“Bastard!” Having circled the respawn stone one more time, the druid froze, clenched her fists, threw her head back, roared, and suddenly let out a high-pitched scream: BAAAAAAASTAAAAARD!!!! AAAAA!!! Bloody shitfreak!!!!”
I kept silent, pointedly ignoring the frantic girl, and tapping time with my foot. Working as a stopwatch. Dolgunata’s curses were not really varied, I even got bored; for some reason I recalled lieutenant Sintsov – he was a true virtuoso of obscenities. He could have turned “War and Peace” into profanities in such a way that the novel would still have remained a cultural gem; moreover, it would even have gained in popularity. Dolgunata, with her 150 years, couldn’t hold a candle to Sintsov.
“Well,” after ten minutes of the druid’s screams I spread my hands, indicating total disappointment. “You have made your choice, so…”
If you preserve my life, I swear by the Game that I will ensure completion of the Academy for you,” the druid said in a dead and kind of hissy voice. I could barely hear her. “I swear that you will receive all the granises I have: ten and three hundred thousandths. I swear by the Game that I will tell you everything you want‒ whatever has not been prohibited by a direct order from my teacher. I swear not to inflict mental damage on you, direct or indirect, unless this is a quest requirement or the only way to save you. Is this enough? Or do you want to have me as a sex slave to boot?”
“Gerontophilia is not my preference.” I was not going to succumb to Dolgunata’s provocation. Even despite the oath she was a dangerous opponent. “But that’s not all! Instead of sex, by which, as I understand, you make your living, I want you to teach me protection against mental influence.”
“Fine‒ what else?” Dolgunata scowled, but nodded in agreement.
“Else: we have not specified what happens after the Academy. You are stronger than I, and after returning to the main world you would find me and grind me into fine dust. Or hire someone to do it for you. I don’t want this and I need assurance that it won’t happen, at least, on your order or instigation.”
“Unless I have a direct order to kill you, I swear by the Game that I won’t touch you! I swear to not accept or generate orders to kill you or wipe you out. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“That’s correct! You can be persuasive when you really try! Let me think… Fine, I accept your oath and will not kill you now!”
For some time the druid and I stared at each other, and I was certain once again that Nata had surrendered. But had not given up. People who had given up would not have such a burning stare.
“Vikat!” I shouted into the air, knowing full well that the village elder was watching all this circus. “Please send the blacksmith here! The chain is not needed any more.”
“What the hell? Get lost!” the air around the respawn stone condensed, turning into Sakhray. The druid did not get his bearings all at once, so, when there was no space for him, he reflexively pushed away the obstacle. Which in this case was Dolgunata.
“Noooooo!” Another scream of pain sounded, turning into a throaty gurgle. Dolgunata departed for yet another respawn.
“Nata?! How?" Sakhray’s face froze for an instant in a stunned expression , and then the druid faded into the air. The Game considered him guilty of inflicting damage on another player while in the Labyrinth, and immediately sentenced him to death.
The word that you said recently is very suitable to this situation,” grinned the village elder, who came together with the blacksmith. "Very expressive and explains a lot. It’s amazing that I’d never heard it earlier… Oops!”
During the hour that it took for Dolgunata and Sakhray to respawn, I was freed from my captivity of iron and a walkway was built as Vikat had recommended earlier; one end was thrown over the pit. Amazingly, the boards didn’t sag under their own weight despite the fifteen yards between the banks of the pit. Once I noticed this, the Book of Knowledge immediately suggested the answer: the walkway was made of the same material as the erstwhile picket fence. It was not wood, but plastic with an enhanced strength feature. I am starting to like living in a magical world: a lot of the laws of physics don’t work here, or even if they do, at least not in the way we were taught in school. Once she reappeared, Dolgunata gave a heavy stare at her brother, who dropped his head; then she walked over to the other side. Sakhray was just about to follow her, when the girl bent down and pulled the style after her. The far end jumped on the stakes, but Nata kept at it, increasing the distance between her brother and his freedom with every step.
“Nata?!” the druid exclaimed indignantly, once he figured out what threatened him. “What kind of a joke is that?!”
“You did not follow my orders!” Apparently, the druid needed to vent all her irritation at someone, and Sakhray just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Who said that?! He’s already…”
“Not a squeak more from you!” Nata cut her brother off. “You want to die? You forgot Archibald’s order? Sit here, I’ll take Yari out of the Academy and come back for you. How much food do you have?”
“About two weeks’ worth...,” Sakhray drawled sadly. “Don’t leave me here!”
“Let’s go.” Dolgunata ignored her brother, grabbed me by the hand and literally pulled me towards the village. “At what test are you now?”
“At the third. Zangar and Marinar are sitting at the elder’s. They will come with us.”
Nata said nothing, just turned sharply and strode towards Vikat’s house, making me run to keep up. Judging from her pursed lips, the girl had made some decision that she didn’t like but would follow through to the end.
“My oath does not apply to them.” Nata stopped at the porch of the elder’s house and turned to me. “I won’t harm them or kill them, but I won’t save them from the hordes in the wastelands. Is this enough?”
“More than enough.”
“In that case. Here are the granises. That’s all I have.”
For a few seconds I saw the trade screen, but even without the help of the Book of Knowledge I was able to see the druid’s current level: three. She died twelve times from my hand, once from Gromana and once from Sakhray… And still she has level three! How?! Where did she get so much experience that the system granted her three levels at respawn? For me, for example, after I was killed by Gromana, my experience bar has barely crawled over ten percent.
“Submission and being driven to suicide,” Nata clarified, correctly interpreting my surprise. “There are NPCs wandering through the wastelands; it’s allowed to hunt them if you are strong enough. You could level up quite a bit at their expense.”
“So, it’s not allowed to drive players to suicide?” I grinned, and the fleeting grimace told me that my guess was right. Otherwise Nata would not have left me any chances. One Templar’s blow to the forehead and that would be it: I was standing next to her. “Since we are partners now, even though it’s an odd partnership, I would like to warn you: tomorrow the major hunt will start. I did something a little much with the birds here… Anyway, tomorrow they will start gobbling up everything that isn’t nailed down. Your brother fits the bill for that… They will eat him!”
“No matter, it will do him good to die a couple of times,” Dolgunata said casually, encountered my stare, and clarified: "He is initiated, so nothing much will happen to him.”
“Then another question: how did you find out where I was? Gromana said that she could not see a mark, yet you always knew precisely where I was. Another gift from the Chancellor?”
"He didn’t want anyone else to use the dorn, so he offered me a deal,” Nata confirmed. “I destroy the mechanism and then begin to see those whom I need. You could have guessed. You see the Paladins, after all. It’s stupid to consider yourself unique.”
I fell silent, as I had nothing to respond to that; however, my unexpected silence was interrupted by Zangar, who appeared in the door.
“Good to see you again. I returned. As promised. Dolgunata,” Zang
ar nodded to the druid as an old acquaintance. Marinar appeared from behind the necromancer, and once again I was impressed by the girl’s transformation. Now it would be impossible to confuse her with a teenager: literally after a few days of absence the girl had filled out and the outline of a female figure became so obvious that Dolgunata even made an offended grimace, seeing the changes.
“Hello Yari. I wanted to apologize, I was slow and…”
“Did you complete training with the teachers here?” I cut Marinar off, not allowing her to say the speech that she had prepared. There was really no need for that. The village elder appeared right after Marinar, and I immediately pointed at the two guards suffering from boredom nearby: “Vikat, as it turned out I never needed those two ruffians. You may take them.”
“I took them,” the village elder was beside himself with joy. He was beaming like the cat that ate a canary. “You never used their services, so I am returning your granis‒ here it is. By the way, why are you giving them up? They are quite reliable lads.”
“With Dolgunata and Zangar here they become a pointless waste of experience. By the way, judging from your pleased face, while Sakhray is sitting at the respawn point the NPCs will not disappear. So your issue with the chicks has resolved itself?”
The elder grinned without answering. Apparently, Vikat had already blotted us from his mind, getting back to his own problems. I did not insist on a farewell speech, and once Marinar added Nata to the group we started out of the forest. The Boar was waiting for us.
“How did you make it to the Chancellor so fast?” I grumbled in displeasure an hour later. We had walked about five kilometers away from the village along a winding path through a sparse forest; however, the map mockingly demonstrated that the distance we covered was barely more than a needle’s eye. By my estimates, at this rate it would take us two to three days to reach the Chancellor, and that only if we don’t encounter any obstacles.
“Druids run real fast,” Zangar clarified. Dolgunata had never said a word since the time we started out. Proud and solitary, she was walking silently in front. “I held Marinar. Rode Dolgunata. Rode her brother. Then Dolgunata again. Speed was great.”
“I see, so this is not an option now… Zangar, I have a personal question for you. Do you know what this is?”
I pulled out the steel hexagon I had obtained inside the chick and showed it to the necromancer. It would be silly to lug along an unknown object: what if it’s a time bomb and one fine day it would get me? Who if not Zangar would know the meaning of the object and ways to use it? However, his reaction was totally unexpected for me: Zangar froze in place as if he had run into an invisible wall and could not take his eyes, which became as big as saucers, from the hexagon.
“You are full of surprises. Paladin.” Dolgunata quietly appeared next to us, appraising the object in my hands. “It’s a pity I can’t hunt you now. It would have been interesting, probably. In view of my new knowledge I have a question: who wants to leave the Academy here and now?”
“What knowledge?” Marinar asked, and I was immensely grateful to her, as I was about to ask the same question. Everyone may very well understand that the level of my knowledge leaves a lot to be desired, yet understanding and hearing the confirmation are two different things.
“Stone of attributes,” the cynocephalian barked, reviving. “Activates any attribute. Or increase by one. If you have already. Great value. I understand you, druid. No, I don’t hurry. Question to Yari. Whether he agrees?”
“That’s what we’ll find out right now.” Dolgunata regained her manner of behaving arrogantly and independently with others. “Yari, what you showed us enables you to activate any attribute that is available within the Game. Specifically, what is of most interest to us now: Luck.It was previously considered that receiving an attribute within the Academy was impossible; what you are holding cannot be bought or transferred; it can only be received as a reward. It’s quite hard to earn it even in the main world… So the player, who chooses or increases Luck will become an incredibly lucky creature for the span of three days. He and those next to him in the same group will be very lucky. Actually, no. They will be incredibly, outrageously lucky, all of them! The Academy is chock-full of different hidden bonuses and objects. That very Boar is just a common forest rogue that respawns every several hours. No rogue, even if it is a quest creature, could exist without its own den. But where there is a den, there are treasures. As for me, I would not turn down a chance to rummage through the Academy’s storage. There is bound to be loot there‒ granises, objects… books,” Dolgunata touched on something that was a sore spot for me. “The choice is fully yours: it is impossible to steal the stone or take it away from you. It’s yours and yours alone. Besides, don’t forget: there are wastelands in front of us, and in our case we will need incredible luck. You are Dark. I am Light. This pair is not yet definite, but most likely they will be Light as well. Everyone will want to kill us.”
“So, the whole group will be lucky regardless of the number of members?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
“Number matters.” Zangar interjected. “Twenty, no more.” After that luck leaves. Too many wanters. But we not many. For us enough. If you agree.”
“We don’t have quite a full group,” I stated my thought and my allies’ frowning faces indicated that I needed to clarify it: “If Luck works for an entire three days for everyone, I would like to bring the Paladins back to rejoin us. The map shows they are not far from us, presumably, at a respawn point. You want luck – no problem. But first of all we need to reinforce the group. If Dolgunata is right, and I am afraid that this is the case, our time in the wastelands will be quite unpleasant. We need additional fighters. Also, we mustn’t forget that the mages will be actively hunting me.”
“You suggest that I run over and fetch them?” The druid frowned.
“You can see on the map where they are,” I nodded. “Bring the Paladins here and I’ll activate the Luck.”
“I need a day: wait here,” Nata reacted quickly, turned into the panther without any pointless questions and disappeared around a turn, making huge leaps.
“You strange player,” Zangar said contemplatively, looking in the direction where druid disappeared. “Paladins left you. Went themselves. Not returned for you. You care for them. Why? They are no one to you. Don’t understand.”
“Because I plan to return back to the main Game,” I clarified. “And I will have to look my teacher in the eye, and he will definitely ask: ‘Did you do everything to save your brethren and get them out of the Academy?’ Given what the map shows – Paladins periodically disappear and then reappear again, in different places – they are being actively killed in the wastelands and they reemerge at respawn points. With this approach not everyone will survive, so they need help. Besides, why do you think that I was going to do something out of altruism? I sent the druid on a run so that we could calmly and in detail discuss my demands. What will I receive specifically from you and Marinar for activating the attribute?”
“Ten percent of whatever is found,” the necromancer proposed instantly, as if he had decided everything for himself in advance. “For objects it would be equivalent in granises. After completion of the Academy.”
“Zangar!” I exclaimed dejectedly. “What ten percent? We are partners, and this implies equal rights in everything! I don’t understand your wish to take advantage of me. You said yourself that there are such things as Dungeons. After the Academy I’d just have to put the word out that I have a 3-day Luck attribute and there would immediately be a crowd of high-level players whose only desire would be to get me into their group. I am sure there are players who need to go through a Dungeon or two who have a very low chance of finding some specific object. I would be a highly desirable partner for them. Only because we really need luck in order to painlessly go through the wastelands, I agreed to activate it now. But note: I underscored the ‘painless’ part. We’d make it to the Chancellor i
n any case. Nata will not allow anyone to harm us too much, and we count for something, too. Since you showed that you were a real partner and also brought Marinar, I agree to half of the money found plus subsequent compensation for loot in the form of objects at market price that will be determined by the Game itself. And that’s only part of it. The other part is that I need access to knowledge. You have a teacher of great wisdom; you promised me to arrange a meeting with him after the Academy. We’ll talk, but there’s no guarantee that we would be able to reach some kind of agreement, so I want you to provide me information useful in the Game. Within your area of competency and without breaking class rules.”
“Thirty percent loot.” Zangar responded after some thought. “Information on explorer. Information on Judges. Help in Game. Without breaking rules. Your world interesting for me. Many things unusual. Want to see. Teacher should allow. What you say?”
“Accepted!” I said gladly, and immediately the agreement generated by the Game flashed before my eyes. “Now Marinar…”
“She comes with us,” Zangar stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
“What do you mean – with us? But she is a mage! As soon as we leave the Academy, they will take her and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see her again.”
“She comes with us,” the necromancer repeated. “Else no deal. Marinar under my protection. Teacher will allow take her. Will be player without class. Alchemist always useful.”
I wanted to protest, but only now did I notice where and in what way the girl was standing. The Book of Knowledge instantly reviewed our entire trip and presented an amazing revelation: Marinar was always next to Zangar, and in most cases her hand was placed on the necromancer’s forearm. This gesture didn’t look like control; more like support. Marinar and Zangar want to be together?
“In the Game that’s not a problem,” Marinar finally said something. Apparently, I had said the last sentence aloud. “Zangar is a strong and powerful warrior, it’s an honor for me to be with him. I have nothing to offer you after the Academy; I have no information, so I agree to the initial conditions: fifty percent of the loot is yours.”
The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 38