The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  The Secret

  of the Dark Forest

  a novel

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  The Way of the Shaman

  Book#3

  Magic Dome Books

  The Secret of the Dark Forest

  The Way of the Shaman, Book # 3

  Copyright © V. Mahanenko 2016

  Cover Art © V. Manyukhin 2016

  English translation copyright © Natalia Nikitin 2016

  Published by Magic Dome Books, 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is entirely a work of fiction. Any correlation with real people or events is coincidental.

  Other LitRPG books and series by this and other authors:

  The Way of the Shaman Books 1 and 2

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  Start the Game (Galactogon Book #1)

  by Vasily Mahanenko

  Phantom Server Books 1, 2 and 3

  by Andrei Livadny

  Perimeter Defense Books 1, 2 and 3

  by Michael Atamanov

  Mirror World Books 1 and 2

  by Alexey Osadchuk

  The Lag (The Game Master Book #1)

  by A. Bobl and A. Levitsky

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  NEW!

  Attention LitRPG fans and Fantasy genre lovers from Germany!

  The German version of Way of the Shaman, Book #1

  will be released 10th September 2016!

  Pre-order the German version on Amazon!

  Read the opening chapters on Goodreads!

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One. The Emperor

  Chapter Two. Seathistles

  Chapter Three. Anhurs

  Chapter Four. Departure for the Free Lands

  Chapter Five. The Guardian of the Dark Forest

  Chapter Six. The First Battle of the Dark Forest

  Chapter Seven. The Black and White

  Chapter Eight. The Patriarch

  Chapter Nine. The Lieutenant

  Chapter Ten. Unauthorized Actions

  Chapter Eleven. The Traitor Shaman

  Chapter Twelve. The Birth of the Dragon

  Chapter Thirteen. The Judgement of the Goddess

  Chapter One. The Emperor

  "Mahan, is there more interesting stuff on the way or can we start getting some answers out of you?" Anastaria's simple question sounded like a crack of thunder in the surrounding world, snapping everyone out of it. The world exploded: after seeing a dragon with their own eyes, hearing the announcement that they could play on the side of Kartoss and, in general, after a long and hard battle the players tried to get everything off their chests all at once. The area was shaken by various exclamations, like: "Whoa! A Dragon!," "They said they didn't exist, but this small-fry knows them!," "Who the heck is that?" There was such a din that I couldn't hear myself think, let alone try to answer Anastaria.

  Because of the noise, few heard the quiet clap of the opening of the portal: a little way off a new Herald had appeared in Barliona. The Emperor ascended the throne and his envoys appeared the very same moment. With Advisors it was more complicated, since they had to come with a background, but I had a feeling that this matter would be resolved in the course of the day – it's not as if the developers would have launched all of this without the necessary preparations. As I glanced around the raging crowd of players, the herald came up to Tisha, who was gazing into the distance, eyes wide. The girl was still in a state of shock and unable to come to terms with seeing two of her closest relatives became heads of Empires.

  "Princess," the herald bowed, "Please follow me. The Emperor is waiting for you and your young man," the envoy bowed to Slate, "at the Palace."

  "Me? Us?" The Intellect Imitator inside Tisha did a stellar job in playing a girl who was still in a state of shock and struggling to understand what was going on. Her vacant gaze, wandering over the players, her grip on Slate's hand, as if it was the only thing keeping the Headman's daughter in this world ... such an exquisite piece of programming really should have been seen in a theatre instead of wasting away at the edge of the world.

  "That is correct, Princess," the Herald once again bowed his head.

  "But I can't come alone. My brothers, they are still in Beatwick, tied up and ..."

  "Unfortunately," the Herald’s cheerful expression faded and his tone became more subdued, "we cannot take them with us. They are being sent Kartoss, where they will continue to serve the Dark Lord. Please, Princess, the Emperor is expecting you."

  "What will happen to Beth? And to Mahan? Will they come with me?" Tisha had to make sure. I can't say much about Beth, but the fact that the Princess has remembered me is a good sign. As soon as I get away from this madhouse, there may be a chance of getting a nice bonus from this member of the Imperial family. I wouldn't say no to some extra gold!

  Instead of responding, the Herald pointed to Elizabeth, who clung to her newly-regained husband and children. While Mariana hid her face in her Father's embrace, Clouter tried to slip out of his mother's strong grip and get a better look at everything. Totally irrepressible, that boy! Another portal appeared next to Beth, out of which stepped a different Herald.

  "High Priestess, you are expected in Anhurs. I'm sorry, but the matter cannot wait.”

  "Yes, of course. My husband and children ..."

  "They shall come with you. Please come this way," the Herald pointed to the portal.

  "Mahan," Beth turned to me, "when you come to Anhurs, please make sure to come and visit me."

  "Thank you, High Priestess. I will definitely drop by," I bowed my head, noting Anastaria's narrowing eyes. Aha! She had no idea that the High Priestess of Eluna in Malabar had been replaced.

  "Beth." smiled the Priestess, "Just call me Beth. I await you in Anhurs." With these words the woman disappeared into the portal, pulling Mariana and Clouter after her. Theodore, Beth's husband, glanced at the portal and at the Herald and then came over to me.

  "I usually pay my own debts, regardless of any position that my wife may hold," he said in a low bass and handed me a scroll. "Two years of imprisonment have inspired me to write this work. Read it; perhaps you may find it useful."

  Item acquired: "A Treatise on Imprisonment and Ways of Staying Yourself."

  Number of pages: 240.

  Upon reading and providing correct answers (70%) to the questionnaire on this treatise: +20 Intellect, +3 Agility, +3 Stamina, +3 Strength.

  Duration: Unlimited.

  Theodore shook my hand and entered the portal. Only at that moment did I realize that we were surrounded by a strange silence. It felt like déjà vu. Had Renox dropped in on us again? I looked around and saw that the players had split into two groups. The first, the larger one made up of about 90% of the players that escaped from Beatwick, withdrew a little way off and started to summon their pets for returning to the more populous regions. These players tried not to make too much noise and disturb the second group. The latter consisted of the leaders
of all the clans, their deputies and shadow leaders, such as Evolett; they were now observing the conversations of the NPCs with some interest. Anastaria, who stood next to me, was even making a video of the whole thing, a movie camera icon flashing above her head.

  "Princess," the first Herald once again reminded us of his presence. "It's time. The High Priestess is already in Anhurs and as for Mahan, the Emperor will speak to him in person, right after you. He will be taken to the palace a little later."

  "All right," Tisha brightened up and turned towards the blacksmith. "Let's go, darling. Father won't dare to keep us apart."

  When the couple disappeared into the portal, other portals began to open, one after another. Heralds stepped out of each one, walked up to the rescued Beatwick villagers and took them to the 'mainland'. I don't know how it was for other players, but for each rescued villager I received a 10-point Reputation increase with the Malabar Emperor. One hundred and thirty-five Beatwick residents tuned into 1350 Reputation points. After a few minutes, only players remained by the destroyed Kartoss castle.

  "I see that you found yourself in possession of an interesting scroll." Just as I thought, Evolett was the first to speak. Anastaria may be a strong-willed girl, but she wouldn't barge in with her 'uncle' present, assuming he really was her uncle. The chain of command had to be respected! Ehkiller wasn't present among the fighters, so Evolett clearly intended to take the situation in hand. "I have a rough idea of what that is, so I won't ask you to show me its properties. Read through it carefully before you try answering the questions. It may not be clear from the description, but you'll have only two attempts to complete the questionnaire. And now we have to move on to less pleasant things. You probably realize that you've put all the high-level players at a very big disadvantage today. Just think: some upstart, excuse my bluntness, took it upon himself to do what even Anastaria could not – direct an inter-clan raid. And we're talking about an upstart who is completely unknown, without any kith or kin or any real levels. Can you imagine the storm this will kick up on the forums? The clans' ratings will take a big tumble and you'll be the only one to blame. This is the tricky situation I would like to discuss with you."

  "Stop handling this moron with kid gloves! Stick him on the blacklist and rub him out every chance you get!" interrupted Plinto.

  "Plinto, I will settle this matter myself," Evolett's voice was frosty, putting the sham clan leader back in his place.

  "Quit shutting me down all the time! 'Don't do that', 'don't say this': I've really had it with you! This jackass has decided that he's better than our clan! Sitting on his high horse and showing off how the clans mean nothing to him! Those cursed chess pieces are his handiwork!"

  "Plinto!" Evolett didn't shout, but his voice was sharp enough to send one for respawn. "I've been putting up with your shenanigans for what seems like ages, but enough is enough! You will stop bringing our clan into disrepute as of now!"

  "You and your clan and your decisions can go to hell!” Plinto fired back. “You can take it all and stick it where the sun don't shine! You’ve got me really shaking in my boots. And as for you, you little shit,” he said, turning to me, “we'll catch up in person later. You'll regret making that pawn for a long, long time! Our meetings will be frequent and will all end the same way. Like this!" Suddenly Plinto dashed towards me, unleashing throwing knives that left a trail of green poison behind them. I only had enough time for a brief chuckle. 350+ level mobs were unable to bring me down, but this one unbalanced individual was apparently going to finish the job.

  "Chill it, handsome," came Anastaria's voice and a dome surrounded me. A bubble! "Phoenix, attack!"

  Phoenix's entire raid group reacted immediately. Plinto didn't even have time to get near me before he was slowed, had Petrification cast on him and was sent for respawn a few seconds later. In other words, he was disposed of quickly and professionally. Something else was bugging me now. Earlier, the system, on behalf of the Emperor, informed the players of the ban on PvP fighting. Had the Emperor's previous order been revoked? Strange, I had no memory of any announcements of that sort ...

  "Legion!" There came a shout. "Phoenix has broken the truce! Waste them!"

  "Phoenix, circle formation!" Anastaria's reaction was instantaneous. "Vlad, Paul! Make a portal, and bring all our fighters here!"

  "SILENCE!" I never thought that Evolett was capable of shouting so loudly. The two groups that were about to dive into battle froze, looking at each other in surprise. The other clans got out of the way and were also murmuring in indignation. Hardly surprising, since they had just been deprived of one heck of a spectacle! "The Dark Legion clan has no claims against the Phoenix clan and thanks them for subduing Plinto," said Evolett, quickly diffusing the situation. "There will be no battle now. I will personally throw anyone that attacks any Phoenix player out of the clan. Even if they do it in self-defense! Is that clear?" Evolett confirmed my hunch that the PvP mode was still forbidden. Its shutdown wasn't system-wide, but localized, so both Plinto and a number of Phoenix members were about to be docked some Reputation points.

  Silence descended on the ruins of the castle. The Legion players stared at their leader in incomprehension and the players of other clans started to whisper amongst themselves, wondering who the heck this was and why was he suddenly commanding the Dark Legion clan.

  "Dammit!" came a grumble from Anastaria, as she read the message that appeared in front her. "Our reputation with the Emperor has gone down!"

  "Has everyone calmed down? Then let's get back to business." Evolett looked over the bewildered players, and turned to me, "As I already said, damage has been done to the reputation of all the clans, so I'll make an official statement. I call upon a Herald, and request your assistance!"

  A Herald immediately appeared next to Evolett: "You called me, Evolett. If your summons lacked a good reason, you shall be punished."

  "According to the decision of the clan assembly, I am now the leader of the Dark Legion clan. I ask you to bear witness to this fact," Evolett said, handing the Herald a sheet of paper. "Plinto is being excluded from the clan. We are no longer responsible for his actions."

  "Accepted." The air was filled with the ringing voice of the Herald. "Henceforth, Evolett is the head of the Dark Legion clan. Is this all?"

  "No. On behalf of the Dark Legion clan, I declare Shaman Mahan persona non grata. He is now officially added to the blacklist and all clan members will be informed of the fact. Starting tomorrow, any clan member that has had a chance to attack him, but failed to do so, will be automatically excluded. Herald, I ask you to verify that this directive is being adhered to."

  "Do you agree to the conditions for adding Mahan, who has positive reputation with the Malabar Empire, the Malabar Emperor, Goddess Eluna, Priestesses of Goddess Eluna, Pryke Mine Guards and the Krong Province to the blacklist?” the Herald's voice now had an icy edge to it, “his reputation with other factions will not be taken into account." Anastaria, Undigit and other clan leaders were looking from me to Evolett and back again in surprise. In Evolett's case it was on account of his words, but I didn't get the meaning of the surprised looks shot in my direction. Nor did I get why the Herald listed all the Malabar factions that I had encountered when playing as a Shaman and why he had left others out, such as the Shaman Council and the Dark Lord of Kartoss.

  "Yes! This is the decision of the clan assembly." Evolett handed the Herald another paper. The new clan leader didn't simply look pleased, but rather had turned into one big smile – as had the other Number Twos standing nearby. "Now we just have to write a name here – and that name is Mahan. The Dark Legion clan is putting him on the official blacklist."

  "So be it!" The Herald took the paper from Evolett, after which a gong sounded some way off. "Is that all?"

  "Yes, thank you, Herald." Judging by Evolett's expression, what had just taken place was something that he'd waited a very long time for. I seriously didn't get it, but clearly something unusual h
ad just gone down: some of the players were still wearing expressions that read 'No way did this just happen!'.

  "Thank you." I decided to clear the atmosphere, which was beginning to grow a little too charged. "Not everyone has the privilege of being put on the official blacklist of the second clan in the Empire."

  I'm not sure if it was something I said, but the surrounding world exploded for the second time in the past hour. Many of the players were speaking to each other or shouting things, while others stood there with glassy eyes – probably typing up forum messages, after hopping back into reality. A minute later the buzz had somewhat died down and Evolett smiled once again.

  "It seems that you are not too familiar with what being put on the official blacklist actually means, so allow me to enlighten you. Each clan has two blacklists: a general one and an official one. The general one contains players who've been making trouble for the clan, for example, Anastaria, Hellfire, and so on. When a player from our clan runs across a player from the general list, they get a message that there is an enemy nearby and they should take heed. It's quite easy to end up on the main list, since any player with the relevant level of authorization can add you. But then there is the second list, the official one, where for each player the clan pays a tax to the Empire and sacrifices its reputation. For example, you will be costing us five thousand Gold a day, as well as daily Reputation reduction with all the factions listed by the Herald. The Reputation of each clan member that signed under the list will fall. On the first day it will fall by 1 point, on the second by 2, the third – by 4, the fourth by 8 and so on. All this irrespective of whether the player on the blacklist is inside the game or has logged out. The timer is ticking in any case. Thus, in just three weeks' time any Reputation, whatever its initial level, will tumble down to Hatred. This will be true for all those who signed under it. Putting a player on the official list requires at least five hundred signatures and the paper that I just handed the Herald contains just over four thousand.