Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  After coiling up the rope and tossing it into his inventory, Tailyn decided to walk around the oak tree. He wasn’t really optimistic that there would be any loot to be gained as everything that found its way into G’Rul’s mouth was dissolved in acid, and that indeed turned out to be the case. The oak had destroyed everything. Really, Tailyn was just putting off making a decision about what to do next. He vaguely remembered Valanil’s map and couldn’t figure out where to go — presumably, he should leave the mountain range behind him, but what then? The herbalist had been aiming for some abandoned city, but Tailyn definitely didn’t want to head in that direction. Also, the lixes were taking Valia to the Forest of Desire. Thoughts darted back and forth, and so the boy decided to just walk around and see what he could see.

  Only even that didn’t work. The tree, which had been fed by the magic elixirs and the ancient creature’s innards, began to die. First, the leaves came fluttering down, though they turned into a black dust carried off by the wind before they could ever hit the ground. They were followed by the smaller branches. As the air filled with the sound of wood cracking, Tailyn pressed himself up against the trunk to keep from getting hit — only the largest pieces made it to the ground. Everything else disintegrated before even getting close. The trunk was the last to go, disappearing almost like a mirage driven away as the sun peeks up over the horizon. Nature had come calling for its own, not tolerating that kind of sudden upstart. And with that, the mountain that had once hidden G’Rul turned into a deep valley that began slowly filling with water — the underground stream hadn’t dried up completely. Half an hour later, and the oak was gone without a trace.

  Tailyn realized through his shock that it was a sign. No matter how grandiose his plans were, they were going to disintegrate just as fast as his tree if he tried to take on an army of lixes without help. He needed an ally.

  But where was he going to find one in that lifeless locale?

  Almost as if sensing the boy’s train of thought, his active deck popped up in front of him and stopped on the shimmering gold card. Dragon, the legendary card Tailyn hadn’t even been able to read the description of.

  But that was then. The new him had access to everything.

  * * *

  “Commander, she just picked up three levels!” Zaril yelled over in surprise. He’d been assigned the job of watching the prisoner. The black lix was gone, unluckily enough for the crystal fences, meaning they were going to have to waste time waiting for him to get back. Berad wasn’t about to miss out on those other crystals.

  “What do you mean, three levels?” The detachment leader went over to the woman and frowned. It was true — when they’d left the portal, she’d been at level fifteen, and there she was at eighteen. And three levels was a lot, especially for someone with their hands and arms tied. After staring at her for a while, it hit him. The boy had survived, and not only that, he’d even been able to destroy the ancient creature. The spear had apparently damaged it to the point that Tailyn just had to finish it off. Three levels was exactly the reward the god gave for outstanding achievements, and that meant it was a good thing the lix wasn’t there. It saved Berad from an awkward explanation he would have been forced into when the boy showed up somewhere else.

  “Sloan,” Berad yelled, “I need you!”

  Valanil’s eyes were fixed on the group as she memorized their faces. Not only had Tailyn survived; he’d been able to do it in such a way that she had a shot at saving herself. The three levels was nothing compared to her parameters all jumping two levels. Once she had time to wrap her head around the changes, she was going to be able to fight back. The naïve fences thought they could hold her with a few simple ropes? Idiots. No, she was going to show them how wrong they were. They knew nothing about the true strength a Crobar student could wield.

  Chapter 6

  Dragon (1). Description: a legendary magic card that summons Li-Ho-Dun, the greatest of the dragons and one that has conquered tens of planets. Loyal to its father, Li-Ho-Dun left this world, turning into a phantom. Initial card level: 1. By destroying enemies and participating in battles, the dragon earns personal experience that makes it stronger and more powerful. Li-Ho-Dun’s lifetime is unlimited, acting as a usual creature capable of doing extra damage while it is materialized. All experience is saved after it dies. Its abilities and parameters depend on its level. Card requirements: Wisdom more than 20 + Dragon level. Includes 5 charges. Charges remaining: 5. Cannot be recharged.

  TAILYN EVEN BROKE out in a sweat when he realized he could summon an actual dragon right then and there. Looking around as if afraid someone might swoop in and steal his toy, the boy pulled air into his lungs and blew invisible dust off the card.

  Ka-Li.

  You used Dragon.

  Charges remaining: 4 of 5.

  ***

  You’re the first human in this release to activate a legendary card after only the first initiation stage. Great achievements are deserving of great rewards.

  You received access to a remote terminal.

  The nearest point you can access is shown on your map…

  Attention! Error detected…

  Local map functionality inactive.

  Finding a solution…

  Solution found!

  ***

  Access unlocked to local maps.

  Right next to the audio button, an icon showed up depicting a piece of paper with a dotted line leading to a red X. The map. It began to blink invitingly, telling Tailyn there was a terminal nearby, but he was too busy to notice. Nearby, there was something wondrous and far more interesting than any map could be.

  Li-Ho-Dun had showed up and was waiting patiently for its master to notice it. The excited boy wanted to run over, but he froze as soon as he realized what the god had sent him. A few steps away, there was…a dragon? Judging by the description, it was, but it was hard to tell just by the way it looked. Instead of a powerful, awe-inspiring monster that would strike fear into the hearts of its enemies, the card had summoned a tiny little sausage less than half as long as Tailyn’s arm. The slender creature had a toothy face looking something like a lix’s head, two wings, and four short legs. It was far more adorable than terrifying. Wings flapping, it hovered in the air. In fact, it almost felt like the wings weren’t actually doing any work, just waving around because they had nothing better to do. Li-Ho-Dun looked at Tailyn as it awaited its first order. Excitement gave way to disappointment — that wasn’t the kind of helper Tailyn had been expecting. But right then, he noticed a button flashing in his main panel. It hadn’t been there before.

  You entered the companion control panel.

  Companion level: 1, 200 experience until next level.

  Ability available: fire breathing. Description: you give your companion a target, and it shoots out fire that does [mana attack] damage per second for [companion level] seconds. Time between attacks: [10 * companion level] seconds. The dragon’s fire ignores armor through level two.

  ***

  Attention! To control your companion, you need the Integration attribute. Visit a temple or remote terminal to purchase it.

  Tailyn just sighed, not even bothering to curse. Besides the description, the companion control panel had just one button that read deactivate. If the creature got on his nerves, he could get rid of it. Also, there wasn’t any explanation of what the levels were all about or what abilities the dragon even had. It looked like the assumption was that whoever had access to the card would know how to use it.

  And seeing as how Tailyn was being pushed so hard in the direction of the terminal, he decided to go with the flow. He was going to unlock integration and resilience, do a little dance, and even recite poetry if that’s what it took. The whole thing was ridiculous. Annoyed, the boy closed the useless panel and stared at his hovering dragon.

  “So, what am I supposed to do with you? Do you even understand me?”

  Li-Ho-Dun wagged its tail like some kind of dog and flew over until
it was an arm’s length away. For a while, it just looked at the boy, finally diving forward, wrapping itself around Tailyn’s wrist, and turning into a beautiful gold bracelet set with a row of jewels.

  Your companion entered sleep mode.

  To reactivate it, see the control panel.

  Tailyn shook his hand in an attempt to get rid of the unexpected piece of jewelry, but Li-Ho-Dun was holding on tightly. He couldn’t even move the dragon to his other arm. Really, it was like his companion had turned into metal, though it didn’t hinder his movement or add any weight to his arm at all. And with Tailyn’s mood already not at its peak, it dropped still further — was he really going to have to wear a girl’s bracelet? The dragon was great, but he definitely didn’t want to carry it around like that. While it even occurred to him to deactivate his companion, the inability to recharge the card meant he couldn’t waste it like that.

  It was time to check out the other blinking button, the one for his local map. There, however, the boy was in for a pleasant surprise, as the map turned out to be filled in already. It had the City of the Dead, everything they’d covered on their trip from Culmart, and even Valanil’s schematic map and the whole area Tailyn had gotten a glimpse of from the top of the oak tree. That last bit was especially big. Even though Tailyn himself hadn’t noted all the little details within the nearest couple dozen kilometers, they were still right there.

  Your map was updated in line with the locations you’ve seen. To further update it automatically, you need to unlock the Cartographer attribute.

  What a surprise that it demanded yet another attribute. Really, it was more of a surprise that it was only one instead of, say, ten. Tailyn began zooming in and out, having learned how to do that by reading the book. And while that had been theory, he was finally getting to see it in action, and the fact that he’d gotten exactly what he was looking for eased the disappointment his dragon had given him. The red dot standing in for the terminal was about a day’s run in the opposite direction from Culmart — the boy was able to estimate the distance because it was right about the same as between the mountain range and the spot where he’d destroyed the lix caravan. The good news, at least, was that he wasn’t going to have to make his way through the mountains, which were a bit off to the side. And when he tapped the red dot, the map generated a dotted line showing where to go with a semitransparent arrow right in front of him. Happily, it didn’t obstruct his vision. Excitement gripped the boy — he’d managed to pull something off without needing help, and he wasn’t going to have to ask Valanil or Motar. He’d done it all by himself.

  After looking around once more to make sure there was nothing else to be found, Tailyn ran off in the direction of the arrow. For a while, it was difficult to go back and forth between the arrow and the local scenery, but he soon realized he’d accepted the former as something entirely natural he didn’t know how he’d ever lived without. The boy decided to run the way Valanil had taught him. First pushing as hard as he could, he slowed to a walk to let his strength regenerate, taking off again when it was ready. He was able to push himself much further that time, however. The four agility points were making themselves heard.

  There was a problem, however, as the map didn’t update. The areas he ran through remained just as much a snow-white fog as the rest of the map. No matter how much Tailyn looked around, he couldn’t add anything even though there was plenty to see — mountains on one side, the path leading along the same mountain range where the ancient monster had once lived, and the wide, endless steppe peppered with hills and the occasional tree on the other. Gullies appeared once in a while, but Tailyn was not about to go exploring them.

  The monotonous run was fatiguing, and the boy spent more and more time walking. In fact, it got to the point that he couldn’t even make himself run at all. He didn’t need to, however, as he arrived at his destination just as the sun was beginning to go down, the remains of an ancient city opening out in front of him.

  Time had done far more work to that city than the one near Culmart. There were actually no buildings remaining whatsoever, just rubble that could have been taken as just part of the surrounding mountains. The city was small, too, a bit larger than the City of the Dead if definitely smaller than Culmart. Hurrying over to the spot marked on his map, Tailyn found the area covered in a variety of boulders, large and small, with no sign of a terminal. The confused boy looked around in search of what to do next. Judging by the map, he was standing right next to the terminal, only it was nowhere to be found. Was it underground?

  That idea seemed reasonable enough, and so Tailyn spent some time looking around in the nearby gullies until he found a tunnel with the entrance blocked up with rocks. All it had open was a small hole just big enough to stick his head through. Bending over, Tailyn used his scanner to pick out a small rock-strewn room and another tunnel leading deeper, presumably a set of stairs. He stood by the hole for a while, not daring to pull the stones away. He needed to know who was living down there. Of course, he didn’t doubt there was someone — why else would the hole have been there?

  Ka-Li.

  Tailyn stepped right over to the hole, breathing his wave of fire into it. He wasn’t about to risk digging his way through without knowing who or what was behind the blockage. Still, he only had time to send in three charges before the wave of fire bounced off the far wall and came rushing back. A tall column of flame burst out of the earth and illuminated the nearby area, though it had already achieved its result.

  You destroyed more than 10 creatures at least 10 levels above you.

  You received a level-up for one random attribute.

  Concealment +1 (4).

  Status change: combat complete.

  Frustration over getting a bump to an attribute he didn’t really need right then was overcome with the pride that came with knowing he was right — there had been something living in the cave, and something fairly high-level, at that. But there was a downside, too. As soon as the fire died away, there was a prolonged howl that sent shivers running down the boy’s spine. Something had noticed the flames and was presumably interested to find out what they were all about. Tailyn charged his cards, glanced over at the setting sun, and began pulling out rocks to widen the hole. Really just looking for enough space to squeeze through and set the barrier back up from the inside, he made sure some of the rocks fell in. If he was going to spend the night there, he wanted to be safe.

  But Tailyn ran out of time. The monsters got there before he could finish.

  Far from the ancient monster, the beasts felt completely at home. A pack of steppe wolves had been following the human for the past hour, and their leader had been just about to attack their victim when he’d ducked into the dangerous rocks. While the wolves tended to give that spot a wide berth, their hunger for prey drove them forward — there was still daylight left before the creature who instilled fear in all of them came out to hunt. They’d be able to split up the human and get away before it showed up.

  Tailyn toiled away. The hole was big enough for him to fit through, only he would have had to take off his armor, and that wasn’t an option. So, he kept right on working, though he forgot how important it was to keep an eye on his surroundings. The blow to the back was so sudden and powerful that he could only grunt as he toppled forward. His neck twisted unpleasantly, and it sounded like something even cracked.

  250 damage received.

  Shield reduced. Remaining: 2134.

  The wolf snarled — it had caught the human completely unawares. And that was perfect. It was going to show the two-legged creature why it was in charge, why its pack was the strongest in the steppe. Tightening its jaws to keep its prey from getting away, it activated the ability the god had given it.

  You received a Weakness debuff: your shield level will be reduced by 50% for the next 12 hours. Current shield: 1067.

  Your shield cannot be enhanced for the next 30 seconds.

  The human jerked, knowing something wa
s wrong, but it was too late. The wolf wasn’t about to relinquish its prey. A second went by, and the damage was repeated. Very soon, the animal was going to be tasting fresh meat.

  Tailyn panicked. Moving wasn’t an option as the wolf’s enormous hulk had him pinned to the ground, and he couldn’t throw the thing off no matter how hard he tried. And facing downward, he couldn’t roll over to fire away with his magic, either. The wolf’s teeth were in too deep. Not only that, but he couldn’t use his enhanced shield because of the debuff. Even with all his magic abilities, Tailyn was left with nothing… But was he really?

  A flask of alchemical fire appeared in his hand. The wolf’s front paws were pressing down on Tailyn’s shoulders, which meant he couldn’t reach back and break the flask over the creature, and that left him with just one shot. Pulling the cork out, he poured the contents right onto the rocks, after which he scooped up some of the burning liquid and hurled it back over his shoulder. Just at the last moment, he turned his hermetic seal on to protect his face.