Black Sun (Phantom Server: Book #3)

by Andrei Livadny

  Reflex enhancer: installed

  Metabolic corrector: installed

  You can get dressed. The elevator to the surface is located down the corridor.

  A couple of minutes later, the elevator whooshed me up into the sunlight.

  A road went downhill. I walked unhurriedly, taking in chestfuls of the breeze pregnant with strange smells. The sun stood high in the clear skies.

  The air blurred to my right where a force shield protected the human colonization zone.

  A new group of colonists had just arrived. They looked around themselves without noticing me: the force shield was opaque from their side.

  These were the colonists’ avatars. Their hosts were dozens of light years away, on board the Colonial Fleet’s cryogenic platforms. They had no idea of survival in an alien environment but their unfailing belief in the safety of respawn would fearlessly confront any potential threat.

  They had a lot to learn.

  They still had the Founders’ interface to master. But first and foremost, they would have to learn how to love and enjoy life.

  The road turned again, revealing the ocean.

  The beach was filled with the happy screaming of children.

  From where I stood, I could already see Frieda and Jurgen.

  And Arbido! Didn’t he look younger! He must have drained the biological reconstruction chamber dry!

  Vandal, Foggs, Novitsky and Ralph stood knee-deep in the water, taking measurements and passionately arguing over something.

  Liori sat on the shore. The breeze ruffled her cropped hair. She smiled, watching Charon and five-year-old Inge drawing something in the wet sand.

  This was our home for many years to come. We were meant to stay here, waiting for those who were now traversing the depths of space.

  Once our colony had grown strong, we could go back to where we’d come from. One day we’d switch our cryo in-modes back on and enter a network address. Earth’s address.

  The planet that was still breathing its reactors’ heat.

  But that would be a totally different story.

  - End of Book Three -

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  Zander’s final stats

  Zander. Level 162. Colonizer

  Main characteristics:

  Intellect, 42 (+1 as a semantic processor bonus)

  Strength, 30

  Willpower, 50

  Agility, 20 (+2 as a reflex enhancer bonus)

  Perception, 50 (+2 as a mind expander bonus)

  Stamina, 55 (+5 as a metabolic corrector bonus)

  Learning Skills, 30

  Charisma, 5

  Skills:

  Traveler 1

  Assigned upon the first independent interstellar identity matrix transfer.

  Pioneer 1

  Assigned upon the landing on a planet which has either been unexplored or whose information has been lost.

  Interaction

  Allows the player to interact with real-life objects

  Colonizer 1

  Assigns Action Points allowing the player to transport spaceships via hyperspace, lay new routes and create new colonies. May also allow access to the heart of Phantom Server (requires a certain minimum number of AP)

  Broken Chains 1

  Self-stabilizes your identity matrix (requires a personal navigator)

  Allows the player to visit any star system, provided he or she is in possession of its coordinates.

  Piloting of Small Spacecraft, 30

  Allows the player to fly fighter, assault and small cargo craft

  Piloting of Medium and Large Spacecraft, 20

  Allows the player to fly corvettes, frigates, cruisers and their formations

  Combat Maneuvering, 45

  Also allows the player’s ship to enter a planet’s atmosphere

  Navigation, 39

  Allows the player to lay courses and calculate optimal routes

  Mechanic, 5:

  Repairs

  Allows the player to repair any equipment he or she is familiar with

  Equipment building

  Allows a player to build new devices by combining parts of any equipment he or she is familiar with

  Science, 98

  Allows the player to create scanner files, read power imprints, modify existing devices and create replication matrices from known samples (requires Mnemotechnics skill)

  Alien Technologies, 55 (allows the player to study alien equipment)

  Mnemotechnics, 95 (Each Mnemotechnics point gives a player two points for developing his or her Mnemotechnic skill)

  Allows the player to use his or her Mnemonic abilities and receive nanite control codes

  Technologist, 30 (allows the player to connect to technology databases)

  Exobiologist, 1 (allows the player to connect to exobiology databases)

  Combat skills, 49:

  Light weapons

  Heavy weapons

  Energy weapons

  Accuracy

  Critical hits, 4 (+40% to the possibility of dealing critical damage to the enemy)

  Defense, 3 (lowers all incoming damage 30%)

  Mnemotechnic skills:

  Replication, 25 (on your command, a small group of nanites uses a selected source material to self-reproduce until the total number of nanites reaches 100,000)

  Self-Replication, 1 (nanites are preset to seek new source materials and create new colonies)

  Steel Mist, 10 (protects you from enemy scanners)

  Active Shield, 10 (requires a Founders’ neuronet module)

  Allows nanites to automatically react to any threat by forming a protective cover. Expends both energy and nanites quickly.

  The Call, 20 (brings available nanite groups under your control, including small numbers of enemy nanites)

  Differential Nanite Control, 1 (requires a Founders’ neuronet module).

  Allows simultaneous control of up to 10 nanite groups which have been assigned different tasks.

  Object Replication, 19 (allows the use of available nanites and power to build working copies of various devices)

  Piercing Vision, 15 (allows the dispatch of nanite groups on reconnaissance missions with further reception of data from them in real time)

  Global Network, 1 (allows the scanning of star systems using the hyperspace network)

  Disintegration, 15 (destroys molecular bonds in a selected object)

  Plasma Blast, 15 (allows a selected nanite group to self-destruct, forming a cloud of ionized gas)

  Plasma Lash, 9 (requires a generator built by Object Replication)

  Self-Sacrifice 10 (allows your nanites to self-destruct in order to exterminate enemy nanites)

  Integration, 5 (allows you to upgrade your weapons and gear)

  Advanced Integration, 14 (allows you to upgrade complex equipment, including spaceships’ subsystems)

  Nanite Deactivation, 1 (requires an emergency control code to deactivate enemy
nanite groups)

  System failure, 5 (temporarily disables cybernetic parts of a selected device)

  Breakdown, 5 (temporarily disables moving parts of a selected device)

  Critical Damage, 9 (permanently disables moving parts of a selected device)

  Also by Andrei Livadny

  The Edge of Reality (Phantom Server Book #1)

  He is a cyber dweller. A gamer who's grown up in the web of virtual illusion woven from hundreds of phantom worlds. His biggest dream is to dump the real world for good.

  His desperate hunger of new experiences forces him to take a risk and become one of the first proud owners of a neuronet implant. The new gadget becomes part of him — but soon it's not enough. If only he could finally burn all his bridges and make a step beyond the real world!

  He soon gets this opportunity. A new universe, overflowing with mystery and unimaginable, mind-blowing authenticity, opens up before him.

  This is Phantom Server. The game of the future where your pursuit of an adrenaline rush soon turns into a battle for survival. But the most terrifying mystery lies ahead when you gradually start to realize: this is a road of no return. Your every decision may become your last. Your every step leads you further along the abyss between life and death.

  The Outlaw (Phantom Server Book #2)

  The Eurasia fleet has entered the Darg star system. The unsuspecting players look forward to the adventure of their lifetimes. Zander alone is now facing a harsh and unpredictable “alternative storyline”.

  The girl he loved is gone. His nervous system is impregnated with artificial neurons that contain fragments of ancient AIs and their identities. Zander's body is implanted with alien artifacts that allow him to survive in the deadly cyberspace of Phantom Server. But his unique development branch pushes him toward the edge of the precipice where his every step may become his last; where future itself is vague and uncertain.

  The Island of Hope

  An intergalactic war has scorched dozens of planets and destroyed millions of lives, leaving in its wake dead carcasses of drifting spacecraft where desperate battles used to unfold. These are perilous places unfit for habitation... or are they?

  About the Author

  Andrei Livadny is a popular Russian science fiction author. Born on May 27 1969 in the city of Pskov, he was an avid reader from an early age. But it was the Russian translation of Robert A. Heinlein's The Orphans of the Sky that decided his choice of future occupation. The story has become a pivotal moment in the boy's life, leaving a lasting impression on him.

  Andrei wrote his first book at the age of eight. Since then, he's never stopped working on new books. His passion for science fiction has gradually become his career.

  In 1998, Andrei debuted in Russia's leading publishing house EKSMO with his novella The Island of Hope. Since then, he has penned over 90 books that have enjoyed a total of 153 editions.

  Andrei has created several unique worlds, each unlike the previous. He wrote A History of Our Galaxy with humanity itself as a protagonist. This sixty-book series creates a history of our future civilization and its contacts with alien races, forming a convincing and logical picture of humanity's development for two millennia from now.

  Besides hard science fiction, Andrei Livadny also works in cyberpunk genres which allow him to focus on human relationships and raise questions about artificial intelligence and identity uploading, describing cyberspace as humanity's future environment.

  The English translation of A History of Our Galaxy will be available shortly. Check the author's Russian-language site for updates.

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  Thank you for reading Black Sun!

  If you like what you've read, check out other LitRPG books and series published by Magic Dome Books:

  NEW RELEASE!

  The Secret of the Dark Forest (The Way of the Shaman Book #3)

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  The Way of the Shaman Books 1, 2 and 3

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  Start the Game (Galactogon Book #1)

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  Phantom Server Books 1, 2 and 3

  by Andrei Livadny

  Perimeter Defense Books 1, 2 and 3

  by Michael Atamanov

  Mirror World Books 1 and 2

  by Alexey Osadchuk

  The Lag (The Game Master Book #1)

  by A. Bobl and A. Levitsky

  More LitRPG books are coming out soon!

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Zander’s final stats

  Also by Andrei Livadny:

  About the Author: