Player Reached the Top

by Rick Scar

  “Meat-t-t?” The group swallowed nervously, that voice was terrible and tired. As if they really were going to be eaten by some yearned unknown.

  “Lights out! Quickly! Sogrand, light a torch, its flame is not such bright as the magic’s and we’ll hope that it will not draw any excess attention. We don’t need a crowd of aggressive mobs.”

  Light went out, and the flame of the torch lit their road. Delliya moved ahead of the group, estimating the situation on presence of any enemies and traps. In a few minutes she returned. Ahead of us there are four banshees of 26 level, the cave is small so any noise can bring the others. And knowing these monsters, they shout as hysteric women.” The thief grinned.

  “Could you pursue one by one at first opportunity?”

  “Nope,” the girl shook her head, at least two of them, they are standing quite densely.

  “Well, we will be able to seal two by "silence". Steady, ready!”

  In half a minute the group heard sounds of running. Before them Delliya jumped out of "stealth". On her tail the ugly women ran, moving as if animals on hands and legs. As soon as they appeared, two mages, a wizard and a magician cast "silence" and its analog – “hush” on them.

  The tanks intercepted a monster for each and provoked them, distracting their attention from the thief. It took about three minutes to fight. The banshees could not shout therefore they died in proud silence. While all were beating them, the thief conducted the other monsters.

  The group got back to normal, forgetting about the terrible voice at the beginning …

  Chapter 34. The Grave Mound

  It was five hours as they had been killing monsters. Banshees, ghosts, reductions, barrow - wights, usual skeletons and skeletons of various monsters. The series of never-ending fights proceeded and proceeded. Level of monsters with each their step deep into caves steadily increased. If at first it was 26, then they killed monsters of 29 level. A few from them also raised levels. Still some of them were lack of level.

  Everyone felt that the final fight would be very soon. Those emotions they had felt at the beginning of a voice sound gradually amplified. The aura of despair and hunger, scolding to bones, soared in the air. What was it? Everyone asked that question.

  “There’s nobody ahead. No traps, no doors, no portals, nothing. An absolutely empty room. But the aura we have felt for the last two hours is dense to disgrace there. I have hardly taken back my self-control. Though I play on low sensitivity and I do not practically feel pain, but the thought that I can be gobbled up there, makes me to feel ill at ease….” The Face of the thief was pale. Probably that was being told by her was the truth.

  “We haven’t missed any secret doors and courses on the way here, have we?”

  “We have not missed as many of them as my abilities allow. If there were any ways, they could be found only by a more leveled thief.”

  “I see. Let's have a rest then, and in ten minutes we start.”

  “OK.”

  Having rested and restored forces, the group entered the spacious room. It was empty, but the aura, as the thief had told, was awfully heavy and morally pressed them.

  “It’s high time to get this over with; we've been out here for a long time," thought the leader called Night.

  “All to keep together. Delliya and Kraks, with me.” He went to the opposite wall, where there were old frescos. What they represented became clear after Delliya had brought a torch closer.

  “Well, I'll be damned!” she whispered.

  The images caused instinctive shiver. Several huge figures were getting people on big sticks, some were frying over the fire and devouring. These Giants were near a town where people looked at their actions with horror. Many people were trying to escape or hide, but they were found and pierced with sticks as if needles.

  The wall was wide and similar images were seen everywhere. Only sizes of those towns differed. Several groups of knights tried to fight with the giant, but he squashed them and ate. Everything had been drawn so realistic that they were nearly to vomit.

  “What pretty hardcore?!” Exclaimed Kraks, that melee who had already risen up to the twenty sixth level.

  “If I am not mistaken, it is the history of this world. That evil … that was told about in the background.”

  “But where are their Gods?” the thief asked, frowning.

  Indeed, they looked over all the walls, but did not see any Gods. Suddenly they heard a gnash over their heads. The players, throwing up their heads, peered into darkness. The ceiling of cave was high, and they could not consider what was pronouncing such sounds.

  “St-t-t-tu-pi-i-id mea –ea-eattt,” a rustling voice reached them directly from the ceiling. They recognized it. The fear has held down them, and even the leader could not tell anything. “You-u-u sssuppose you-u-u kno-o-ow hhhi-issstory, butttt ittt’sss a l-l-lie!!!”

  The beast jumped off from the ceiling, drenching the standing apart people with a cloud of dust and stench. “This-s-s h-h-his-s-st-t-tory is fals-s-s-se the truth will caus-s-se your hooorrooor. DDD’you wan-n-na learn the t-t-tru-u-uth?”

  They could see the monster’s name hanging in front of their eyes.

  “Grave Mound (Baron): Level 33.

  Health: 4700.”

  The monster looked like a lump united of several hundred bodies. He had no form and was constantly flowing from one state in another. He had a lot of hands, heads and eyes. He was standing still, at the same time looking at each of them.

  DDD’youuu?

  “Nobody move!” sharply shouted Night.

  All of them were puzzled staring at him, misunderstanding what he was doing. He was surely a very competent leader, but now he was doing some crazy things.. They could leave their things here, without holding on to the quest with Dullakhan.

  But the vampire stared in space, and all of them saw him reading something.

  “You are offered to hear one more course of events of a bygone era.

  Accept? Yes/No.”

  No awards were offered. It was not told that they could not kill being. But the man understood that all this was connected with the guardian of the second floor some way.

  “Accept."

  Chapter 35. The truth to choose.

  The "Murderers" players were standing near Oblivion Caves. There was horror on all their faces. Two of them abandoned the game and were inaccessible beyond the game. One decided to stop playing forever, and the others started thinking that everything they had seen was only the game scenario but nothing else.

  …

  When Night accepted that mission, the monster smirked at all his faces and, turning around, drenched all the players with a ring of the smoke proceeding from his body.

  “Attention! You have a unique opportunity to hear one more version of the events which took place a few thousand years ago. You are just observers. You will not be able to change anything in the history, to take things away from here or to leave yours. History is only the print of several days, years or centuries left by a man and like grains of sand through an hourglass. Who writes it? Winners? Or those who want to hide something from all the people? Have a look but carefully …”

  The group appeared on a tower of one of fortresses. Scream could be heard around, soldiers ran somewhere, carried something, and they had an expression of confusion, disbelief, horror and despair on their faces. After looking at the castle’s walls, they understood why.

  The players were able to speak with each other, but nobody wanted. Or could not. That picture they had seen on walls opened before them. But everything on those damned frescos was far and did not concern them, but now in close they were scolded by real horror.

  The giants, gathering hundreds of thousands of people nearby, looked incredibly huge, hundred feet in height. They were sitting at the burned village located near the castle and used it as a bonfire. Their hands caught people, elves, semi-demons and the others and got them on long sticks as if on a spit.

  Shouts were
heard even on the walls. People screamed and were burned, without understanding why they had such terrible destiny. Delliya's face turned pale, and she closed her ears with hands, sat on the floor in order not to see it.

  Near them the knight with a helmet in his hands appeared accompanied by two soldiers.

  “It is the end … Gods … fie you, not gods but beasts!” His face was white because of anger. His eyes were full of hatred looking at this hell. He squeezed his helmet in the hand till it hurt.

  “Sir, inhabitants have already been taken away in catacombs, only several hundreds, the others could not be rescued …”

  “I know!” The knight answered sharply. “Ours have been slaughtered, not reaching these freaks. We are powerless against them.”

  The man standing nearby was silent, then looked under the visor, began to speak as if asking himself. “Are they really Gods? These monsters cannot be them, hungry, lifeless beasts of chaos …Oh, no, As for Gods, they are kind, honest, they are wise beings. I cannot believe that I worshipped them to have my family gobbled up one day … No; no, all this is intrigues of devils. Surely, surely!” he muttered, but, except the group of strangers nobody saw him and nobody heard him. While listening to him "Murderers" shuddered.

  “Are they the Gods?” asked a girl shaking with fear, she played for the archer. They were watching this nightmare having a swell historical background of the game where every episode had been colourful, heroically. And here... Here they were petrified with horror.

  The wall of the castle sharply was replaced by the platform of the huge portal from the legend. Around it there were four men and three women. Their attires were improbable. Everything was the superior quality. They were standing around, with closed eyes, and telling something quietly. Nothing had been happening for a few minutes, and then all of the seven opened their eyes and stepped away. Pak and the others were transferred after them. Now they saw the people look weakened and hang on by the skin of teeth.

  “Hey! Drang! A low woman called the man with a sword and a board. “Perhaps, now you can explain why the hell we were got involved in it? Nobody learns about us, a handful of adventurers sacrificed their lives. To what?”

  The man did not look at her; he was continuing to wait for something.

  “To future...” he answered quietly.

  “Future?” The girl laughed out. “Will I need care of future if I am a corpse? Well?”

  “If all of us have done everything correctly, we have a chance to return. I’ve already told about it. Why do you ask again, Laysi?” - the man with a hood and a staff in his hand told.

  “I do not know, maybe, I want you to calm down me, Zaradius,” smiling Laysi answered.

  “Stop it!” The man with a spear closed his eyes and rubbed a forehead. – Concentrate! It hasn’t been over yet…”“P-f...” The girl put her hands on a breast and began to look at the portal too: - I don’t believe someone will be able to unite the world again,” she whispered, sighed, kept silent.

  Ten minutes later the portal began to shake and turned out the funnel of a terrifying size. His belly like a mad began to suck something in. The giants whose furious eyes nearly dropped out of orbits begun to fly in it. Parts of Not swallowed bodies poured from their mouths together with saliva.

  They clung to the earth; their terrible muzzles looked at the seven people and vomited damnations. Night and the others did not consider that those could even speak.

  “You?! Pathetic bastards!” one of monsters squealed. “We’ll gobble up your souls when you die. We’ll find them on the Forgotten Coast, and you’ll never regenerate damned spawns of heroes.”

  Their hands opened the earth trying to reach the heroes, but the portal continued without ceasing to suck them one after another in. Soon everything was over!

  The team was frozen by horror from being so close to huge mouths of the monsters. When all of them disappeared, those turned to the seven people, but saw them disappearing in the air breaking up to the smallest pieces. There was no expression on their faces.

  They did it. It is foreordained or not, the world will live without them further. When the last from them was dissolved, the earth was shivering, and the world began to change ….

  Chapter 36. Come back and award

  “Congratulations! You’ve found the hidden property of the cursed shard.

  + 1 Luck;

  +5% Chance to find the hidden traps and hiding places.

  Level up...

  The skill "The double attack" has moved to the following level.

  +11%Chance to cause an attack double loss.”

  Will came out the shadow, looking at the dead tsar of the forest. It was a long fight.

  “How are you doing there?” he shouted to Gikhor and the captain, going to Lekhor at that time. They saw the bear being weak, but breathing. And if they did not help him, it all would turn bad. On his breast there were four strips from claws covered with the same aura. He ran up to the bear immediately, pulled out all that had dropped out from him and, without examining plainly, and took away the already integrated shard from loot.

  You were visited by good luck! Good luck seldom comes, but when it comes, brings all that is necessary for you. You’ve found a Potion of healing (Gold rank).

  “Lol? So that's how IT works!”

  Having read the message, he brought the shard to wounds of the horgh, absorbed the violet smoke then poured a healing potion in his slightly opened mouth.

  You’ve saved the horgh from his inevitable death.

  Relations with the tribe of horghs 73/100 − neutral.

  The cursed shard(Unique).

  Load: 13/200.

  "Now it is clear why there are a lot of damned places. How many shards remain? The only one who comes to his mind and who is able to answer this question is Radermin, but he won’t answer without the box... Damn it! Forgotten to tell Pak about potions. Now I’ve money and buying them is not a problem."

  He decided not to postpone, and he wrote back with a mark "urgently". Perhaps, Pak was free.

  “Cap?”

  “What yours to want?” He went limping, but had a satisfied expression on his face. It was unclear why he was not confused by the sticking-out bone...

  “Do you have anybody to cure you?

  “Yes, the shaman to put life on legs. To he to go. If good luck us, then mine and Gikhor to live tomorrow.”

  “The shaman is too far from you,” RAVen answered frowning, he did not want them to die, he wished to go on using their force. Well and, maybe, it was because he had attached to their strange speech, simple relation to the life and humanity for those days. But the main reason was force and again force.

  “We strong horgh, we to reach the tribe if your successful destiny to go with my and this blockheads.”

  “The Strong, but Wounded” task is offered to you.

  :Accompany the horgh to their tribe.

  Award:

  +4000 experiences;

  +15 affection of the Horghs’ tribe.

  Accept? Yes/No.”

  “Of course, I’m with you, Captain! Only I have something unfinished. Could you behead this dead animal?”

  “Gr-rkh!” Instead of words Dreyrok threatened his sword and cut the bare head of the bear with two blows. Thrusting it into the inventory, Will lent his shoulder to Lekhor, and they slowly moved towards Latakhorgh.

  On their way they met the same living creatures, as they had met before, but Will avoided them, being aware of their aggression radius.

  There were more monsters at night than in the afternoon. Therefore the rogue hurried up, knowing that they would not be able to cope even with one of them. In three and a half hours they reached the gate that was opened by soldiers of the garrison as soon as they saw who coming. After greeting the captain and two horghs, they have returned to guard.

  “Congratulations! You ‘ve done “the Strong, but Wounded” task.

  Award: +4000 experiences;

  Current rela
tions with the horghs tribe 88/100 – neutral.”

  The armed guards near the shaman also laid hands to stomach, slightly inclining heads to greet Dreyrok. Grrakhkat was still sitting in the center of the room being busy with something special.

  “Old man, I’ve brought the warriors. Will you treat them?”

  That one opened his eyes, examined their wounds, made eye contact with RAVen.

  “I heard you found the way to find this beast, so it’s true. Have you killed him?” He waited for his answer, staring at the guy.

  “BE sure!” Will told and got the head out the inventory, and it occupied a decent part of the room.

  “So you did it after all!” Grrakhkat nodded with satisfaction and said “Only don’t throw it out here, leave in the yard, I’ll investigate later, maybe, I’ll learn where this damned aura came from. And here, choose what you would like.”

  “Congratulations! “The Monster at Night” task is completed.

  Reward: +15000XP

  Relation with Grrakhkat 47/100 − neutral.”

  “The joker’s ring (Gold).

  Characteristics:

  +15 Agility;

  +400 Health;

  Skill: “Surprise!” passive when health falls lower than 10%, the ring releases a smoke screen within a radius of 12 yards, allowing the user to escape an enemy.

  Recharge: 2 days.

  Requirements: 60 level.

  Restrictions: No.”

  “Noiseless Walker’s ring (Gold)

  Characteristics:

  +12 force;

  +5% basic damage of a dagger.

  Skill: "Noiseless Walker", passive, the owner of ring, receives ability of silent movement.

  Requirement: 50 level.

  Restrictions: No.”

  “The guest’s Necklace (Gold).

  A part of the Guest’s set.

  There is an earring, a ring, boots and a guest's raincoat in it.

  Description: This necklace was in possession of a thief, who was famous in the Gakronsky empire, His name was Guest he was called so because of its ability to feel at home wherever he was, especially where he was committing thefts. But nobody learned how this thief looked.