Lovebird shrugged.
“You never know.” But a shadow had passed over her face when she said that, and I knew that the two of us could never really know, at least for a while—and likely a long while at that— if we could have a relationship. I didn’t have any problems remaining with her in the game world forever (and no, I wasn’t worried about Death13 deleting Perma players at this point) but she had responsibilities back home. And the fact that her country was in the midst of a civil war complicated matters ten folds. I guessed only time would tell.
“Well, we can at least be close to each other, right?” I said. Lovebird wrapped her hands around my neck, and for a moment I thought she would kiss me. But she just hugged me.
“Yes, we can be,” she said.
After a moment we decided we had danced enough. Lovebird went and sat next to Ladyjane. Rajahard meanwhile had been talking enthusiastically to another player. I spotted Chandra, the NPC whom I had saved from the Raks when I had first entered the game world. He waved at me and I went over to him. He was leisurely sipping wine from a glass and observing everyone.
“Hey,” he said with a smile. “You stopped coming to our inn.”
“Yeah, sorry for that,” I said. “Been a bit busy.”
“I have been busy too,” Chandra said, “I heard you became the partial owner of the Ravana inn?”
“How did you know that?” I asked, surprised that he should know.
“Well, I am good friends with Nanda. He once came to our inn some days back. Hetalked about how his luck changed after you and your friend ended the curse over his inn.”
“His business seems to be booming these days though.”
“Good for you, if his business booms it means profit for you.”
“So, how’s everyone in your home? They didn’t come to the party?”
I recalled Chandra’s sister. I had been attracted to her, but I told myself better to not think such thoughts as I was with Lovebird now.
Chandra shook his head.
“Nope, I am the only one who came. Actually, my father and I are the only ones who are in Kapilpura for a few days. My sister and my mother are off to Drapud.”
I took leave from Chandra after a moment and was about to return to Lovebird, when suddenly a tiny bit of conversation coming from the bar caught my attention. There was a short man, an NPCby the name of Ratul, who was talking to another NPC in depressed words and with a slur that comes after one has drunk considerably. Ratul was a young man with a clean shaven face and large eyes that seemed to barely fit in his skull.
“… This hooded guy came and boom, in the blink of an eyelid my cousin is gone!”
“And the hooded guy did nothing to you?” the other NPC asked Ratul curiously.
“I was a short distance away. I had gone to the woods because I had seen a tree with some lovely fruits. Doing so saved my life. I wish if my cousin too had come along with me. What am I going to tell everyone now?”
I approached the bar and drew a stool near Ratul.
“Um, I am sorry,” I said, trying to be as polite as possible, “but I overheard you talking about a hooded guy.”
“Yes, you heard it right, sir,” Ratul said, staking a sip from his glass and then shaking his head. His hair was rough and there were bags under his eyes. He looked pitiful. I didn’t know how I had missed him entirely until now, because he really stood out from the well-dressed people in the inn. There were poor NPCs present too, but they were wearing clean clothes and they didn’t look anywhere near as pitiful as Ratul and were enjoying themselves. Ratul on the other hand even had a mud stain on his sleeve. Perhaps he saw me staring at his dirty sleeve, so he spoke,
“I slipped and fell as I was running away after seeing what the hooded man had done to my cousin,” he explained. “Nobody’s going to believe me.”
“Too be honest, it does sounds a tad too impossible to be true,” the other NPC said.
“I believe you,” I told Ratul. His face lit up a bit.
“You do?” he said, “I am so thankful.”
“But I would like to know where the incident occurred.”
“I was on my way to Kapilpura from the town of Nesmat. We were passing the forest that lies between the two cities when the hooded man attacked.”
“That sucks.”
“I wish if I could only find my cousin,” Ratul said, gazing at his empty glass, “he’s two years younger to me. I wonder where the hooded man took him. I wish I had had the guts to attack the hooded man instead of fleeing. I shouldn't have been a coward.”
Suddenly a message popped in my vision.
New Quest Available!
Help Ratul find his cousin!
Reward: 500 gold
I shook my head. It was pointless to go searching for the cousin. He had been taken by Death13. Now Ratul’s cousin no longer existed. It sucked, but it was what it was. I couldn’t do anything now. But one thing that came to my mind was that at least for now, Death13 was staying in places that were less crowded such as the woods between cities. He probably didn’t want to come out in public until he had enough Karma. Also, the AI didn’t seem to think Ratul’s cousin was of much value, rewarding only 500 gold for the quest to find him. No thanks, the risk involved was just not worth it. I did not accept the quest. Instead I patted Ratul.
“Don’t worry about your cousin,” I told him, “you will find him. Or who knows? Perhaps he’ll return on his own.”
I left the depressed Ratul and walked back to Lovebird. Rajahard had also come to the two girls and the three of them seemed super excited, Lovebird in particular.
"What happened?” I asked them.
“She got her first Karma points!” Ladyjane said, her expressive eyes wide, pointing at Lovebird.
“Really?” I concentrated on Lovebird and saw her details. Her Karma had gone from zero to 200. “That’s cool. What good deed did you do?”
“That old lady slipped, and I caught her just in time from falling,” Lovebird said, pointing at an elderly female NPC with a big head and waist but relatively thin legs.
“Give me a hundred Karma!” Rajahard said.
“Let her keep it,” Ladyjane snapped at Rajahard.
“Darn it, you can’t even understand when I am kidding!”
Lovebird giggled at the fighting couple and I too joined in on the laughter. But I had a queer sensation. I felt like this was something important. Rajahard had asked Lovebird for Karma points. Karma points were transferrable, but I had never really given much thought to that. Was it possible to accumulate lots of Karma just by asking people? No, this meant something more than that. Selfless deeds… damn, my mind felt like it was trying to undo a really complicated knot. Karma… selfless deeds… other players… transferrable…
And just then I received a message. It was Mastermind.
“Hey, can you meet me?” he said.
“Where are you?” I asked.
A moment passed before he replied.
“About a thousand kilometres away to the east.”
Was Mastermind kidding? He certainly wasn’t the kind that did. I had after all promised to help him.
“Look, this is serious. I am not kidding,” he messaged again.
“But how can I meet you when you are so far away?”
“Use a portal.”
“A portal?”
“Yes. The nearest one is in the Rak lands. Do you have a map?”
This was going to turn out way serious than I had thought.
“I do. But it doesn’t show any portals or names of places.”
“Doesn’t matter. Portals are shown in every map of every level. You just need to know how to spot them. Okay now, open your map.”
I did. The map opened in my vision, showing everything that was in a twenty-five kilometre radius around me.
“Do you see red spots?” Mastermind asked me.
The Rak side of the map had tens and possibly hundreds of red spots.
“Yes, t
here are quite a few actually.”
“The ones you are seeing are the villages of the Raks. Focus more; you’ll see that there is one red spot that is darker than the others.The portal is there in that particular Rak village.”
I really focussed. Lovebird and the others probably thought I was acting funny, but they didn’t disturb me and they too fell silent, seeing that I was doing something important.
“Nope, I couldn’t find it,” I replied, giving up.
“There is. Try harder, you’ll find it.”
I concentrated harder. And then I finally found it. It was tricky to find as it was surrounded by other red spots and there was the green of the forests as well. But thankfullyI could see that it was just a shade darker than the rest of thered spots.
“Yeah, I found it.”
“See? It’s there. Now go to that Rak village.”
“What? It’s night!”
“Look, I could really use some help in the situation that I am in. But if you don’t want to help that’s okay. “
“I’ll go,” I said. I had given him my word earlier, and I didn’t want to turn back now. But at the same time I couldn’t help but think that I had signed up for something that was harder than what I had fathomed it to be.
“Thanks. Look, this is not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. At least it should be worth it. I believe there is a weapon—an ancient artefact—which mightbe of great use to us… yes, might because I am not quite sure, but hey there is hope, right? Well, I believe that using this artefact it will be possible for us to destroy Death13 once and for all.”
“Will I take anyone with me? I mean it’ll be a bit tough to kill an entire village of Raks on my own to access the portal.”
“That’s your wish. If you take somebodyalong only bring people you really trust. And no, you don’t have to kill the Raks. Violence is not always a good thing, you see.”
“Then how am I going to get to the portal?”
“Just ask the Raks.”
I waited a moment before replying. I wasn’t sure what the Raks would do if I tried to talk sense with them. I was sure they would make a barbecue out of me, instead of allowing me access to the portal.
“Are you crazy?”
“Just give them some gold. Keep your sword inside your bag. Perhaps go with your hands raised.”
“I thought Raks considered humans as food.”
“Look, there are many places in the real world humans keep an animal as pet and consider it a part of family. Sometimes humans even worship that animal. And then there are places where the same animal is eaten by us. You keep those beautiful fish in the aquarium, yet you crave the taste of fish, right?”
Not really, I preferred chicken. But I could see what Mastermind was saying.
“Yeah, I get you.”
“Cool, come fast.”
I looked at Lovebird, Rajahard and Ladyjane.
“Who was it?” Lovebird asked, a tinge of concern in her eyes.
“A friend. He wants me to go. Now.”
“On a hunt?” Rajahard asked, and he looked rather eager.
“No, something else.” I considered for a moment if I should ask them to come along. But I didn’t know what kinds of risks were involved. Mastermind hadn’t told me specifically what he needed my help for.
“Want us to go along?’ Lovebird asked.
I placed a hand on hers.
“I am sorry, but this time I’ll have to go alone.”
She nodded, pursing her slips, slightly disappointed.
In a few minutes I was out of the inn. I took one of the horse-drawn carts to the river. From there I took a boat to the opposite bank. Paying the ferryman, I checked the map. My position was marked by two small blue concentric circles that were in the very centre of the map.
The darker red spot was seven kilometres to the south-east. It was well beyond The Line. I hoped I wouldn’t end up in a pterodactyl’s stomach tonight. That would really suck.
I began to run. I was glad this was a game world. Running seven kilometres in the real world would be quite a task. I used to run marathons while I was at school, but school was a distant dream from the past and so were the marathons.
The forest felt ominous. I had never been in the Rak side of the river during night. Any sound made my heart beat faster, even if the sound was made by a frogor an insect. I was thankful that I wasn’t panting that much. But just to keep my health at optimum, I stopped half-way to the village to drink a health vial. I had quite a few of the vials.
After some time I passed The Line. I looked up at the moon floating high above. A small dark object passed right below it. Was that a pterodactyl that was flying high? No, it was a cloud. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I continued on my run to the village that had the portal. But just then, I tripped on something and fell. It took me a while to realise that the ‘something’ was a rope. Immediately dark shapes jumped out from the bushes. I sprungback to my feet in alarm.
I was about to pull out my sword from my bag but then I remembered what Mastermind had said.
“Wait, please. I just want to use the portal,” I told the Raks.
The Raks burst out laughing like hyenas. There were four of them and their laughter sent a chill down my spine. The Raks were of the warrior class.
“What are we supposed to do if you want to use the portal?” one of them said, still giggling, even as I remained very alert. “We were kicked out of our villages. The village isn’t ours. The portal isn’t as well. But you, we can eat you and take your gold. Friends, attack the human!”
It had been a mistake to listen to Mastermind. The four Raks leapt upon me even before I could pull out my sword from my bag. They pinned me to the ground, while one snatched my bag from me.
“No!” I cried.
I tried to struggle, kicking at them. That was all my frantic brain was telling me to do at the moment, though there were many other wiser things I could have done. It was only when the Raks were tying my hands together with rope that my brain finally kicked into action.
I summoned Danav and Danavma. They appeared in a moment and when they saw what was happening to me, they threw themselves upon the Raks. I paralysed the Rak who had been rummaging my bag and had drawn out my sword. I grabbed my sword and ended his life with a few hits. Then I turned to the others. Danav was beating one, while Danavma was wrestling with two Raks, one of which was clinging onto her back.
I cast my spell on that one and pulled the Rak down from her back and slit his neck. The ones remaining were finished by my pets as I squatted down to catch a breath. Very soon, all sounds of the fight ended.
“Thanks,” I said to Danav and Danavma, as Danav resumed his original size.
“It’s our duty to help you,” Danavma said.
“I hope you weren’t busy when I called you,” I said, “it would suck if you were doing something important and then suddenly I summoned you and you had to come.”
“Nothing is more important for us than helping you,” Danavma said, and from her voice she really meant it. “But at the same time, I daresay, it would have been better had you come to this forest with your friends, especially since it’s night.”
“Yes, but it was important that I come alone just this once,” I said, “Anyway, you can return now. Thanks for your help again.”
Danav and Danavma bowed and then they disappeared. I picked up the loot that had been dropped by the Raks. I hadn’t known therewererogue Raks who had been kicked out from their villages existed. They must have been pretty bad even by Rakshasha standards. I got a lot of gold from the Raks. Had they stolen the gold from some rich Rak? There had to be rich Raks, right?
In a few minutes I reached the Rak village which was denoted by the darker red spot in the map. There were at least five guards at the gate. All of them were giant warriors.
I gulped just seeing them. Even in the scenario that I summoned Danav and Danavma it was in no way possible for me to defeat al
l of them. If I approached them, I would probably respawn in my room back at the Ravana inn where I had kept my birthstone.
I considered for a moment what I should do. Mastermind required my help and I had given my word to help him. If I turned my back now I would keep regretting this decision, and perhaps it would become difficult for me to look at myself in the mirror without thinking of the lowly act I had done. I took in a deep breath and put my sword into my bag.
I stepped out of the shadows of the trees, straight into the space being observed by the guards.
“Who is that?” one called immediately.
If anything went wrong I would throw a paralysis spell and run as fast as possible.
“I am a player,” I said, my heart in my ears, “I want access to the portal.”
“What portal are you talking about?” I was asked as two of the five guards approached me together. A shiver took hold of me.
“I know the portal is there in your village. If you want gold I can pay you. I have not come here intending harm of any kind.”
“As if you could actually harm us,” one of the guards laughed. I kept quiet.
“But if the portal is what you have come here for then you shall not be killed,” the same guard said, “as long as you pay that is. Go with Humabel. He’ll take you to the portal.”
The gates of the village were opened by the Raks.
“Come with me,” the Raknamed Humabel said, beckoning. “Few players come seeking the portal. Most are idiot enough to think that it does not exist.”
I couldn’t believe my luck as I went past the gates with Humabel. Was this really happening? Or was I dreaming?
The Rakshasha families looked up at me as I went along with Humabel past the many huts. Some were cooking meat, while others seemed to be just enjoying the night sitting around a fire. The children pointed at me like I was an antique piece from a museum.
“Human!” they said in their broken voices.
I got a little scare as a dark shape that I had thought was a hut turned out to be a sleeping pterodactyl. It suddenly opened its eyes, obviously having smelled me, and opened its mouth wide. Its breath was filthy for sure.
“Tut, tut,” Humabel told the pterodactyl, “it’s a portal user who is going to pay gold.” And the pterodactyl went back to sleeping. I was quite astounded that the pterodactyl could actually understand Humabel. But then, even dogs can understand some gestures and words of humans.
Perma-Death Online: A LitRPG adventure: Book 2 Page 4