Текст книги "AlterWorld"

Автор книги: Dmitri Rus

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Chapter Seven

I lounged in bed enjoying that blissful weekend feeling. No alarm clocks, no hasty breakfast before rushing off to work alongside equally sleepy and grumpy—never knew why—fellow citizens.

Birds' songs poured in through the open window. The heavy door all but blocked out the ground-floor sounds: quiet voices and the rattling of plates. Someone burst out in cheerful laughter. The smell of fried bacon tickled my nostrils. I stretched with a happy smile—my joints made no cracking or clicking—and sat up in one smooth motion, enjoying the sensation of a perfectly healthy body. The thought of its potential use intoxicated me. Enough larking about. Time to kill some gnolls. They had to be missing me.

Before I left I decided to spend my last gold piece on another night. The innkeeper scooped the coin off the bar. "What time should I expect you?"

"Not before nighttime, I suppose. Time to let some gnolls' blood."

He nodded his understanding. "Wait a sec. I'll arrange for some sandwiches."

Shit. I kept forgetting to eat. This wasn't real life where you could skip a meal. Here, once you're hungry, you'd better quit whatever you're doing double quick before you're flat out of mana.

"Thank you, Sir. I completely forgot."

The innkeeper gave me a knowing smile, like, he'd been young too once.

The red-faced waitress rushed in from the kitchen and handed me a sizable packet and a still warm flask. I looked inside.

Three Little Pigs Sandwich, courtesy of chef. Amt: 5.

Use: +3 to Strength, +3 to Constitution for 2 hrs.

Strong Herbal Tea

Use: Speeds up mana regeneration 3% for 2 hrs.

Surprised, I looked up at the innkeeper. "Are you sure? This stuff sure costs more than the gold piece I gave you for the room."

He gave me a wink, grinning. "On the house, kid. Eric gave me a whisper about you last night. You're one of the locals, almost. It's all right, really. Just enjoy your food."

I thanked him again, wistfully packed up the delicious-smelling goodies and headed for the door.

On my way to the Gnoll Hill I checked my friend list. Cryl was offline. But the sad Taali girl was there. I sent her a toothy smiley, just to cheer her up. A couple minutes later I received a cheeky winking face. My mood upped a few degrees. Life was moving on.

There it was, the hill from yesterday. Still lots of people but nothing like last night. I wasn't going to join a group, not quite yet. I wanted to play solo for a while to explore my char's potential.

I raised a rather average zombie, attracting a few curious glances in the process. It wasn't often they saw a Necro right here in the heart of the Lands of Light. I placed the remaining Soul Stone in a separate pocket in case I had to raise the pet again right in the heat of battle.

And then we got cooking.

Four hours and two stupid deaths later, I was almost level nine. Two gold pieces clinked in my wallet, plus about six hundred copper. Luckily, virtual money didn't weigh much: a thousand pieces equaled two and a half pounds. Twice I'd been to town to get rid of my hefty nickel-and-dime loot. I had about forty bracelets and the same amount of Soul Stones. I kept leveling slowly but surely, the few deaths resulting mainly from a couple of unlucky pulls. Gnolls had a large aggro zone what with their constant scurrying about, messengers running to and fro. Turned out it wasn't a good place for an easy hunt.

I wasn't bored, running an angler's adrenaline rush as I scooped the loot out of bodies. I spent meditation breaks scrolling through the location chat. Somebody was still looking for a Red Bear, offering first three and later ten gold for the creature's whereabouts. A quest pet, apparently. Petty peddlers squabbled among themselves buying and selling stuff. Bracelets were in constant demand so I could have done a bit of haggling if I wanted to. Plenty of buyers around.

Having restored mana to full, I rose, mechanically dusting my pants. I had to get myself some clothes, really, walking around in a basic free kit like a green newb. And the cloak… better not say anything about it. I just hoped that Taali had chosen a different leveling location.

I noticed a ranger player appearing from the nearby woods, his health flashing an orange alarm. He took a dozen paces, turned toward the trees and shot a few arrows at a yet unseen target. His gear was quite impressive, his armor gleaming with complex traceries, his rings glistening with gems. Even the arrows he shot left strange purple residue in the air.

I peered at him. Karish. Level 38.

A big fish, too big for this location. Who was he firing off at?

Then I saw it. Red Bear himself, as large as life and twice as ugly. About six foot eight shoulder height, he was studded with arrows like a pin cushion and was also twice as scary for it. His frantic eyes sparkled yellow, each the size of a saucer. The beast bared his teeth, each a good dagger long.

The ranger lunged forward, shortening the distance between them. The bear was having a hard time. He had barely 10% life left.

As the fighters approached, I looked around for a place as far from the bear as possible. One swing of his paw, and I could do another corpse run.

The archer stopped within ten paces from me. He turned round and grabbed his bow. Twang, twang, twang. The bear's life bar shrunk to the size of a hair. He was toast.

But the bear still had enough in him to surprise us. He reared up, knocked an arrow aside in full flight and bellowed. Not just any old bellow, either:

You hear the wild roar of a primeval beast! You're petrified! Your body is paralyzed with fear!

Jesus. Just then my pet remembered his default owner-protection settings, grumbled and lunged toward the bear. Where did he think he was going?

Veins bulged on the motionless raider's neck as he struggled against the invisible chains. The bear limped toward the man and in one powerful jolt pulled him under himself. I could hear the smacking of heavy paws. A few seconds later, everything was over. A small grave appeared where the archer had died.

The bear turned to my zombie pet who had during all that time pounded the beast's wide back. Absolutely pointless. The level gap was too big. The zombie either missed or couldn't pierce the armor resulting in zero damage hits. When the paralysis finally ended, I stirred, racking my brains for a solution. The pet was little help, I could see that. He could only defer the monster two seconds max. And if I cast the DoT or the Deadman's Hand? He was almost sure to resist both. The only thing that might work was Life Absorption. It had always worked, ignoring the target's resistance to magic. How much life could the bear have left? One or two percent at most. Definitely not a hundred. I couldn't escape so I could just as well try it.

I selected the bear as target and activated the spell.

Red Bear has sustained 14 points Damage!

You've received 14 points Life! 90/90

The zombie gnoll has been clawed! Damage sustained: 190 points!

The zombie gnoll tried to punch Red Bear but missed!

Red Bear has sustained 15 points Damage!

You've received 15pt Life! 90/90

A critical hit received! Red Bear has clawed the zombie gnoll resulting in 390 points Damage!

The zombie gnoll is dead!

The bear hobbled toward me. Pointless running: even though he could barely move his legs, each step was so wide he'd catch up with me in no time. And he also had that bellowing skill. He'd just paralyze me and kill me. Oh shit. He was rearing up.

The bear stood up glaring at me with hatred.

Red Bear has sustained 13 points Damage!

You've received 13 points Life! 90/90.

The beast opened his jaws wide and bellowed just as I finished casting the spell again.

You hear the wild roar of a primeval beast! You're petrified! Your body is paralyzed with fear!

You've dealt a critical hit! Red Bear has sustained 28 points Damage!

You've received 28 points Life! 90/90.

Red Bear is dead!

You've received Experience!

Congratulations! You've reached level 9!

Racial bonus: +1 to Intellect!

Class bonus: +1 to Intellect, +1 to Spirit!

5 Characteristic points available! You now have 20 Characteristic points!

Congratulations! You've received achievement: Goliath!

You've killed a creature 10 levels higher than you!

You've been awarded +100 points Fame!

Congratulations! You've received achievement: Colossus!

You've killed a creature 20 levels higher than you!

You've been awarded +500 points Fame!

I just stood there frozen, my mouth gaping in a silent whoopee, my dropped jaw fully describing my feelings. What a coincidence. Un-freakin'-believable. Had the archer stayed alive, I'd have dealt a certain amount of damage but gotten no experience at all. More than that: had the ranger been bound to this location, then he'd have received all of the experience even in death. But the archer must have either arrived from afar or teleported to the city and hadn't yet bound to the location. Enter me. His damage list was now empty. God only knows where he'd respawn now. Having said that, hardly any class allowed you to wrestle down a bear while there was at least one percent life in him. No steel or magic would have made a dent in him. What incredible, enormous luck.

The paralysis released me. Rubber-legged, I hobbled over to the beast. I reached out to touch his powerful frame and sank to the ground in awe. The Soul Stone. I clenched it and peered at the properties:

A Soul Stone. Contains the soul of level 36 Red Bear. Use the Summoning the Undead spell to raise it.

Not yet realizing the full scope of my luck, I moved the rest of the loot into my bag. Besides the Stone, I also had Red Bear's Heart and two vials of Bear's Blood. I'd have to look into them later.

I sat down on the ground, dumbfounded, rolling the little rock in my hand admiring the play of light on its facets. Wonder if I could use it? Apparently, the mana level required for summoning depended on the player's level and not on that of the summoned creature's. I didn't see any problems in that respect.

I could only explain what happened next by the catatonic state I was still in. You wouldn't expect me to admit I acted like an idiot, right? Why, oh why did I try to cast that summoning spell?

The earth bulged. The enormous bulk of a zombie bear crawled out of the depth. Summon my aunt! How did you go about burying him back in the ground? Why on earth had I had to summon him?

I heard stifled cries behind me. A group of three minor Elves stood behind my back.

"What… what's that?" a level five female warrior pointed a trembling finger at the beast's bulk.

"That," I said bitterly, "is my pet. Model My Brain Hurts, version I'll Rip Your Head Off. Cute, isn't he? Just don't disturb him, he's easily excited. Aren't you, Hummungus?"

Chapter Eight

I didn't need to ask myself what to do next. Teddy was my ticket to level 30 and beyond. Ideally, of course, I had first to get to level 10 and choose specialization. Then I had to spend some quality time rearranging my characteristics and choosing the right spells. Only then could I pack my lunch box and walk out one fine morning, prepared for a long and rugged marathon.

But what was done was done. Even though it complicated my task, it was no reason to regret it. Now I had to concentrate and brace myself before I screwed it up and lost the pet.

I reached for the flask and took a large swig of tea. I swished it around my mouth enjoying the taste. Then I packed the flask back and slapped the bear's side, cold and resonant like a drum.

"So, Hummungus? Ready? Off we go!"

And off we went. The bear wasted gnolls in two hits, three max. It took them about seven minutes to respawn—pointless waiting—so we kept on moving down an ever-narrowing spiral with the dungeon entrance as its center.

Very soon I realized I couldn't collect all the loot. Another fifteen minutes, and I'd start losing speed, what with my strength and all, and in another twenty, I'd shudder to a halt like a brick-loaded strongbox.

I emptied my bag onto the ground, putting aside the more valuable items. Soul Stones, bracelets, an odd piece of jewelry, the Bear's loot and the food. That was it. The rest I left lying on the ground: some shabby clothing, bits of ore, a few rusty weapons and other such trash loot. After that, I organized the looting process: down to pick up a few coppers, in they go, clinking, into the wallet, one second to rummage through the rest and leave the trash on the ground. Very soon I looked like a trawler pulling in netfuls of fish. Behind my back, youngsters were quarreling over my cast-offs like a flock of seagulls. About a dozen of them followed in my tracks picking up everything that lay in temptation's way. Soon they self-organized and formed a waiting line; they even agreed on their share of the drop before the gnolls were even killed, estimating their chances of a fat loot.

In a few more minutes, the bells finally jingled.

Congratulations! You've reached level 10!

Warning! This is the first key level. You aren't immune to other players' attacks any more. Proceed with caution!

When killed by an NPC, you'll lose 15% of the experience gained at the current level.

You will receive 1 Talent point per each level. See Wiki for more details.

Choosing specialization and distributing my points in the heat of the fight wasn't a good idea. Better not rush it. Once done, I couldn't undo it. In any case, it was Teddy who did all the fighting as I barely had time to cast an occasional spell.

Within ten more minutes, the bells jingled again. Level 11.

The spiral kept shrinking as we approached the fence blocking the entrance to the caves. We had to fight our way in, for two reasons. First, the surface mobs were limited to level 10 which prevented me from using Hummungus' full potential. Secondly, I was a bit concerned about the archer's reaction when he returned to pick up his stuff. He could be quite upset to see my pet—so upset in fact that he could pepper me with arrows simply to make himself feel better.

Two warriors guarded the gate, backed up by a shaman covered with dangling charms. This was getting interesting. I hadn't come across any gnoll warriors earlier. They had all been gatherers, messengers and other such small fry. Not that it made any difference to the zombie bear. The warriors lasted about ten seconds. The shaman managed to cast three freezing spells, very spectacular but utterly useless. Talking about a bear in a china shop. Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide.

I turned to my remora crowd. "Listen guys, I'm going down the caves now. I might be down there for quite a bit and I'll be way too busy to cover you or accompany you back. You'd better go back now before the gnolls respawn."

Most of them saw my point and hurried back along the by now footworn path. All but one small level-nine rogue. I didn't know him.

He answered my surprised stare with panache. "I don't think they'll notice me. I've got stealth all maxed out. If I croak, no hard feelings, man. But at least I'll get all the spare loot for myself."

He grinned as he activated stealth and turned into a translucent, blurred figure. At five paces, he'd be totally invisible. Okay, then. I'd have done the same. Freebies are sweet.

Then I noticed a long row of cages along the fence's far edge. Several dozen, by the looks of it. Locked inside were emaciated prisoners—mainly Dark Elves although I noticed a couple of other-race captives, too.

I walked towards the closest cage, curious. A haughty Drow glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before focusing again in front of him.

"Dear Sir," I spoke. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

The Elf barely deigned to turn his head. I opened the pet control interface and chose the Speak! command. The bear reared up and growled. It wasn't the Wild Roar ability, of course, as the zombie hadn't preserved it; but the sight of a fifteen-foot growling behemoth impressed the Elf enough. He nodded at the heavy lock of his cage door.

"My name is Inerion. My group was out farming in the nearby woods when gnolls lured us into a trap. Their shamans put some sleeping weed blossoms into the water upstream from where we filled our flasks. When we came to, we were here already. If you get hold of the key, I'll reward your service well. If you fail, then just kill me here and now. I don't want to be slaughtered like a sheep and sacrificed to their Beast God. I have a few gold pieces. You can have them for the trouble."

New quest available! Freedom Ain't Free.

Go down Gnolls' Dungeons and find the key from the cage.

Reward: experience and improved relationship with the Drow and Dark Alliance.

Alternative quest available! Coup de Grace.

Help the Dark One to end his own life, saving his soul from Beast God.

Reward: some gold.

The Elf looked past me with an expression of eternal sadness. Captured characters would undoubtedly undergo some changes, but their AI controller was bound to remember everything. I didn't think many players had ever bothered to look for the key. Most likely, they'd stormed the cages and killed off the prisoners for an armful of easy gold. Never mind. I had with me there a short-leashed wonder waffle to do just that. Together we could go through that cave with a fine-tooth comb and get him that key of theirs.

I actually walked from one cage to the next, getting the same quest everywhere. In the last one languished a slim, scarlet-haired Drow maiden, beautiful in a haughty and indifferent way. A thin carved collar flashed crimson on her neck. I offered my help to her, too.

Slowly, she shook her head. "I thank you, young warlock. I am not going anywhere without my warriors."

New quest available! Free the Drow Princess I!

The Cutthroats' leader can't leave her men imprisoned. Dead or alive, famous warriors always come back together. Or they don't come back at all. You must free all the captured Elves.

Reward: Access to the Quest Free the Drow Princess II.

A cutthroats' Princess? Apparently, I was into some serious people. I ran my eyes over the line of caged Drow. Inerion, level 94. Lauinel, level 101. Akhsan, level 98. Princess Ruata, level 161. What had I gotten myself into? How had my gnolls managed to put these aces behind bars? Was this cave really as low-level as I thought? Let's just hope I was dealing with nothing more serious than goblin magic or game developers' sick sense of humor.

I accepted the quest and nodded my agreement with the Drow maiden's conditions. An emaciated face, thin wrists, a blue vein pulsating on her neck. How long had they been here?

I dropped my bag and knelt, feeling inside for a sandwich. Then I turned to a silent rogue nearby.

"You think you could spare some food and drink?"

He nodded.

"You mind sharing it between the Drow, please? I'll make it up to you."

The kid nodded again and reached into his bag without saying a word. He seemed all right. I had to add him to my friend list. That would make him my second rogue friend.

The Princess pressed a clenched fist to her chest (and a wonderful chest it was, I had to admit) and gave me a slight bow. "Thank you, my High brother. I shall never forget it."

Quest alert! Free the Drow Princess I quest is now unique!

Reward: Unknown.

I mirrored her gesture. For a second, I stared deep into her eyes, my gaze cementing my promise. Then I turned around and walked towards the cave's entrance without looking back.

The cave wasn't pitch black but rather semi-dark. Colonies of some fluffy moss clung to its walls and emitted a purple light, lending the place the likeness of an acid club.

Normally, the first few dozen feet are safe in any location. This is where teams meet before the raid and this is where they stack up the killed monsters in order to clear the way. There you could often see a player in his underpants about to start looking for his grave somewhere in the depths of the tunnels.

Right now the safe spot was deserted. Or so I thought. Then I heard a fearful hick! I turned my head, trying to locate the source of the sound, then slapped my bear's iron ass to push him aside. In a niche behind him sat Taali, crouched in a heap.

"Gotcha!" I offered her a hand but the girl got stuck so deep in the crack that it took me some brute force to drag her out. "How did you manage to get in there?"

"How do you think?" she glared at the bear. "You've got your hippo to thank for that. He's sort of bigger than you think."

Okay, okay. I glanced at her stats. She was 14 already, leveling slowly but surely. Actually, considering the time she spent online, she could've done better.

"How's farming? How're mobs?"

"Actually, I only pull them from the edge. I manage to do about a dozen before they respawn. Gnoll warriors mainly, levels 9 to 11. You can get a few casters here, like shamans, healers and summoners, but then it's more difficult."

The girl fell silent and circled the bear with mistrust, studying whichever parts of him she could peek into. My pet shifted from foot to foot, red-eyed, not detecting any aggression toward either him or his master, his non-retractable claws screeching on the stone.

"Is it all yours? Wow. Where from? Is it my imagination or it used to be a Red Bear in its past life?"

"I still can't believe it myself. Don't even ask me to do the same again. It was a bit like jumping into a glass of water—you can do this sort of thing but once."

Taali shook her head. "Holy cow."

"You could say that. Well, I'm off then."

I crossed my fingers, praying the girl wouldn't ask me to join their group. Not that I'm greedy or anything. Far from it. But this was a single ticket. True, Teddy could get us both beyond level 30. But it would take twice as long—no sleep, no logout. Could take a day or two. Tired, we'd most likely start making mistakes and flunk after ten hours or so. No amount of thanks and eyelash-fluttering could convince me to do it.

Taali proved quick on the uptake. "All right, sir. Off you go. By the way, from what I've heard, Gnoll King drops some crazy paladin gear," the girl glanced at me meaningfully.

I breathed a sigh of relief and saluted her. "Yes, ma'am. I got the message."

She laughed and poked me in the shoulder. "Go rattle your sword for a bit. Make sure you stay in one piece. There's only so much you can loot."

Who was it who said that women prefer men with potential?

I waved her good-bye and stepped inside the cave. Taali had already mopped up the first few rooms. I peeped into the next one. A couple of gnoll warriors guarded the entrance and the exit. A few patrols were cruising the room in chaotic and unpredictable trajectories. In the back, a master gnoll was fidgeting over some ancient-looking machine. Level 14, he was the highest of all present, surrounded by a handful of apprentices. In total, just a snack for my pet. Let the show begin!

I didn't care much about a nice clean pull. Teddy had no problems handling a train. I simply selected the warrior closest to me as target and said, "Attack!"

With a growl, the bear charged.

After two minutes of animal noises, metal clanging and paws slapping flesh, the first room was gnoll-free. I glanced up at my experience bar. The fight had added twenty-four percent, not bad at all. I went through the bodies picking out the most valuable spoils. I wasn't sure whether to take Soul Stones or not but decided for it. You never knew when you might die, and that way I always had some high-level items. I was happy to see some quest bracelets—not just gray ones as earlier on the surface, but also a couple black ones. If I wasn't mistaken, they went for a good fifty copper.

I stopped for a moment checking the master gnoll. Among other trash, he dropped a heavy bunch of lockpicks. I fingered them, thinking, and turned around looking for my rogue friend. I couldn't see the little thief but the disappearing objects I'd discarded gave his location away.

"Hey, dude. Mind showing up for a bit?"

The rogue unstealthed and looked up at me, curious. He couldn't do much else, actually. He was kneeling with the end of his bag between his teeth where I'd just smoked four of the warriors, scooping in the battle booty.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. "Boy, you're a scream. What's your name? Bug? Suits you, sort of. If you think you're a super thief, here're some trade tools for you."

I flung him the lockpicks. The kid grabbed and inspected them.

"Zool! And I'm not a thief but a super spy. I'd love to level all stealth skills and become No 1 Spy."

"You go for it, dude. A spy will never want for work," I tried to conceal the skepticism in my voice. "If you don't mind me asking, why is your char the size of a garden gnome? Where have you seen a High Elf two feet tall?"

"I've just told you. Spies may need to crawl into places, especially hiding places. It's perfect."

"It is indeed," I had to agree. "Go ahead and hide, then. We're off. Hummungus, heel!"

After twenty more minutes, the kid realized that his eyes were bigger than his belly.

"Overload," he said wistfully. "Two more items, and I won't be able to move. Stealth speed is half the standard as it is. I might go to town and flog it all. Thanks, dude. Good luck and good hunting!"

I waved him away without looking up from a freshly-made map. This was another problem with my unplanned marathon, the fact that I hadn't even got myself a caves plan so now I was groping my way through like a newborn kitten. All that time, we'd been taking the corridors to our right, inspecting the rooms one by one as we approached the central hall and the stairs down to the second level.

It still took me and Hummungus another half-hour to get to the central altar. By then, I was level 14 going on 15. When I'd reached level 14 a few rooms back, a few new system messages had popped up.

Congratulations! You've received Achievement: Impervious.

You've stayed alive for five subsequent levels!

Reward: +100 to Fame

A few seconds later, another message blinked on,

Server alert! Server update 2144:

We have introduced a new measure aiming to restrict a summoned creature's level regardless of the player's class. A summoned creature's level is now limited to that of a summoner +30%. In case of summoning a higher creature, its level will be automatically lowered to comply with the above formula.

This measure does not apply to item and buff bonuses.

E.g.: Necromancer, level 10, has a Soul Stone level 20. Item bonuses +2 to level. You can raise a level 15 pet.

Oh. AI was quick on the uptake. Apparently, they kept a firm eye on this achievement to make sure no one could abuse bugs for leveling.

After a few more seconds, Admin PM'd me with a message that made me chuckle.

Dear Player,

You have recently helped us to detect certain gaming scenarios which could potentially disrupt the game's balance.

As a thank-you gesture on our part, please accept this Sky Stone. It can be attached to any cloth or armor item as any other gem. It also has 10 characteristic points for you to add to the parameters of your choice.

Thank you for your cooperation.

We remind you that per Section 14.7 of EULA, Administration has the right to review all game logs, including the combat and social chats.

Oh well. Big brother is watching you. At least they gave me a carrot, not a stick. I studied the stone. It resembled a large multifaceted ruby the size of a dollar. I got an eyeful, then shoved it deep into my bag. Later. Now I needed to do some leveling while I was still fresh, had plenty of food and was out of mobs' way. Time to move it.