Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4

by Elian Tars

  Bon! Answer me! Bon! Can you hear me?

  But he didn’t answer. He had showed up and left unexpectedly, leaving me with many questions and feeling upset.

  Perhaps I was feeling like that because I had already subconsciously convinced myself that Bon wasn’t here anymore. I wanted to believe it, because the possibility of losing control over my body wasn’t a pleasant one at all. Bon had done it so easily the last time...

  Stop! Don’t give into despair. Yes, he had done it, but he didn’t stay in control for long. And then he disappeared. His powers had to have a limit then. There was nothing to be afraid of; he wouldn’t be able to become a permanent master of the body.

  But he would be quite capable of getting in my way at the most critical moment!

  Though, why would he do something like that? Bon had never done anything to harm me. From what I’ve seen, he was a simple and decent man. Hell, judging by everything so far, it could be assumed that he was an overall good guy.

  I wanted to believe that he was. I believed in him before, but now I knew a bit more about him. He was most likely a Follower of Rugus, just like all the habitants of his village. Also, he knew Una before I took over his body. Maybe he was aware of the fact that she was more than just a pretty face and that she could heal. Not like she hid her abilities. She certainly didn’t keep a low profile during our escape from the burning village of Listeri. Perhaps he also knew that she was a Gleam. Or at least, a Disciple.

  Una had drunk the Weakening Potion for a reason. She intended to appear in Listeri, knowing that its chief had either hidden a part of Zurtarn in order to charge it with energy in the lands of the Decay, or was someone’s middle man.

  And Bon was his son.

  On the other hand, what he had done didn’t mean that his son couldn’t live a normal life. But I wasn’t too sure in that. When he took control over the body, Bon had rather confidently said that he had killed before.

  “Shit,” I cursed and shook my head.

  “Woof,” Vella whined from below. On her way back from a nice walk, she stumbled upon her master hiding on a tree.

  “I agree.” I chuckled and jumped down. “Who knows what’ll happen now...” Looking at the stars, I thought about the Old Man and quietly asked: “Maybe you know?”

  But my patron, just like Bon, ignored me.

  “Okay,” I said firmly. “Let’s hope that Una won’t cause us much trouble. Let’s go back.” I patted Vella’s head. “I hope she’s sleeping.”

  As we walked, I continued to ponder. I couldn’t get Bon out of my head. I consoled myself with the thought that my level was much higher than his. Though, I didn’t know exactly what level he was (I recalled the body being level five when I entered it, but that could’ve been a temporary aftereffect of the Weakening Potion). Nevertheless, I doubted that Bon had managed to reach level 126.

  Once we arrived at the mansion, Vella plopped down right at the entrance. And I, having activated Wanderer, went looking for Una. I felt slightly guilty feeling relief when I saw her sleeping curled up and hugging one of the hides.

  I rushed up, went through the ceiling, and decided to settle in the furthest room on the third floor. When Wanderer ended, I pulled the hide over the window, took off my armor (and put it in my inventory, of course) and lied down on the bed, covering myself with one of the many hides.

  However, I couldn’t fall asleep, so I decided to look through the various menus. As expected, the increase of synchronization gave me four intelligence points. I had noticed long ago that I’d get two intelligence points for every ten percent of synchronization. I even had a theory that the system had assessed my own intelligence at twenty points when my body was merged with Bon’s. Seems that going to school wasn’t a complete waste of time after all. And since I had more of it than Bon did, my own intelligence was seeping into him. In other areas (particularly in vitality, strength, agility, and endurance), villager Bon was better than your average twenty-first century man.

  I was both surprised and pleased to see that the amount of Lives had increased. I thought that I had been rewarded for the Ogroids, the number of which turned out to be higher than three hundred as I had initially thought. Then again, it could’ve been that this happened because I had refused to take them with me, thus saving them from dying in a war and leaving their village defenseless and up for grabs. This theory was a far-fetched one and it made me wish that the system would tell me why and how had someone been spared.

  Without giving it another thought, I spent some Lives to bring my Rebirth Energy to a hundred percent. And although I had once naïvely thought that I could have one hundred percent in every resurrection point plus in my personal reserve, I now knew that such a thing wasn’t possible. I physically couldn’t make more than that and go beyond the set limit. So I had to settle with what I had.

  A Shard of Zira’s Gravestone: 20%

  Athepheh’s Gravestone: 20%

  A Shard of Sherr’s Gravestone: 10%

  A Shard of Bart’s Gravestone: 10%

  After everything I had said to the Ogroids, I thought that it’d be useful to be able to teleport to their village, so one Shard, the one which I had once given to Tael and that had ten percent of Rebirth Energy in it, would remain there, leaving thirty percent in my reserve.

  I have 523 “Lives” left. It’s a good amount... It’ll come in handy in the battle against the king’s army....

  And with this pleasant thought, I finally fell asleep.

  ***

  My instincts had gotten sharper during my stay in Zurtein. Thanks to them, I woke up the moment I felt someone approach my room. Having quickly gone through all possible scenarios in my head, I decided to pretend to be asleep. Lying with my back to the wall, I could keep an eye on the door through my lashes.

  It was pitch dark in the room, but that didn’t pose a problem for me. But it did for Una, who was groping blindly and stumbling. When she crossed the threshold, she stopped, and looked around. Finally, her eyes got accustomed to the darkness and she noticed the bed. Still stumbling, she headed toward me. I wondered if she had checked all the rooms looking for me.

  Tripping on one of the hides, she managed to keep standing and continued advancing toward me. Having finally gotten to the bed, she kneeled next to it. Very carefully, she prodded the hide with her hand, wishing to make sure that it was really me hiding under it and not just a stack of piles that resembled a person.

  “Ken,” she whispered, stroking me over the hide. “Why were you so rude? I just wanted... Just wanted...” Una sighed heavily and touched my cheek with her lips. “Don’t think that you can get rid of me that easily. See you soon.”

  Leaving a rolled-up piece of paper at the head of the bed, she stood up and stumbled toward the door.

  Having waited until her footsteps grew weaker, I sat up and began reading.

  Know that I’m not ashamed of what I’ve said and done. There’s nothing shameful in making the first step toward happiness. This time you ran away, but I won’t give up. I believe that we’re meant to be. That’s it! See you at the battlefield!

  P.S. The kiss was amazing, I really liked it!

  P.P.S. We’ll repeat it for sure. And more than once!

  P.P.P.S. I know that you have a wife. Bear in mind that that doesn’t change anything nor does it scare me.

  With love,

  Una

  He-he!

  Below the signature was a funny face with its tongue sticking out.

  With a pencil in her hand, Una was as brave as in front of enemies and much more skillful at expressing her feelings. Unlike with me...

  I wondered if she really wasn’t scared of the potential conflict between her and Tiara. Sure, our marriage was accidental, and we weren’t your usual couple, but Tiara was my wife, a Disciple of Mavia, daughter of a duke, and an aristocrat by birth. There was no way that she’d allow me to be seen messing with another girl!

  I hoped that I was exaggerating.


  The hell with it! I hope that Una’s smart enough to know that provoking Tiara is a bad idea. Damn it, I know that she’s smart and that scares me even more. Despite everything, she could still be just yanking my chain. She might want to make Tiara angry for some reason...

  I clicked my tongue and lied back down. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fall asleep. Giving up on trying to return into Morpheus’s loving embrace, I stood up, made the bed, and went downstairs, where Vella and I had an early breakfast.

  Una had already left by then.

  Chapter 19

  Returning to the Sea

  “Hello, boy.” Black smoke billowed in front of the table, gradually taking the familiar form of the Old Man.

  “Good morning.” I nodded, having swallowed the last bite of my jerked meat and cheese sandwich. “How are negotiations with Biergein going?”

  “Productively,” the Old Man answered. Hovering some four inches above the floor, he patted the joyful Vella.

  “My school teacher would’ve given you an F for such an incomplete answer.” I chuckled. Last night was weird, but I had decided to keep my spirits up to prevent the unpleasant thoughts from drowning me in a pool of negativity.

  “That’s right, boy. No need to feel blue for no reason,” my patron said, having decided that my thoughts were more interesting than our conversation.

  I took a gulp of wine as the Old Man seemed to be in no hurry to continue talking. I wasn’t sure if he was taking a break or if he had decided to postpone the conversation.

  “What do you think about all of this?” I asked, gesturing at my body.

  “Don’t let it get to you, boy.” He slowly shook his head. “You have a lot of other problems to deal with.”

  I knew he’d say that!

  Having read my mind, the Old Man spread his arms and shrugged.

  “I don’t want to give unnecessary advice,” he suddenly said. “You know the views that the Ancients had. It’s true that we now have to interfere, but I don’t wish to interfere more than necessary. So don’t expect me to tell you to drink milk instead of tea in the morning, because a cat had drunk milk out of the jug and it got a little sour.” Having fallen silent, he cocked his head to the side. “Do you understand the allegory?”

  “I do.” I was starting to like how he was slowly growing more... human like. He had been gesturing and joking more often. “In that case,” I continued, “it’d be stupid of me to ask you why you’re here. Have you come to say something important?”

  “Not really. I just thought that it’d be more fair to you for me to appear whenever I can instead of constantly exchanging mental messages with you.”

  I nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it,” I said sincerely.

  “I’ve come to tell you about your new task. As you know, you’ll soon be joining the others, what remains to be done is to—”

  “Find the Serpent?” I guessed.

  “Exactly, boy. It’s still on its island. And since the vision had showed it to you, it means that we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to meet it.”

  “Will I have to fight this creature?” I asked, remembering its colossal size.

  “Quite possibly. I don’t know how it’s connected to the Shard. I want you to find it out. But I warn you: if there’s fight, I won’t help you. I have to save my strength for the upcoming battle.”

  I chuckled. “Great.”

  “You’re strong,” the Old Man said calmly. “And you’re capable of defending yourself. Besides, if you die, you’ll resurrect. So I don’t understand your displeasure.”

  “I’m not displeased,” I assured him.

  “Glad to hear that,” he said in all seriousness. “Well then, say goodbye to the Ogroids and go to Lao Ri. A Disciple of Noriduel will be waiting for you there. She’ll take you to the serpent.”

  “Okay.” Putting the leftovers into my inventory, I stood up from the table.

  “I’ll take Vella with me.” Black smoke began to spread from under his robe, gradually enveloping the dog and hiding it from my view.

  “Thank you.” I was really glad about it. There was no need to risk her life.

  “You’re welcome, boy. Good luck. And don’t forget that I’ll always be watching you and supporting you.” Having said that, the Old Man and Vella vanished. I watched them disappear and then looked around the room. Having made sure that I haven’t forgotten anything, I went to find Drohen.

  Despite it being early in the morning, he was already up and waiting for me at the temple’s entrance. Looking at his face, I assumed that he had just woken up. However, I admired the fact that he didn’t let me catch him off guard.

  Learning about the reason of my leave, he insisted that I at least say good-bye to Nurgia. He had planned to wake the whole settlement and throw me a farewell party, but that would’ve taken far too long. Not that I was short on time, I just didn’t feel like wasting it on pleasantries.

  Nurgia came ten minutes later. Drohen had sent one of the Ogroids who lived in the temple to get her. Despite looking pretty chipper, I was sure that she had also just woken up.

  “You’re leaving already?” she asked, stopping near the funerary bowl.

  “Yeah, I got things to do.”

  “And what about your girlfriend? Has she left already?” Seeing me nod, Nurgia chuckled and elbowed me in the stomach. “She ran away from you, didn’t she? Though, you don’t look upset.”

  “She’s got a lot of things to do, too.”

  Nurgia nodded understandingly and her gaze fell on the funerary bowl.

  “Thank you,” she quietly said.

  “You’ve thanked me enough,” I sighed in reply. “You all have been thanking me all evening. And today, while we were waiting for you.” I nodded at Drohen. “I’ve told him everything. I’m glad that we were able to help you and that we made new friends.”

  “Then I’ll thank you not as the Mother of the Tribe, but just as a mother.” I raised my hand, stopping her.

  “Enough. Don’t make me blush. Just keep me in your heart and mind.”

  “What a stubborn human you are!” Nurgia smiled and shook her head helplessly. “In that case, I want to thank you for what others didn’t: thank you for helping the Ancient One and for doing everything to bring his powers back. I understand what you mean to him, and what you mean to the whole world.” I couldn’t help myself and glanced Drohen, who smirked and shook his head. He told me the same thing just a couple of minutes ago, but he didn’t want Nurgia to find out about it, wanting to let her think that her gratitude was unique. “No, that sounds too pompous,” she said and fell silent for a second. Then she smiled again and bowed. “I thank you for making me believe in the Ancients again.”

  “I’m glad to help.” Her words touched me, but I didn’t know what else to say.

  “I don’t doubt it!” Nurgia declared and leaned forward. “Let me hug you goodbye.”

  Her bear hug made it impossible to breathe for a good couple of seconds. Compared to her, I was a weak child and such a display of affection could turn me into minced meat.

  “Godspeed,” Drohen said when Nurgia finally let go, letting me breathe. He held out his hand and I shook it with apprehension. Unlike Nurgia, he was aware that I was a frail human so he didn’t squeeze my hand too hard.

  “See you again, my friends!” I waved and cast Elusive Darkness. Two seconds later, I was completely covered with black smoke and isolated from the world that soon faded away.

  The Shard of Bart’s Gravestone, I said confidently.

  A moment later, someone gasped in surprise.

  Lao Ri jumped back, staring at me, huge lips stretched in a smile. “Wi-za-a-ard! Of the An-cie-e-ent...! You-u-u... ha-a-a-ve... co-o-me...! We’ve been wa-a-ai-ti-i-ng!”

  We were standing alone in the middle of the jungle. Judging by the wicker basket filled with green leaves, Lao Ri had gone harvesting.

  “Greetings!” I waved. “If you’ve been waiting for me, why are you carrying the Sha
rd with you?” I bent down to take the stone, which she must’ve dropped when I appeared.

  “To me-e-e-t... the de-e-e-ar... gue-e-e-st!”

  Making a step forward, she held out her three-fingered hand. After a moment’s consideration, I gave the Shard back to her.

  “I’m gla-a-a-d... to see-e-e-e.... you-u-u-u!” she said and hugged me. At least she wasn’t trying to squeeze my bowels out like Nurgia did.

  “Well, tell me, how’re you doing?” I asked once she had let go.

  “I’ll te-e-ell... you-u-u... on the... wa-a-a-y...” Lao Ri pointed to the left, where a narrow path could be seen behind a high palm tree. “The Ancie-e-ent... to-o-o-o-ld... me... not... to.... ke-e-e-p... you-u-u-u... f-f-or t-oo lo-o-o-ng!”

  I wasn’t surprised to hear that the Old Man did that. Apparently, he had read in Lao Ri’s mind that she wanted to throw a feast in my honor, or something along the lines.

  It was a difficult task to listen to Lao Ri. The Frogoids already had issues with speaking, and walking made it even worse. Luckily, I managed to understand most of what she was saying. The situation on the island could be described in one word as bearable. Under Lao Ri’s capable guidance, the tribe managed to fight off two waves of the Decayed. The battle was a tough one, but they pulled through. However, if the Decayed continued attacking, the Frogoids might not be able to fight them off. It was just a matter of time before they buckle under the pressure. The only thing that comforted me was the fact that the Old Man knew what was going on and that he’d think of something if it comes to the worst. That he would, for example, tell me to teleport here and that together we’d teleport the tribe to a safer place. Like, Dark.

  Maybe we shouldn’t wait till the last moment... Damn it, it might be dangerous to leave the “Frogoids” near the humans without supervision. Not to mention that they would hardly want to leave their island...

  However, if we stop the “Decay,” none of this will have to happen...

  During our walk, we ran into other Frogoids, who greeted me happily and joined us. As the chatter grew louder, it attracted more of their fellow tribesmen. As a result, we had an entire entourage behind us by the time we arrived to the shore. The sight made me remember when I left the island together with Tael.