But I didn’t let him talk me out of my plans. Hurriedly bidding my friend farewell, I ran to the Capital. I was, of course, not looking for Mikhalych. I wanted to find Starship Pilot Zheltov and his fast-moving vehicle. Hopefully they were on base!
* * *
I got lucky. Zheltov was in the hanger. He was painting his bumper green, trying to once again cover up the gnarled word “Starship.” Based on the mocking smirks on the soldiers nearby, a fresh set of scratches would appear as soon as Zheltov finished painting and walked away.
“What do you want, Gnat?” The pilot could also see the soldiers standing stock still, and probably realized his work was pointless, so he was upset.
“Here,” I showed him eight red Geckho crystals in my hand. “I’ve got a job for you. How long of a ride will this get me?”
“I don’t run a taxi service! And as you can see, I'm busy!” Zheltov groaned in dismay, although his gaze was transfixed by the crystals.
I immediately realized we would come to an agreement despite his grumbling. But I didn’t persuade or pressure him, just stood in silence, letting Zheltov make up his own mind.
“I have to pick up a group from a distant sentry tower at six in the evening,” the pilot said, thoughtfully stroking the back of his head.
“So, until ten to six?” I forwarded and, not waiting for an answer, sat down in the front passenger seat. “You manage to charge up those pancakes? Or are we just gonna crawl along like last time?”
“What do you mean crawl along? My girl is a speed demon!” The pilot objected, getting in the driver's seat and putting on his old-fashioned motorcycle helmet. “Don’t forget to wear a helmet, big talker. These pancakes are one hundred percent charged and we’re gonna push them to the limit. Where are we going?”
“First along the outer border of our faction, but stay in our nodes. We don’t need to cause problems with our neighbors. Then, I’d like to see all main and secondary roads. After that, we could drive around the main ridges and mountaintops. I’m trying to build up a complete map.”
“We can’t do all that before six...” the pilot answered doubtfully, taking out a tablet, calling up a map and marking out a suggested route. “Also, let me warn you, I won’t go far into the Yellow Mountains node. My racer cannot make it along those steep cliffs... So... I guess, we’ll finish the excursion either in the Eastern Swamp near the new base on the central island, or in the central node at a hot sulfur spring near a ridge.”
“The sulfur spring is better! Exactly what I need!”
From there, the talking ended and the race began. Seemingly, Zheltov was seriously offended by my disparaging remarks, and the former student of the Military Space Academy did everything in his power to prove the opposite. We raced at a mad speed, at times making such sharp turns that my eyes went dim. I had read that a normal untrained person would lose consciousness in a Formula-1 race car by the second or third turn, and I could tell this was near that. I suspect that, if I hadn’t invested in Constitution after going through the Labyrinth, I'd have already passed out.
Yes, it was hard, but it was worth it! The progress bar was filling up right before my eyes. I was leveling Cartography and Eagle Eye with enviable regularity. My character had reached level eleven in just ten minutes! And I’d hit twelve soon...
We flew into the swamp, spooking frogs and other creatures. A wave of muddy water rolled over me, then I was forced to lurch forward when we came to an abrupt stop in some deep muck. I couldn’t see anything, I even had to remove my mud-caked glasses to see.
“Why are you still sitting?! Get out and help pull us out before we get totally stuck!” Zheltov yelled, also caked head-to-toe in mud.
I would have gladly unbuckled and gone to help, but I was so exhausted my body wouldn’t obey. Every muscle was screaming in pain. Also, the seatbelt was too tight, and I couldn’t move my arm, which was squeezed against my torso. The pilot had to help me out of the safety belt, then the both of us pulled the ooze-caked starship onto dry land.
“I usually go through here at speed when I am alone in the vehicle. Sorry, I didn’t think we’d get stuck together,” Zheltov started justifying himself, but I just waved a hand:
“I don’t mind. These things happen. We don’t have much time, let's keep going. Plus, I can see a bunch of red markers on the mini-map. It seems dangerous to stay here.”
“Yeah, this place is full of swamp creatures, and a bunch of them are poisonous. Let’s go!”
And our mad race continued. Through forest and field, down nice roads and through untamed wilderness, the starship sped confidently onward. Zheltov told me about the local scenery, defensive structures and places where especially fierce battles had taken place. I was only half listening, but still answered sometimes. By the end of the two-hour excursion, I found the speed, turns and buzzing past trees positively exhilarating.
At ten to six, Dmitry Zheltov let me out near a small pond of cloudy green water that smelled like rotten eggs.
“Alright, we’ve done what we agreed on. I hope you aren’t mad at me for the accident in the swamp. Anyway, you can wash the mud off your clothes here,” the pilot pointed at the sulfurous spring.
But I, staggering in exhaustion and barely able to stand, didn’t have a care in the world other than my level: fifteen. Despite the aching pain in my joints, I wanted to sing and dance for joy. It worked!
“How could I be mad?! Dmitry, you helped me a ton. I owe you a bottle of good brandy in real life... well, if I can figure out how to buy one under the Dome. And when I’ll get more crystals, maybe we can do some more stunt driving!”
Zheltov started smiling, squeezed my hand farewell and pointed to the northeast:
“The central base is that way, just one mile. There haven’t been any dangerous creatures here in the central node for a long time. But if you see anything, shout on the radio, our guys will quickly come help!”
I don’t know why he told me the direction to the Capital. My map already had every structure of any significance in our faction’s territory. I certainly wouldn’t get lost as long as I had that and a compass. I bid the pilot farewell, sat down on the shore of the lake and opened my statistics.
So, how was I doing?
Gnat. Human. Faction H3
Level-15 Prospector
Statistics:
Strength
12
Agility
15
Intelligence
18
Perception
20
Constitution
12
Luck modifier
+3
Parameters:
Hitpoints
480
Endurance points
80 of 285
Magic points
0
Carrying capacity
24 kg
Fame
4
Skills:
Electronics
6
Scanning
20
Cartography
26
Astrolinguistics
10
Break-in
6
Rifles
16
Medium armor
6
Mineralogy
11
Eagle Eye
19
Sharpshooter
1
Not bad at all! And I had fifteen skill points just sitting there! What a great ride! The idea to take Eagle Eye had justified itself one hundred percent. If my view was obstructed by branches, mud spatter, fog or smoke, it skill leveled even faster than Cartography.
I’d already beaten the faction record, and by two whole levels. What was more, I had two and a half hours to go. I was not planning to just kick back and be satisfied. While I had the time, I needed to build on my success! But what should I do to earn accolades and avoid criticism? I wanted my allies to shake their heads in shock when they saw my achievements!
Th
e upcoming conversation with the leadership no longer seemed so frightening and unpleasant because my record breaking leveling served as proof I was on the right track. I filled my lungs with fresh forest air, although it was somewhat tainted by the smell of the sulfur pond. I lied down in the tall grass. How awesome! I love this game!
Successful Perception check
I seemed to hear voices, and not so far away. Without raising my head, I carelessly moved the grass aside to see who it was. There were three strangers, and all of them were wearing strange dark-gray uniforms that looked to be made of small scales, and chameleon camouflage cloaks on their shoulders. Without a doubt they were people, and they were in our capital node very near the central base. But I was thrown off by several inconsistencies. First, their skin was an unusual ashen gray color. Second, they were walking hunched over, as if sneaking. People normally don’t walk like that in their own lands.
Not yet totally believing my guesses, but still trying not to make any sharp movements, I tried to read the information about the nearest unfamiliar person:
Bey-O Tu-Leen. Human. Dark Faction. Level-32 Warrior
Dark Faction!!! A second later, all three markers on the mini-map turned bright red. The game system classified them as enemies!!! They were no more than ninety feet away, and they were coming in my direction. I froze in fear, trying to press myself against the ground. But then I began to crawl up the slope very slowly into the bushes on the edge of the sulfur lake.
Chapter Seventeen. Observation Post
MY HEART STARTED POUNDING against my ribcage in fear. My thoughts scattered in panic. What to do? It was most likely too late to run. As soon as I got up from the grass, I would be seen. Fight? That wasn’t even funny. I had just one shotgun cartridge left, and it was sitting in my inventory, not even loaded into the double-barrel. I had unloaded the gun for safety before the trip with Zheltov. And I couldn’t load it now. The sound of a barrel clicking would draw attention. It would be very dumb to put any hope in my weak little air gun, too. It hadn’t pierced the shell of a level-4 bug, so it wouldn’t even scratch the scaly armor of the Dark Faction soldiers. All that remained was the knife, and I squeezed it tight in my right hand.
Another alarmed thought flickered about my fifteen free skill points. But my progress bar to level sixteen was not empty. I'd managed to fill it to twenty percent. What was more, twenty-four hours had not yet passed since I'd earned them. So, in theory, dying wouldn’t be catastrophic. I wouldn’t lose the fifteen skill points; my progress bar would just fall to zero.
But death was not the most frightening possibility. It was actually probably the best way this could end. For some reason, I was reminded of the Assassin Svetlana. During our lesson, she was standing pretty far away from her students, yet she managed to get next to them in the blink of an eye and bash them in the chest so hard they couldn’t even move. I also remembered hearing that the Dark Faction took two Second Legion soldiers prisoner in the last battle.
From what I’d heard, enemy factions could keep a player captive for an unlimited time. They just had to make sure they stayed alive, so they’d never respawn. It was really the most damage that could be done to a faction. Take an active player out of their ranks and lock in a dungeon for many months or even years. What was more, this was not our world. Different rules applied here, and the Dark Faction hadn’t exactly signed the Geneva Convention, so there was no guarantee I'd be treated with dignity. So, as a prisoner of war, I would be broken physically and mentally. And that was truly frightening.
At that very moment, my mind filled with horror stories, a Dark Faction player appeared on the shore of the forest lake just five steps from me. It took me enormous effort to not scream or move in the grass and sedge.
Minn-O La-Fin. Human. Dark Faction. Level-48 Cartographer.
She was a tall thin girl with ashen gray skin and short silver hair. Clearly of the human race, but I’d never seen anyone that looked like her before. My fear and her enemy status did not stop me from noticing her uncanny beauty. Now, from up close, I could see that she was not wearing armor at all. The thin form-fitting suit, perfectly outlining the alluring curves of her young feminine body was covered with an innumerable collection of tiny ceramic scales.
I had once seen a clip on the internet about future technology describing a suit like this. If I was right, every scale would heat up or cool down to match the temperature of her surroundings, making her totally invisible to infrared sensors and heat-seeking weaponry. The chameleon cloak on her shoulders made her visibly blend in with the grass, stones, trees and surrounding environment. In fact, to a distant observer, she would be entirely invisible as soon as she stopped moving.
“Rosg in kuwi unt ik,” the cartographer girl called her companions after her with a shockingly normal wave of the hand, calling her companions and pointing to some tracks on the ground.
“Oni in kuwi ‘staasheep,’” said a man, straining to pronounce the foreign word, and all three laughed.
Apparently, the name of Zheltov’s fast-moving craft was funny to them as well. I was in no mood to laugh, though. They noticed my tracks! And now, as soon as they looked down to the water’s edge, they would see me!
I had to make sure they wouldn’t take me alive!!! With some doubt, I touched my finger with the blade of the knife. I didn’t have the Blades skill, so I was in serious doubt it could kill me, even if I slit my throat. After all, I was at level fifteen and had four hundred eighty hitpoints... If I didn’t kill myself quickly, the bleeding could be stopped, and they could bring me back from the brink.
So, the knife would not do. I couldn’t kill myself in one blow, and they wouldn’t allow me to make a second or third. What then? Quickly load a cartridge into the shotgun and shoot myself in the head? Also not instantaneous, and they might not give me time. But if I didn’t manage, the lake was behind me and, apparently quite deep. What had Kisly said today? “The game rules are pretty strict there. If you don’t have the Swimming skill, you’ll just drown as soon as you get into deeper water.” Not a bad option.
But for now, the enemies were stalling. Based on the mini-map, two of them were trying to track Zheltov’s starship. The cartographer girl was still standing on the shore, though. She took out something that looked like a monocle and investigated the distant forest more closely. As my enemies hadn’t yet discovered me yet, I felt no need to take my life. So, this seemed like a good opportunity to spend my skill points. I opened my character window and hurriedly placed them all: five in Rifles, five in Sharpshooter, five in Medium Armor. Now, I was mad I hadn’t taken Stealth. If I could place fifteen whole points there, there would be a decent chance no one would see me.
But I didn’t need Stealth. The men called the girl from far away demandingly and Minn-O La-Fin placed the monocle back in a case on her belt. She took one final look into the forest through her dark glasses, then threw the hood of her invisibility cloak over her pretty head and hurried off. I concluded the two men must have been her subordinates, because they were of a much lower level, thirty-two and thirty-six. She must have been an important person to warrant that. Now, they were hurrying the cartographer girl on, telling her to quickly get off the hill because it made her too visible.
Astrolinguistics skill increased to level eleven!
Tracking the red markers on the mini-map, and giving them a forty-yard head start, I slunk after them up the slope. I was no longer considering suicide. My priority was not letting the enemy spies out of view. And by the way, where were they? Lying down flat in the grass, I looked into the leafy forest on the slope of the hill.
Successful Perception check
Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty!
They were going up the stream jumping from stone to stone. I placed that point and my location on my map. Letting the enemies go a bit farther away, I activated my radio:
“Come in, anyone! This is Gnat, number fourteen-seventy. I'm tracking three members of the Dark Faction
in the central node near the sulfur lake.”
“...ar ...bonehead... frequency... tique beach!” Despite the interference, I recognized Kisly’s voice, but he was immediately interrupted by another voice:
“This i... ...post One! Gnat, I... can’t hear, ple... repeat, over.”
I repeated everything, gave my map coordinates, the enemy’s trajectory and even their classes and levels. I also said the members of the Dark Faction were going up the stream, jumping on stones in order not to leave tracks on the wet ground.
“The raid ...roup will be handled by the Sec... Legion! Communication on thi... frequency immediately... cease! Everyone switch to chan... seventeen, turn on encoding, over!”
I may have been mistaken due to the distortion, but the last voice seemed to be Gerd Tamara. But I couldn’t hear them anymore. I turned the simple radio over in my hands and looked at it: microphone, speaker, talk button and volume knob, well and an on/off switch. How could I even turn this to another channel? It seemed that my primitive radio simply did not have that function. It didn’t have encoding either. Damn!
And meanwhile, the three red markers were going quite far away and nearing the border of my mini-map. Considering the high-tech chameleon cloaks the raiders were wearing, I had serious risk of losing sight of them. So, I went after the enemies, trying to keep them at the very edge of my vision. A few times, one of the trio turned and looked back, but I managed to remain unseen, taking shelter behind a rock or tree trunk.
Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-two!
Countdown_LitRPG Series Page 13