The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4) LitRPG series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “I had a toy like that when I was a kid,” said Plinto. “You need to find the start point, place the ball on it and then very carefully rotating the sphere (mine was a sphere) guide the ball to the center point. This looks about the same. If I’m not mistaken, there should be a control lever in the center of the cube which we’ll have to pull…The only question is how do we get there?”

  “Especially considering that the planes aren’t static and keep rotating. I’ve been observing them for over a minute and haven’t noticed any repetitions,” Anastaria added. “As for the fire, water, daggers and other bells and whistles, which, as you can see, are only at the edges of the cube—that’s all there to keep us from going out of bounds, falling and failing the challenge. Mahan? What do you say?”

  What could I say? That I’m in utter shock? That I’m in a total panic? That it seems easier to me to return to the surface and try to reach the castle through the gates? I don’t know how to pass through this thing! I simply don’t know! You can’t do this kind of thing through reasoning—only through premonition. But, would my premonition alone really see me through?

  “Geranika’s warriors are the most agile creatures in this world,” said Cain, as though coming to my aid. “I count five entrances altogether. Five of my warriors will enter the labyrinth and turn it off…”

  What can I say…Cain was mistaken—his warriors weren’t that agile after all. Three of the entrances turned out to be traps, which instantly killed the three warriors entering them. The other two managed to survive the horror show for ten and twenty seconds respectively before failing: one into the flames, the other into the dark abyss. All five Level 320 warriors died in a matter of seconds and took their frames with them, indicating that we couldn’t revive them.

  “Your ancestor was quite the trickster,” Cain seethed through his teeth to Geyra. “Who would think of using Devourer at every turn…?”

  “I won’t send my warriors to eternal oblivion,” Geyra said, shaking her head. “Only Plinto can compete this labyrinth.”

  “Very funny,” growled the Rogue, peering intently into the chaotically changing paths to the center. “This is just unreal…Although…Did I run all those obstacle courses for nothing?”

  The Rogue stroked his little vampire Totem, flashed us a smile, cast Acceleration, and dashed into the labyrinth at full speed.

  “Revive him,” Geyra ordered her priests. Plinto held out for an entire twenty seconds, running along three dimensions, after which he lost his balance and performed a graceful dive into the lava. In my view, any such dive would earn a solid 10.0 at competition, both for its artistic merits (i.e. the cursing and the floundering) and for its splash (there was none).

  “Mahan, this cube is for you, no way around it,” smiled Anastaria, welcoming me to enter the whirring colossus. “Activate your premonition and dive on in. There’s no other way…It’s pointless to observe the motions and try to remember their sequence—like I said, the way is ever-changing…Give it a shot…”

  I glanced over at the resurrected Plinto, who simply shrugged as if to say ‘I did what I could,’ at Cain, at Geyra, at Stacey, tossed my head as if casting off excess thoughts and sighed heavily. It looked like I would need to jump in. I approached the starting point and simply stood there for some time, trying to calm my nerves. Despite my outward calm, I was shaking inside—and I didn’t even know why. Even if I failed, I’d be revived, but…To realize that I hadn’t lived up to the challenge specially designed for me and that, as a result, we wouldn’t be able to complete the Dungeon or get the First Kill—it was all such a big responsibility, a heavy burden, an onerous…Hold on now, what the hell is going on with me anyway? Never have I been so anxious, even before an exam or a date with a girl! Are they putting thoughts in my head again?

  As soon as this last thought occurred to me, my shivering stopped. Entirely. My mind cleared and, submitting to the sudden impulse, I divided my consciousness. One ‘I’ was standing and waiting for the entrance to the labyrinth to appear, while the other ‘I’ was already virtually charting his way through the tangled paths in search of the optimal way through.

  I ignored the first two entrances that appeared before me. As soon as my first ‘I’ wanted to move in their direction, the other ‘I’ would hold him back—not those! Even though the other three entrances will kill you—those two are off limits…It seemed that something had changed about them.

  Shutting my eyes, I touched the surface rushing past me and simply listened to my premonition: Two times entrances appeared, which my second ‘I’ could see, but each of them had something bad associated with it, something negative, so I let them pass, waiting for the next.

  Finally, ‘my’ entrance appeared—the same one that had incinerated one of Cain’s warriors, and yet in my case this entrance was illuminated. And I mean illuminated in my mind, since I hadn’t opened my eyes yet—after all, my second ‘I’ could see everything around me. The first consciousness, the one responsible for my physical body, remained comfortably blind…

  A step forward, a warning cry from Geyra—cut short by someone elbowing her in the ribs—two quick steps back and instantly a jump to the side, rotating ninety degrees.

  My head was spinning because the leap had turned into a fall to the ground which forced me to jump to my feet upon landing and stick out my leg high and forward because the cube had already rotated and the ground was now right before my still-shut eyes.

  Two mincing steps forward and a high jump, stretching taut as a string and trying to make it over the rail—the floor had suddenly become the ceiling and the rail was the only thing between me and the freezing water below…

  Roll…Leap…Sprint…Land…Several times I was forced to latch onto the edge of the platform with both hands and spin with it in different directions, since my other ‘I’ couldn’t think of what to do next…

  After a minute of being in the labyrinth, I allowed myself to do that which I should have forbidden myself from even thinking about at the beginning: I looked around to see how much was left…This was my great mistake because, in that very moment, the first ‘I’ took control from my second ‘I’ and thought triumphantly, ‘all I have to do is reach out my arm and the deed’s done…’

  My dive into the lava wouldn’t have earned a medal—the splash was too great…

  Ragrid wishes to resurrect you. Do you accept?

  “To make it almost the entire way on your first attempt, that’s quite something,” said Plinto reverently as soon as I returned to normal life. “If I hadn’t tried it myself, I’d think it was easy. I have to say, Mahan—A+!”

  “Agreed. That was beautiful, Mahan!” Anastaria said encouragingly. “I confess I didn’t think that you could make it that far, but…I’ll show you the video later. That was a virtuoso performance! As for your misstep—I get the impression that something threw you off…Was it that voice again?”

  “No, it’s my fault,” I replied grimly, got to my feet and approached the cube again. It was going to be a long day…

  They had to revive me eighteen times in total. This is how many attempts it took me to understand that reaching the control level was impossible. No matter what Anastaria and Plinto said, no matter how they encouraged me, it was clear that I couldn’t complete the cube…In any case, not in this life, not as an ordinary human, since an ordinary…

  Blast and of course! As an ordinary human!

  “Dan, are you sure you want to try it again?” Anastaria asked when I abruptly jumped to my feet again and made my way to the cube. I couldn’t put off testing my hunch any longer—Cain and Geyra were already long-since discussing a plan of returning to the surface and storming the castle. The mercenary was explaining the locations of buildings within the walls, since she was the only one to have been inside. At the moment, however, my task was to be more than human.

  “Trust me, Stacey,” I replied, approaching the starting point. My motto for the next few moments was going to be
‘no more thinking with your head.’ I had attempted the cube eighteen times in the ordinary way as an ordinary player—in my primary form. And yet I had a special ability that drastically set me apart from the vast majority of other players—I knew how to fly! Why scurry around the cube, trying to anticipate its turns and rotations? I could fly through it!

  Taking a deep breath and once more ridding myself of the growing shiver, I turned into my Dragon Form, folded my wings and dived into the entrance that appeared before me. The journey had begun…

  Once only several meters remained between me and the internal surface, I unfurled my wings, twirled and flew over the flaming surface, trying to find a way of reaching the center. Hmm…It turns out that thirty meters isn’t much space—particularly when your wingspan accounts for three meters on its own. I was forced to turn around after a second or two in order to avoid slamming into the interior surface of the cube. Maybe, my idea of taking flight wasn’t quite so accurate? Although…who said that Dragons only know how to fly?

  Flapping my wings several times, I soared up several meters and latched onto the edge of some kind of structure with my claws. The cube was too small to allow flight—that was a tough fact. A human couldn’t reach the center of the cube—that was another tough fact. However, as a Dragon, I could safely ignore the cube’s rotation and using my claws, tail and wings, reach the control lever directly. If there is another way, why not use it?

  Achievement earned!

  First Completion of the Glarnis Dungeon.

  Achievement reward: Your Attractiveness for all NPCs has increased by 1.

  Message for the player: In five months’ time you will be teleported to an audience with the Emperor of Malabar. You may take two companions with you; for this you will have to give them the invitation letter in the course of five months. You may obtain the invitations in any branch office of Barliona Bank.

  As soon as I realized what I had to do, the problem was solved almost instantly—like a bull in a china shop, breaking and shattering everything along my way, I crawled single-mindedly in the direction of the control lever. No one ever said that the cube had to remain undamaged and there was therefore no reason to treat it with kids’ gloves.

  “Welcome to Glarnis!” the mercenary said triumphantly as soon as we reached the shimmering exit to the Dungeon. By the way, as I was making my way through the now motionless cube, another solution occurred to me—in my Dragon Form, I could comfortably fly from one end of the cube to the other and therefore ferry everyone one by one to the other side. As soon as the cube ceased spinning, nothing kept me from flying there and back.

  “Plinto, you go first,” I said, sending the Rogue into Glarnis. We didn’t know what awaited us on the other side—perhaps another trap—and Geyra and Cain’s warriors could still come in handy.

  “Sir, yes, sir!” grinned the Rogue and darted into the portal.

  “Clear!” came the message in the clan chat ten seconds later. “Come on in. No phantoms in sight…”

  The Glarnis throne room had borne Altameda’s immense weight without the slightest sign of stress. If it weren’t for the layer of dust—(a Scenario! There’s no dust in Barliona normally!)—and several fallen paintings, you could comfortably put on a ball in here and hold audiences—there was plenty of space for it.

  “The walls keep the phantoms from entering this place,” said Geyra, lighting the torches along the hall’s perimeter. “Oh, look—that’s me!”

  One of the portraits that had fallen to the floor depicted a young, smiling woman who bore a striking resemblance to Geyra. Only, in the portrait, the girl was about fifteen years old, whereas our mercenary was at least thirty.

  “A LITTLE MORE! I CAN SENSE YOU—YOU ARE SO NEAR!”

  “Cain,” I said to the Necromancer, “now that we’ve reached Glarnis, tell us please who Urusai is and why you are trying to kill him.”

  “Urusai is a Naga demon. Many millennia ago…”

  “Stop, Geyra!” yelled Anastaria, cutting off Cain. In the course of lighting the torches and examining the paintings, the mercenary had approached a door and was now trying with all her might to slide aside its massive bolt bar. Several warriors from her squad were trying to help her in this, while the remainder had formed a wall around their leader, guarding her from danger. And it was looking like it was we who were that danger!

  “Plinto, stop her!” I yelled, but it was already too late. With an immense rumble the door of Imperial Oak swung ajar and the first phantoms darted into the hall. Paying the mercenaries no heed, they flew in our direction, their red eyes clearly demonstrating that they weren’t seeking a friendly chat.

  Geyra’s Squad (26 Warriors, 3 Priests, 2 Mages) has left your clan in violation of their agreement with you. Do you wish to file a complaint?

  The mercenaries’ frames blinked and vanished from the raid party—Geyra had left not only the clan, but the raid party as well, and in so doing committed an unheard of deed for an NPC mercenary: She had violated a contract with a player. But that’s not supposed to happen!

  “Cain, defense!” Anastaria commanded somewhere in the background, arranging a defense against the phantoms. Notifications began to flicker past about damage taken, about the deaths of Cain’s warriors, so I pushed ‘Yes,’ still unable to comprehend why the woman had done what she did. Abandoning players in a bind where they needed help the most is very bad, so it was important that Geyra would be admonished if not outright punished. How could someone act like that? And, by the way, why are the phantoms ignoring Geyra and her people anyway?

  Do you wish to summon the local Guardian to investigate?

  YES! Only the Guardian could explain to me what the developers had thought up in this location, stop the assault of the phantoms and…

  “NOOOO!” Urusai’s scream pierced my head and deafened me to the point that my sight went dim. When I regained my composure, the situation in the throne room had changed drastically. A mere handful of Cain’s warriors remained—of the fifty fighters that had joined us at the beginning, only seven were still alive. Geyra and her men remained standing untouched by the wall, away from the fray. The phantoms continued to pour into the hall—only to encounter the shadows and vanish in a bright flash. Anastaria and Plinto were standing stock-still like statues and only a single sentient in the midst of this chaos seemed happy—this was Geranika, from whose hands flowed the aforementioned shadows, extinguishing the phantoms.

  “You woke up at last?” he asked me considerately and instantly grabbed me and set me to my feet. “Didn’t I tell you that we would meet soon and promised you that you wouldn’t enjoy it very much?”

  “I call upon the Guardian!” I shouted, understanding perfectly well that the Heralds wouldn’t set foot on Narlak territory, whereas I’d already summoned the Guardian anyway… He should definitely be able to stop Geranika!

  “I am all ears, oh my failed apprentice,” smirked Geranika. At this point, the phantoms gave up their assault and the Lord of Shadow put down his hands with a sigh of relief. Flexing his shoulders, as if they were sore, Geranika added: “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to put in so much effort. These phantoms sure have grown since our last meeting, grown quite a bit…”

  “You’re the Guardian?” My astonishment knew no bounds. “But how? And why?”

  “Geyra, take care of those two,” Geranika nodded at Anastaria and Plinto. “Bind Cain and his warriors as well. It’s not good practice to defy the terms of an agreement, and the Necromancer, if I’m not mistaken, remains our Shaman’s ally. Meanwhile, Mahan and I are going to take a walk around his castle. By the way, I congratulate you on your recent acquisition—a very taste reward.”

  “Yes my Master,” Geyra bowed her head and turned to Cain: “Put down your arms!”

  “Commander,” Cain bowed in turn, utterly knocking the last scrap of understanding out of my head. Geyra—the inheritor of Glarnis—was a servant of Geranika? And one for whom Cain was a subordinate
?

  “Dan! Get out of here! Cast a teleport and get out!” As soon as Geranika unblocked Anastaria, her voice popped into my head.

  “I’ll warn you just in case,” the Emperor of Shadow said immediately, “that I have updated the Kartossian Transformers and now no one can either come here or flee from here—neither the Heralds, nor the Emperor, nor even Eluna herself. The main characters in the story that is to take place here and now are going to be you and me. Even the owner of this castle won’t be able to interfere.”

  “STOP, YOU FOOL!” This time Urusai’s voice resounded all around us—not solely in my mind. We departed the Throne Room and found ourselves in half-destroyed chamber—the onetime reception hall of Glarnis.

  “Urusai is angry,” smirked Geranika, pointing somewhere overhead. “That’s okay, we don’t need him anyway. Our way lies downward!”

  Shadows poured from the hands of the former Shaman, destroying everything in their path—furniture, stones, fallen walls, the floor itself…Right in front of us a passage appeared, receding downward. Geranika pointed at it and said:

  “Geyra…”

  “Yes, Your Majesty!” the mercenary slipped past us, uttering another telling phrase. The passage began to shimmer and I beheld a spiral staircase winding down.

  “After you, Mahan,” said Geranika, pointing at the stairwell and relishing his victory as well as my utter incomprehension at what was happening. “It’s time to make of you the Shaman you deserve to be…”

  Someone pushed me roughly and I plummeted down head over heels, losing 1% of my Hit Points at every step. If I get lucky, there’ll be 80 of them and I’ll find myself respawning away from this nightmare. But I was not lucky, for the stairs only had 55 steps and a flimsy wooden door that I busted through without even noticing it.