Conflicts and bloody fighting will flare up all around you. Your friends will be distracted out of their wits and try to kill you.
Luck: 0
-30 health points every hour
Duration: 3 days
Note: This is a unique occasion. It’s up to you to decide what to do about it.
“Hey! Are you no longer happy? You… Don’t you want to share your ideas with me? Do you think I’m fucking unworthy of that?” The growling voice came right into Will’s ear as the boy abruptly brought his face close to it. “Come on! Tell me. Tell me, you fucking piece of shit. What. Insanity. Is?” With a sobbing sound, his claw pierced through Will’s left eye.
“Look at me while you still have your other eye, and share what you know! You do know something. Don’t you?”
- 230
You’ve been blinded in one eye.
Duration: 12 hours.
“You! You vile creature!” Raven screamed. He’d endured the pain of this demonic bastard carving the seal into his flesh mainly because of the steel grip clutching him. But as the demon spoke, he looked more and more like a raving lunatic. His voice and actions seemed to be skipping over the rope, his thinking processes defying any logic.
“Insanity is you! You fucking ass! You’re Insanity embodied, you sick bastard!” Spitting on the ground, the rogue try to stand. The claw on his chest pressed him down.
“Hush. Psst. I… Hey! Look here. Do you hear?” The wizard waved his claw before the rogue’s face. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. I am Insanity. Insanity that escaped from its prison and now fools the Cerberus. Ahahaha!” The boy jumped up and whirled, lifting his hands. “It’s time to complete my plan. I’ve been running from this mongrel way too long. I just need to come out. Hey! I’ll drive all this world insane!”
His scream resounded over the tree tops. Grinning, he licked at the blood that trickled from his lips.
Shit. Shit. Shit. That’s totally over the top. How am I to take the box from this psycho? My sanity is not strong enough to endure that again. And now I have this seal.
Will was torn apart by powerless anger. He remembered his goal—the one he’d temporarily disabled his ‘brakes’ for—but his current task required a completely different approach. What exactly, he had no idea. The question was: How can I find out where the box is? The only answer that made sense was: Spend some time with this unpredictable demon to learn it location from him.
Go all the way. Shit. I really, really hate doing that. But I will. I’ll find a way to benefit from this situation.
Just a short time ago, he used to think that spoiled tomb was a totally crazy challenge—he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Hey. Do you want revenge on Cerberus?” Raven asked, still sprawled on the ground.
Farris stopped and lifted his hands. Squinting, he kicked Will’s body, sending him flying into the nearest tree.
- 350
You’ve been paralyzed.
Duration: 10 sec.
Ooh. That’s a demon indeed. Knocked into the big tree trunk, Will could not stir as if he were crucified.
The boy was already right in front of him. Bending his head, he growled: “You know this dog? Hey! Answer me. Now! I’ll count to… Shit. What am I talking about? Tell me. Now!”
“I know where to find him. But first we must find a shard.”
The child’s face was twitching, and he started to breathe deeply again. “Hey! Ahahaha. Hey, you! Look here! I’ve just—” The boy beckoned the rogue to come closer, but he could not even stir a finger. Understanding, Farris slapped himself on the forehead and approached Will himself. “I’ve just come up with a great plan!”
Saying that, he tapped his index finger against his temple to
show what a great plan it was and winked at Will, smiling. “I just. I just need… Ha, ha! To kill you. Snip—and I’ll hear no more of your shit! Now tell me. Where. That. Fucking. Dog. Is!” With every word he said, his claw slashed into the bark over Will’s head.
“Clean out your ears. I don’t know where he is. To know that, I need another shard. And gaining a few scores of levels.”
“You. Are. Driving. Me. Mad. Boiling my mind.” The wizard winced. “But I need that info. Tell me: what damn shard do you need?”
“Don’t forget my levels.”
“Hey! I’m barely containing myself here, but you…you can always die very fast if… ahahaha…if you don’t shut up!”
Congratulations!
A new title awarded: Ready For All
Description: Who are you? Who but you can talk even the devil into helping you? Who else will dare to live in such madness to get a step closer to their dream? You can only answer this question by actually trying it.
+5 Luck
+23% Chance to do mental damage to an enemy during a fight, driving them crazy. Duration: depends on the enemy’s level and mental resistance.
+7 Agility
+13 Intelligence
Chapter 91. A Tale for the Madman
I f you ask: How does it feel to travel with a crazy demon in a kid’s body who’s been imprisoned in hell for ages? the answer is: Pretty much like walking barefoot on the sharp edge of a long metal sheet at a height of fifty miles. At some point, you take a false step and fall down, thinking you’re sure to die, but you land on another ‘bridge’ exactly like the first one. Only the wounds on your feet and the memories of a recent fall prove you haven’t been hallucinating. Otherwise, your situation is absolutely unchanged.
Will could barely keep himself from attacking the demon so he could finally die, ending it all once and for all. Only the name over the boy’s head made him clench his teeth and stay as he was: an observer and victim of this hellish creature.