The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1) LitRPG Series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “…?” My stare must have been so eloquent that Gromana grinned and clarified:

  “Registration is tying your respawn point to the Citadel of your class. The things to wear that I mentioned are amulets and Energy storage devices. You are a Dark one, so the latter will be extremely useful for you: not in every place can you find a sufficient level of emotions. Just in case I’ll tell you this, maybe you don’t know it: the only way to transfer Energy from one player to another is through storage devices; those, in turn, can only be charged through external world sources. You can’t dump your own Energy into them. Being Dark in the Game is not easy at all.”

  “How did you figure out that I am Dark?”

  “Three thousand years teaches you a lot. Particularly given my class. As for the amulets, they will provide sufficient protection for you, both from physical and mental damage. As for the latter: every player in the Game really must have some. You’re already aware of what 'controllers' can do.”

  “I agree that it’s no fun at all. Is there any other way to protect your mind other than amulets?”

  “There are three fundamental ways of defending yourself against mental attacks: congenital or acquired immunity, well-developed willpower and amulets. Any player must definitely have one of those, or else he’ll just be a body acting under someone else’s will.”

  “But surely there’s a way to figure out that a player is being controlled by someone else and help him? Put an amulet on him, for example.”

  “It’s possible, of course. But who needs that? If a player is so weak that his mind has been overtaken, it’s his own fault. There’s no place in the Game for creatures like that.”

  “Let’s get to a slightly earlier point. I am interested in the anchor point. Can it be changed? Is it possible, say, for a mage to anchor to a Paladins’ respawn point?”

  “It's a strange question, but I’ll answer. Yes, naturally it’s possible to change it, but each class has its requirements. For example, if a witch leaves the Citadel for another anchor point, she’d have to swear an oath of silence with respect to anything you studied in the library. You swear to keep silence even under control, which, as you understand, is not really possible but could get you dead anyway. Besides, those who leave lose access to the Citadel forever, so no, it’s not a very popular step. Very few leave. As for the mage: definitely not. The class Citadel can anchor only one class. The mage in your case would have to go to the Sanctuary and look for a solution to his problem there.”

  “Well, speaking about a mage, what’s the principle by which the players congregate in the main world? There are a ton of various classes and races, Light and Dark allegiance, and everyone is fighting everyone all the time. What does one generally do after the Academy?”

  “Whatever they want,” Gromana smiled. “A beginner player must complete several standard quests set for the class, specialty and current development path; after that you are free as a bird. If you want to fight other players, you’re welcome. If you want love and adoration from the NPCs: no problem. You want to sit flat on your ass and do nothing: sure, your choice‒ just remember to level up your artifact. There’s just one thing, since we are bound to be in the same Game world: I’d like to meet with you after the Academy. In a Light world Dark players are better off sticking together.”

  “Are the Light ones stronger?”

  “Objectively they are. It’s very easy to disarm the Dark ones simply by throwing a source of Light at us. We, however, can’t do anything of the sort to the Light ones: there’s no such thing as a source of Darkness. That’s our weakness, but that’s our strength as well: the Dark ones have to be continuously at war with the world around them, as they are apprehensive about such dirty tricks. You can’t believe anyone in the Game, but if you are really forced to, you should only believe the Dark ones. Or, in the worst case, members of your class. If you’re one of us, you won’t be abandoned: even the Dark ones honor that.”

  “One of the teachers in the Labyrinth teaches professions. Is there something within the Game that would be popular and profitable?”

  “Alchemy, but only if you have the right path of development and specialty. Executioners are popular, but only among the Light ones. Other professions are pretty equal: they don’t matter much, but you won’t starve either if you follow your path and are determined. As an option, you could always sell whatever you create to NPCs, if not to players.”

  “I have a question regarding the artifact: can its level be above that of its player? If so, by how much?”

  “Artifacts have no levels. I think I understand what you’re asking: the amount of experience necessary to upgrade the properties is a constant. It takes a thousand units, and then you either receive a new property or upgrade an existing one. You can’t delay the choice and make it later, so you need to figure out in advance what you want to do to develop. As I mentioned, you can only reset it once throughout the entire Game. Or during restart.”

  “By the way! Why did they get into this restart of the Game business altogether? What changed? You are three thousand years old, surely you know such people as Merlin, Madonna and some nameless player. What was his name?”

  “A third one? Two players restarted the Game.”

  “Three,” I corrected her. “I happened to see Madonna’s diary. There were three players mentioned.”

  “A diary?!” Gromana’s eyebrows crawled up, and then the witch, without as much as trying to hide her excitement, asked eagerly: “Yari, just tell me that you figured out how to use your artifact and you have photos of all the pages in the diary?!”

  Yes, that’s right,” I confirmed, withholding the fact that the very diary itself was stored in my inventory. Gromana taught me that in the Game no one was to be trusted, so why not apply this rule right now? “My context search is at level one right now, and information downloading will only become available at the 15th, so I have a lot of leveling up to do for my artifact.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore.” The witch offered me a trade, and my breath caught when I saw what the offer was. Ten granises. “Yari, we definitely must meet in the main world! I know a creature who’d pump you full of knowledge up to your ears to level up his artifact and obtain a copy of the diary. This is important. Promise me that we’ll meet in the Sanctuary and the granises are yours! They’ll help you complete the Academy. You’ll buy the potatoes, then the answer to the riddle, hire guards for tests three and four, and travel to the wastelands with them as well: they can’t go any further. Just promise that we’ll meet!”

  “There’s no threat in this for me?” I frowned as the witch’s excitement seemed suspicious to me.

  “No! One who wants to obtain Madonna’s diary has never harmed anyone. I’ll ensure protection for you if you agree to meet with me in the Sanctuary! No one will dare touch you!”

  “Agreed,” I responded. I did not see any sense in concealing the information contained in the diary. The diary itself would stay with me, and I was not going to follow the path Levard had taken. If someone wanted to perform the next restart, let them. The most important thing would be for me to be included in the list of players allowed into the new world. “We can meet. But you still did not answer my question: what happened during the previous restart?”

  “That I’ll tell you in the Sanctuary,” the witch responded with a sigh of relief, as if a boulder had rolled off of her shoulders. A semitransparent message informed me that I had received ten granises, but it wasn’t as though I ran out of questions. Having found out that Gromana was not going to tell me anything about the restart of the Game at that stage, I continued to level up my artifact:

  “You were exiled to the Labyrinth with a note that you had done something inappropriate for a witch. Are there any strictly fixed rules of behavior for each class the breaking which will get you punished? and how do you learn them?”

  “Yes, there are. The rules are divided into global‒that are set by the head of the class for the ent
ire Game, and local‒ that are set by the head of the class of the specific Game world. You will be told of those as soon as you complete the Academy. It’s a mandatory procedure. Immediately after that and the anchoring go to the Sanctuary.”

  “That’s if I get out of the Academy altogether. You forgot about Dolgunata and her unhealthy attraction to me.” I reminded the witch of the issue that was a sore point to me. “It’s possible that after the Academy I'll be able to resist mental influence for two years, but within the Academy my chances are slim to none. You said so yourself. Somehow I doubt that Nata will go out into the main world.”

  Gromana fell to thinking.

  “I can’t give you my amulet. You won’t be able to return it before you leave the Academy, and I don’t want to expose myself so much. I could apply a curse. As soon as someone takes you under their control you’ll fall asleep for eight hours. No matter how strong Dolgunata might be, it’s impossible to control someone who’s asleep. Or increase your 'Spiritual Integrity' by a few more points. There’s no other way out that I can see. A student of Archibald just cannot be weak‒ that’s a given.”

  “Generally, what is this catorian famous for?” I couldn’t take it anymore. “A common headhunter…”

  “I wish!” Gromana grinned. “He…”

  “So, I see. You are whispering things while I’m away, are you?” I heard a mocking voice that was the last thing I wanted to hear. Dolgunata came out from behind the nearest tree and, swaying her hips like a model on the runway, started toward the veranda.

  “You are not welcome here.” The temperature around us seemed to have plummeted, so cold Gromana’s voice was. “Leave.”

  “Sure I will.” Dolgunata bestowed one of her charming smiles on Gromana. “I’ll just pick up my slave, that’s all. Yari, get on your knees and crawl towards me. My boots need to be cleaned.”

  “Go to hell!” I grinned, and then the world around me disappeared. Two points were shining against the white background that appeared: resplendent Dolgunata and the sun, which was quickly diminishing in size. I fell on my knees, understanding at the level of instincts that I must not let the sun disappear: I must concentrate on it continuously. If the whole world were to turn into Dolgunata, there would be trouble. It worked: the sun stopped diminishing and even grew a little, starting to outshine Dolgunata.

  “You should not have started that, baby,” Gromana’s voice floated from somewhere. “I need Yari and I don’t care that Archibald is behind you in this.”

  “I know what I am doing, grandma. You should address all your questions to the teacher. I have clear instructions as to what I may or may not do with this slave. My boots are dirty and I want him to lick them clean. I can't be cleaning them myself, after all! Yari, I am waiting! Crawl here, dearie!”

  Despite all my concentration the sun blinked for the last time and winked out, leaving me one on one with the shining goddess. Drooling, I crawled forward. The beauty needed her boots licked! I needed to hurry! I hope I get lucky and she’ll let me lick the sole. Because she is the embodiment of perfection!

  Hell!

  You were killed and sent to a respawn point

  You lost one level

  Your current level: 14

  Chapter Ten. Allies

  “LEAVE,” I heard Gromana’s voice as soon as the world around me regained color and depth. “I’ll delay Dolgunata for twelve hours, but then she’ll go after you. By then you must leave the Academy.”

  “Where is that bitch?” I exhaled through my teeth. My emotions were so strong that even the restoration of my armor and the healing of my wounds could not appease my anger. I only had one wish — to tear the druid into a hundred pieces with my bare hands, enjoying her blood and her screams all the while.

  “Resting,” the witch responded meaningfully. “The girl felt as though she was all-powerful and immortal; I wanted to show her how deeply mistaken she was. I ended up having to disregard the Chancellor’s preference and send you to respawn. Dolgunata has competed training with all the teachers and can leave the Academy at any moment, that’s why I could do nothing to her until she showed open enmity towards me. Now she is in my power.”

  “How did she overcome the ‘Spiritual integrity’?” This was the question that bothered me most. Absence of worthwhile mental protection in the Academy spelled serious trouble for me.

  “A gift from the Chancellor. The druid had no initiation, so she received the bonus she deserved. As for the ‘Spiritual integrity’ — I told you that this attribute is useless. By the way, I had been wrong thinking that Archibald trained her for twenty years.”

  “Was it less?”

  “It was much more. Actually, Dolgunata’s training continued for about a hundred and fifty years before she was sent to receive official player status. Essentially, she needs it mostly as a formality, already now she is much stronger than most players. Just her ability to hide is very impressive… I’ll admit, the information on Madonna’s diary impressed me so much that I didn’t notice the druid sneaking up on us. It’s terrifying to imagine what she’ll be able to do in a couple of years once Archibald starts working with her as a player. You’ll have a splendid enemy, Paladin.”

  “A hundred and fifty years?! But she looks like she’s twenty three! Besides, she told me that she’d been training for ten years…”

  “Well, I don’t look so old and decrepit either, right?” Gromana found it within her to smile, but then grew serious again. “You can safely forget whatever Dolgunata told you — there is little truth in her words. The girl is very dangerous and I don’t understand her objectives. She has learnt how to close off her mind better than a witch. Try to avoid her. Now think, Paladin: why would Archibald, a player, who always calculates at least a dozen concatenations of events and always has, including his own actions and those of his students, would send his druid to the Academy specifically during this enrollment. Obviously it’s not to help the Paladins. I think you are her goal. You were able to kill Devir, so then Archibald sent his student for a final test to see if she would be able to wipe out someone who was able to kill his previous student. The catorian must have seen something in you which made him willing to sacrifice a major figure such as she. You are in danger.”

  “You promised to protect me.”

  “Don’t try to twist it. I swore to defend you from the time we meet in the Sanctuary until you talk to Bernard. I never agreed to become your slave forever. I repeat: you don’t have much time. Reach the Chancellor and then wait for your group there. You must shake the druid off at all costs. Dolgunata has figured out a way to locate you. I was unable to find out from her how she had done it. There must be a mark of some kind, but I don’t see it. Your group is close to the Labyrinth now. They’ll be here in five or six hours. They are led by Sakhray, the druid’s brother; he is also providing them with food, so from the Energy standpoint they are fine. We’ll have a chance to talk later, Paladin, but if you don’t stop dragging your feet our meeting will never happen. There are eleven hours left plus one hour for respawn. Then Dolgunata will rush after you. Run!”

  The witch was so convincing that I could just clench my fists helplessly, promising myself that I’d sort it out with the druid a little later, and dash to the village elder’s house. A quick look at the map showed me that Zangar and Marinar really were not far while the Paladins… the Paladins had taken off somewhere to the side of the center. What pleased me the most was that they were still alive, even Refor and Dirion. The only one who didn’t show up on the map at the moment was Monstrichello. Perhaps the tank had been sent to respawn again. At this rate he’d easily comply with Devir’s wish and complete the Academy at level one! Either Dolgunata or some unknown enemies – everyone tried to kill the giant. One thing was positive in all of this: he was definitely initiated, so at least he’d complete the Academy in any case.

  I sold three Energy elixirs to Vikat for three granises. At a one to one rate. The player grimaced in displeasu
re, but paid my price without haggling. Unlike the witch, he had some vials himself, but the elder realized that it would certainly not be enough to last till the Academy closes. Another confirmation that in this Game everyone was on his own: it didn’t occur either to Gromana or Vikat to ask about elixirs for the other. Everyone just thought of himself. I had neither time nor desire to find out from the man the details of his appearance in the Academy; so I gave him the potatoes and paid a granis for instant completion of the other test, which was answering a riddle presented by a strange creature in the elder’s house; after that, following Gromana’s advice, I spent another granis to hire two fine fellows as personal guards. The description of the third test indicated that I’d need them.

  “Welcome, recruit: now I will train you to use your attributes. Harken to my wisdom!”

  Learning progress: You have reached teacher 7 of 10

  The next portion of knowledge about the Game was rather amusing. As it turned out, Energy was not the only numerical parameter for a player, as I had thought. Sometimes a player would manage to obtain additional records in personal properties – those were called “attributes”. At that stage I had none, so the table that would show them was hidden. It was possible to gain these attributes for certain achievements, for getting into special situations or reaching special locations. Attributes would provide the player with special, intangible properties which made playing more pleasant: charisma, luck, attractiveness, immunity, etc. Attributes leveled up on their own, depending on the player’s actions. However, they could level down as well. For example: if a player received charisma, it could easily be lost if he were to act at odds with the requirements set by that attribute.