“Did you change your mind?” Stinger grumbled.
“I didn’t.”
“Are you sure that everything will go as it should, and that you’ll have enough time?”
I knew that he was trying to calm himself down with this question, and my heart felt warm. He’s rooting for me, damn it. We knew each other for a rather short period of time, but I felt as if our friendship was long-standing and strong. In other words, Sting was trying to understand if I was afraid. And I didn’t know. I didn’t have the slightest desire to do some self-reflection. One way or another, I, and everyone else, will get out of here. For some reason, I was absolutely sure of this.
“I’ll manage. You just do your part.”
“You know what, they’re funny... The small Raksh,” Stinger said to no one and for no reason in particular. “They’re like kittens, minus the two extra limbs. They’re messing around here, running under our feet. The adults can barely catch them in time to keep them from escaping the protective perimeter. The Dion kids are also much nicer than their inhospitable parents. And the Kobi babies are funny, too. Noses with legs...”
“Are you nervous or something?”
“I am.”
“Gather yourself, Stinger, my friend.”
“Already did. Maybe you’re right — it’s worth a try. What happens here, we already know. Now I really want to see what awaits us there.”
“Did Grant come to his senses?”
“You can say so. He’s still lying on a stretcher, but with his peepers opened; he’s staring at everyone like a zombie, and his teeth are chattering, although we dressed him in two jackets. He has minimal cold resistance. He doesn’t know who he is and where he is. He isn’t a healer, but a piece of junk...”
“You do understand that he isn’t to blame for this?”
“Don’t pay attention to my grumbling. I just feel restless.”
“Understood. Wait for my signal.”
After the battle on the serpentine, the corpses of the Creepoars, as was the norm in the damn Universe ICS, disappeared with all of their gear, rewarding our clan with two hundred escs and a hundred socs. It turned out that only greater Demons, or those akin to them dropped socs — that is, Punishers and Tormentors. Everything else was trash in the system’s eyes: from Deceivers and Guides, to the Hounds, that is, unreasonable creatures that dropped only escs. But bosses dropped valuable stuff, and the best loot was presented to me. And I, always oh so modest and unwilling to hurt anyone’s feelings, couldn’t refuse such a generous offer.
Having fastened the belt over my jacket, I pulled out my new, black dagger with a blade whose color matched its varnished sheath.
Wyrm’s Claw
Level requirement: 20
Dagger
Rare item
Material: Enchanted Demonic Bone
Durability: 109/130
Damage: 130-170
Amplifier Slot: 1
Built-in ability: Open Wound
Any critical strike has a high chance of causing long-term bleeding. The duration of the effect depends on damage.
It was a good dagger, although I wasn’t really proficient with them. However, it worked somewhat better in pair with Flame, which meant that I should master combo attacks using two different weapons. And that wasn’t all. On my left hand, next to the Ring of the Rank, were two more pieces of jewelry that warmed my soul.
The Way of Perseverance
Level requirements: /
Rare item
Ring
Material: Silver
Durability: 100/100
Built-in ability: Absolute
Grants the wearer total invulnerability for 5 seconds. Other abilities cannot be used while the effect is active.
Cost: /
Charges: 10/10
Cooldown: 5 minutes
My Precious
Level requirements: /
Rare item
Ring
Material: Silver
Durability: 30/100
Built-in ability: Binding
Grants wearer the ability to bind any piece of equipment or weapons to their soul for a period of one month.
Cost: /
Charges: 3/10
Cooldown: 1 day
Satisfied, I felt my left earlobe — the puncture healed within an hour, and now, to my great joy, one more item adorned my ear.
Jeeva’s Tear
Level requirement: 26
Unique item
Earring
Material: Silver; Chrysolite (inlay)
Durability: 33/50
Intelligence: +26
Endurance: +26
Build-in ability: Living Armor
Defense automatically increases by 30% for one minute if the wearer’s HP drops below 50%.
Cost: /
Charges: 3/5
Cooldown: 1 hour
Soulbound to: [Wisecracker]
They were total opposite of the earrings I got from the Okhtans in the hunting camp, which granted me strength and endurance. The Dalrokts tore this earring off the Protector’s ear and presented it to me, thereby recognizing my feats. Now I was the proud owner of a second unique item, the stats of which, like Flame’s, would grow with each new level.
Another thing that was worth mentioning was a grade 4 Abyssal Mist Crystal, which the wyrm had dropped and which fit into Flame’s handle. The sword, now glowing with a soft, purple light, with a dark, shimmering haze along its edge, looked dangerous and impressive. Still, I remembered very well what effect the Mist had. These weren’t to be wasted. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll replace it with something simpler. But in case something happens near the portal — I’d use it without any hesitation. The stakes were too damn high.
The Dalrokts also tried to entrust me with an outstanding armor, specially selected for me from the Fortress’s stocks. But I refused it with great regret. All that gear weighted around forty-five pounds, and the extra weight would only slow Fury down and make it difficult for her to carry me over the rough terrain. So I entrusted their gift to Stinger. Perhaps this was a mistake, but it seemed to be the better option. I should trust my intuition as it had rescued me more than once.
Emptying the pipe, I put it into my pouch. All set. The effects of Pacification and Touch of the Divine come in handy, not to mention that it helped me calm down and be less anxious.
Sheathing Flame, I resolutely went to the Altar.
Tinnie, curled up, was dozing off right in the bowl near the fruits of her labor. As soon as I removed the Vial of Soul Reanimation, which had been chilling there while I was dealing with the last Seal and fighting on the serpentine, the Fairy opened her eyes.
Still sleepy and tired, Tinnie reluctantly took off from her “perch” and landed on my shoulder. Having changed her mind, she crawled under my jacket, into the fur pouch prepared for her and immediately fell asleep again. The poor girl was exhausted. She still didn’t really recover from the battle, but still had to mess around with this last consumable and absorb escs in order to complete it. She did reach level 23, but she was exhausted.
Also, she now had enough skill points to raise any of the Artificer abilities to rank 3, but I decided not to hurry. There was no need to torture my baby like that and make her overwork herself. Besides, there was no time for experiments right now.
“Fury, get up, you couch potato! It’s time.”
While I was gathering my things, the Direcat was lying on the floor near the bed, with her head on her paws, watching me from underneath her eyelashes. She leaped up, arched her back, and yawned wide. My beauty was now level 27 and didn’t lag behind anymore and wasn’t ahead of me in XP. We were now neck-to-neck. She was a real pride of mine. She got more rest than Tinnie did, which was good, because I needed her well rested. Gnawed bones lay scattered around, left over from two Fangores — a gift for my kitty from Caraster and his lads, the guys personally delivered the grub.
I descended the creaking wooden stairca
se, glancing curiously at the result of my last experiment — radiant and crackling, it stood in the middle of the hall, occasionally shooting small balls of lightning. An attempt to activate the Dimensional Key bore no fruit, but the Dimensional Door worked. The offered Crystal rose three feet above the floor surface and turned into a miniature prismatic sun the size of a large grapefruit, and the system issued a message about “searching for Fragments of Realities” and started the timer for 24 hours. It made sense. To use a Key, first you needed to find a Door. Alas, in the past hour, nothing had changed — the ball was still shining, and the timer was still ticking. I couldn’t abort the process. This reminded me of searching for radio stations when you first set up the receiver: you had to swoop through all of the frequencies before winding them. But it was too late for any of that now.
Turning away, I walked on and stopped at Phoenix Shriek’s table. Now all nine Crystals moved along the tabletop in synchrony, in one row, cutting orbits in the stone around the Synchronizer with a quiet rustle. As soon as I placed the Diadem on my head, the matte surface of the ball cleared and showed the top view of the ruins of the Diamond Crown. The process of disabling the Sphere was interrupted as soon as I left the Citadel, Diadem on my head still. To cheat and disable the Sphere when I was already near the portal wouldn’t work. So I had to turn it off from here.
Wow, that’s a lot of people...
The entire area around the Cradle, like a festive garland, shimmered with green and yellow dots, displaying at least three hundred living souls. The clan list counted 119 out of possible 150 members for level 5, which allowed us to reach our next achievement.
Achievement unlocked: There’s a Hundred!
You have successfully recruited a hundred new members in one day!
Reward: Charisma +2 (15); +50% of current level XP (296,150); + 0.5 saves (5.95); + 10 clan skill points (64)
But I didn’t take all of that XP for myself.
Two dozen Kobi, who wanted to join the ranks of Fortune Hunters, weren’t accepted and were waiting for Grant to come to his senses. Just in case, I appointed him in advance to the position of the recruiting officer. According to my calculations, the XP he’d get for these two dozen Kobi would help him reach level 18 or so. For me, being level 26, these crumbs of XP were useless, and the recruiting bonus potential meant little. I would give Grant even more, but I still hoped that points he’d accumulate with levels would help him more than sheer XP.
I also hoped that we wouldn’t need a healer. The Dion shamans were still “serving their sentence” in the Mausoleum after the recent raid, and they will be stuck there for a long time. A single healer of ours would unlikely make a difference, even if he woke up right now. But in the new world, after the transition, when we’ll be most vulnerable, his services could be useful for overall survival.
We…
I grinned. Let’s see how this “we” thing will go. I hope that my role in this world won’t end with this damn epic.
When they left, they looked at me as a... Hero? Or more like a madman? The difference was small. Hell, screw this heroism stuff... This damn epic has put me in a hopeless situation without even asking me. I wasn’t tired of living at all. But no one except the Keymaster was able to disable the Sphere. And no one could replace me; this quest couldn’t be passed to anyone. One could, of course, spit on everything and let nature take its course. I could keep silent about Marana’s predictions, and dismiss the Dion beliefs as senseless delusions. And try to withstand the Creepoar wave together with everyone else...
...and die with them, too.
Never. Suicide doesn’t suit me, but I don’t see any other option. This risk was required. And it seemed to me that it was included in the epic initially. It was a cunning quest.
Well, there was no need to delay it any further.
“Stinger, I’m starting.”
“Got it. We’re ready.”
Chapter 69
Now to finally find out who’s right — the Dions or the Raksh. Chzher gave me his word that if things go south, the outcasts would fight until I got to the portal. If that was possible at all.
Estimated time of synchronization with the current level of damage: 24 hours
Note: Disabling the Sphere of Styx before the end of synchronization grants 69% chance of evading the world’s destruction (Keymaster level bonus: + 23%).
Disable Sphere of Styx: yes / no?
Yes! And come what may!
Insert the key into the Synchronizer.
This is it. Seems that it was impossible to deceive the system, after all: the Keymaster has to be present.
Having removed Phoenix Shriek’s soc from my pouch, I gently dropped it into the hole formed on the top of the Synchronizer. It immediately disappeared, and the ball became cloudy; video transmission was interrupted, and the Crystals on the tabletop stopped dead in their tracks. Oppressive silence reigned. I also froze, listening... To what, I didn’t know. Waiting for the skies to crack maybe? For lightning to flash and thunder to roll?
Quest completed: Keymaster
Reward: 100% of current level XP; +1.0 save (7.05)
Congratulations!
You have reached level 27!
Current XP: 37,680/852,910
And again, no trumpets, no achievements. Fine, Alan damn them; other things are more important now...
“Yiiippeeeee!” Stinger’s elated cry filled the chat. “The portal has appeared! A moment... See, there’s only one world available! But it sure sounds pleasant — Azure Waterfalls, for players from level 30 to 50! I hope this to be the resort I wanted! I mean, the name Lunar Rainbow also sounds nice. So, who knows? The only problem is that the system claims that the portal is one-way. We’ll have to leave without scouting.”
“And the Creepoars?”
“We’ve seen none so far. I’ll send the raid in, then the civilians.”
“Do it.”
“Don’t fall asleep there, we’re waiting for you. Rawrk swears that he won’t leave without you. And Mashta is angry at you, like a fury. Until you get her beloved Chula back, she won’t allow you to die. She’s standing here, grumbling. ‘Double true,’ she says.”
“On my way,” I grinned, smile reaching my ears, got the useless Diadem off my head, and put it in my pouch. It could be a decent souvenir as the Key had disappeared without a trace.
Rushing downstairs, I mounted Fury, and rushed along the serpentine to the foot of the mound. Aiming for the finish line, we rushed with all our strength along the battle worn path to the underground tunnel.
Some fifty steps to the left, on a wide, rocky ledge, several Fangores settled on their furry asses. The damn devils respawned again. But now they were in no hurry to attack; they only watched us from afar. The reduced difference in levels played its part. I was sure that Fury and I could tear any of them to shreds, even without Soulcatcher.
We’ve had many life threatening adventures in Lunar Rainbow, but it was time to leave this world and all its inhabitants behind. Everything worked out. Everything worked out and the damn world didn’t collapse!
“Everything worked out”! I shouted from the top of my lungs.
There was the underground passage. Tinnie did her thing, and I directed Fury right into the dark. A mile long dash through the straight and flat tunnel...
But something made me stop. Fury slowed down right in front of the entrance. The feeling of impending disaster hung above us like a raincloud. Was it Alan and his tricks? About what does he want to warn me this time? Or did I just not do something for him? Ah, what the hell... We’re almost there anyway! Forward!
Fury snarled discontentedly, but still rushed into the darkness. Tinnie sat on my shoulder, glowing brightly.
“Wise?” Stinger’s voice was full of alarm. “Something’s happening. There’s tremor, vibration underfoot. It’s growing. Oh fuck... The sky! Wise, look at the sky!”
“I can’t, I’m underground! What about it?!”
“Ge
t out faster! The mountains are crumbling! I’m serious! It’s horrific! We-!”
Achievement unlocked: The Destroyer of Worlds
Your actions led to the destruction of Lunar Rainbow — an act worthy of a dark deity. This achievement will be imprinted in the Great Genesis Book and be known in all worlds of the Universe ICS.
Reward: Your reputation with all of the dark deities has been raised to “favor.” Chance of finding Shards of Realities increased by 50%.
Someone up there decided to have some fun on my expense. I actually planned to become the “Savior of Worlds...”
Reputation with Alan the Dark: Favor (63/7,500)
Divine ability unlocked: Piercing Shadows...
The tunnel suddenly curved and Fury hit a wall at full speed. The blow nearly broke our bones, and knocked the air out of our lungs; my thigh and shoulder went numb from pain. Tinnie let out a thin, piercing screech, nearly turning it into an ultrasound, and clutched my earring with both hands. The tunnel shivered and twisted, like a snake grabbed by its head. Cracks appeared along the walls, pieces of marble burst with a glass ringing, showering us with fine shards and dust. The arch ahead swayed, dropping stone blocks. And I was warned...
“Back!”
But the quick-witted Fury had already turned and rushed back even faster than before. As soon as we ran out of it, the tunnel slammed shut behind our backs, spitting out clouds of rubble. We circled in the snow, perplexed, looking around and not knowing what to do next.
There was nowhere to run.
Night reigned outside. Overhead, as far as the eye could see, crimson ribbons slithered in wide, fiery streams across the black skies, interlacing and intertwining. The soil was constantly shaking, as if hundreds of giant hammers were beating the earth continuously. The terrible growing rumble made me turn toward the mountains beyond which was the valley of the Diamond Crown. These mountains crumbled in a matter of seconds in front of my eyes, pushing the wave of destruction further with terrifying speed.
The ground cracked in all directions, pieces of the surface rose like monstrous icebergs, and crashed down. Still on Fury, I was spinning in place, horror stricken, unable to think of anything. If I disappear now, I’ll have nowhere to resurrect. But wherever I looked — everywhere was the same! There was nowhere to run! Getting out of such a death trap was impossible.
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