by Elian Tars
Gloominess +2
Congregation
Elian Tars
Copyright © 2019 Elian Tars All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author
Translated by Maria Menzorova
Edited by Sanja Gajin
Cover by Julia Zhdanova
Contents
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Prologue
Choose your designated resurrection point:
● Listeri Cemetery
● Ilsa the Hunter’s Lodge
Floating in the pitch black, I felt light and calm. There were no sounds, no smell and no pain… There was nothing there, not even my body, just the feeling of total relaxation and those three lines in front of my eyes.
I just wanted to relax and have nothing to worry about; I wanted to stay here… It was a wonderful feeling.
“Hurry up, boy!” the voice sounded from everywhere. “You’re too weak to float in me. Get back into the real world!”
The Old Man’s words — his voice wasn’t hard to recognize — snapped me out of my trance. My self-preservation instinct immediately obeyed his words, appraised them and woke up my lethargic brain.
Listeri Cemetery! Having that thought form in my mind was enough to make my voice pierce the Darkness. My voice, not Bon’s. Hmm, was that why I didn’t have a body in this strange place…?
The Darkness swirled around me, and a moment later I was standing in front of the heavy doors of the stone crypt.
Why did I choose this resurrection point? I honestly didn’t know. Maybe I instinctively knew that I would be able to transfer myself to the hunting lodge in twelve hours if needed be. Or maybe, somewhere at the back of my mind sounded the voice of a sly “villager” that had finished Anda.
“Aaa! Aaaa!!!” Something pushed me to the side and got itself out of my left hand’s grip.
I turned my head around, puzzled and saw Berg. I had been clutching his shoulder this entire time.
“Aaa! Aaa! AAA!” shouted the unfortunate ranger, covered from head to toe in black haze. He took off running, stumbled over someone’s gravestone, fell down, and started rolling on the ground, trying to get rid of the Darkness. The poor fellow must have wanted to use his arms, but they were still shackled.
I ran over to him, materializing a Health Potion in my hand, but stopped halfway, suddenly remembering what happened to Grace. I didn’t know whether or not Berg had already used a potion during the fight with the baron’s people?
I took a closer look and saw that the he had less than ten percent of HP. However, he wasn’t losing them anymore! What was I to do?
The black haze suddenly started to disappear, as if Berg’s body was consuming it. When it was all gone, the man groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
“Oh…” he exhaled with surprise. “Where am I?” the ranger wheezed, slowly turning his head. He stared at me and got serious at once. “You saved me. Thank you. Though, you separated me from my Goddess. But it doesn’t matter now; she didn’t even come to help her Follower.”
“Wait!” I raised my hands in front of me. “Say that again... Separated you from your Goddess?”
Berg grimaced.
“I said it in my own words,” he clarified, groaning and getting onto his feet. “The system informed me that the other person’s will affected me, pushing aside my Patron’s will. As a result, my Patron decided not to resist for too long. Though, she must have felt nothing at all, for I am only a Follower and not a Disciple, let alone a Gleam.” Berg stood up straight and tried to see my face in the moonlight. He then bowed. “Thank you again, Bale. You saved my life, and I’m ready to return the favor.”
I tried to comprehend what I just heard, to digest this information, make things clear in my head and decide what to do next. Taking into account everything that had happened so far, I had more trust in the ranger now. However, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. Although, it would be good if I could get away from him for a bit and contact the Old Man. I wouldn’t mind spending fifty faith points on that; I could always get more. The most important thing was to keep my head clear, for it was threatening to burst from all the questions I had.
The “Call of the Patron” has been activated.
You have spent 50 faith points.
I froze, glancing at the message. It took me a lot of effort not to fall backwards onto the grass. What a self-willed deity! Weren’t there too many eyes here? What about conspiracy?
I felt its presence behind me. Turning around, I saw a figure levitating a foot and a half above the ground, clad in a hazy black robe with a cowl pulled over its face. I couldn’t see the Old Man’s eyes, but judging by the direction in which the hood was turned, he definitely wasn’t looking at me.
I shifted my gaze toward Berg who was standing there with his mouth wide open before he fell to his knees.
“Thank you, Great One!”
“Well, then… Be my Disciple!” the Old Man roared.
The ranger’s eyes widened even more as he yammered on.
“What a great honor! I’ll serve you faithfully and loyally! I’ll devote my life to you and to your Followers!”
The man who I used to think was a gloomy and harsh loner was now fawning like a dog in front of its master who had just returned home from work. After losing his Goddess, which didn’t seem to care the least bit about him, he found a God that personally appeared in front of his new Follower and raised him to the rank of a Disciple. This was the second time today that I saw people bend their knees in front of their Patrons. The Gods were honored here and their will was respected… Maybe I was treating my Old Man with too much familiarity?
“I understand, Great One!” the ranger answered the Patron’s silent words, then nodded and, getting to his feet, turned his back to me.
“Free him, boy,” I heard in my head.
The Lockpicking skill and the lock picks that I got from Tael let me open the lock quickly. Feeling that his hands were free, Berg thanked me and, getting a bow from his inventory, walked cautiously to the border of the cemetery.
“I asked him to check the surrounding area, boy,” the Old Man explained silently. “But don’t be afraid, there is no danger out there.”
I chuckled. The dark deity cunningly sent his Disciple away.
“You wanted to talk to me, boy?” the voice in my head was very serious. “I’m listening.”
“Who are you?” I asked mentally.
“You’re too weak, I cannot trust you completely just yet, boy,” the Old Man answered calmly. “You have to get stronger, s
o that I could open myself to you” I clicked my tongue in exasperation and clutched my fists. “I’m sorry, boy. I know how it is when you’re betrayed.”
“So what? Do I have to stumble around like a blind kitten?” I snorted, involuntarily enouncing my question aloud.
“Not at all”, I suddenly felt a pleasant, relaxing warmth, emanating from the dark figure. “I can guide you, boy. I gave you a companion,” he nodded in the direction of the trees, where Berg went. “I can’t guarantee that he will be completely loyal to you, but it can’t hurt to have a Disciple. Make an Altar for him. He won’t be able to do it himself, because…” the Old man got silent for a moment and then shook his hood. He then laconically added: “He can’t”.
“Having only one companion won’t be enough to fight against I-don’t-know-what,” I retorted.
“You’re wrong, boy. Sometimes, even one person can change history. But you’re right, it’s better when you have more allies. That’s why you’ll have temporary ones — the Followers of Rugus. His Disciples already know his will. You can count on them in your search of the parts of the Zurtarn.”
“Why do we need this Zurtarn? And what does ‘the Cradle of Gods’ mean?
“I can’t tell you just yet,” the Old Man answered calmly.
“Do you have a temple?” I asked quickly. “Or am I again too weak to know the answer?”
“I don’t have temples, boy.”
Alright, that was a start! Let’s try and make more progress.
“Is this world real?”
“What do you think, boy?”
“I got here from a virtual capsule… There’s a game interface here and a resurrection option. It looks like a game, but…”
“Only we get to decide what’s a game and what’s real life, boy.”
“Can I go back to Earth?”
The Old Man kept silent for a few seconds, floating motionlessly. Then a word sounded in my head.
“Theoretically.”
Another controversial answer. How should I interpret it?
“If you are able to collect all parts of the Zurtarn”, the Old Man spoke suddenly, “and if you stay loyal to me… I’ll explain to you what I mean. Let’s call it a day. I’ve been here for too long.”
“Wait!” I blurted out. “This body you chose for me. Could it act up? Could I remain stuck deep within its mind forever, losing control over it?”
The hood of the black figure looked up toward the sky, then to the left and to the right and then stared at me again with its impenetrable darkness. I wondered why was there a time limit.
“He cannot”, he answered shortly. It seemed to me that it was hard for him to say those words. “We have an agreement. Good luck, boy. Hurry up with the Zurtarn. The enemies have seen your map.”
The Old Man vanished, leaving me alone to ponder. What? When did they managed to do that?
Chapter 1
The Gleam of Rugus
I immediately opened up my inventory and looked through it, paying special attention to Bon’s father’s map. It looked the same as usual.
I frowned, trying to figure out what the catch was. According to the baron’s words, you could steal from someone’s inventory. Did that also mean that you could also find out what was in it without taking it?
My thoughts were interrupted by a rustle and Berg’s loud voice.
“Just no funny business! Got it!?”
“Sure, sure,” replied a haughty, familiar female voice.
Turning toward the source of the sound, I shook my head with a heavy sigh. Sooner or later, this dark world will make it so that nothing surprises me anymore.
There she was, walking proudly with her head up, wearing the same leather armor and cloak that Anda had on today. She held her arms up demonstratively. However, in the world of magic that didn’t mean a thing. Although Berg, who was walking a feet behind the girl, kept his bow at the ready, it wouldn’t help us if the girl decided to pull a trick on us.
Anda? Huh… It looked like her, but her face was different, younger, more impudent, and her hair was black. The system message made my head spin.
Una
Level 96
HP: 4978/4978
She noticed my gaze and smiled broadly, but kept advancing with her hands up. Yeah, if she decides to attack, Berg and I would turn into her puppets — I still had no idea how to deal with the controlling spell.
“Hey, Bon!” Anda/Una spoke boldly, stopping some thirty feet away from me. “Thank you for finishing me off. Just I feared, I lost the Fraction of Rugus after my death. But since a Follower of Rugus dealt the finishing blow, the Great One returned to me what I had lost. And he also told me to look after you. Could you maybe tell your friend here to put his weapon away?”
“Please, make yourself comfortable,” I answered hospitably, gesturing toward the cemetery. “Berg,” I looked at the ranger, “stay alert.”
After having looked me up and down, Anda/Una lowered her hands, chuckled and sat on one of the gravestones.
“Sorry, grandma,” she said to the stone, stroking its cold surface. “I used to love sitting on your knees.”
I asked enough stupid questions for today talking to my Patron. I could allow myself to be me in front of him as he could read my thoughts anyway, but I couldn’t reveal my weaknesses to these two. All I could was keep silent and analyze my current situation.
Una and Anda were definitely the same person; a person with two different faces. There must’ve been a simple answer for it — if there were artifacts that could change your name, why couldn’t there be ones that could change your appearance? That seemed like a logical explanation to me.
There was also her level. It was twice as high as mine. But when Listeri was on fire, we were of the same level. So, she either took a Weakening Potion, or her skills were even more unique than mine. Upgrading was long-term thing in this world — slow regeneration, potion use limit… So the first option was the more likely one, but that theory still needed to be tested.
And the last thing — where were her shackles? She couldn’t have taken them off herself. Did the system take mistake for debuff — or something like that — and removed them after her resurrection? Did somebody help her remove them?
“Where have you found this beauty?” I asked Berg, who obeyed my order and kept his bow aimed at the girl.
“She found me herself,” the ranger muttered. “She told me to bring her to you.”
“As far as I understand, there was nobody else around?” I looked at Una with the corner of my eye. She was looking at the starry sky as if nothing was wrong.
The ranger shook his head. It looked like he wanted to add something, but after glancing at Rugus’s Gleam, decided not to. That was right, we couldn’t trust her. At least, for now.
I moved my gaze onto the girl. Feeling it, she stopped observing the stars and stared at me with a predator-like glare. She then moved her gaze higher, looking at something above my head — she seemed to be reading my stats.
“I was killed by someone called ‘Villager Bon’,” she said. “Not by you, ‘Secretive Bale’. But you defeated me… That’s very weird. I asked you back then, the night when Listeri burnt down… And I will ask again — what are you? Are you a Gleam with a rebelling source inside you?
“Source?” I wondered.
Una grimaced and shrugged.
“I don’t know what to call the poor soul that gave you the body. That Bon guy, Chief Jason’s son... Well?” she leaned forward. “Am I right? Is Bon is trying to kick you out?”
Both admitting and avoiding the question would reveal my weak spots to her. All I could do is come up with a very convincing lie.
“No, we get along just swimmingly and even swap places sometimes.”
“Hmm…” pondered Rugus’s Gleam.
“And what about you? Do you talk to your source?”
“No,” she calmly answered. “I have never heard that little girl speak.”
“H
ow long have you been in her body?” I asked almost immediately.
“For ten years,” Una answered indifferently.
My heart sank, but I strained every nerve not to betray my discomposure. I felt that I made another step toward understanding the secrets of this world. I have never had a chance to talk to a Gleam before.
“And who were you before Rugus put you in the girl’s body?”
Una squinted again, drilling me with her look. Then she chuckled.
“Maybe you’ll also ask me when was the last time I changed my underwear? What was in my past life stays there. The only thing that matters is what we have in this life. And in this life I am the Gleam of the Great Rugus. I am his eyes, ears and arms. I was ordered to help you to find the Zurtarn. The Great One told me that you know where another part is hidden”.
“I have a map,” I nodded, showing her the rolled up piece of paper that I immediately hid in my inventory. Una’s eyes widened. She jumped from the gravestone and blurted:
“It was in your inventory this entire time?”
“Yeah,” I exhaled, understanding what she was getting at.
“Oh, damned Decay!” she cursed. “Tsunter hinted that some of the Followers of Viyon came with him…”
“Someone invisible was following us,” Berg confirmed. “But their skills were such a high level that I wasn’t even able to pinpoint their approximate location. I just felt their presence.”
Shifting my gaze from Rugus’s Gleam to the Old Man’s Disciple, I was feverishly trying to remember everything I read about Viyon. Putting it mildly, he was called “the God of Cunning” but, in truth, he was the God of Slyness, or even the God of Insidiousness. He was a perfect candidate for the Patron of thieves and swindlers. At least, I hadn’t come across any other similar deities in the Small Encyclopedia…
“He must have checked your inventory when you were in the runic shackles,” Berg said without taking his eyes and aim off Una. “The world would have told you that you were being spied on otherwise.”
Hmm, so I would have got a system message. Thank the Old Man! For a moment I honestly thought that any invisible person could rummage through my inventory at any moment without me noticing it. However, not really at “any moment”.