Gloominess +2: Congregation. A LitRPG series: Book 2

by Elian Tars

  Why was I betting on Rugus? Intuition. But I had a good reason for it, one based on my observations. Just like with Einar, I didn’t see Rugus’s level or HP but I did see Mother’s. It seemed that the Gods were entities beyond any category and above levels. This meant that they couldn’t lose to someone who was of a lower status and who had less strength.

  But those were just my assumptions. I didn’t know what place the Mother had in the hierarchy of the creatures of Decay. Was there anyone higher than her? Or, at least, equal? I wondered, what would happen to the decayed lands if she lost? Would anything happen at all? What if she was just one of the monsters, only very strong and intelligent? Then some other creature, as powerful as she was, could take her place.

  “Bale,” Una’s voice distracted me from my thoughts. We were again in our saddles and moving in the direction of the living part of the forest. “Congratulations on finding of another part of Zurtarn,” the girl smiled. I tensed up. What? Was she going to ask me to give her the artifact because it was her God that had saved us and because Rugus had the right to demand what was his?

  “Thank you,” I nodded, trying to speak with ease.

  “Was it a quarter again?” she asked.

  “Didn’t your Patron tell you?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “He just told me that you were able to find the artifact and ordered us to leave immediately.”

  I gave it a thought. Did Rugus know the size of this part? Could he see what was in my inventory? How did he manage to arrive in time to help me? Was he watching me from somewhere?

  “Fifteen percent,” I answered and took a hard look at the girl.

  “The Great One said that you should keep it. Don’t lose it. We’ll cover you,” the girl said seriously.

  When you looked at Una, you thought: she was kindness itself. But my mind didn’t allow me to relax and trust her.

  “I won’t,” I said firmly. I looked around and asked the guidesman loudly: “Where are we riding, Hulne? Have you chosen a new route? Or were you advised to take this one?”

  Looking over his shoulder, Hulne chuckled and shrugged. He then returned his gaze to the road again. He was obviously hinting that the leader of the Followers of Rugus will answer my question.

  “I asked him,” Una moved a strand of hair away from her face. “You know, there’s a good chance that we’ll bump into Tsunter’s people on our way back. So we decided to change our route a little.”

  “Good call,” I nodded. “We can’t be a hundred percent sure because we don’t know which way they’ll be going, but one cannot be too careful. But, Una, for future reference, you should discuss such things with the rest of the group, all right?” I squinted and looked at her.

  “Will do,” the girl smiled charmingly.

  I knew that she thought that she could twist me round her little finger. I also knew that no matter how much I didn’t want to admit it, she was much stronger than me. Nevertheless, I shouldn’t endure her arrogance silently. We were equal allies and she should be reminded of that fact from time to time.

  What should we do next? The Old Man didn’t contact me nor did he give me any orders. He told me that I should activate the Altar of Light as fast as possible. That’s what I was planning to do. Besides, I wanted to go back to the cemetery and check where the Decay was stretching its tentacles. Would we go our separate ways once we leave the decayed lands? Or will they insist on going with me? The latter didn’t suit my intentions.

  Besides, Rugus’s words were bothering me. He asked me to provide the Old Man with a congregation and even gave me a quest that I couldn’t physically deny. I would also like to discuss that with my Patron. Or, at least, with Berg.

  The last, and most important, problem was: who had destroyed my resurrection point? Were they looking for the second one now? What was I to do about it? A chunk of my rebirth energy was lost because of this. I had 60% at the moment. Six deaths and it would all be over? I would die forever? If I meet a Gleam, the energy will be spent even faster…

  A Gleam… All the Gleams needed rebirth energy. But where did they take it from? How did they restore the spent amount? I could ask Una, but I wasn’t going to show my ignorance. This should be basic knowledge for a Gleam. Or so I thought, at least.

  I had an idea of how to accumulate it — stealing from the other Gleams during the killing. The first time I was killed was by the hands of a Gleam. Written in the logs was: “lost”. But once I resurrected, the logs said: “used”. That very first day I thought that there was a reason for the difference in definitions. I had had several theories about it, but now I was inclined to believe but one — 10% of the energy went to the Gleam that killed you.

  If I was right, then I could only sigh in lament. First of all, I couldn’t “kill” a Gleam due to my streak of not killing enemies. I would lose the chance to develop the elements of Light and Twilight if I kill someone. Though I hadn’t activated these two Altars yet, the Old Man stressed the importance of the way I had chosen. That meant that I couldn’t get rebirth energy the usual way.

  Secondly, how hard it must be to refill such a valuable resource. To figure out who was a Gleam was a difficult task by itself, but to figure out and kill was much more difficult. And to do that several times to refill the scale? Shit, if I was right, Una will send me to resurrect the moment Rugus loses interest in his alliance with the Old Man.

  Thinking about these vital problems, I felt a lump in my throat. I could end up dying forr. I felt totally helpless all of a sudden. I have only one resurrection point… I should fix this as soon as possible.

  Ten minutes later, I asked for a short rest, pretending that I needed to cast Tranquility of Darkness on myself because my mana hadn’t fully recovered yet. I lied, of course, but nobody could prove it.

  Casting the spell, I gestured Berg to come over. We moved aside, standing with our backs to the rest of the group.

  “I have a favor to ask of you,” I spoke quietly.

  “Go ahead,” the ranger answered readily.

  “I suppose you won’t like it. But if you trust me, even a little bit, you’ll fulfill it. I’m telling you right away, I don’t intend pull some dirty trick. I just want to raise our chances of survival.”

  “Why are you beating around the bush, Bale?’ Berg asked with reproach in his voice. “You told me yourself that we are in the same boat. And I told you that I owed you and our Patron my life. Well? What do you want me to do?”

  I felt ashamed of my words for a moment. Not only did I not trust the people around me, but I suspected them of doing the same. But my thoughts were driven away at once by the cold wind of reality. Naïve, good boys didn’t live long in this world.

  “Give me your wife’s tombstone for a moment.” I put out my hand and added: “Please.”

  Confusion and anger were mixed in Berg’s eyes. However, he quickly put his emotions under control and materialized the stone obelisk.

  “I trust you,” he spoke clearly, giving me the tombstone.

  “Thank you,” I nodded and stared at the cool rectangle.

  “Create a point of resurrection,” I ordered mentally.

  My mind told me that it had to work for the stone obelisk was connected to death after all, and it meant that it had to accept my rebirth energy. But, on the other hand, it differed from a grave or a crypt. What if doesn’t work?

  How much rebirth energy would you like to transfer?

  It took me great effort to keep a straight face.

  “Thirty percent,” I answered and, once everything was done, gave the obelisk back to Berg.

  “That’s all?” he asked with distrust, looking at the item and trying to find anything new on it. “But nothing has changed.”

  “It has. Thank you.” I smiled and, turning around on my heels, walked back to my horse.

  Was that wise? Could I resurrect if my resurrection point is in someone’s inventory? I certainly can’t find out now. Worst case scenario, I could always
transfer the energy from one point to the other. I would need to hold the tombstone in my hands to do it though. The most important thing is that 30% of my rebirth energy won’t disappear if the ranger dies accidently.

  The rest had come to an end, and we got in our saddles again. We rode as fast as it was possible in the forested area. The horses would slow down when we rode uphill so as not to slip on the rotten, slimy grass.

  I noticed Berg’s searching look on me a few times. He struggled to understand what I done to his wife’s tombstone. I supposed that he had some theories about it. The ranger wasn’t a fool.

  Chapter 9

  The Return

  Finally, Berg stopped looking askance at me. A few minutes later, when the horses had slowed to a walk again, he asked:

  “Una, do you have any news from your Patron?”

  A good question! The girl shuddered but was in no rush to answer.

  “No,” she answered some ten seconds later. “After the Great One had told us to run, he didn’t speak to me anymore,” she fell silent. Then she waved in the direction of her two friends. “To Hulne and Jerome either.”

  “Aha,” Hulne sighed.

  “Why the long faces?” Jerome grumbled. “The Great One doesn’t have to babysit us. He entrusted us with an important mission and we have to complete it by ourselves. The Great One has already done too much for us.” I turned around and saw that Jerome was looking up at the sky. “Thank you, Great One.”

  “Yes, you’re right…” Una quietly said, staring in front of herself.

  Was she worried about Rugus’s life? It was a little bit strange to worry about a God. Though, maybe that was still the man from the planet Earth speaking in me; as far as I knew, very few people had a chance to talk to God or see him with their own eyes.

  The other members of the group also noticed the girl’s strange behavior.

  “I think everybody heard the phrase: ‘The Gods’ strength is in their Followers’, Berg started quietly, looking at the dry boughs of a dead tree. “It can be assumed that this strength is not limitless and that it gets spent sometimes. Just like our mana or energy. This means that Rugus could’ve decided to get some rest after the fight. He’ll come to his senses and talk to you again.”

  “The Great Once wouldn’t get tired from a fight with some creature of Decay. Don’t be ridiculous!” Jerome snorted.

  “Enough!” Una raised her voice. “I agree with you, Berg. And with you too, Jerome. So stop talking!”

  Our horses reached the top of a hill and switched to a trot. There was no time for talking.

  Jumping up and down in the saddle, I thought about Berg’s words over and over again. So that was what Rugus had meant. The Old Man had very few Followers, which meant that he lacked a strength source. Berg and I were doing his bidding, and although he got some energy from us that wasn’t enough. He lent us his strength but got nothing in return as there weren’t enough people to help him through their prayers.

  If one thought about it, common townsfolk were not of a very high level. The villagers, at least those that I’ve met, were of level 10 at the most. And that was Bon’s father, who had definitely used a Weakening Potion. Did common people, who went about their everyday lives working and raising their children, even exist in this world? Were there those who didn’t fight and level? There definitely were! They, I supposed, formed the base of the pyramid called “the faith in God”. It didn’t matter what God. Every Patron should have such Followers, and their amount should be greater than the amount of Disciples and Gleams.

  Damn, the Old Man didn’t even have a temple in Ekheim. The Mother of the Decayed used plural when she spoke about my Patron. Did she feel that I had three elements? Or was it in relation with something else? One thing, however, was clear — the Old Man was different from the other Gods.

  “Stop!” Berg blurted suddenly. Everyone immediately halted their horses and stared warily at the ranger. He lowered his head and, listening to his gut feeling, closed his eyes. A couple of moments later, he began looking around. Though the direct sunlight didn’t reach the Territory of Decay because of the acid-green vapors that were rising from the dead ground, it was daytime, and there was enough sunlight to cause the ranger’s All-seeing Darkness to malfunction.

  Berg abruptly looked up and pointed his finger at the sky.

  “Look! There!”

  “The bird, it’s alive,” Una noticed before the others. “They have found us!”

  The ranger materialized his bow, but didn’t shoot. With a loud caw, the black crow flew south-east, in the exact direction our group was riding.

  “We’ll ride further south,” Hulne roared and, jerking the reigns to his left, spurred his horse.

  We didn’t spare our horses before, so we couldn’t ride faster. In order to raise our chances of avoiding the baron’s people — nobody doubted that they were the ones that had tracked us down — our leader constantly changed our direction. We rode in a snake-like manner. Twice I thought that we circled around the same place.

  Once we were going up another hill, our horses slowed to a walk again.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Una said. “We have an undeniable advantage — Bale’s skills. With them, we can survive in the decayed lands when the Glozeysk Crystals stop working.”

  “I don’t want to upset you,” Hulne chuckled. “But they will soon run out. It seems that the enemy arrived to the decayed lands only recently. We’ll have to run for a long time if we want to wear them down.”

  “Besides, they must have already figured out that we are going back and that we have the artifact,” Jerome grunted. “Tsunter’s lap-dogs won’t have to trudge through the decayed lands now.”

  “Stop wallowing, ladies!” Una chuckled. “We’ll be able to escape.”

  Unfortunately, she was wrong. For about an hour and a half we weaved through the decayed lands, gradually coming closer to the border, when Berg suddenly cried out in fury.

  “We are surrounded!”

  “Come on! Break through!” Una commanded at once.

  The plan was simple — to get away from the perimeter and meet the enemy face to face in an unequal fight in case we fail to flee. However, our horses had been running at their maximum speed for a while now...

  A hail of arrows rained upon us. I noticed Hulne’s horse go down, seemingly hit by a special skill. Berg’s horse, which was behind Hulne’s, jerked to a halt; the Iron Faced rushed out of the undergrowth from both sides. One of them hit Berg’s horse with the shield, while the other snatched it by the reigns, jerking them out of the ranger’s hands. The next moment, a crossbow bolt, shining like a star, dug itself into the ground in front of Una’s horse.

  “Dismount! Get ready to fight!” she shouted, realizing that we won’t be able to escape. She jumped onto the decayed grass and reached to yank the damned warding bolt out of the ground.

  “Hold your horses,” a level 100 Iron Faced roared and hit the girl in the face with his shield. Una’s head jerked back, like that of a rag doll. Blood gushed… The healer hissed and materialized a set of curved daggers.

  I activated the Aura of Darkness and attacked the Iron Faced who rushed at me with the shield with the Trident of Darkness. Three black rays burst out of the enemy’s back, striking three more enemies. On one of them gained the Horror status effect and dropped his staff with a loud cry. Clutching his head, he ran into the wildwood.

  My primary enemy, receiving a mighty hit, chuckled and spread his arms, as if revealing his chest for a blow.

  “Come on!” he roared.

  Doyle cast “Provocation” on you. You can’t attack other enemies for the next 10 seconds.

  Rage and desire to tear apart the Iron Faced shield-bearer, the Follower of Einar, arose in my chest. I realized that I was under the effect of his aggro skill. I thought how I could, theoretically, try using the method I learnt from Una to get rid of a mind controlling spell. However, I decided not to rush, but rather estimate the situat
ion and think about my next move.

  There were about fifteen men, no less. But there were only three serious enemies — the level 100 shield-bearer that was pestering Una; a level 85 girl that was standing a little further away, dressed in a white belted robe with a hood pulled low over her face; and a level 90 bold monk, a hand-to-hand fighter that was “dancing” around Hulne. The rest were of between levels 50 and 55. Majority of them had less HP than me.

  We could defeat them, if not for the damned blocker that halved the strength of the Followers of Rugus. However, nobody in our group could break through to the glowing bolt; Una was tied in a battle, Berg and Hulne were being pushed back, and Jerome was surrounded and was the one furthest from it. It looked like I had the best chances of success. I had to try to get rid of Provocation.

  As soon as I made this decision, the world around me turned into a dark kaleidoscope; the Iron Faced in their dark armor merged with dead trees and acid-green spots of the Decay in the background. Everything was spinning. It seemed like the ground under my feet was wobbling; my ears were ringing and there was a lump in my throat…

  Astra cast “Dance of Mirrors” on you.

  I remembered a spell with a similar effect and name — the Circle of Mirrors, which the baron of Trikuni used to protect the dungeons of his castle.

  “Oh…” I wheezed, getting hit by the two-handed sword, strengthened by the combat skill. In that whirl of images I couldn’t see who exactly attacked me, but, thanks to the logs, I found out that it was one of the Iron Faced that had surrounded me.

  I also managed to find out to whom I owed this topsy-turvy image of the world. It was Astra, the girl in the white robes. Had I tried to remove her spell and attack her I would’ve died because there was a difference of thirty levels between us! I would never have been able to defeat her by myself. But if I could activate the artifact that Una had given me… Astra’s spell was a mind controlling one to a degree. No matter how you looked at it, I couldn’t do anything right now.