Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Are you sure about this, Tailyn? She’s going to die!”

  “So? We all die sooner or later. If you decide not to give Valia back to me, that’s your choice. I’m going to start shooting in five seconds. Five.”

  “She’ll die!”

  “Four.”

  “You’re bluffing!”

  “Three.”

  The mercenary said nothing, indecision written all over his face.

  “Two.”

  Valkyrie leaped into position and took aim at Berad. He was the main target. Coming to terms with the crystal fences wasn’t an option — it was a trap. Tailyn would have just died, never having saved Valia. Valanil had taught that lesson well.

  “Wait, let’s talk about this!”

  The fence had given in. His first plan of attack had failed, the boy surprising him by not putting his own life on the line to save his betrothed. And who knew what was going through the kid’s mind? He very well could have been getting ready to take the shot. Berad remembered himself at twelve, not a lick of common sense to his name. Whenever something got into his head, he saw it through to the end. Of course, he hadn’t had anything dangerous, nothing like Tailyn’s level seven named equipment. What if the boy lost it and decided to attack?

  Tailyn stopped counting, and Berad decided he was waiting for an offer.

  “We’ll activate a portal in an hour. The boys and I will leave, and Valia will stay here, whole and intact. In the meantime, you’ll leave us alone. What do you say, Tailyn? Is that enough for you to save your girl’s life?”

  “Not even close! I want to know how you got hacking, and where you found out about the thirty-five meters. There was a reason the shamans were naked, wasn’t there? You warned them. Tell me, and you’ll be free to go. You and your people can leave unharmed.”

  Berad cursed. His team had seen what had happened to the advisor, and they knew they didn’t have a shot in a pitched battle. If it hadn’t been for Dur-Sha-Gun, they would have long since ridden their horses off into the Gray Lands, only the lix didn’t like long trips. He’d decided to take a portal back to Halas’ camp, giving orders to destroy all the yaks and horses. Of course, the hungry lixes had been only too happy to tear the animals apart right in front of the shocked humans. And while the advisor had paid triple their value, Berad was still on edge — Dur-Sha-Gun’s behavior meant something. For example, it could have been the first taste of what Halas had ordered done to the bandits who let Tailyn get away. But in that moment, Berad’s men were looking at him with hope in their eyes. It was a bad situation — either he bowed to the will of the boy and took the hit to his reputation that came with that, or he didn’t. And in the latter case, he presumably was going to lose his men and maybe even his life.

  But what bothered him most was that he didn’t really have a choice. That damn kid.

  “Agreed! I used a level three scanner, a Crobar invention. It lets you hack into logs and equipment. Valia’s protection was weak, and hacking her wasn’t really a problem, which was how I found out about the thirty-five meters — you two mentioned that over and over while you were exploring the gully. So, don’t even think about getting any closer. I’m not about to give you my logs. And the fact that you can block other people was made pretty clear by the advisor you dragged over here. You think I’m blind? There, I met your conditions, Tailyn. We’re leaving in an hour, and the girl will be yours. Deal?”

  “Deal!” Tailyn yelled back, sighing in relief. Everything had gone much more easily than he’d been anticipating — he hadn’t had to risk the girl’s life. The bandits began rolling up the camp, taking the lixes’ goods with them. That elicited a sigh from Tailyn, who couldn’t exactly tell them to leave it there. He’d promised the fences they could leave, and how were they going to do that without their equipment? And it wasn’t like anyone cared that part of the equipment hadn’t originally been theirs.

  With some time on his hands, Tailyn went to work on the advisor. His cards popped up, and he stopped on fireball. All his upgrades considered, each clump of flames did fifteen thousand damage, a number no personal shield was going to be able to hold back for long. But Tailyn hadn’t thought about what he was going to do when it was nothing but bare armor left. Vargot could absorb a hundred and five strikes, and that was problematic — burning that many shots with Valkyrie was prohibitively expensive, while Matilda didn’t do enough damage to create the kind of hit Vargot would feel like it needed to absorb. Dur-Sha-Gun would have been left with nothing but a couple bruises. No, fireballs were the answer. They were the best choice.

  You killed Dur-Sha-Gun, Halas’ advisor.

  You received +1 to a random attribute.

  Enhancement +1 (21).

  It took fifty-two fireballs to kill the lix. And from what Tailyn could tell, it wasn’t even the damage that did him in. With Vargot still far from throwing in the towel, the lix was cooked to death. The magic was able to overwhelm the armor’s ventilation system, creating the kind of heat the lix wouldn’t have been able to tolerate if he’d been an advisor thrice over.

  Sitting down on the ground, Tailyn pulled out the book he’d filched from the lix and began reading. There wasn’t anything else to do — he wasn’t going to go loot the shamans. If he left the crystal fences alone, there was no telling what they’d think up.

  “Kid, we’re ready to activate the portal!” Berad yelled. “Easy does it.”

  Tailyn stood up. The cards he’d gotten from the advisor had turned out to be so intriguing that he already knew a few of them would be finding a new home in his active deck. That sticky, for example, was a great argument no matter who the target was. Level three telekinesis lifted non-living objects weighing up to five hundred meters to a maximum height of a hundred meters. That was how the shamans had been able to lift the boulders that had very nearly crushed the boy.

  Just in case, Valkyrie sighted in on the mercenaries, showing them that no false move would be tolerated. Berad, in turn, had spent the entire hour with his cleaver against the girl’s neck — he didn’t trust Tailyn. But finally, one of his fighters blew on a card, and a shimmering circle appeared next to the group.

  “Easy, boy! We’re leaving!” Berad yelled, lowering Valia to the ground and pulling the blade away from her neck. Tailyn didn’t twitch — he was used to following through on the deals he made. Angering the god wasn’t worth it.

  One after another, the bandits stepped through the portal. Berad, as befitted a commander, was the last to leave the Gray Lands, making sure Tailyn didn’t do anything stupid. Finally, there were just two left: Berad and the fighter holding the active portal open.

  “You got lucky this time, Tailyn Vlashich!” Berad yelled as he went over to the portal. Valia was lying on the ground a few meters away. No shots were fired. “But are you always going to be lucky? We’re going to meet again, you little piece of scum, and that’s when you’re going to find out what Berad Gor is capable of. But for now, here’s a parting gift. We’re out!”

  It was only then that Tailyn’s perception told him something was wrong — Berad was holding a rope. The boy’s eyes narrowed. Unsure of what the bandit leader was up to, it took him by surprise when he gave the rope a yank. The other end flew into the air, accompanied by almost a dozen corks from alchemical potions. And as soon as the mercenary leader disappeared into the portal, the shimmering circle slammed closed.

  It was followed by a deafening, blinding explosion. Chunks of earth and fire flew skyward, turning what was left of the camp into an ugly crater.

  Valia Levor was killed by Berad Gor.

  New group leader: Tailyn Vlashich.

  The blood drained from Tailyn’s face. His temples pounded, his vision faded, and an emptiness opened in his chest, sapping his strength and will to live. All he could do was whisper aloud, his voice horrified.

  “No, it can’t be... It can’t... He couldn’t... He couldn’t... No. No! No-o-o!”

  Sprinting over to the crater, Tailyn
immediately found Valia’s remains — a few pieces of Vargot littering the site of the explosion. Berad hadn’t skimped, going with four Alron potions, three alchemical fires, and two acids. The girl hadn’t had a chance. Falling to his knees, Tailyn howled in despair. It was all his fault. He should have attacked instead of negotiating.

  It was his fault.

  Later, Tailyn couldn’t remember how long he spent in the crater. An hour. Two hours. A day. A week. Time had no meaning, the boy having turned into nothingness. Finally, he started off somewhere, barely even noticing the teeth that flashed by him. The night monsters in the Gray Lands saw him as a tasty little morsel, though they could only break their teeth off on his level seven armor. But Tailyn didn’t fight back. Instead, he just got up and kept walking, lost in his thoughts.

  He was alone.

  It was his fault Valia had been killed. His mentors disappearing was on his shoulders, too — if he hadn’t found that accursed amilio, they wouldn’t have come across the lixes.

  But there was nothing he could do about that. He didn’t know how to fuse the crystals.

  Who did? The god? Sure, it knew everything. But what did it care about one little kid? It had a whole planet to take care of...

  Unless...

  The thought hit Tailyn at the same time he realized where he’d been going the whole time. Mean Truk. The ancient city with the remote terminal he could use to communicate with the god. With that understanding, however, came a twinge in his stomach, and Tailyn materialized some food he ate as though he hadn’t eaten anything in a week. Only when he finished the third packet representing a day’s rations did he check his calendar — he’d lost five days. The boy looked around, finding that he was walking along the mountain range, not caring at all about his safety or the fact that lix patrols could have easily picked him out. Too late, he realized he hadn’t grabbed Valia’s Matilda or what was left of her Vargot. They could have been restored. He hadn’t even emptied the inventories of his mentors or the shamans. Really, it was hard to say what exactly he was doing.

  With that said, the direction made sense. His legs were carrying him straight toward the city with the terminal. His subconscious, and finally his consciousness along with it, knew what to do. What to say. What to offer. And Tailyn was prepared to make that sacrifice.

  After deciding it was more important to keep going than head back, Tailyn took off running. He didn’t have Forian to slow him down. He didn’t have Valia to ask for mana every couple hours. All he had was the Gray Lands, a goal, two hundred kilometers, and a two-day journey that was going to take him to Mean Truk. Just as before, the city was empty. Even the snakes were gone — nearly all the underground passageways were filled in. That included the terminal, though Tailyn was fine with that. He could interface with it remotely.

  Connected to remote terminal.

  Would you like to open the store?

  I need information. I’m offering a thousand coins as a gift.

  Coins –1000 (120223).

  Your gift was accepted. What information would you like, and how much are you willing to pay?

  I’d like to find out how to fuse crystals to get concentrated noa. And I’m prepared to pay a hundred thousand coins.

  That information is marked unavailable for disclosure. Your payment is insufficient.

  You can take all my levels except the first one!

  That information is marked unavailable for disclosure. Your payment is insufficient.

  But I’m not sure what else to give you! Tailyn just about broke down in tears. He’d assumed his offer to give up his levels would be accepted, only the System had disappointed him. What do you want? Coins? Gold? Equipment? Levels? I’ll give it all! I need the information. Olsen cheated me by not telling me about the whole process!

  Suddenly, a strange, mechanical voice began speaking in Tailyn’s head. The boy fell to his knees, unable to stand up to the power of the foreign consciousness. It was the god itself talking with him.

  “Olsen had no right to tell you about the possibility of resurrection — that functionality has been disabled since the exodus. And he was punished for his indiscretion by being deleted. Wiped from the System. But what he said was said, and you learned that it’s possible to resurrect others. The payment you offered isn’t enough. Here, read through the conditions for getting the information you want.”

  Conditions for receiving full instructions on how to materialize living beings.

  — Nobody, with the exception of Valia Levor, will ever find out about the materialization process.

  — Tailyn Vlashich will pay the System 100,000 coins.

  — Tailyn Vlashich will give up all levels except his first, and will not receive compensation for parameters exceeding level 15.

  — Named equipment levels will change for Tailyn Vlashich. From level 5 through level 14, the requirement will be 50 instead of 20. From level 15 through level 30, the requirement will be 100 instead of 40.

  — Tailyn Vlashich will be required to clear Tartila Mine of all 37 experiments living there within 10 years of receiving the instructions.

  “Change my named item requirements?” Tailyn asked in surprise. “Why?”

  “After analyzing your last battle, it was determined that your skills, weapons, and armor are imbalanced in relation to other creatures. That is unacceptable and must be corrected. But changes cannot be made to equipment mechanics due to how widespread they are, and so the approach must be more targeted. However, the settings of a specific individual can only be adjusted with their permission. Restoring balance is the main condition for you receiving information on how to bring back the dead. If that weren’t as critical as it is, you never would have received this offer.”

  “But Dur-Sha-Gun had almost the same set of named equipment!”

  “The lix is dead. You’re alive. And that’s just more proof that balance needs to be restored. Also, it isn’t just equipment; it’s your skills, too. For example, your hacking and enhancement. They may need to be modified in the future as well, though that determination will only be made after further analysis.”

  “Okay, but what’s the point of Tartila Mine?”

  “It’s important to free up resources for more important tasks, and you’ve proven yourself the best option when it comes to dealing with the unpleasant legacy of the exodus. I need your answer, Tailyn Vlashich. Do you agree to my conditions? You have five seconds.”

  “I agree!” the boy yelled quickly as soon as he saw the timer begin counting down.

  New mission: Tortila Mine. Description: destroy the 37 experiments in the Tortila Mine zone within 10 years. Your reward will be substantial.

  ***

  Modifying character.

  New level: 1.

  All your attributes and skills were reduced to 15. Per the conditions of the deal, you were not compensated for lost parameter points.

  ***

  You don’t meet the requirements to use Vargot, Matilda, or Valkyrie (all items were moved to your virtual inventory).

  ***

  You paid the god 100000 coins.

  ***

  New Sill received: Alchemy — Concentrated Noa.

  Concentrated noa. Description: a unique alchemist’s ability given by the god to Tailyn Vlashich that lets you create Concentrated Noa. Ingredients required: crystal (20), Tear of Alron (1). Concentrated Noa can only be created in alchemical laboratories.

  ***

  Instructions received for how to materialize living creatures.

  “A tear of Alron?” Tailyn exclaimed when he read the information. “That’s not the whole story! That’s a potion I don’t know how to make!”

  “Tears of Alron are not potions,” the System replied regardless of the fact that it had completed its part of the deal. “They’re not available to alchemists. The only way they can be formed is by dissolving the essence of a mage in dragon’s tears, which is what you call red acid. After the mage has been drained of his magic, hi
s essence is defenseless and can be lowered into the dragon’s tears. The resulting reaction produces a tear of Alron. One mage is wiped off the face of the planet; one flask takes its place. Those are the rules the recipe creator came up with.”

  “Are you talking about Isr Kale?”

  “No. Isr Kale was a simple human unable to make dragon’s tears. I’m talking about someone else, someone who wasn’t human. When he created items or recipes, he used a different name — Alron. He didn’t want his true name known.”

  “Mark Derwin,” Tailyn guessed. “The absorber. The one who fought the mages.”

  “The black lixes discovered the instructions for how to make tears of Alron and began mass producing them,” the god continued, neither confirming nor denying the boy’s guess. “More than a thousand flasks have been made already. That’s the entirety of the information you need, Tailyn Vlashich. Remember, you will be watched closely. Balance requires adjustments.”