In Service of the Pharaoh

a novel

by Michael Atamanov

League of Losers

Book#2

Magic Dome Books

League of Losers

Book #2: In Service of the Pharaoh

Copyright © Michael Atamanov 2020

Cover Art © Ivan Khivrenko 2020

Art Designer Vladimir Manyukhin

English translation copyright © Alix Merlin Williamson 2020

Published by Magic Dome Books, 2020

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-80-7619-207-2

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 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.

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Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Invisible Swordmaiden

Chapter 2 [Sergeant]

Ancient Fortress

Chapter 3 [Kitten]

On the Edge

Chapter 4 [Sergeant]

Restless Night

Chapter 5 [Kitten]

Secret Room

Chapter 6 [Sergeant]

Return to the River Island

Chapter 7 [Kitten]

Training a New Master

Chapter 8 [Sergeant]

Group of Outcasts

Chapter 9 [Sergeant]

Hard Decisions

Chapter 10 [Kitten]

Breaking Bad

Chapter 11 [Sergeant]

Downstream

Chapter 12 [Kitten]

Hundred Skull City: Entrance

Chapter 13 [Sergeant]

Hundred Skull City: Challenge

Chapter 14 [Kitten]

Final Boss

Chapter 15 [Sergeant]

Discussion with a Player

Chapter 16 [Kitten]

The Pharaoh’s People

Chapter 17 [Sergeant]

Mother’s Milk

Chapter 18 [Kitten]

Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 19 [Sergeant]

In Service of the Pharaoh

Chapter 20 [Sergeant]

Territory of the Strongest Guild

Chapter 21 [Kitten]

The Cat That Walks By Himself

Chapter 22 [Sergeant]

Old Acquaintance

Chapter 23 [Kitten]

Palace of the Cat Goddess

Chapter 24 [Kitten]

Secret of the Cat Goddess

Chapter 25 [Sergeant]

The Courtesan’s Gift

Chapter 26 [Kitten]

Mission of Survival

Chapter 27 [Sergeant]

Slaughter in the Night

Chapter 28 [Kitten]

Rest

Chapter 29 [Sergeant]

Southern Ruins

Chapter 30 [Kitten]

Refuge with a Monster

Chapter 31 [Sergeant]

Working for the Minotaur

Chapter 32 [Kitten]

¡No pasarán! They Shall Not Pass!

Chapter 33 [Sergeant]

Snap Goes The Mouse Trap

Chapter 34 [Sergeant]

Preparation

Chapter 35 [Kitten]

League of Losers

Chapter 1

Invisible Swordmaiden

The Abandoned Veich Village of Ori-Tavi

Sherkh Outpost, Guild Eastern Garrison

Clan Leader’s Tent

“THEY’RE GONE?”

Avelia Un Ponar, respectfully down on one knee before her leader, nodded silently. Yes, the group of thirty humans from the river village really had gone beyond the barrier. And the Swordmaiden had no doubt that her all-knowing guild leader, level 78 Shadow Master Al’tair Un Ponar, already knew the answer to his question. The leader’s next words confirmed it.

“What was that chaos at the forcefield? Why did you interfere in human affairs?”

Avelia kept a neutral expression with difficulty. It seemed she had been watched. And the task had no doubt been assigned to one of her very own squad, perhaps even her own brother. Sherkhs were not supposed to interfere in the affairs of other races, and her help to Sergeant could be interpreted as subversive. She would have to weasel her way out, make excuses.

“Two of the humans sent beyond the barrier refused to comply with the order from the river village’s leader. They decided at the last moment to stay. There was a conflict between the humans. The sherkhs do not need new settlements of races competing with us for land. And my task was to track the departing group and ensure that the humans truly did leave, and not settle in our territory. That’s why I decided to send the stubborn ones through the barrier. In the end, all the humans left, apart from two low-levels.”

“Such zeal. I approve of your initiative.”

The strict and eternally displeased level 51 Councilwoman sitting next to the guild leader — a representative from the Grand Emperor of the sherkh race, sent to ensure that law and tradition was upheld in Eastern Garrison — also nodded with approval. It worked! The Swordmaiden sighed with relief. However, the guild leader’s next question put her on guard again.

“Avelia, I have had reports that for the last few days, you have often spoken to humans without reason. Specifically with one human, a Beast Catcher by trade. Would you care to explain your interest?”

Avelia held the guild leader’s long, piercing gaze without dropping her eyes. No doubt remained — she had been followed, which was peculiar. That had never happened before. But the girl felt no guilt. Now all she had to do was convince the others she wasn’t guilty.

“The new lands interested me, leader. Knowledge is the most valuable thing that can be stolen or spied out from our neighbors. The low-level human Beast Catcher managed to tame several dangerous monsters in a short time, thereby noticeably strengthening his guild. Our enemies, the veichs, sent their own people to buy the knowledge from the Beast Catcher. Even the Cartographer flew in on his dragon to learn the methods of taming such beasts. It is not the sherkh way to trade with competing races, so I watched the Beast Catcher and gained the knowledge for free. In addition,” Avelia hurried to add, seeing the old Councilwoman at the leader’s right hand shift, wanting to object or add something, “I needed to retrieve a weapon that one of the humans had taken. I lost my crossbow after a death to the night beasts on the river island, and I couldn’t find it, although I scoured the entire human settlement. Our Blacksmith crafted the crossbow specially for me, and it was a reward for successfully completing a dozen dangerous missions in the veich war. I learned from the human where the crossbow was and stole the weapon back that very night. I broke no laws, kept closely to sherkh tradition, said no words in our own language, shared no food with the human and limited myself entirely to matters of business.”

The leader glanced at the Councilwoman, but after a moment’s hesitation, she shook her head, retracting her unspoken objection. Al’tair Un Ponar’s face dropped its strict mask, brightened. He even allowed himself to sit down on a carved wooden chair found in an abandoned village, which signaled that the conversation with the Swordmaiden was now in the informal stage.

“Well then, my daughter, you have pleased me! Your little scouting squad has provided excellent reconnaissance all along the big river, and you have proved yourself a worthy commander. Just explain one thing to me, Avelia — how did you contrive to die to the night beasts? Have the creatures learned to detect sherkhs?”

“No, father. The Feelers and Alphas are still unable to see our race. But on the river island, I encountered a new beast — flying, with the ability to corrupt the mind. It made me panic and act irrationally. It knocked me out of stealth, and then the other beasts caught up to me and finished me off. I have learned that painful lesson, father, and will not repeat it!”

“Your fourth death, daughter… Be more careful from now on, particularly when near humans. Humans are foolish, reckless. They violate the laws of nature and gather in overly large groups, causing the night beasts to appear. This has happened not only on the island. Our other scouts have reported that the situation was even worse in the villages of Orshi-Ur and Un-Talavi. Hundreds dead. Many of the humans died permanently. I believe that our Grand Emperor is right. We need not hurry to declare war on them — they will destroy themselves without our help!”

The Councilwoman nodded approvingly and declared that she saw no more need for her presence in this conversation between father and daughter. They waited for the tent flap to snap shut behind the sour old woman in black, then the Shadow Master spoke quietly:

“Now I can finally relax and speak openly, without fear that any incautious word will be relayed directly to the Grand Emperor. I’m glad to see you in good health, Avelia!”

The guild leader stood and warmly embraced his daughter. And whispered into her ear:

“There have been several complaints about you in the last few days, Avelia. The scouts from your party weren’t always sure where to find their squad leader. You did not appear at the designated meeting places. You left no messages for your subordinates. Your brother Arvedo stated plainly that he saw you last night practically naked in the company of a human man with a sordid reputation for consorting with women of other races.”

Avelia sniffed in righteous indignation and opened her mouth to explain to her father what had happened on the river island, but the guild leader just waved it away.

“Nonsense, of course. The entire guild knows of the strained relationship between you siblings. So Arvedo was not believed. Moreover, I ordered my son to keep his mouth shut and stop spreading rumors that tarnish our family’s good name. But always know — you are the commander of a squadron of spies. And you are the chief’s daughter, so the demands on you are greater and the eyes on you sharper. Especially now, with all this talk of potential war with the humans.”

The Swordmaiden thanked her father for his care and asked how true were the rumors of war. Al’tair Un Ponar turned serious again. He even opened the tent flap, checked to make sure there was no one nearby. Avelia knew that her father’s special abilities as a Shadow Master meant he could not only remain invisible even when all other sherkhs were revealed, but also detect other invisible creatures. Once certain there were no listening ears, the chief returned to the tent, closed the flap tightly.

“Daughter, the situation is extremely serious. The guild leaders of Northern Garrison, Northwestern Garrison and Southern Garrison are in favor of war against the humans. They say that after our victory over the veichs, the time has come to push the other competing races beyond the barrier and provide our race with a safe shelter, where sherkhs can live for centuries in a world of peace and safety. Only I and the leader of Western Garrison spoke out against war. You know my stance on this — if war is declared, then may we have no mercy for the enemy, but if there is still a chance to keep the peace, then we must try. Now that the veichs are gone, our people have gained vast lands, and we must focus on taming those lands, not on war. The Grand Emperor has not decided yet. He hesitates. The humans are, after all, not so simple and helpless as they appear. There are many good fighters among them, and some powerful spellcasters. And… have you heard of the trophies that Angea Un Vari’s group took from followers of the Pharaoh?”

Avelia shook her head. She really hadn’t spoken to many of her own people in the last few days, while carrying out her mission to track the humans on the river. She had missed all the latest news. Fortunately, her father painted the picture.

“We found one of the Pharaoh’s nobles in our new lands — a very powerful mage accompanied by a bodyguard. The fight was fierce — three groups of our soldiers were sent back to the graveyard. But it was worth it! We found much of interest among the trophies. A device for communicating over long distances, and a rapid-firing ranged weapon. But what interested our wise men most of all was a type of headgear made of leather straps and pieces of glass bound in tubes. If you put it on your head and look through the pieces of glass, you can see any sherkh within three hundred paces, even in stealth. Do you understand what that means? The humans don’t need high Perception, high-level detection skills or complex eye mutations to see our race even in total darkness and at a great distance.”

“Father, but this is…” The Swordmaiden was shook and didn’t even try to hide it. “That means if we do go to war, we’re guaranteed to lose! The humans are more numerous and better armed, and they have those guns. And now it turns out that our main advantage — invisibility — isn’t even that useful against the humans! Does the Grand Emperor know about this? Do the other sherkh leaders?”

“Of course they know. But if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t worry about what the guild leaders know, I would worry about making such hasty and categorical predictions of our race’s upcoming catastrophic downfall. If anyone else heard you talk like that, you’d be in trouble. The sherkhs are still strong, omnipresent and practically omniscient. But it is these very ‘infrared goggles’ and ‘night-vision scopes’, as the humans call these devices, that provoke our leaders to start the war sooner rather than later, while these items are rare and available only to chosen few servants of the Pharaoh. If humans begin to mass-produce tools to detect sherkhs, then our omnipresence and dominion is at an end!”

Avelia lowered her head, said nothing for half a minute, then spoke thoughtfully:

“Father, what if the leaders who want war are right? We need to act now, before it’s too late!”

But the guild leader just shook his head.

“Starting a war is simple enough, daughter, but there won’t be a way back once it’s started. It’ll be us or them. I even feel certain that our squads would easily eliminate or drive away the humans from all the villages east of the mountain range and south of the great river. But what then? Their main settlements are in the west, and they’re well defended. We won’t take those fortresses by storm, and a drawn-out war is no good for the sherkhs. As you yourself noted, humans are more numerous, better armed. And they get fifty to seventy reinforcements every day. When was the last time you saw sherkh arrivals to the new world?”

“But father, the priests claim that there will yet be a third coming of our race! You told me that yourself! We all believe it faithfully!”

“Yes, daughter, the third wave will come, of course. But when? And how many sherkhs will it contain? There were only two hundred pioneers in the first wave. At great risk, by exploring the unexplored and paying with lives to gain knowledge, they collected information on this new world, built our first settlements and paved the way for the coming of the others. Ten thousand sherkhs came in the second wave, more than enough to gain full control of the lands of our shelter. If it weren’t for the betrayal of those four leaders who took their entire guilds beyond the forcefield, things might have gone very differently, and the problem of humans might never have gotten so serious…”

The Shadow Master clenched his fists until bones crunched. That split last autumn still lit a burning fury inside him. Back then, at a regular high council meeting, the Grand Emperor — the ruler of the largest and strongest sherkh guild — declared to the other nine leaders that he planned to start a great war against the veichs, and he wanted the support of all nine of the garrisons. He said some very convincing words on the need to push the competing veich race out beyond the forcefield and to create a safe shelter where the sherkhs could peacefully advance the sciences, raise children, create new technology and forge weaponry for further expansion into the wider world. He said that the third and final wave of sherkhs was coming to the new world, and the new arrivals would need fertile and resource-rich lands for settling. The veich lands were a perfect fit, he said.

Humans weren’t even taken into consideration then — they were weak, bogged down with internal conflict, always killing each other. The last of the sentient races — the veyers — had made the sherkhs’ job easier by all gathering together and flying out beyond the barrier unprompted. It seemed the perfect time for an attack. Al’tair Un Ponar was the first of the nine leaders to express his absolute support for the Grand Emperor and declare his readiness to provide soldiers from Eastern Garrison for the united sherkh army. The heads of other guilds followed, voicing their support for the war one after another.

Which made subsequent events even more surprising. The leaders of four guilds at once declared to the Grand Emperor that they would not participate in his ‘senseless war,’ and, moreover, they were taking their four thousand sherkhs beyond the barrier to colonize the wider world. Al’tair Un Ponar neither understood nor forgave those traitors — not then and not now. How could they do it? Abandon everyone else, betray the interests of their species and create a rift that badly weakened the sherkhs? Especially his blood brother Aquila Un Ponar, leader of Central Garrison. How could he?!

Al’tair spat in disgust, as he did every time his traitorous brother’s name came into his mind.

Despite the departure of four of the garrisons, the sherkhs still decided to go to war with the veichs, but it was tough, bloody and lasted over half a year. In that time, the humans took root, united around the Pharaoh — a cruel warchief and leader of the strongest human guild, which had swallowed up all the others and become a serious problem. And the third wave of new arrivals, upon which the sherkhs laid all their hopes, still hadn’t appeared…

“Father,” Avelia pulled the clan leader from his thoughts, “why doesn’t anyone even consider other options besides war with the humans or a fight for survival against them?”

“What do you suggest, daughter?” The Shadow Master tensed, frowned, even placed a hand on the pommel of his blade. “Abandon our shelter and go beyond the barrier like those traitors?”

Avelia felt it; one wrong word and her father would kill her with his own hands right there in the tent. Yes, the Swordmaiden knew perfectly well that the chief was worried sick about his brother, who hadn’t wanted to take part in the war and had taken his guild beyond the barrier. The subject was taboo in the family.

“No, father. I speak of something else entirely. Why can the sherkhs not live in peace alongside the humans, in the same lands? Or even side by side in the same settlements? The more I observe the humans, the fewer differences I see between our races…”

A sharp slap interrupted Avelia Un Ponar’s speech. The Shadow Master’s voice rang with displeasure:

“Silence, fool girl! And thank the skies that the Councilwoman didn’t hear that! That Beast Catcher truly has addled your mind. You can no longer tell friend from foe!”

“Sergeant has nothing to do…”

“SILENCE!” Her father’s fearsome shout put a dead stop to Avelia’s timid attempts to explain herself. “Since these conversations obviously do you so much harm, from now on, I forbid you from ever speaking to humans! Carry out your orders — gather intelligence and immediately report everything you see to your superiors. And go and finish your challenge in Hundred Skull City already! I’m starting to see looks in people’s eyes — as if the chief’s daughter is incapable of dealing with a task that serves to make talented commanders stand out from the crowd. If you don’t complete the challenge within three days, then your brother Arvedo will be scout commander! Consider yourself officially warned. That is all. Now begone from my tent!”

The Swordmaiden bowed to the guild leader with a stony expression on her face and held herself upright as she silently walked out of the tent. As soon as the tent flap shut behind her, a figure in black separated from the shadows in a far corner of the large tent, approached the guild leader and stopped a step behind Al’tair Un Ponar’s chair.

“You were right, Arvedo,” the Shadow Master declared glumly, not turning round. “Something ill is afoot with your sister. Whether due to her failures in the challenge or flattery from that Sergeant, your sister never used to give seditious speeches. Keep a close eye on her! Or better yet,” now the guild chief lowered his voice to a whisper, “kill the one called Sergeant! He has offended our family. Take his lives, all of them. One after another.”

“With the greatest pleasure, father!” The young man spread his dark cloak, baring his right arm, bound in bandages after his fight with the human. “I’m going to make that Beast Catcher pay! Even with only one arm.”

“Good, my son. You will find Sergeant at the ancient ruined tower. But do it quietly, so that the human never knows where his death comes from time and again. The sherkhs truly do not need a serious conflict with the humans right now.”

“I will be careful, father. But what about Avelia’s challenge? Can I forestall my sister? As I’m sure you understand, with the conditions that you have voiced, I do not want Avelia to succeed in Hundred Skull City at all.”

There was a long silence before the Shadow Master answered. The chief stood and started pacing back and forth in the tent, hands behind his back. Finally, Al’tair Un Ponar stopped, raised his head.

“I allow you to attempt to stop your sister from completing the challenge. But not if your interference costs Avelia any lives. And I now declare a new condition: the one of you who brings the most valuable treasure from the ruins of Hundred Skull City will be declared commander. Not of five sherkhs, but of five hundred. I have spoken!”

Chapter 2 [Sergeant]

Ancient Fortress

I NEARLY SPRAINED my arm on the reins and barely bit back a curse when my mount, until now meandering slowly through the stones and bushes, suddenly took a sharp leap forty feet into the air and snapped her mandibles.

“What was that?” Julie said, shaken from her reverie. She sat up next to me on the arachnoscorp’s back. I just shrugged in confusion.

“Must have been some creature hiding in the bushes. I didn’t see it. The Marsh Mistress killed it too fast.”

While the Marsh Mistress devoured her prey, the bluish-purple Atlas following behind us took advantage of the breather to start tearing branches off bushes with his beak-like mouth. Both beasts were hungry, and the Cruel Arachnoscorp, unused to long journeys, was exhausted. She’d begun to limp again. The giant spider’s speed had dropped noticeably, and I suspected that we wouldn’t make it back to the river meadow by nightfall.

Although the tireless giga-komodo Atlas was still at full strength, it was the Marsh Mistress who limited our movement speed. We couldn’t abandon the arachnoscorp — the giant death-dealing beast was our only defender in these wild and dangerous lands. If it weren’t for the Marsh Mistress, who knew if we could have defeated the massive creature whose skin our many-legged mount was just now spitting out. Nonetheless, only three hours remained until dark. We needed to do something. Especially with the weather getting worse; the sky was filling with dark storm clouds, promising a downpour before nightfall. I stood up atop the giant spider’s back and looked around.

All I could see were yellow-brown hills covered in faded grass, with the occasional island of thorny bushes. Although… My gaze caught on some ruins of an ancient fortress on the horizon. I noticed them on the way to the barrier forcefield, but the group of settlers I’d been leading hadn’t wanted to turn from the path and waste precious time to explore the ancient ruins. What if we stopped there now? It looked like we’d make it before dark. It might even offer some cover from the bad weather. Anything would be better than spending the night under the open sky in a deluge.

It wasn’t that I feared the dark or the night beasts that came with it — there were just two of us, my sister and I, so the creatures’ maximum level could only be two, which was easy to deal with. Well, three at the most — using my thermal vision, I’d spotted a semi-transparent red silhouette tracking our group a few times throughout the day. A sherkh, and a small one. Just a child. I didn’t know what he or she wanted from me, but the watcher followed us a long time before finally falling back. Or perhaps they just wanted to keep a little further away, and that was why I didn’t see them again. The range of my thermal vision was only twenty to twenty-five paces, and Sergeant’s Perception was very low, so I wasn’t much good as an invisibility detector.

I would have easily dealt with three low-level Feelers without help from the Marsh Mistress. But there were plenty other dangerous creatures in this primordial world apart from the night beasts. The idea of hiding away for the night in an old fortress was tempting.

“Let’s go check out those ruins! We can spend the night there!” I pointed them out for Julie, and the cat sitting on my shoulder meowed in approval.

Whiskers had been slumbering on my shoulder practically all day. He hadn’t even eaten with us, and only woke up toward the evening. What a funny little critter! Sometimes I felt like he must understand human speech. His feline ‘comments’ sometimes seemed so… appropriate. Outwardly, he was completely harmless — a fluffy and cute little kitten. And yet he was a level 19 Hexxer, and the blue nameplate above his head meant that my furry pet had better combat stats than other creatures of his level. I have to admit, I still don’t understand how a tiny cat can fight anyone, but the traveling Cartographer insisted that Whiskers could cast spells, so I guess it’s possible. The only thing I noticed throughout my close contact with the cat was that fatigue quickly passed when he was near. And not only for me, but for anyone else nearby too. Even now, as soon as Whiskers woke up and shouted his displeased “meow!”, the Marsh Mistress perked up, started working her legs faster. That cat was definitely doing something.

Riding skill increased to level thirty-six!

Although… Maybe it wasn’t Whiskers, but my leveled-up skill? Riding not only increased speed, it also boosted the mount’s stamina. My girlfriend Shelly, whose game class was Rider, had told me that she’d replaced all her now inactive skills for other ones related to controlling animals. And after she gained a few levels of Riding, her creeping crocodile Katy never seemed to tire! Ah, Shelly, Shelly… How was she doing out there in the big wide world? Would she survive, with her critically low Luck? Would she catch up to her packmates? And would they take her back, with her reputation as a walking disaster?

As if reading my sad thoughts, my sister stirred:

“It’s a good thing we didn’t make it back to the river village tonight! You know, I’ve been really worried about you since what happened with Shelly, bro. You’re too impulsive. If you’d have told the new leaders everything you thought of them, they would have chased us both out of the village. Or worse, you might have gotten into a fistfight with that damn Warrior and died…”

I gently stroked my sister’s mussy hair, tucking disobedient locks behind her ears, trying to calm her down. I promised her that when we returned to Rumbler’s Refuge, I wouldn’t pick a fight with the new leaders or accuse them of treachery and breaking their word. If I’d been alone, that’s exactly what I would have done. But since I had a younger sister who needed taking care of, who needed a safe place in the village, I had to be diplomatic. No, I had no intention of forgiving Rumbler or the others for their misdeeds. I still wanted to take vengeance, but only when my sister and I were better situated.

My words calmed Julie. I didn’t voice the thought that I’d never be able to trust Rumbler again after what had happened. He and I wouldn’t get along for long, and that meant we needed to make plans to leave the river village. But we couldn’t do it spontaneously. We needed to carefully gather the clothes, provisions and tools we needed, and ideally without anyone noticing. The most important thing would be to talk to others who were displeased with the new order. And try to take them with us.

* * *

“Brother, why didn’t the humans or veichs settle here?”

“No idea. It would only take a couple of months to turn this place into a strong fortress. And it would be great protection against the night beasts.”

My sister and I walked the perimeter of the outer stone wall, at least twelve feet tall at its shortest. We looked down on a decently preserved moat only half full of mud, with the remains of sharp spikes at the bottom. The four defensive corner turrets equipped with narrow arrowslits seemed to be in perfect shape. A squadron of archers could take up residence in them today. A fifth giant turret had been guarding the bridge to the fortress, but that had collapsed, filling in the moat and the inner courtyard with stone. The giant outer gates with their wrought metal hinges sat atop the bridge on a heap of stones. I went down to look at the gates up close, even crawled under them and inspected them from beneath. The hinges definitely needed changing, as did some of the rusted metal bindings that held together the thick stained wooden beams. There was no problem with the wood itself — it would last another thousand years. On the whole, it wouldn’t take much to restore the gates. Even I could probably have done it, but a professional Builder, Engineer or Blacksmith would do it even faster.

The buildings within the fortress were in far worse condition. There was barely anything left of them. The two large stone houses had collapsed and were now just big piles of stone with broken wooden beams jutting out here and there. We found no well or other source of water. If there was a well, it was beneath the ruins now, so we had no access to water. At the very center of the fortress stood a round tower at least nine floors high, with a collapsed roof. The tower caught my interest at once — if there were any valuables left in these ruins, they’d surely be there. But unfortunately, the entrance to the tower was blocked up, and the nearest windows were far too high to reach.

I remembered my low Luck Modifier and didn’t even bother thinking about climbing up to the windows — I’d just fail the Luck check and fall down. Then I saw some strange movement in the windows of the upper floors. Something was living in the tower. Probably huge bats or some species of bird.

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty!

The sky was already thick with dark clouds. Thunder echoed in the distance. I herded Atlas into the inner courtyard, left the Marsh Mistress to guard the bridge and started making dinner with my sister. There was still some tea left in our flask. At first we planned to warm up some leftover fish and meat, but we opened our supplies to find disaster — all our supplies had gone bad in the day’s heat. We’d need to open the second to last can of food I’d brought into this new world and dip into our rice, boiling it with precious water from our flask. Just as I was lighting the fire, an unexpected game message appeared before my eyes:

Taming skill increased to level fifty-eight!

What the hell..?! What was happening? I span my head and saw nothing. Atlas was wandering around the courtyard, pulling up green shoots from between the stones with his sharp beak. The Marsh Mistress rested with her legs folded up beneath her. The cat was still sitting on my shoulder. Who could I be taming?

Taming skill increased to level fifty-nine!

Something was definitely happening. I wandered around the fortress courtyard, even looked down into the moat. I couldn’t figure it out… And then a frightened cry from my sister brought me running back. A large gray-brown lizard almost three feet long stood frozen just a few paces from Julie, the front section of its torso raised. But more interesting than the reptile itself was the nameplate above its head:

Sharp-Toothed Rock Lizard. Level 34 Male. Sergeant’s pet.

My pet? Another lizard joined the first one, this time emerald green. It ran to the fire without a glimmer of fear and stopped by my sister’s feet. A level 25 female. This one was my pet too! I started to suspect something. Julie and I walked over to the hole where we’d discarded the rotting meat and fish. I carefully looked down into the darkness, but all I saw was some vague movement. And then, as if specially for me, bright forked lightning lit the sky and I reeled back from what I saw — twenty more of the large and agile lizards teemed in the pit, and one of them showed as my pet! Right before my eyes, an anthracite-black level 50 male also started showing as my minion. Then a bright gray level 11 female with a colorful crest on her head.

ATTENTION! Pet limit reached! Maximum number of pets your character can control: 10. Use the Beast Master skill to increase the limit!

Well, thank God! I was already starting to worry that the entire creeping mass of reptiles would become my pets. What could I need so many lizards for? Incidentally… Apart from their level and gender, each of ‘my’ lizards showed the number five above their heads. But the wild ones had the number eighteen. What could that mean? Unfortunately, my character didn’t have enough Intellect to figure it out, a fact which the game wasn’t shy about sharing. Julie couldn’t figure out what the number meant either.

“Brother, give me that white one with the pink crest on its head!” Julie asked. I indulged her.

The girl extended a hand without the slightest fear, picked up the lizard as it flitted up a vertical wall, and put it on her shoulder. It suited her. It even seemed as if the white female started to look down on the other reptiles with a sense of superiority — look at me, I’m the chosen one and you’re all losers!

As soon as I gave it to her, another lizard became my own pet again and I got another message about reaching the limit. In the meantime, the number above the heads of my tamed creatures changed from five to six. For the wild ones, it actually went down to seventeen. It was starting to make sense. The lizards were herd animals, and their stats got a boost with each new member of the herd. The ‘herds’ for the wild reptiles and the tamed ones were different.

At that moment, it started to rain. First with rare heavy droplets, but ten seconds later, the heavens opened. I lifted my hood and Julie and I ran to the nearest watchtower to hide from the rain.

“Meow!” I heard from behind us. The cat sounded disgruntled, maybe even scared. I turned.

Some winged shadow appeared for a moment by the fire, barely visible through the thick veil of rain. There was someone there! Whiskers was in danger!

“He took our stew, brother! And he’s stealing our things!” my sister wailed right into my ear. She had the best Perception among us and could see what was happening better than I could.

I ran back to save my pet and my backpack by the fire, taking out my axe as I went. Only the melee weapon turned out completely useless. The thief was a veyer — a member of the winged race. Clearly overloaded, he slowly took off, flapping his leathery wings and holding my backpack tight to his chest. The veyer was young, still just a boy. But that didn’t mean he could steal my stuff!

Damn it! He was getting away! If I had a crossbow, I could easily shoot down the slow and clumsy target. But I had no crossbow. The winged thief climbed slowly, with great effort, up toward the top floors of the tower where he seemed to live. It must have been him or a relative of his that I’d seen in the tower.

I cursed, spat, then lowered my axe — there was nothing to be done. I couldn’t fly, and there was no way I could catch up to the thief. In the meantime, my cat screeched out piercing complaints, apparently terrified by the stranger’s sudden appearance. Then a miracle happened!

The veyer froze in place, tiring and unable to keep hold of the backpack, which was heavy even for me. He hovered in place for a moment, then dropped his loot with clear unwillingness. The backpack fell to the stones by my feet.

“Meow! Meow!” Whiskers continued his hysterics.

In fitful jerks, the winged boy kept trying to climb higher toward the safety of the window, but his strength seemed to have completely left him. Spreading his wings, the veyer began to slowly descend, gliding and trying to make it beyond the fortress walls. A strange whine caught my attention. I lowered my eyes and saw six new pets rushing to my aid. Five of my own, plus my sister’s crested white female, which jumped down from Julie’s shoulder and rushed to bring the fight to her masters’ enemies. Now we’d see what this lounge of lizards could do.

“Get him, gang!” I shouted, feeling my blood rise, pointing my axe at the descending thief.

All six razor-toothed reptiles launched toward the target, some running on four legs and some rising up onto two as they chased toward their prey. They moved with incredible agility, much faster than a man. I wouldn’t want to go toe to toe with that mass of teeth!

“Stop them, brother! They’re going to eat him!”

I turned to Julie, about to object that the thief just tried to take everything we had and deserved no mercy. My sister just kept objecting:

“Come on, please! Don’t kill the kid, brother!”

“Alright, if you insist…”

I ran to the veyer’s crash landing site on the fortress wall. He came down hard, rolling across the stones before coming to a stop. He looked badly hurt. I chased off the lizards as they impatiently stretched out their reptilian necks to the fallen prey, licking their lips and whistling in excitement. Just in time! I saw just two or three bites on our unlucky Icarus. Serves him right!

“Ari unto no tori! Ari tori! Un yava!” the frightened boy jabbered, raising his arms and showing his empty hands.

“Yeah, I see you don’t have anything now,” I muttered and looked closer at the would-be thief.

Avir Tan-Hoshi. Veyer. Male. Level 35 Thief.

He was a young kid, looked between thirteen and fifteen. Emaciated, all skin and bones. Dirty rags that even a homeless man down on his luck wouldn’t have worn. Mussy dark hair, big gray eyes, a sharp face. And two big leathery wings at his back, half-open. It was the wings that I remembered him by. It was the same veyer that I saw in a cage when I met the traveling Cartographer! He must have escaped. Or the Cartographer decided that the thief had been punished enough, and released him from the cage.

In the meantime, the kid kept on babbling in his own language. He was trying to show me something with gestures, but I couldn’t get what he was saying. Then my sister ran up, crouched down next to the thief and, without a word, began to treat his bites and scrapes with a healing ointment. Our ginger kitten limped over on his three good feet too, settling down to watch the winged creature with interest. He even sniffed him and shook his head with disgust a few times. The stink from Avir Tan-Hoshi was incredible — an acrid bouquet of an unwashed body, rotten food, sweat, musk, piss and a dozen other no less repulsive scents that I couldn’t identify. Even the rain couldn’t overpower the stench. I tried taking a couple of steps back from the source.

The thief kept jabbering on, pointing a long clawed finger at a sack on his ragged cloth belt and trying to explain something to me. Then he untied the belt and poured out a handful of long bright gray berries. Was he planning to eat them?! They were stinkberries — the same ones I’d been asked to taste-test on my first day at Pan’s Landing. They were disgusting, but they quickly recovered Stamina Points. It seemed Stamina was just what the winged boy was missing. He immediately smiled in satisfaction, bowed low to my sister, who was now done binding his wounds, and then… made a sharp lunge and grabbed my ginger kitten around his belly! He jumped up, spread his wings and began to gain height fast. A frightened “meow!” drifted down from the rain-filled sky, along with a sinister laugh from the treacherous thief. A few seconds passed, then the self-satisfied veyer disappeared through the dark yawning window in the tall tower…

Chapter 3 [Kitten]

On the Edge

A SECOND OF PANIC gave way to extreme surprise. I’d been kidnapped? But why?! Could it be the bonus from my Everyone’s Favorite ability, which made people of all sentient races feel tenderness toward my little fluffy kitten self? But the bonus mostly affected women. And how could this smelly birdbrained moron think that this cute little kitten would stay with him, and not escape at the first chance it got?

Or was Avir Tan-Hoshi acting on orders from the Cartographer? That traveling merchant sniffed me out right away. He knew I was no pet, and he took an interest in me. Could he have ordered his caged veyer to kidnap me, as a condition for his release? The Cartographer himself couldn’t kidnap me; he had to remain neutral on the face of things, so he could keep passing through the barrier from the wider world into the sandbox and back again.

In the meantime, the winged veyer had already risen to the upper floors of the old tower, nimbly landed on a narrow ledge and crawled through the window hole, folding up his wings behind him like two fans. My kidnapper laughed and danced a jig, holding me above his head in outstretched arms like I was a cup for winning a game. A madman of some kind… and rotting away in a closed room so stuffy it made my eyes water.

“Amonti unto!” the veyer announced, placing me on a large and dirty wooden table and holding me down with his hand. While I whined and tried to break free, the winged kidnapper covered me with an old woven basket and then weighed it down with a heavy fire iron, to prevent his weak little prize from escaping the prison.

Laughing and jabbering away in his own language, the veyer grabbed a rusty old axe leaning against the wall and started to cut firewood, throwing kindling into the almost dead hearth and fanning the fire back to life. It seemed unlikely that my kidnapper was cold — it was a hot summer’s day, and it had been warm and stuffy all evening until the rain began.

I looked through the rather large holes in the woven basket. Old clay dishes, rusty scissors, a blackened iron pot and a spit for roasting meat. We were in a kitchen. It was starting to look very much like the smelly winged boy was about to cook up a hearty meal. Did that mean I was the main course?! It seemed so. The veyer kept glancing at me hungrily and muttering away excitedly as he chopped some long stems of something that smelled a lot like garlic and some bundles of blue herbs. Preparing the spices for the meat. Once done chopping, he threw the herbs into the empty pot and licked his lips, looking at me like a predator.

Was I scared when I realized he wanted to eat me? No. More disappointed — I’d been thinking up all kinds of wild scenarios, imagining that I was being captured as a slave, but the truth turned out far less exciting. I even surprised myself — as I watched the veyer cook, I felt no fear, but distant curiosity instead, as if it didn’t concern me in the least. The kidnapper had had his chance to kill me when he held my kitten body in his strong clawed hands. All he had to do was snap my fragile neck and be done with it. But the veyer missed his chance. Now, despite the fact that Avir Tan-Hoshi was a whole sixteen levels above me, I had no doubt that I could deal with him. In addition, my kidnapper carelessly left me alone in the room. He ran off upstairs somewhere with an empty birchbark basket in hand — apparently rushing to fetch water for the pot.

Well, time to escape. I could turn into an arachnoscorp — in that form, I could even hold a human in my strong chitinous legs, let alone move the basket. But I did something else instead. Transform into snake!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level ten!

Now a two-foot-long emerald snake, slender and flexible, I slithered through a gap in the wicker basket, dropped from the table to the stone floor and crept behind some big jugs and pots standing by the wall. Transform back into cat! Stealth! And finally, translucent mode! Of course, I could have crept into another room or even flown out the window in my beetle form, but I wanted to see what would happen next. And a good thing I did — the sight really was entertaining.

Avir Tan-Hoshi returned to the kitchen with water and poured it straight into the pot. Then he threw in the chopped herbs and even added a pinch of roughly ground salt from a pot on a nearby shelf. Salt!? A valuable resource! I heard from Ashot that there was a serious lack of salt in the river village — they were down to their last crumbs from the old world, so the cook was sparing with it. Avir Tan-Hoshi mixed the water with a wooden spoon and hung the pot over the fire. Finally, it was time to add his hard-won portion of cat. The winged chef picked up his knife, turned and… stared wide-eyed at the empty wicker basket.

“A mi tur ka vara?” he laughed, baring sharp teeth and picking up a fine piece of kindling. He stuck it through a gap in the basket and started waving it around inside, feeling for the cat who he thought must be hiding in stealth.

Gradually, the satisfied smirk slipped from the winged thief’s face. With all the care in the world, the veyer slightly lifted one edge of the basket and stuck a hand into the trap. Finally, it got through to the hapless cook that his dinner had slipped away. Oh, how he swore and rampaged around the kitchen, smashing pots and rooting through corners! He wrung his hands, wailed and cried to the heavens for this grievous affront to justice — the kitten, you see, had failed to be eaten! In his despair, the would-be cook threw a knife. It bounced off the stone wall and nearly hit him. The veyer dropped to his knees, emitted a long drawn-out howl and beat his fists against his head hard, damning himself for his carelessness.

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-one!

Tireless skill increased to level eleven!

I glanced at the system messages, then went back to staring at the cringing veyer. He was putting on quite the scene. I would have understood if he really was starving to death, but the thief had downed a whole can of stew only minutes ago when he suddenly landed by the fire. He’d devoured the whole contents of the can in three seconds, stuffing the meat into his mouth with his dirty hands and growling in pleasure. I must admit, I was so surprised by the sight when he landed that I did nothing at all to stop him.

Well, enough was enough. I was sick of this show. Time to teach my little kidnapper a lesson. In the beginning I’d been preparing myself to fight for my life against a fearsome high-level foe, but now I felt only disgust and pity for this creature. He was a harmless loser. I changed my mind about killing him. But he certainly had to be punished for kidnapping me, so he wouldn’t try it again.

Curse Magic. Slow! Slow! Slow! Weaken! Weaken! Spending my mana carefully so that I had enough Magic Points to do everything I had planned, I dropped curses on the veyer from stealth. There. Now the little thief was no danger. I carefully slid from cover and slithered toward the bereft chef from behind. Transform into arachnoscorp! Attack! I could easily kill the winged boy with a bite, but instead I decided to paralyze him with a strike of my venomous stinger to his neck. And then, still in my large arachnid form, I wrapped up the veyer’s helpless body in thick sticky thread. All done! Just in time before I turned back into a cat!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level eleven!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-one!

Your character is now level twenty!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: nineteen).

ATTENTION! You have reached level twenty. You can now choose another three skills.

Finally! I’d been waiting so long for the chance to add some variety to my skillset!

Thanks to my sensitive ears, I was already sure that the veyer was alone in the tower. I was out of danger. That meant I had a spare moment of peace to think of how best to level up Whiskers. It was worth some careful thought — my next chance to choose more skills was at faraway level fifty. Judging by other players I’d seen, I had to survive at least another half a year in this world full of danger to get there.

Alright, what did we have to play with?

Whiskers. Kitten. Male. Sergeant’s pet.

Class: Hexxer, level 20.

Character stats:

Strength 8 (-30% damage dealt in close combat)

Agility 18 (+20% movement speed, +20% reaction speed, +20% action accuracy)

** Due to an injury, Agility is temporarily reduced to 16, bonuses received from Agility stat reduced

Intellect 22 * Your high Intellect gives your character special abilities

Perception 18 (+20% range to vision, hearing, sense of smell)

Physique 15 (No bonuses)

Luck Modifier -2 * Your low Luck gives your character special abilities

Character stats:

Health Points: 187 / 187

Stamina Points: 381 / 381

Magic Points: 79 / 79

Carrying capacity: 2.2 lbs * Inventory unavailable

Mutagens used: 1 (10 points spent)

Fame: 1

Character skills:

Hand-to-Hand Combat 5

Curse Magic 70

Radar Ear 22

Mysticism 21

Stealth 21 * Translucency ability

Soothe 24

Transformation Magic 11

Dodge 2

Tireless 11

Bookworm 2

10 of 13 possible skills at level 20 chosen

Attention! 6 unspent skill points available

Attention! 19 mutation points available

I saw right away that there were three skills I practically hadn’t been using, so they hadn’t leveled up. I had no regrets at all over my choice of Bookworm, despite its current low level — I suspected that it would come in handy many times again by allowing me to gain new spells. But Hand-to-Hand Combat and Dodge bothered me. I’d started the game with Hand-to-Hand Combat. Nothing to be done about that. But I’d clearly made a mistake with Dodge — with my playstyle, the skill practically never activated and just took up a valuable slot that I could have used better. I hoped those skills would disappear when my character reached level twenty-five and its class was finally confirmed.

Alright… What did I need to get stronger? A third type of magic, that was most important right now. Illusions? Healing? Elemental Magic? An easy decision — Elemental Magic, of course! I really needed a way to deal damage — my little kitten couldn’t fight with its puny claws and teeth!

Level one Elemental Magic skill learned!

Fiery Spark. Icy Touch. Stoneskin. Wind Blast.

11 of 13 possible character skills at level 20 chosen.

Not bad, not bad at all! I tried Stoneskin on myself at once. The buff lasted ten minutes, made my skin tougher and added a +1 bonus to armor. Not much, but it was just the start! Now for Fiery Spark!

A tiny red flame flickered into life, flew roughly four feet through the air and then went out. Not exactly hellfire and brimstone. But still, I was glad to have the skill.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level two!

Hmm, what was this? A game hint told me that I could combine spells of different schools to create new spells by mixing multiple elements, but to do that, I needed the Conjurer skill. Very interesting indeed. I’d need to learn more about that skill!

But I wasn’t allowed to sit quietly and study the game manual — a strange repeating sound began to carry up from the courtyard beneath, cutting through the sound of the rain. As if someone was periodically coughing, groaning and dragging iron across stone. And the strange noise was coming closer. Light flashed in the window, then an ominous dark form overshadowed a narrow arrowslit. Just in case, I made myself invisible and quickly moved behind the jugs and pots by the wall.

First a huge arm ending in a claw appeared in the window space. Then I saw a man. Sergeant?! My master had climbed up the rain-soaked wall of the tall stone tower on the Marsh Mistress! The man was risking his life to save his kitten! Truly, I never expected such self-sacrifice from my master; until now, Sergeant never seemed to care what happened to me.

Gasping for breath, the big human squeezed through the narrow window and jumped down to the stone floor, torch in one hand and axe in the other. He looked around, tense. Julie climbed through the window after her brother, armed with a harpoon and also ready for decisive action. Of course, they immediately noticed the body wrapped up in spider silk lying by the kitchen table. Damn it! If I’d have known the humans were coming to rescue me, I’d have just played for time. I could have stayed in cat form and let the thief chase me around the old tower, without revealing my skills. Now it would be tough to convince the humans that the winged veyer had somehow just wrapped himself up in spider silk and gone to sleep. This was it. I’d have to own up, admit to everything.

“Meow!” I said, coming out of hiding.

“Whiskers! There you are, you mangy thing!” Sergeant said. He breathed a sigh of relief, picked me up and set me on his shoulder. “You’re lucky the spiders didn’t get you too, silly kitten!”

Sergeant looked around, casting light into the corners of the room with his torch, then turned to his sister.

“Be careful, Julie! There are giant spiders in the tower! Looks like we arrived just in time and scared them off. And saved this flying thief at the same time.”

My jaw dropped in surprise. What, I’d gotten away with it again? Even with such clear evidence of my activities? I thought my master was beginning to suspect something back in Orshi-Ur, with Badass, but apparently not. Oh, Sergeant, Sergeant… How much Intellect do you have again..? At least a little more than a plank of wood, right?

On the other hand, perhaps I was judging too my ‘other-me’ too harshly. The human had courageously climbed up to save me, and never mind that his critically low Luck could have caused him to fall from the arachnoscorp’s back and crash down to the rocks below. So I’d be grateful to him. And just like before, I’d keep saving the big moron’s bacon in my disguise as a fluffy little kitten.

“Meow!”

Chapter 4 [Sergeant]

Restless Night

I HAD TO ADMIT, I was pretty disappointed. At first I was glad that my sister and I had found such a perfect shelter here in the tower, and maybe even a new home for a large group of people. The kitchen was fully equipped. Next door was a workshop with a decent set of tools, although we had to be careful walking around in there — there was a huge hole in the floor where a staircase had collapsed. On the floor above us was a huge stone cistern for collecting rainwater. The water in it didn’t look particularly clean and was teeming with mosquito larvae and other insects. We’d need to filter and boil it before use. Then there was something like an ancient library full of rotting and slimy old scrolls that crumbled in the hand, and tomes on old rickety shelves. The room was half full of rocks and debris from the collapsed floor above it.

It wasn’t a lot of space, but the important thing was how difficult it was to reach. Very few dangerous creatures could climb up here, and if we cleared those spiders out of the tower and fashioned a rope ladder to be pulled up at night, then this would be a great place to live in safety and relative comfort, without fear of the night beasts and other monsters roaming below. But closer investigation revealed that all was not so rosy.

Everything screeched and moved just from gusts of wind. The roof beams and ceilings were rotten through. I saw dangerous cracks in the walls everywhere, and even bits of masonry falling off. I didn’t know whether the ancient builders had used cheap mortar or if rain and time had simply worn it away. In any case, the tower was ready to collapse at any moment, to join the other ruined buildings around the ancient fortress. There was damp all over. Water flowed down walls and across floors, and a thick layer of moss and weeds grew through the library. Cold winds danced through every room, through dark holes in the walls and up from the long drop where the staircase once stood. I was sure I could see something moving down there — maybe those spiders that attacked the veyer. Altogether, it didn’t seem such a good place to live after all.

Nonetheless, my sister and I decided to stay the night. I checked all the corners with my torch to avoid unpleasant surprises. As well as I could, I covered the yawning hole with planks, to keep out the wind and spiders. I even picked some mushrooms on the upper floor — they grew in abundance on the slimy old books and mossy stones in the old tower. I recognized the edible mushrooms at once thanks to Nonna Avetician, one of the settlers that went through the barrier. She’d shown them to me the day before. Most conveniently, the veyer had already started a vegetable soup on the stove. I just threw in the chopped mushrooms and added some salt I found in a big jar on a shelf. I put the rest of the salt in my backpack — in this world, it was a delicacy that could be traded for something useful. Unfortunately, the other pots and jugs contained nothing but trash and weeds. Although there was a tall wax-sealed pot that seemed to contain some liquid, maybe wine or oil. I grabbed that to take with us too.

While our dinner cooked, I dealt with the paralyzed thief. First I washed him. Thankfully, there was water in the cistern, and I had soap in my pack. I used his own rags as a washcloth — they weren’t much good for anything else anyway. The veyer just widened his eyes in displeasure and moved his lips weakly, but couldn’t resist. Julie was too embarrassed to be there while I bathed the boy. We had a little cloth left from the drapes we took from the ghost train, so she went to the kitchen to sew some shorts and a vest with holes for the veyer’s wings.

Why were we bothering with the veyer at all, you ask? What else could we do with him? We weren’t about to kill him. Avir Tan-Hoshi was paralyzed with venom and entirely helpless. If we left him alone in the tower in that state, the spiders would eat him. Anyway, the thief’s unwashed body stank so bad that it was unbearable to be in the same room as him.

On closer inspection, the veyer turned out to be very similar to a human, though with a disproportionately large ribcage. Very thin and incredibly light, the boy looked fifteen, but can’t have weighed more than fifty-five pounds. That couldn’t be just down to his emaciation — more likely the winged race needed to be so light to fly. Incidentally, the boy’s chest and back muscles were very impressive, but everywhere else he was pitifully weak compared to a human. Matchstick-thin arms and legs that ended in fingers tipped with predatory talons. His penis was thin as a pencil. There was no hair on his body save his head, where dark hair grew, thin but long. At his back were luxuriant black wings capable of lifting such a large body into the air.

The wings interested me most of all. I spread them open and examined them. Yeah, they were cool. Flying must have been incredible. I’d always dreamed of it. But if flying meant accepting such a drastically altered body, then I’d rather pass. Better to stay human and spend the mutation points I earned on something else.

Finally, the bath was over. I put my old swim shorts on the veyer. I’d already grown out of them and wasn’t even sure why I’d brought them into this new world. I carried the thief closer to the fire and spread his wings for him so he could dry off quicker. My sister treated the boy’s cuts and bites with ointment again, then even hand-fed the thief some of our mushroom soup — he still wasn’t able to eat on his own. His paralysis was slowly fading even without an antidote, but he would be weak and immobile for many hours to come. That suited me fine — I didn’t want any fresh unpleasant surprises from the thief.

The kitten turned his nose up at the mushroom soup, meowed in dissatisfaction and sauntered off to the library. That room seemed to particularly interest him for some reason. There must have been mice or other critters for him to hunt among the rotting bookshelves. I wasn’t all that worried about my pet — this wasn’t the first time Whiskers had refused human food and gone off to find his own.

I fashioned some beds for myself and my sister while the night beasts howled far below. Their wails soon ended sharply — the Marsh Mistress and the herd of rock lizards left below for defense quickly dealt with the enemy. I got no skill level-ups, just a small boost to my progress bar to the next level. The night beasts were few again, their levels low. And that made me think hard.

From what I could tell, it was safer to live in small groups. That eliminated the threat of the night beasts. But was that the fate of humanity? To live spread out, disparate, across a huge area of shelters and houses? Were there really no other ways to survive? Why was there this artificial limitation, forcing us to stick to one path? We’d been promised a world of endless possibility, but what we got was one of harsh limitation. Only one path, any departure from which was immediately and cruelly punished by death.

And that strange name of the night beasts, Feelers. Where had that come from? Shelly said that in the veich language, the creatures were called ‘testers.’ Feeling out, testing… Why? Who was testing what by creating the night beasts? And with what purpose? Could it be those players of the ‘Great Game’ that created this world? But if the result of this exploratory experiment failed to satisfy one side, then how to convince an enemy in the Great Game to abandon the failed idea if it benefited him?

Your character does not have enough Intellect.

I continued to think on the subject despite the system’s cruel reminder of my intellectual incompetence. There must be someone who remains deliberately neutral, who doesn’t play any side, but instead keeps watch over the processes of the new world. Most likely even someone embedded within the world itself, who sends their observations ‘upstairs’ in order to correct bugs that would naturally emerge in any complex project. The Cartographer wasn’t a bad fit for that role — a mysterious creature who could travel anywhere on a dragon and gather information on the world around him. I would need to ask the Cartographer about his role in what had happened when I next met him. I suspected that the answer to that question would cost me dearly. Very dearly. So first, I needed to find something of the same value to exchange, since information was a commodity in this world like any other, and it had its value.

With those thoughts, which seemed better suited to a Scientist or Philosopher than an impulsive Beast Catcher, I drifted off to sleep…

* * *

I woke up with a sense of alarm, a feeling that something was wrong. My first thought was the veyer, of course — the thief must have escaped and stolen my pack, or even Whiskers. But the winged boy was sleeping gently by the dying fire. Then what was bothering me..?

ATTENTION! Your level 34 Sharp-Toothed Rock Lizard has died!

What!? I shot up from my cot. Someone or something was attacking my pets! There was a battle in the courtyard below! I rushed to the window to see what was happening. The sky was beginning to lighten outside, night was ending.

ATTENTION! Your level 20 Sharp-Toothed Rock Lizard has died!

Another one dead. I had to do something before all my pets died! I leaned halfway out the window, trying to make out what was happening in the fortress courtyard. Atlas was rolled up into a ball, but the Marsh Mistress and the herd of lizards were roaming aimlessly through the courtyard among the scattered rubble. I couldn’t see any enemies. In the meantime, another lizard fell down dead right before my eyes. I saw an arrow sticking out of it.

ATTENTION! Your level 16 Sharp-Toothed Rock Lizard has died!

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-one!

There was the enemy! A translucent red silhouette stood on a tall heap of rubble — I could see him with my thermal vision. A sherkh! And that bastard was shooting my pets like fish in a barrel! I whistled loudly to the Marsh Mistress to get the arachnoscorp’s attention, then ordered her to attack, pointing out the enemy. But the big arachnid didn’t seem to understand my order.

I noticed that Whiskers, too, was taking an interest in what was happening below. He’d jumped up onto the window ledge. Until now, the ginger kitten had spent all night in the old library, presumably hunting. Now he watched through the window with me and growled threateningly.

ATTENTION! Your level 50 Sharp-Toothed Rock Lizard has died!

I needed to teach this arrogant foe a lesson before he got carried away. He’d pick off my pets in no time. Without their master, my beasts were completely helpless. All they could do was wander the tiny courtyard in panic, with no way to see the enemy. I had to climb down and help right away. Luckily, I’d slept in my armor just in case. I quickly grabbed the skein of rope from my backpack, tied one end to a rusty hook in the wall that I hoped would still hold, then threw the rope through the window. Perfect — it reached all the way to the ground. I climbed out the window, and just like we’d been taught in the army, I started to rappel down the wall, bouncing off with my feet. Just at the last moment, the kitten joined me, jumping down onto my shoulder.

ATTENTION! Luck check failed!

Damn! I felt a sharp pain and my hit points fell by two thirds. What the hell!? The sherkh had redirected his fire from the lizards to their master and broken through my armor. And from stealth and in the back, too — the system surely calculated that as a critical hit. The arrow stuck into my back around my left shoulderblade. That hurt! And my left arm was useless now. With great difficulty, I continued my descent.

ATTENTION! Luck check failed!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level eight!

Screw you! The next arrow didn’t break through my armor, but hit me hard on my right elbow and I lost my grip. I didn’t so much rappel as fall down the final yards to the ground, burning the skin of my hands on the rope. My health was almost down to zero. But I was still alive!

Now to get to the Marsh Mistress. The arachnoscorp was only a short distance away. I called the spider to me and hid from the archer behind her large body. The Marsh Mistress twitched nervously when another arrow thrummed into her, but she stayed in position and let me climb onto her back. Now it was time to fight! Attack! I aligned my pet toward the enemy.

The sherkh delayed his next shot, still standing on the heap of stones and letting us get closer. He thought I couldn’t see him and he was waiting to get the perfect shot. Think again, asshole! I ordered the Marsh Mistress to leap to the top of the pile of rubble. Then she felt out the target and dropped her huge frame down on the archer, pinning him beneath legs and mandibles.

“Wait!” I shouted, stopping my bloodthirsty mount from finishing off her prey at the last second. “Just hold him! Don’t kill him!”

I had to repeat the command twice before the enraged Marsh Mistress listened to me and froze, holding the archer down against the stones with her legs. Twisting in pain, I carefully crawled to the ground and went to see who the hell had come to attack us in this old fortress. The long-eared and white-haired sherkh had already fallen out of stealth, so now I could read the name tag above his head.

Arvedo Un Ponar. Sherkh. Male. Guild: Eastern Garrison. Level 38 Scout.

Avelia’s brother… Well, that made sense. That bastard had already tried to kill my girlfriend Shelly the same way, from stealth. And no doubt he hated me for beating him then, and for breaking his arm too. Arvedo’s arm still hadn’t healed, so the sherkh had swapped his bow for a small one-handed crossbow.

I kicked the crossbow out of my defeated enemy’s hand, swept it further away with my foot and sat down nearby. Daggers, throwing knives, another thin dagger in a scabbard on his ankle… I took it all away, along with his belt bag — who knew what dangerous items he might be keeping in it? I had so few Health Points left that there were a thousand ways to kill me in that moment, even with just a punch. I noticed I was trailing blood on the ground. Despite my regeneration from my high Physique, my health bar continued to drop slowly. I needed to do something with my wound before I bled out.

In the meantime, the last of the surviving lizards — the white one with the crest, the one my sister chose — ran over and bit the sherkh on the leg. Arvedo groaned through clenched teeth. I allowed the happy lizard to chew on him for a bit, keeping a careful eye on the prisoner to make sure he didn’t croak. Wow! The rock lizard gained levels fast from attacking an enemy so much stronger than herself. Alright, alright, enough! I chased away the excited sharp-toothed lizard, who had leveled up from eleven to sixteen in literally a minute and whose bites were now far stronger.

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-two!

I saw movement in the corner of my eye — first a stone suddenly rolled all on its own, then I saw a red silhouette five paces from me. Another sherkh! The most difficult part was not to look in that direction, so as not to give away that I’d seen the new threat. And not only seen, but even recognized the watcher. Avelia! Why was she here? She hadn’t intervened yet, but was watching the proceedings closely. I needed to be careful with her brother, otherwise the dangerous Swordmaiden would attack me.

“Are the sherkhs and humans at war now? Why the hell did you kill my pets?” I asked firmly. No answer came. The sherkh just shook his head and spat at me.

It took a lot of effort to hold my fist back from turning the bastard’s nose into a bloody mess, but I did it. I wiped my face and stepped back. My whole body hurt and I was wet all over with blood beneath my armor. Nonetheless, outwardly I kept my cool, sat down on the stones near the disarmed prisoner and spoke evenly.

“Tell me, Arvedo, how come your sister is such a fine example of nobility and honor, but you’re a pathetic filthy rat who can only backstab and betray? Attacking an unarmed girl from behind and killing defenseless lizards is the best you can do. How is it that in the same family, one of you can become a proud scout leader and the other can only be a pathetic sadist who preys on the weak?”

I spoke calmly, but I was trying to provoke my opponent. And I got the response I wanted.

“That will change soon! In three days, we’ll see which of us is the pathetic loser! I will take Avelia’s place when she fails the challenge at Hundred Skull City once again! And you, human, have been sentenced to death for bringing shame on my sister!”

The sherkhs had sentenced me to death? I took the news surprisingly calmly. I wasn’t worried about the long view now, more about my current condition. My head was spinning and a red haze filled my eyes, but my hit points didn’t seem to be falling anymore. My Regeneration was working. I stared at my enemy.

“I brought shame on her? Bullshit! I never even touched your sister.”

“Liar! I saw her naked beside you!” My enemy grimaced in anger and tried to spit at me again, but fell short.

“In that case you saw more than I did. I was being respectful and didn’t look while she changed her clothes. But you aren’t just a coward, it turns out, you’re also a pervert who likes to watch his elder sister get changed! And on top of that…”

I broke off when I realized that Arvedo Un Ponar had, for some reason, died. Only when I stepped closer and turned the sherkh’s head did I see the throwing knife sticking out of his neck.

“What the hell, Avelia!? Why’d you kill him?”

The Swordmaiden emerged from stealth, shook her head.

“My brother didn’t see me. He’ll think you killed him. I warn you, Arvedo is vengeful and treacherous. I know that better than anyone. So be careful, Sergeant — my brother will never stop pursuing you! I can help, but only if you help me with the challenge first. If you do that, then… no, I can’t promise to be your friend, but you will no longer be an enemy to me even if our peoples go to war. If you agree, then we’ll meet in Hundred Skull City in two days. If not, then know that my father has forbidden me from even speaking to you, so you can solve your problems yourself!”

Chapter 5 [Kitten]

Secret Room

SERGEANT WAS slowly dying, although he didn’t realize it. Overpowering his pain, my master laughed, smiled and spoke to the sherkh Swordmaiden as if nothing was amiss. In the meantime, the puddle of blood spreading beneath him was starting to spread even faster, and I could hear wheezing and bubbling from his chest. His left lung was punctured and deflating. And although Sergeant’s hit points had balanced out at two to three percent thanks to his regeneration, I knew that wouldn’t last long. His internal bleeding continued. The Beast Catcher’s strength was failing. He needed urgent medical help, even surgery — the arrow sticking out of his back needed to be removed as soon as possible.

For the first time, I regretted not taking Healing Magic. That would have been handy now. Maybe I would have been able to save my master. His pale face and the spreading pool of blood beneath him didn’t go unnoticed to Avelia either. “Do you need help, Sergeant?” she asked, cocking her head.

“No, I’m fine,” Sergeant said, then tried to stand up and… fell down on his side, unconscious.

Avelia started to rush forward, but stopped herself. The Swordmaiden hesitated, glancing up at the tall tower, then at the daggers in her hands, then at the exit from the fortress. I think I understood her train of thought. If any spying sherkhs saw her helping her ‘brother’s killer,’ there would be serious consequences. The most tempting way out in this situation was to send this human on death row to the graveyard, killing him to end his suffering. Only it was unlikely that Sergeant would appreciate that kind of ‘help,’ and the Swordmaiden needed help from him. Avelia Un Ponar made her decision. She sighed, sheathed her daggers, went into stealth and hurried to the exit from the old fortress. She abandoned my master to bleed to death. Bitch!

I had to act alone. After casting a longing glance at the nearby corpse of a rock lizard — my rumbling stomach reminded me that it had been a full day this kitten last ate — I transformed into a beetle, raised the hard covers over my wings and spread them. Upwards, to wake up Julie! Although the Veterinarian specialized in treating animals, not humans, she’d try her best to save her brother. With a loud buzz, I flew my beetle body up to the top floors of the tower and flew through the window.

Transformation Magic skill increased to level twelve!

The spell’s effect ended and I transformed back into a kitten again. Just in time.

“Meow!” Meow!” I started rubbing my face against Julie’s cheek, but she just waved me away and rolled over. “Go away, Whiskers! I’m trying to sleep!”

The thought occurred to me to wake Julie up in my beetle or arachnoscorp form — I remembered the girl asking her brother over and over again the night before to make sure there were no dangerous insects in the tower. The little level 15 Veterinarian was terribly afraid of bugs. She’d wake up instantly if I touched her face with my chitinous legs! Only how would I make sure she didn’t stab me with her harpoon, or worse, faint in fear?

I jumped onto Julie’s back and tried to wake her up, but failed again. She pulled the light sheet over her head and ignored me completely. I don’t know what I would have done next, but an unexpected turn of events solved the problem for me — the rope left by Sergeant suddenly stretched taught and began to twitch rhythmically, then Avelia Un Ponar appeared in the window. Wow. So she’d changed her mind and decided to help after all!

“Get up! Your brother needs help!” the Swordmaiden shouted as soon as she got into the room.

Julie woke up instantly, threw off her sheet and stared at the sherkh stranger. The veyer woke up too, his eyes just as wide in surprise as Julie’s. Avelia repeated her words and asked whether the little human girl needed help to get down the rope from the tall tower into the courtyard. Julie cast a doubtful glance at the attached rope, stood, walked to the window and looked down. Right away, she saw her brother lying on the rocks and, instead of using the rope to get down, she called the Marsh Mistress. The little Veterinarian climbed onto the arachnoscorp’s back and went down into the palace courtyard that way.

“Go help her!” the Swordmaiden commanded the winged boy, pointing at the window.

The veyer didn’t understand human speech, but through tone and gesture she made her meaning clear to the thief, along with the consequences for refusing. Avir Tan-Hoshi nodded and flew through the window. Avelia, now alone in the shelter at the top of the tower, began to look around interestedly. The little kitten she didn’t take seriously. She felt no shame at all before me. She checked the pots on the shelves, put a clay cup and bowl in her belt bag. She looked into the pot, chuckled with satisfaction, pulled a wooden spoon from a knee-high boot and started eating the cold leftovers of the mushroom stew. I didn’t intervene, just watched the girl.

Sated, Avelia continued her examination of the room. The salt didn’t catch the Swordmaiden’s interest, but she took the edible plants the veyer had left on the shelf. Once done with the kitchen, the long-eared girl continued to explore the tower’s rooms. She peered for a long time down the hole where the staircase had collapsed, even shifted the planks and dropped a heavy stone down into the darkness to judge the height. She examined the big water tower, cast a somewhat disgusted glance at the life teeming in the water, but apparently still felt it was good enough to wash in, because she started to undress.

Wow! For the second time in two days, I was watching a live striptease from this fearsome, deadly woman. But yesterday, when the Swordmaiden had been fixing her clothes by the fire, she’d stayed in her underwear… it seemed I was about to get a more exciting encore. It must be said that out of all the races inhabiting the new world, the sherkhs are the most alike to humans. Only their long elf-like ears, slightly slanted eyes and too-sharp facial features differentiated them as another race. And Avelia was stunning, too. But alas… Before taking off her final items of clothing, the Swordmaiden suddenly disappeared into stealth. I couldn’t hold back a “meow!” of disappointment.

“Aba!” the invisible girl gasped in response to the cold water.

Choose the learnable skill Translator for your character?

Hmm. Maybe not, actually. It would be a useful skill, but it didn’t fit at all with my plans for leveling up my little curse-casting mage. After choosing the Conjurer skill to allow me to combine spells, I only had one skill slot left, and I wanted to spend it wisely, on something really necessary.

Avelia bathed for the next ten minutes, laughing happily and splashing me as I set at the edge of the pool. I meowed in displeasure, but didn’t leave. I was enchanted by the unusual and somewhat erotic sight. Although I saw only a fine water outline, it perfectly showed all the curves of her young feminine form. Ah, why was I a kitten and not a man? Although if I had been a man, Avelia would never have been so open and free with me. In fact, I had no doubt she would have killed me. Finally, the girl had enough of swimming, took a thin towel out of her bag and dried herself off thoroughly. She spent a long time running a bone brush through her invisible hair, then rubbed her whole body with an ointment to protect against insect bites. Then she reached for her clothes and soon reappeared in her full black bodysuit.

After her bath, her investigation of the tower continued. Next in line was the library. I thought the Swordmaiden might take an interest in the old books, but she ignored the lichen-covered tomes completely. Strange. As for me, I’d spent the day before perusing all the books that were still legible — they contained ancient maps and drawings of some mysterious islands, a multitude of images of fantastical birds and even dragons, blueprints for sailing ships and strange, arcane mechanisms. The game system invited me several times to take the Cartography, Mechanics and Engineering skills, but I made myself refuse each time — they were very tempting, but unsuitable for my character. But I’d raised the Bookworm skill yesterday by a whole nine levels, up to level eleven. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any new spells in the books — the tower’s former owner didn’t appear to be a spellcaster, but some sort of scientist or traveler, and the books in their library reflected that.

Alongside my study of the books, I’d also been practicing my Elemental Magic. I’d even tried to create and cast spells from different classes of magic, but hadn’t made great strides yet — the spells cost a lot of Magic Points and rarely worked. I didn’t have much mana yet, and it regenerated slowly, so I was very limited in my magical experiments. Although Elemental Magic, Conjurer and Mysticism leveled up from my studies too — to six, three and twenty-two accordingly. And just before I went off to sleep, I got a character level for my efforts! Level twenty-one.

After the library, the Swordmaiden tried to climb to the very top of the tower, to the collapsed roof. She tried to clear away the rocks blocking her path and even looked out the windows in search of ways round. In the end, she abandoned it as too risky. But then Avelia did something strange. The girl began to pace along the walls, measuring their length in steps, then started knocking on them. Something was bothering the Swordmaiden. She even picked up a splinter of wood and started drawing a floorplan of the tower’s rooms and floors on a damp wall. I watched her create the diagram with ever growing interest. Apparently, there was another room into which neither Sergeant nor anyone else had found an entrance. After arriving at this conclusion, Avelia returned to the library and began to throw ancient crumbling tomes down off the bookshelves, then pulled the bookshelves themselves down on top of them. One by one they fell, and then there it was — a wooden door, darkened from time and damp.

Avelia took a heavy hammer from the workshop and started to break through the old door. The wood was rotted through; it didn’t take the Swordmaiden long. After making an opening, Avelia climbed through the dark hole. I followed right behind her.

ATTENTION! You found the first of eight hidden areas in the game’s starter zone!

The rate at which you gain experience and skills has been tripled.

Duration: 48 hours.

Woah! What a lucky find! It wasn’t just the buff to experience I was celebrating, it was the treasury that opened up before us. A round room with shelves of books and scrolls running all the way around, and they were well preserved! Some of the books and scrolls glowed, speaking to magic power within. I was the luckiest cat ever! I could spend a whole year learning new spells and studying here!

Two large wrought-iron chests stood at the room’s center. Between them was a stone pedestal, and upon it… my ears pricked up in excitement… there shone a golden magical artifact card!

Spheres of Invulnerability (single-use artifact). Sphere radius: 6 feet. Spell duration: 8 seconds.

A most useful item for any player! And for a fighter, thief or mage, simply priceless. It allows you to save one of your remaining lives! Avelia had more than enough Intellect to see the value in what she’d just found.

“Puro vinto! Abal!” the Swordmaiden said, swearing in her own tongue. She walked to the pedestal and quickly hid the artifact away in her bag.

Uh-oh! She shouldn’t have done that! It was obvious that this girl was from another world and had never seen any Indiana Jones movies. Ancient treasuries was always protected by deadly traps. Something clicked beneath Avelia’s feet. At the same time, a fine beam of red light stretched out from the pedestal up to the ceiling.

Luck check failed!

Wait, what!? What had I done wrong? While the girl hesitated, not knowing what was going on and examining the red light, I was already rushing back to the entrance. In the meantime, the tower began to shake dangerously. Stone shards and chunks of plaster fell from the walls and ceiling. To the window, fast! I had to turn back into a beetle and fly out of there!

“Non migo! Uvari! Yom shashun babakh!” It turned out the Swordmaiden was rushing to save herself as well.

Avelia scooped up my tiny kitten frame as she ran and unceremoniously stuffed me into her bag, tying it closed tightly over my head. The girl probably thought she was doing a good deed, saving me. But she was more hindrance than help — without Avelia, I could have just flown out the window. Now I froze, not knowing what to do. I generally tried not to reveal my magical abilities to strangers, and I couldn’t escape from the bag without them. Some leaps, some shuffling, the clatter of falling stones… It felt like the Swordmaiden was flying down that rope as fast as she could, but I didn’t know if she’d make it before the tower collapsed. I no longer had any doubt that the tower was coming down — the crash of falling stone was overpowering!

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-three!

But as it turned out, the Swordmaiden wasn’t given command of a scout squad for looking pretty, but for her exceptional agility, speed and combat skills. Avelia was quick enough to reach the ground and run to a safe distance before the old tower finally collapsed. The earth shook. I couldn’t see what was happening around us, but based on the sound, I figured it out.

Avelia was breathing heavily and walking somewhere.

“Where’s Whiskers?” I heard Julie say in alarmed tones. “Is he under the stones?”

The Swordmaiden patted her bag.

“I saved him!” she called. “And I’m keeping this kitten as a reward for helping to save your brother!”

Next the bag started twitching rhythmically — Avelia hadn’t stayed to listen to the little human girl’s objections. She took to her heels to run far away from the old fort. I couldn’t believe my ears. What? She was kidnapping me? If only I were a human, I would have laughed at the very thought. A normal kitten could easily be stolen from its owners. But how could one keep hold of a creature that could turn invisible, transform into other creatures and fly, crawl and swim underwater, poison and stun enemies, and use magic to protect itself? I couldn’t wait to see how my kidnapper would handle that, and how long her nerves would last while she tried to keep a kitten that didn’t want to be kept!

Chapter 6 [Sergeant]

Return to the River Island

I CAME BACK to reality fast, as if breaking the surface from underwater. Ugh… My back was killing me. My health bar was half empty, and my stamina was at zero. I felt broken all over, with a fuzzy head like it was the morning after a hard night’s drinking. And where was I? I carefully turned my head, though even that simplest of movements was hard to do. The Marsh Mistress walked alongside me, riderless, pressing her way through the undergrowth of vines and hanging roots. She was almost up to her torso in green, murky water. A little further along in the shallows swam both my creeping crocodiles. As for me, I seemed to be lying on the back of giga-komodo Atlas. And I wasn’t wearing my armor. Before that fact could alarm me, I noticed my bone-plate armor in a bundle attached to the Marsh Mistress’s saddle.

I heard my sister’s voice, cheerfully talking about the school friends she left behind in the old world. There was a thick bandage on my body all the way around my torso. I kept my hands off the bandage just in case, but it was that, along with the pain in my back, that finally brought the memories crashing down. The attack from that sherkh madman, Avelia killing her own brother, the arrow stuck beneath my shoulder blade… That meant I must have lost consciousness after my injury, and Julie had been nursing me back to health. My sister managed to lead the animals out of the old fortress all on her own and had reached our familiar river meadow, picked up Katy and Tick-Tock, and continued on. The area seemed somehow familiar. Oh, now I recognized it! We were on the bank of the big river, halfway between the river meadow and Rumbler’s Refuge. So we were almost back. My sister was a smart cookie! I turned my head the other way, to look at Julie and thank her for the help.

But what was THAT? Apart from Julie holding the reins, with her white lizard Snowflake on her shoulder with its ginger crest, I also saw a back shrouded in black wings. It was that veyer thief. And with the sherkh’s crossbow and quiver of bolts. What the hell was he doing here? I asked the question aloud. My sister turned.

“Hey, brother, you’re awake! Oof, you scared me! As for Avir Tan-Hoshi, don’t shout at him. He really helped a lot with the operation! I wouldn’t have been able to pull that arrow out without him. It was deep. The veyer has really fine fingers. He could have made a great Healer if he hadn’t chosen the path of Thief. Afterwards, when the tower collapsed, we pulled your body onto the arachnoscorp together. And he climbed up next to me. I couldn’t just chase him away! Anyway, how would I tell him? I don’t know a single word in his language, and he doesn’t speak ours either. He’s been riding with us ever since.”

I noticed that Julie had already reached level seventeen. The surgery must have been really tough for my sister to gain a whole two levels. I’d caused these two quite some trouble. Alright, to hell with it, the veyer could ride with us. I wasn’t about to be ungrateful. But it was something else in Julie’s words that really caught my attention. The old tower had fallen down? Although, come to think of it, that wasn’t much of a surprise. But my backpack full of all our things was in there!

“I found your backpack in the rubble. It’s all dusty and a little ripped, but mostly fine. Even that sealed jug inside survived somehow. But Whiskers…”

Only then did it occur to me that I couldn’t see my kitten. He usually rode beside me, so quietly that I often forgot about him. Had my furry little pet died?! But my sister soon calmed me down; she explained that the long-eared Swordmaiden had kidnapped Whiskers. Although Julie herself was worried and berated herself for not somehow stopping the sneaky kidnapper, I was actually glad she didn’t try — my sister would have had no chance at all of going up against Avelia and thwarting her plans.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be meeting Avelia soon, and then I can get Whiskers back. And our kitten isn’t just any kitten, you know. He can stand up for himself. If he doesn’t like his new owner, he’ll just run away from her and come back. But it’s good that you figured we needed to get away from the old fortress. That sherkh who attacked me won’t back down. He’ll come after me again and again. Better if we have the protection of the village next time he attacks.”

“By the way, I have his things,” my sister said, digging around in her backpack. “A few throwing knives, a couple of curved daggers, infrared goggles and a radio with no batteries. I gave the crossbow and bolts to Avir Tan-Hoshi, since it needs the Crossbows and Ranged Weapons skills, and we don’t have those.”

“And the veyer does have those skills?” I asked doubtfully. My sister nodded.

According to her, the Thief handled the crossbow well and was a great shot. Throughout the day, he shot down birds with it, helping to keep the starving and barely mobile Marsh Mistress fed. Incidentally, the spider had eaten the sherkh corpse that morning too. Later, when the group made a short stop on the bank of the great river, Avir Tan-Hoshi attached a rope to a crossbow bolt and shot some fish with impressive skill. He didn’t miss once! But then the creeping crocodiles Katy and Tick-Tock ambled over and devoured the whole catch, ignoring all the winged boy’s attempts to shout them away. To them, the boy was still a stranger. It was lucky they left him alive at all.

My sister also told me she’d seen Varya Tolmachyova at the river meadow — the girl was hunting on Irosaurus Regina. Her huge pet was already level twenty-two. But the Engineer’s daughter hadn’t wanted to talk — she just waved from afar and disappeared into the thick woods.

I stopped to think. I wondered — why was it that Rumbler’s Refuge had sent Varya the Scout to hunt, instead of their professional Hunters, Washington and his group? And the Engineer’s daughter had roamed kind of far from the river island in search of game. Although… for her fast pet, it was just a half-hour run, so maybe it was normal for her.

“Show me the infrared goggles,” I asked my sister. I tried sitting up, but my head suddenly span and I laid back down again.

Damn! What was wrong with me? Why were my Health Points recovering steadily, but not my Stamina Points? Julie watched with concern as I clumsily tried to sit up. She dropped her eyes and explained what had happened:

“It’s my fault, brother. I don’t have enough experience healing humans. I got the anesthetic wrong. You’re big and strong and you have high Physique, so I gave you a big dose of the red mushroom potion to make sure you didn’t wake up during the operation. But you stopped breathing. I had to resuscitate you. You’ll get strong again soon. I’m more worried that your wound might get infected — we don’t have any antiseptic. So I decided to take you to the river village and have Anna take a look at you — she’s an experienced Healer and can do it all properly.”

So the reason for my weakness was that potion made by the veichs, the same one I used to knock out the giga-komodos before I tamed them. It didn’t just knock you out — it took your Stamina Points too, preventing the victim from moving. Useful to know! I asked my sister to make me a vial of the potion when she could. I could find a great many uses for it. In the meantime, Julie took out the nightvision goggles and handed them to me.

Woah! They weren’t just cheap polarizing glasses like I’d expected, but an advanced design, with sophisticated eye pieces and crisscrossing adjustable straps for wearing them on your head. Not military — they were probably for professional hunters. They had some writing on them in English and had clearly come from the old world. The radio was factory-made too, not hand-built here. And it looked like… yep, the batteries were compatible. If we wanted to, we could move them from the IR goggles to the radio.

In the meantime, we passed through a marshy area covered in vines and the group’s speed increased. I even tried steering the Marsh Mistress alongside my sister — I needed to level up my skills and get closer to the next character level, which would instantly give me a full recovery. But my weakness reared its head — it was a huge effort just to move, let alone guide the gigantic spider. I had to hand the reins to Julie and lie back down again. Ugh. I could have really used some stinkberries to regain my strength! They’d sort me right out! But, like many things, we had none of them.

* * *

I lay on a broad bench in Grip’s former house, letting experienced Healer Anna treat and sew up my wound. Every now and again I clenched my teeth so hard I was sure I could hear them crack, but I still managed to answer questions from the leaders of the river island — Rumbler, Washington and Glutton wanted to hear all the details of the trip to the forcefield barrier. It wasn’t hard to figure out that what concerned the village leaders most was the fate of Viking and Yarik — why hadn’t the two returned from their mission to escort the resettling players?

The way I explained it, on the way there, Viking and Yarik got to know the settlers well, even made friends with people in the group. That was why they made the decision not to come back to Rumbler’s Refuge, instead leaving for the wider world alongside the others. Shelly? Yeah, my canine girlfriend had decided to go through the barrier too, to catch up to her packmates, now that she’d reached level twenty-five and could get through.

They seemed to buy it. It was far harder to answer their probing questions about the sherkh that attacked me, and my interactions with that race in general. A mysterious race, part myth for many, whose members few had ever seen. They didn’t fight humans, just stayed invisible and kept themselves to themselves. Why would one of them want to attack me all of a sudden?

I really didn’t want to tell them of the times I’d spoken to Avelia and my agreement to meet the girl in two days at Hundred Skull City. Otherwise, I feared, I would have ended up having to explain a lot — like Avelia’s relation to the idiot Scout that attacked me. And I would have had to tell them that the sherkhs had sentenced me to death, and so would try to kill me again and again. Why would Rumbler’s Refuge accept such a troublesome resident?

So all I said was that I once had a conflict with the Scout that attacked me today, on a previous occasion when he tried to attack my veich girlfriend. Because of that, Arvedo Un Ponar had a chip on his shoulder and attacked again to take vengeance for his embarrassing defeat. I also told them that the view that the sherkhs didn’t care about humans was deeply flawed. The sherkhs themselves saw war looming with the humans, and they kept close watch on all our affairs. In fact, the group of human settlers had been under watchful sherkh eyes all the way to the barrier, and they’d even been warned not to settle lands that the sherkhs had claimed. That answer suited the village leaders just fine.

Strangely enough, the winged Thief invited the fewest questions of all. All three leaders stated clearly that the veyer had no place in a human village, and that it was my job to tell him so.

“Done!” Anna said as she finished treating my wound. To finish up, she bandaged a cloth doused in some medicine onto my back. “I have to say, Sergeant, your sister did a great job on the operation, especially considering the conditions she had to work in and all the instruments she didn’t have. That girl has a great talent for healing!”

“And for working with animals too,” the Engineer piped up, humbly sitting apart from the others. The new leaders allowed Varya’s father to be present for the meeting, but didn’t normally let him speak. “Julie should be given a place in the village.”

“We’ll see…” Rumbler answered evasively, exchanging glances with the other two leaders.

That put my back up right away. What the hell? All my difficult and dangerous work to send thirty settlers beyond the barrier was supposed to be payment for my sister and Shelly to stay in the river village! Shelly had gone beyond the barrier, but Julie had come back with me. How could there be any doubt of her right for a place?!

They didn’t give me a clear answer. First Rumbler, and then Washington and Glutton, said they had no more questions and that I needed to rest and recover so that I could be of use again in the river village. As soon as the leaders closed the door behind them, Max moved to sit closer to me.

“I’m glad to see you, Sergeant! But I have to tell you, you may be a great Beast Catcher, but you’re a terrible actor! When you were talking about Yarik and Viking, it was obvious you were keeping something back. Rumbler knew it.”

“I don’t care! What difference does it make if they went through the barrier themselves or someone helped them…”

The engineer shook his head in disapproval.

“A lot has changed here in the days you’ve been gone. Let me fill you in now, so that you’re in the know and can better understand what’s happening. A man called Spike arrived — a huge bald level 60 Torturer, and a noble of the Pharaoh. And he brought a group of cronies with machine guns. They were looking for Haze and Hulk. They beat Rumbler and told him that from now on, the river village would pay a tribute of meat, furs and metal to the Pharaoh. Deliveries every ten days, and the amounts they want are staggering. If we miss even one payment, they’ll kill all the leaders. And worse, there’s a permanent guard of five of the Pharaoh’s overseers in Rumbler’s Refuge now, and we have to provide a separate house for them and feed them. From what I’ve heard, it’s the same at Orshi-Ur and Un-Talavi — the Pharaoh has claimed those villages too.”

So that’s how it was… That meant the number of places left for inhabitants was severely limited. That explained the cloud of hesitation over Rumbler and the other leaders regarding the promise to give my sister a place in the river village. Max Dubovitsky continued:

“On top of all that, my daughter left last night. Left in a scandal, accused Washington and one of the overseers of making advances on her. I was too late back to talk to her — I was working far away in the smithy by the mine. I only found out after the fact. I have no idea where Varya is now. Ashot and one of the Hunters were banished today — not enough space for them. I’ve grouped up with those ‘partial’ members, people who can only be in Rumbler’s Refuge during the day, and have to leave the village by nightfall. We spend the night on a raft out on the river. For now,” the Engineer spat over his left shoulder, “everything is going fine. Neither the beasts nor any monsters have attacked our raft. But today some bastard cut the rope that keeps the raft anchored to the island and the current carried us a couple of miles downstream. I think that’s their way of letting us know that they don’t want their ex-leader and a bunch of low-level players hanging around, and we need to leave. If not today, then tomorrow, I think, they’ll announce it officially.

The Engineer suddenly fell silent because the door opened and Washington walked in to announce the decision of the three leaders — Julie was allowed to stay, and my sister and I would even get our own room right here in Grip’s former house. But after all that alarming news, I wasn’t sure anymore whether we should even celebrate. Anna, who seemed to be carefully watching my reaction, decided to speak up as soon as the leader of the hunters closed the door.

“I see you don’t like all these changes, Sergeant.”

I didn’t deny the obvious. Who would be happy to return to their safe haven with their little sister only to find it no longer safe at all, and now burdened with onerous demands for tribute? In which, on top of all that, the overlords constantly moved the goalposts and failed to keep their promises!

“Are you thinking of leaving?” Anna asked. “Because I’ll come with you! I don’t like it here at Rumbler’s Refuge either, not one bit!”

“I’m with you both!” the Engineer hurried to add. “And if necessary, I can find more people willing to leave right now! The Mechanic and Philosopher, at least. I can vouch for them.”

I remembered my plans to seek out any malcontents that might leave the village with me and my sister in search of a better life. But it turned out that I didn’t even have to seek out those most upset by the new order and ready to abandon Rumbler’s Refuge. They sought me out.

Chapter 7 [Kitten]

Training a New Master

HOW MANY MUSHROOMS can one girl eat? Where’s the meat, the fish? At least some jam? Come on… And are you planning to feed me at any point? Meow! And why spend all night sitting atop a high hill, and with a fire lit? Anyone within five miles can see us!

As she sat by the fire cooking mushrooms on sticks, the girl turned to the cat meowing unhappily nearby. She stretched out a hand to stroke me, but I turned invisible and easily dodged her blindly seeking hand.

Dodge skill increased to level three!

The surprise on Avelia’s face was a delight to see. What, not expecting a trick like that from a fluffy little cat fresh out of the bag you stuffed him in? There’s more where that came from! I reappeared behind the girl and resumed my judgmental mewling. The Swordmaiden turned instantly, shot a hand forward and grabbed me round the waist.

“Ami vari shiro!” she said in triumphant tones, smiling. But a second later she suddenly let me go and pulled her hand back. Something to do with me biting her finger, I think. “Umi yu shirka kus!” she said, either swearing or chastising me. She sucked on the finger.

I hissed threateningly, my back arched and my fur bristling. Avelia immediately withdrew her outstretched hand again. We froze and watched each other, both dissatisfied with the other’s actions. This wouldn’t do at all. Feed me tasty food, and then you get to stroke me. That’s the deal! Only on that condition will I stay with you for any length of time, otherwise I’ll turn invisible and be gone with the wind! But how could I explain all this to this girl from another world, who had only the vaguest concept of cats from Earth? She kept trying to feed me roasted mushrooms, or worse, raw ones. Ugh.

Avelia turned to the fire, adjusted her skewers of sizzling mushrooms, then suddenly grabbed me in her quick arms again, this time above my chest right under my neck, so I couldn’t bite her. The Swordmaiden laughed happily. What, you think you’ve won? Let’s see how you like this…

“Umi yu vau!” the girl shouted, releasing me again and shaking her wrist, then staring at the burn on her hand in surprise.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level seven!

Avelia frowned and blew on her burnt hand. I saw little tears begin to form in the corners of the girl’s eyes. Oops. Seemed I’d overdone it. Alright, perhaps combat elemental magic is a little too much for a game of catch. My bad. Sorry! I sauntered over and rubbed my whiskery face on Avelia’s hand, even activated Soothe to calm her down. She carefully stroked the fur on my chest. This time I let her.

But what was that? I pricked up my furry ears. Dry grass rustling. And again. Louder this time. The Swordmaiden noticed my suddenly sharpened ears, my alarm. The girl turned her head toward the approaching nighttime visitor. A sherkh. A level 40 Scout from the same guild as Avelia, Eastern Garrison. He bowed low to my new owner. She gave him a wooden tablet engraved with strange symbols and he disappeared silently into the night.

The same happened again seven minutes later — another sherkh came, this time a thin girl who looked around eight years old. But highly independent, since it seemed she moved through the night with no fear of monsters. She too got a tablet of instructions from Avelia, bowed and disappeared into stealth. The third meeting happened almost right after that one — a young long-eared level 45 Huntress approached the fire. The two girls hugged, and my kidnapper even invited the Huntress to sit by the fire and shared a late supper with her. From what I understood, this was a symbol of friendship for the sherkhs.

“Meow!” The exciting and unmistakable scent of fresh blood wafted from our new visitor’s woven sack. I started to knead the thick cloth with my claws, demanding the treasure within.

“Un givi uvashi Whiskers,” the Swordmaiden said in interested tones. Her friend hurried to untie her sack and placed a small bird before me.

Finally! I set upon the bird with furious greed, tearing into the still warm flesh with my teeth. Both the blonde girls watched on in amazement, exchanging pleased comments. I even let both of them stroke me while I sated my hunger, gulping down chunks of meat greedily. And after I coughed and choked on some feathers, the Huntress took the bird and quickly plucked it and cut it into pieces to make it easier for their tiny kitten companion to eat.

“Meow!” I commented, rubbing my whiskery face on the Huntress’s leg in gratitude and glancing at my new owner as if to say “look, dumbass, do you get how to feed me now?”

Finally, her friend got her tablet of instructions, gave Avelia another warm hug and then left in an easterly direction — entirely different from the way the last two sherkhs were sent. My owner didn’t put out the fire just yet. She must have been waiting for someone else. But an hour passed, then another, and nothing happened. I dozed in the girl’s arms in a good mood, meowing happily and thinking that life in a cat’s body wasn’t so bad after all. But the lady didn’t lie down to sleep. She stayed sat by the fire, tending it, yawning and staring at the starry sky.

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-four!

I heard our next nighttime visitor long before his arrival. He made a lot of noise as he walked, as if not just one sherkh was moving through the dry grass, but several at once.

“Meow!” I warned my sleepy mistress, jumping up onto her shoulder.

The figure that appeared in the firelight was Arvedo Un Ponar, Avelia’s brother. And as soon as he opened his mouth and spat his first words, it was obvious that the level 40 Scout was in a terrible mood. I would have liked to know what that bastard was so angry about. The game system invited me to take the Translator skill again, as it had many times before that day, but I refused. Maybe I should have taken it. Then I’d know what was going on.

In the meantime, Arvedo continued ranting. The only words I could pick out of his diatribe were ‘Sergeant’ and ‘Whiskers.’ When he voiced the latter word, the furious sherkh jabbed a finger in my direction. Nearly hit me in the eye, that bastard. What was his beef with me? I’m just a harmless pet! Just in case, so as not to annoy the mentally ill sherkh, I jumped down from the Swordmaiden’s shoulder and ran off into the night. I even went into stealth. But the stream of angry words didn’t stop, and my name came up again. That did it!

Level one Translator skill learned!

13 of 13 possible character skills at level 21 chosen.

Things didn’t get any clearer. I listened to the brother rage on at his sister for another half a minute. At the same time, I studied the possible modifications for the Translator skill. Basic Animal Speech. Basic Writing. Accelerated Language Learning. Hmm… not bad, but that mutation cost seven points, and required Translator level fifteen. As I read further, another possible mutation jolted me like lightning.

Modified Vocal Chords. This mutation allows you to speak the languages you know and make yourself understood to the races that speak them. Requirements: Translator skill level 50, Intellect 20. Ability cost: 20 mutation points.

For a kitten like me, this was a pathway to communicating with other players! I’d finally found a way! Sure, the mutation was costly, but without even thinking about it, I immediately put all nine of the free skill points I’d saved into leveling up the Translator skill to ten. Maybe that was unwise and first I should have gained a few levels the ‘natural’ way, but I just couldn’t stop myself!

In the meantime, the conflict between brother and sister only grew. Arvedo was shouting and not holding back his words; I was starting to understand some sherkh words now, and I heard ‘naked,’ ‘shameless,’ and ‘disgrace.’ A little later came ‘traitor,’ which was somehow linked to the names of Avelia and Sergeant. Avelia proudly answered ‘no’ to her brother’s next question. And then Arvedo Un Ponar took a throwing knife out of his pocket and threw it into the ground at his sister’s feet, clear hatred on his face.

Judging by the frightened twitch from the Swordmaiden, that knife meant something very important. Wait… Was it the same weapon that Avelia used to kill her brother in the old fortress? Could my new mistress have been so careless as to leave it in the victim’s body?

“Kamo urti un yoka!” Arvedo pronounced, pointing contemptuously at his sister, struck dumb by the inarguable evidence of her guilt. Two sherkhs appeared from behind Avelia and grabbed the Swordmaiden by the shoulders, twisted her arms behind her back.

My sensitive hearing hadn’t let me down after all. Arvedo hadn’t just sounded like more than one sherkh.

Kamir Ur Vashi. Sherkh. Male. Guild: Eastern Garrison. Level 38 Inquisitor.

☠ Antoshi Ush Bahar. Sherkh. Male. Guild: Eastern Garrison. Level 45 Shadow Mage.

While the Swordmaiden couldn’t fight back, Arvedo walked up to her and gave her a few ringing slaps, then spat in her face for good measure. After that, he moved off to root through his sister’s belongings. Avelia tried to pull herself free to stop him, but the other sherkhs kept hold of her. Out of the backpack flew a change of women’s underwear, a light blanket, a cup and plate, a few potions, some bare wooden tablets and writing tools, and various other trinkets. Arvedo took the potions for himself and threw everything else into the fire. The girl’s backpack itself met the same fate. Her belt bag was also cut off and checked. But, whatever Arvedo was looking for, he didn’t find it among her things. That made him even more furious.

With a threatening air, he approached his sister and asked something about ‘night glasses,’ if I understood correctly. Avelia stayed quiet and turned her face away. That bastard grabbed his sister by the chin and forced her head back to face him. He squeezed, then repeated his question about the ‘night glasses,’ whatever the term meant.

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-two!

Translator skill increased to level eleven!

I stayed in stealth and continued to watch from a few yards away as the Un Ponar family settled their affairs. I grew more and more uneasy with what was happening. Arvedo unclasped the crossbow and quiver from Avelia’s belt and gave the weapon to the Inquisitor. Then daggers and throwing knives were pulled from the many pockets in the Swordmaiden’s black bodysuit. The artifact that Avelia had been keeping in a small side pocket of her thin jacket was also taken and passed to the Shadow Mage with pleased comments.

What was this? Was I watching my new owner get arrested? But apparently, that snake’s plans extended beyond simply disarming his sister. I heard words about ‘eternal shame,’ ‘wanton,’ and ‘showing off for everyone.’ Arvedo grabbed the fine cloth around his sister’s breasts, took out a knife and began to cut away a large piece of the material. He cut her bra and pulled that off too. That bastard clearly wanted to shame his sister by taking her back to camp like that. This must have gone far beyond what was accepted in the invisible race, since even the Inquisitor tried to stop it as a step too far, but Arvedo shouted down his countryman and continued down the low road of vengeance.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to put a stop to it. Avelia needed help! First I had to neutralize the most dangerous of the three — the Shadow Mage. Which meant Curse Magic, Mana Drain! And once more just to make sure, especially since the mana I drained would come in handy for other spells. Infect on the Inquisitor! Infect again! Slow on Arvedo! And one more Infect on the Inquisitor!

Kamir Ur Vashi groaned and bent over, releasing Avelia’s right arm and clutching his grumbling stomach. As if waiting for just such an opportunity, the Swordmaiden pulled a dagger from a scabbard at the Inquisitor’s belt as he stood with wide eyes, turned, and cut off the arm of the Shadow Mage holding her at the elbow. Antoshi Ush Bahar screamed piercingly, fell to his knees and used his right hand to try to stem the blood gushing from the stump of his left. Then the Swordmaiden drove the bloody blade into the Inquisitor’s eye right up to the pommel!

I didn’t waste time either. Slow on the frightened Arvedo as he tried to run away! Slow! Weaken! Weaken!

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-one!

ATTENTION! Your game class has changed from Hexxer to Shadow Hexxer!

I didn’t have time to check what this change of game class meant for me — I had to keep casting spells to help my new owner. Avelia took back her crossbow, loaded and cocked it within two seconds, took careful aim and fired at her retreating brother’s back. At the very last second, Arvedo disappeared into stealth, but that didn’t save him. Headshot! Right in the back of his neck! Dead in one hit! The bastard’s corpse fell face-first into the fire.

No longer hurrying, the girl reloaded her weapon and turned to the last of the three foes. The fearsome Swordmaiden pulled the Artifact of Invulnerability from the Shadow Mage’s hand and, ignoring his screams and pleas for mercy, shot him in the head.

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-three!

Translator skill increased to level twelve!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-three!

Your character is now level twenty-two!

Reward: three skill points and one mutation point (total available: twenty-one).

Your character is now level twenty-three!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-two).

Two levels at once! Now that’s what I’m talking about! A little more and I could pass through the energy barrier around the sandbox! The Swordmaiden slowly lowered her weapon. The girl had leveled up too during the short battle, to fifty-two, so her wounds had healed. Which couldn’t be said of her broken state of mind and her now useless clothing, cut at the breast. Yep… Minus ten camouflage, plus fifty attention from the opposite sex. She couldn’t show up in good company like this.

Avelia, now with a skull over her name after her treatment of her three countrymen, approached the fire. She idly rolled her brother’s still twitching body away with her foot and looked at her burning backpack and burnt clothes. It was too late to save anything. The Swordmaiden kicked Arvedo’s corpse in anger, then looted all three bodies and started looking around.

“Whiskers!” she called me. I emerged from stealth and limped toward the fire on my three good legs. “Ali tu!” Avelia said, and gave me a slight bow. I guessed that meant “Thank you!”.

Wow, she figured it out. My former owner would have believed with all certainty that he’d handled it all on his own. The girl picked me up, kissed my furry face and put me on her shoulder. Then she disappeared into stealth and hurried away from that creepy place.

Chapter 8 [Sergeant]

Group of Outcasts

THE NIGHT was tense. It wasn’t the night beasts’ attack — Rumbler, Washington and the other inhabitants of the river village easily dealt with the monsters. The defenders teamed up to kill the Alpha. The Feelers couldn’t pass through the flame barrier. Quiet soon came. But then something strange began. There were screams, shouts, the crack of gunfire. Someone ran somewhere, then broke the windows of the next house with stones. I was still bedbound and could barely move. I could only guess at what was going on outside. My sister watched through the window and told me what she could. The screams of the people of Rumbler’s Refuge didn’t stop. Unfortunately, our window faced away from the village center, so we couldn’t make out much. Julie tried to go out into the courtyard to find out what was going on, but Glutton sent her back firmly with an order to sit in her room and not get in the way of men fighting. The noise in the courtyard went on and on, at least until midnight. Then things slowly calmed down and people went back to their houses.

Late in the night, I got strong enough to swing my legs over the side of the bed and limp to the toilet cabin in the yard. It was hard to walk — my Stamina Points were balanced at zero and I nearly fell. I had to pick up a stick and lean on it as I went. On the way back, I circled the house, trying to find out what had happened. I saw broken shutters on the next house, blood on the walls and spent ammo casings on the ground. A frowning man in army fatigues with an assault rifle on his knees sat on the porch — one of the overseers brought to Rumbler’s Refuge. He watched me walk toward him on shaky legs, narrowed his eyes.

“Get gone while the going’s good, Beast Catcher,” he shouted threateningly. “This doesn’t concern you!”

I didn’t listen. I kept limping toward him, at the same time taking a closer look at this unfamiliar inhabitant of the village.

Andrew Whitesteed. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 33 Overseer

He was a young man, twenty-two to twenty-four, blond, tall and muscular. His uniform bore the stripes of a junior sergeant, just like mine had, but another badge showed he was a paratrooper too. My approach raised Andrew’s hackles. He put a hand on his rifle, but showed no aggression.

Groaning like an old man, I sat down heavily on the porch next to him.

“Been in the new world long?” I asked.

“What do you care?” the man grumbled. A moment’s silence, then he sighed. “Fifty or sixty days, somewhere around that. I lost count.”

“You landed here with your gun and three full magazines of ammo?” I asked in surprise. That kind of situation was rare good fortune. Some found themselves in the new world just in swimshorts, or without even that.

“My parachute didn’t open and I was too close to the ground to pull my backup chute,” the guy explained, then asked where I’d served and how I’d gotten here.

I had nothing to hide. I told him the short version of my service, my return from the army, how my girlfriend cheated on me and how I ended up in the new world.

“You’re lucky you didn’t leave anyone behind in the old world, Sergeant,” the young man said sadly. “I’d give half the lives I have left just to tell my wife and mom that I’m alive and well, and doing okay. I wonder how they’re doing without me. And is my child a girl or a boy? Shame the kid will have to grow up without a dad. I worry about my mom the most. I hope she recovered from the grief. I was her only son, and I died in a training exercise. But maybe her grandson or granddaughter will give her reason to go on living…”

I patted my new friend on the shoulder reassuringly, but even that simple gesture nearly made me fall over. His next question was about what led to my current weakness, and I told him about my conflict with the sherkh, his arrow and the lingering anesthetic.

“Yeah, the sherkhs are ballsy now. We see their scouts near our villages more and more often. Rumor has it, the long ears even kidnapped a noble of the Pharaoh sent to them as emissary. Our boys are definitely going to be striking back at the invisibles. I overheard some plans…”

My new acquaintance suddenly fell silent in mid-sentence, grimaced as if he’d said too much. I waited around a minute, then stood up and started hobbling back toward my room, leaning on my stick. Suddenly, Andrew Whitesteed called to me:

“You should get out of here, Sergeant. Our squad leader Crazy called for reinforcements over the radio. All because of that fight. Your boys stood up for the doctor woman when Knave and Bluetit lifted her skirt in the kitchen, then dragged her here. By midday, Spike’s punishers will arrive. They’ll bring order, deal out retribution for opposing the Pharaoh. They’ll beat the men hard and rape the girls. You need to get your sister out of here — those bastards won’t care how young she is. For some of those perverted sadists, the girl’s age makes it even better. I saw things when those punishers were putting down a revolt from the second caste…”

“The second caste?” I asked, grasping onto the unfamiliar term.

“You been living under a rock, Sergeant?” he said. “How could you not know that? The Pharaoh introduced the hierarchy for all the players in his guild last year, then expanded the same system to cover all players. The lowest caste includes bound slaves, players from other guilds and prisoners of other races. The second caste is made up of free settlers, craftsmen and others who wear no slave collar, but are still bound to pay tribute for their freedom. The first caste is warriors and their families. The nobles are the highest caste. And the Pharaoh himself is at the top of the pyramid.”

Wow… I’d have to keep that in mind. I thanked the guy for the explanation and the advice, then limped back to my room. My heartbeat quickened. We couldn’t stay here. But I’d already been planning to leave soon. The conversation with the Overseer just made that decision easier.

* * *

When the first sunbeams streamed in through the window, I rose and woke up Julie. It was no easy task — the sharp-toothed white lizard was guarding her mistress. The reptile bared her fangs and hissed at me, not letting me close to my sister’s bed. Once Julie did wake up, she calmed her pet and apparently marked me as ‘friendly’ in her settings, because Snowflake calmed down entirely and stopped even paying me any mind.

I was already feeling surprisingly well. The injury on my back still hurt, but it wasn’t slowing me down much. Better yet, the debuff from the potion that was burning my Stamina Points was gone. I was back to my old strength again. My sister started rolling up our bedrolls, then suddenly she stopped, straightened up, started listening hard. It was the silence that surprised her. Usually, the river village was full of noise in the daytime — there was always someone cutting up timber, carrying stone to the storehouse, hammering away at the palisade, or just talking. There was none of that now. I agreed with my sister that this was very unusual, went outside… and the last remnants of slumber fled in an instant.

Five bodies hung from the roof beam of the open storehouse. Knave, Bluetit, Crazy, Ample Arcadius and my nighttime acquaintance, Andrew Whitesteed. All five were players from The New Pharaohs. Broken necks, lolling tongues, faces turned blue. All that meant they had been hanged alive. The overseers’ hands were tied behind their backs, too, and all their weapons and valuables had been taken, which couldn’t have been done after death — the game rules prevented it. I saw no signs of blood or other wounds on any of the victims — it seemed all five had been taken unawares, maybe as they slept, then tied up and hanged.

“What a way to start the day…” my sister said from behind me. “What did they do to deserve that, brother?”

“Plenty,” I said, not delving into the story of sexual harassment followed by gang rape. “But something else matters more now: where do we go? It’s too dangerous to remain in the village. The Pharaoh’s punishers will get here soon, and they’re going to be angry. They’ll take it out on the first people they meet.”

I told my sister to pack her things, then I ran from house to house. Rumbler’s Refuge was empty. All the tools, clothes, weapons and crockery were gone, and even some building materials from the storehouse. It seemed all the villagers save me and my sister had left the village early in the morning, or maybe in the night, after dealing with those hateful overseers. For some reason, they hadn’t warned me and Julie.

I saw many tracks from booted feet all around Atlas — it looked like the villagers had tried to unroll my giga-komodo and bring him with them, but they’d failed. Strange that they hadn’t invited me along with them. Unless the people of Rumbler’s Refuge were headed beyond the barrier, where the servants of the Pharaoh couldn’t reach them, and I wouldn’t have been able to pass through with the rest.

That must be it. The main gate was open, the drawbridge lowered, and all the tracks led to the river bank, then east — the shortest route to the forcefield. If they hurried, they’d be out of the sandbox by nightfall, and out of range of Spike’s punishers and the Pharaoh’s other minions.

Tracking skill increased to level fifteen!

We started to get ready. We saddled up the creeping crocodiles and I woke up Atlas and unfurled him. Avir Tan-Hoshi flew in from wherever he’d spent the night on the river bank. Without a word, the winged boy started helping us to pack our bags and saddle the animals. My sister and I exchanged glances.

“Don’t chase him away!” Julie asked. “He has nowhere else to go.”

I just shrugged. I didn’t much trust the Thief, although I noted that Avir Tan-Hoshi had drawn in his talons and found all kinds of ways to make himself useful. The Cartographer had said that there was no friend more loyal than a veyer. Maybe we’d made ourselves such a friend? We were already saddling up the Marsh Mistress when we saw the Philosopher and Engineer approaching. The two were so deep in conversation that they nearly walked right into the hanging corpses before they stopped.

“Holy (censored)!” the Philosopher commented, a normally very cultured and delicate man who never swore. “What happened here?”

“Looks like Washington kept his word,” Max Dubovitsky said, examining the corpses, the wooden frame and the bench lying nearby. “After that incident that made Varya leave the village, and that time they harassed Rita while she was feeding the babe, he threatened to hang all five of those overseers if they harassed the women again. They must have thought he was bluffing…”

I walked over to my acquaintances, told them of the disturbances in the night and the incoming punishers. The Engineer and Philosopher took the news surprisingly calmly. As it turned out, they were both going to tell Rumbler of a collective decision by the ‘day-only’ players to leave the river village. They’d only come to ask for some timber and other materials to repair their Dreadnought, as they called the raft that sheltered them from the beasts. That night, the Dreadnought had been attacked by some giant octopus-like monster in the river, and it was badly damaged — the railings were torn off, the rudder broken, the mast snapped. Fortunately, the players on the raft managed to fight off the aggressive beast and even took no losses. After a vote, they decided to continue life on their river raft and even to say good-bye to the village, becoming fully independent.

This meant that for the Engineer, it was actually good news that the river village was empty — he wouldn’t have to beg the leaders of Rumbler’s Refuge for the repair materials. He was just upset that Anna had left. Grip’s widow had planned to leave the river village, but Max Dubovitsky always hoped that the experienced healer would join his group, not go beyond the barrier into the outside world. Varya’s father didn’t mourn that loss long, however, before officially inviting Julie and me to join their ‘outcast band,’ which now numbered five: the Engineer, the Philosopher, Ashot the Baker, Edward Samarsky the Mechanic, and Scout Varya Tolmachyova, who had found her father last night.

“Only if Avir Tan-Hoshi is allowed in too!” my sister piped up.

“And if that promise of an expedition to Hundred Skull City is kept. I need to go there tomorrow!” That was my own condition.

The Philosopher and the Engineer exchanged glances and instantly agreed. Then Max stunned me with a new suggestion:

“Why don’t you take command, Sergeant? You’ll make a far better leader than me or anyone else on the Dreadnought’s crew.”

“Say yes, brother!” Julie asked. “You know better than anyone how our group can survive in this dangerous world! You can decide where we go — to Hundred Skull City or anywhere else.”

I scratched the back of my head. The offer came as a surprise. Why me? There were three higher-level players in the group. On the other hand, out of the ‘veterans,’ only Varya the Scout had experience of surviving out in the wilds. The Engineer and Baker had spent more time in the protected village. So I agreed. And I got to work right away:

“Load the timber and everything else we need onto the Marsh Mistress and Atlas. Julie, lead those two to the river meadow. Everyone else, wait for me to get back. I’m going to tow the raft here with the two creeping crocodiles. We’ll load as much as we can onto the Dreadnought, then get out of here before the punishers arrive. We’ll meet at the river meadow and do the repairs there.”

“Alright, Sergeant, but why are we headed upstream?” the Engineer asked. “Hundred Skull City is the other way.”

“It’s safe at the river meadow. And I have almost a ton of giga-komodo bone plates hidden there. Enough to turn our raft into an impenetrable battleship!”

Chapter 9 [Sergeant]

Hard Decisions

THE DAY WAS unlike any other. We started loading up logs and planks and taking them to the river meadow at first light. Then we repaired and ‘upgraded’ our raft. We retied the main logs, which gave us more space. We hammered together and attached bone plates along the edges. We stuck sharpened metal spikes into the hull to protect against the river beasts. The bottom of the raft got plates and spikes too. We completely rebuilt the structure on the deck. Now it offered protection not only against bad weather, but danger too. We fixed the rudder, but didn’t put the mast back up — according to the players that had been living on the raft for three days, there was almost no use in the sail — it didn’t provide enough power to go against the current, and gusts of wind span the Dreadnought unpredictably and dangerously. And we had the winged veyer as sentry. He could fly high into the sky, so there was no need for anyone to sit in the crow’s nest atop the mast. The veyer may not speak our language, but he understood simple questions and tried hard to be useful so the humans would let him stay. He was perfectly capable of detecting danger and raising the alarm.

We got a colossal amount of work done. I have to give due credit to Engineer Max Dubovitsky and Mechanic Edward Samarsky here — those two were in their element. They did the work of ten men with their class abilities, and they leveled up fast. More than that, they invented and built a rotary ballista and set it in heavy ballast on the deck. It could fire six-foot-long arrows over four hundred paces. It even had good accuracy — at two hundred paces, Varya Tolmachyova hit a target three feet wide with at least two of her four shots. Then she hit a winged reptile circling a thousand feet above us, killing the dangerous beast with one hit before it could catch the veyer.

Everyone worked. The Thief, the Baker, the Philosopher, both the girls. I was no slouch either. I worked as hard as I could, taking on the most physically demanding jobs. I carried logs, lifted loads, held huge shields hammered together with planks. So I wasn’t particularly surprised when my Strength stat went up to nineteen. That was the second time that stat had increased since I arrived in the new world.

In the morning, while towing the raft on the creeping crocodiles, my Riding went up two levels, to thirty-eight. And throughout the day, my Item Crafting skill gained four whole levels, to thirteen. My level progress bar steadily filled up. Sergeant only had a little way to go to get to level nineteen, just a sliver. But only at dusk, when the main work to rebuild the raft was done and we were packing up our tools, did the level-up finally come!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level nine!

Your character is now level nineteen!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: six).

The wound on my back instantly closed up, along with the bruises on my hands from the day (you try hammering in nails with minus three Luck — it’s no fun at all). I bathed in the river under the protection of both creeping crocodiles, washed the mud and sweat from my body, then joined the others by the fire in a good mood. I was handed a bowl of Ashot’s delicious and aromatic fish stew.

I wasn’t the only one in high spirits. All the humans laughed and smiled, making fun of the Philosopher when he started yet another deep conversation on the meaning of life in the new world, but then got his own opinions confused. The Philosopher himself laughed along with the rest, then suddenly turned serious and said he’d finished his scientific investigations. The days in the new world were equal to roughly twenty-seven hours and forty-two minutes. The daytime was sixteen hours and three minutes, and the days were getting shorter. That ratio of daylight to darkness put us somewhere in the middle of August. And that meant the warm time of the year would soon be over. Autumn was coming, then winter with its frosts. The Philosopher hadn’t figured out just when winter would come — to do that, he needed to determine the autumnal equinox, when the day and night would be equal, after which he could figure out the length of the local year. But in any case, carefree summer was ending, and we had to prepare.

That wiped the smiles off our faces. We already knew the winters here were harsh. We learned that from Pan — the only one among the first group of settlers who survived the cold part of the year. I suddenly realized that everyone around the fire had stopped talking. All eyes were on me, waiting for some decision from the leader, or at least a comment.

“We need a strong, warm house. We can’t build anything solid enough on the raft. But the sherkhs won’t let us settle here. They lay claim to these lands and have forbade all humans from settling them,” I began. This wasn’t news, but they listened to me closely all the same, hanging on every word. “We need to go downriver and find a place there. We’ll probably have to come to an agreement with the New Pharaohs, since all the land there belongs to their guild.”

The Philosopher cleared his throat. “That means paying tribute to the slavers,” he said, “or somehow earning the right to settle another way.” The sad faces of the assembled made it clear that they hated the idea of joining that cult willingly.

I hurried to offer an alternative:

“Or we grind hard and level up until everyone in our group reaches level twenty-five, so we can wave good-bye to the local guilds and head through the barrier, out into the wider world. We can get out of the sandbox further downstream, on the raft. Judging by the partial map we have, the river flows southwest. I don’t know if there are any waterfalls, rapids or any other obstacles in our path, but if we keep going, we can take all our gear at once. The animals can follow on the bank. Or we could abandon the raft and head east on our mounts. There’s a lot less travel that way.”

I heard murmurs of approval — my group liked the idea of getting out of the sandbox soon and putting the past behind them, along with the punishers, slavers and the conflict between the humans and sherkhs. All they argued about was the route — east or southwest? Each path immediately found its supporters and opponents.

I personally preferred the easterly option. That was the way I had to go to catch up to my tufted-eared girlfriend Shelly, and reunite with the group of settlers that my sister and I escorted to the barrier. They’d made a good impression on me. I felt confident we could join forces with them. But Rumbler’s group had gone east too, and the former ‘partial’ villagers had issue with them. And I somehow doubted that Yarik and Viking would be glad to see me. All the same, these were minor problems. We could deal with them.

The trouble was that most of my group wanted to go on the raft. Varya Tolmachyova insisted most strongly on that route. The Scout convinced the others that if we went that way, we wouldn’t have to leave anyone or anything behind. The cruel arachnoscorp Marsh Mistress could fit on the raft. And Atlas and Irosaurus Regina could run along the bank. I didn’t get the impression that it was care for our things or mounts that moved Varya. I got the feeling she wanted to stop me seeing Shelly, although she would never admit it.

“Also, regardless of what route we choose, we probably won’t be moving out of the winter zone,” the Philosopher said. “So we’ll need warm fur clothes, and we’d better get them now.”

We started trying to remember where we could find some animals covered in thick fur. There were only reptiles, large insects, birds… not what we needed at all. What about the Chimeric Monkeys? I didn’t want to tangle with those dangerous beasts at all. I remembered just one predator covered in fur, which the Marsh Mistress had swallowed up on the way from the barrier to the old fortress. Varya also mentioned seeing creatures covered in thick fur in her wanderings in the woods, but they were all huge and highly dangerous. Going after them with a bow or slingshot would be suicidal. It could only be done on a strong mount, and even then the outcome wouldn’t be assured.

“There are a couple of dozen bone plates left,” the Engineer said, sounding tired from our endless day, but very satisfied with all that we’d done. “Sergeant, I can make some armor for the Marsh Mistress to cover up her most vulnerable parts, her abdomen and front legs. But it’ll have to be tomorrow. It’s getting dark fast, and we need to get far out into the river to avoid the night beasts.”

I was about to tell them that we didn’t all have to sleep on the raft — the weather was good, and we could stay on the bank by the fire or use the makeshift beds built high up in the trees — but I froze open-mouthed. I heard a child crying from afar. The others heard it too. They fell silent and turned in surprise in the direction of the sound. I saw the sherkh from twenty paces away, hidden in stealth. I didn’t reveal that I’d detected him — first I let the invisible visitor get closer and show himself. Herself, as it happened. A girl in dark clothes. White hair, long ears, with a longbow and quiver at her back… and a baby in her arms!

Anita Ur Vaye. Sherkh. Female. Guild: Eastern Garrison. Level 45 Huntress.

She turned visible three paces from the fire, knelt down and carefully put down the crying child wrapped in a blanket. It was human!

Hope Matthews. Human. Female. Guild: Rumbler’s Refuge. Level zero Infant.

It was Rita’s daughter! Why was she with a sherkh Huntress? Anita Ur Vaye explained the situation in fairly plain language, her accent barely noticeable:

“Her mother went beyond the barrier with the other humans, but the child was left behind. The woman stayed on her knees at the transparent barrier and wailed, trying again and again to reach her daughter, bundled up on the other side of the forcefield. I couldn’t stand the sight. I picked the girl up and decided to bring her to humans.”

The Huntress considered her mission complete, and turned to leave. But I called to the sherkh girl and caught up with her. I bowed low to thank her for caring for Hope, then asked whether the Huntress belonged to Avelia Un Ponar’s group.

“That’s a military secret!” Anita cut me off coldly, but I put the question to her another way:

“I just want to know — do you know Avelia? The Swordmaiden has my cat. I’m worried about him. Is Avelia feeding him? Is she being nice to him?”

The girl relaxed instantly, losing all her ferocity. She even smiled a little.

“Don’t worry, the leader’s daughter adores that ginger critter. She won’t hurt him. And she’ll feed him. Actually, we both fed him last night, and I left her some more meat for him. He’s so cute!”

The girl stopped, smiling, apparently remembering fun times with the playful cat. Then she looked around to make sure nobody could overhear us, lowered her voice.

“I have to admit, I envy her. If you find another animal like that one, Beast Catcher, I’d be willing to discuss buying it. The sherkhs don’t trade with other races, but I’m sure we could come up with something that doesn’t violate our ancient traditions. I’ll help you with something. Or tell you where to find old towers with artifacts.”

In my view, what she offered sounded a lot like trading, but I didn’t split hairs. I felt lucky enough that the Huntress was willing to talk to me. Anyway, I didn’t even have a second cat. Oh, and Avelia Un Ponar is the daughter of a sherkh leader? Wow! Good to know.

“Yeah, I’m familiar with your traditions and I won’t violate them. So I won’t ask you to join us for dinner, although our professional chef has made some amazing fish soup. It’s delicious and even gives you bonus strength and resistance to cold. If you want some, I can leave a bowl somewhere out of camp and you can ‘steal’ it from us. Your customs don’t stop you from stealing edible supplies from careless humans, right?”

Anita broke into a smile, giggled. She sure was a lot more spontaneous and relaxed than her friend Avelia. And noticeably younger. Admittedly, I didn’t know how old Avelia was. By human measure, the Huntress standing before me was just seventeen or eighteen. She was always smiling, enjoying life. It made sense that the chief’s daughter would have to be more serious and serve as a symbol of strict adherence to all the sherkhs’ laws and customs.

“My friend told me you’re fun, and not like other humans. Now I see what she means. Alright, Sergeant, I don’t mind teaching your lazy guards a lesson for carelessly leaving soup around. And if you want, I can share some fresh vegetables and healing herbs. I picked them today.”

“Thanks! By the way, I wanted to ask you about something… Arvedo Un Ponar told me yesterday that the sherkhs have sentenced me to death. Then he attacked me. Well, actually, first he attacked, then he explained why.”

The girl just shrugged, looked perplexed.

“If that were so, then I’d have heard about it. And then I wouldn’t be talking to you at all, human. But Arvedo… he really is a strange one. I think there’s something wrong with his head. To be honest, I’m afraid of him.”

The sherkh girl suddenly cut off, her expression turning serious; two of my group were approaching us from the fire, Ashot and Varya. Paying no attention to the sherkh, Varya blurted out:

“Sergeant, the baby is hungry and keeps crying. We don’t have any milk to feed her.”

“Which is why I want to suggest something,” our Baker said, interrupting the Scout. “I have two glass jars with sealing lids. Varya will take me to the barrier on a fast pet, and I’ll find Rita. I’m sure she hasn’t gone far. She can fill the jars with milk for her daughter and I’ll pass it back through the barrier to Varya. And that means you’ll have be able to feed little Hope before dawn.”

“But then you’ll be beyond the barrier and won’t be able to come back,” I said, pointing out a rather important detail of the Baker’s proposed plan.

Ashot lowered his eyes, then nodded decisively.

“Yes, that’s right. But that’s my choice. Sergeant, you may turn out to be a capable leader in the future, but nobody can know that yet. My level has been high enough to go out into the wider world for some time. I don’t see any reason to put it off. And Rita is important to me. If I’d known she was leaving, I would have gone with her!”

His words on my lack of experience as a group leader might have sounded harsh, but the Baker was just explaining his reasons honestly. I wasn’t offended, and I didn’t plan to force anyone to stay. If he wanted to leave, then he should. I clapped the Baker on the shoulder as he stood tensely awaiting my answer.

“Well then, Ashot, I wish you good luck in the big wide world! And Rita too. Go pack your things. Take anything you might need from the tools and supplies. Varya will take you on Irosaurus Regina and come back, right?” I stared at the girl in the army uniform. “Or are you going through the barrier too?”

“Dream on!” Varya mouthed at me silently.

When the two departed, I turned back to the sherkh Huntress still standing beside me, who had listened to our whole conversation.

“Anita, could you show those two the spot where you picked the child up?”

“Why not? I need to go back that way anyway, my patrol route goes through there. And if I’m getting a ride there on a big monster, then I guess I should say thanks! But first, I have something to steal from you. You promised!”

Chapter 10 [Kitten]

Breaking Bad

I WAS OVERJOYED with my new owner. Such grace, such poise! There were no hysterics, tears or dramatics after what happened. The Swordmaiden ran for a long time through the night, controlling her breathing and using the stars to guide her. Then she climbed up a tall and imposing cliff face, reached the top and shifted aside a heavy stone. Beneath it, there was a wooden tablet bearing strange letters — these must be instructions from the superiors of Avelia herself. What, she was planning to just ignore what had happened and keep doing her reconnaissance work as normal? It seemed so. Now that I didn’t understand at all. If I’d been beaten, disarmed and had my clothes cut off, I would have been in a mood for vengeance, for finding those bastards and beating them back. Or at least I would have reported the attack. Avelia was behaving as if nothing had happened. Sure, the kitten on the Swordmaiden’s shoulder casting Soothe over and over probably had some effect, calming her and giving her strength, but surely not this much… Was she made of steel?

My mistress descended the cliff, now seeming in no hurry. She headed toward a tree that had been struck by lightning, then scrambled up it, agile as a squirrel. There, in a big tuft of dry moss, Avelia fell asleep. Incidentally, I’d learned that sherkhs come out of stealth when they sleep. I lay down beside her, warming up my mistress and purring happily.

Soothe skill increased to level twenty-five!

Avelia woke up with the very first signs of dawn. Another long run in the morning mist. I didn’t have the vaguest idea where we were. But my mistress seemed to know this area like the back of her hand. She reached a range of hills, found a winding gorge in the fog, followed it to a small cave with a thick bush shrouding its entrance. Here, as it turned out, Avelia had a hiding place where she kept a bag of spare clothes and a light blanket, flask, throwing knives, several crossbow bolts and pen and ink.

With no shame at all before her little kitten, the girl got changed, distributed various knives into various pockets and stocked up on crossbow bolts. Yawning from her lack of sleep, she got down to work all the same. This time the subject of our observations was the village of Orshi-Ur, abandoned by the veichs, but resettled by humans. Avelia walked among the houses in the morning mist, looking through windows and counting inhabitants. She even waltzed into a few huts and shamelessly grabbed anything that could be useful to her — crockery, food, scraps of cloth. From time to time, the Swordmaiden came within a step of the unsuspecting residents as they went about their day. She listened in on conversations, watched people from an arm’s length away.

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-four!

I silently sat on the invisible Scout’s shoulder. Every now and again I was newly amazed by my mistress’s confidence in her own invisibility, her boldness. Avelia watched a human woman make some soup, then go off to call the other residents of the house to breakfast. The sherkh girl calmly ladled some of the cauldron’s contents into her flask. Then she searched the next room, rooting through bags while the humans ate. She stole a mirror and a battery-powered flashlight. I felt certain that the other sherkhs felt just as confident and free in other human settlements. They could be absolutely anywhere, observe the humans up close and steal anything they liked. It was terrifying to see.

In the meantime, the disappearance of some of these things was noticed — shouting came from one of the houses Avelia had searched. I heard accusations of theft, the sound of people hitting each other. This didn’t seem to bother my new mistress at all. She just continued her antisocial activities. Some sunglasses, a comb, two bars of soap, a gas lighter, nail scissors, and a knife sharpener were now all under new ownership.

Finally, Avelia left Orshi-Ur, came out of stealth and started to make a report for her superiors, writing strange characters on an old wooden tablet. No matter how hard I looked at the odd symbols, I couldn’t figure out if they were letters, numbers or if it was a hieroglyphic system. Done with her work, Avelia nimbly climbed up a gnarled and thorny tree and hid the tablet in a hiding place behind a cut-out panel of bark.

Only then did my mistress finally relax. She smiled, took me off her shoulder and gently stroked my furry ginger chest.

“Uti pora um Whiskers! Sio vai sherkh un lapi!”

It seemed I was being praised for staying invisible in front of the humans. Just like a real sherkh. These were the first words Avelia had said since she woke up. I got a surprisingly generous amount of food as a reward, too — the Swordmaiden gave me practically all the meat from the soup. She ate the mushrooms and broth. Avelia sat down and watched me eat with a tender look on her face.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. Her work was hard and thankless. Rain or shine, she had to roam for days on end through wild and dangerous lands where she didn’t have a single person to talk to. Just beasts and strangers all around, and all her communication with her own people was through reports and notes left in hiding places, and minute-long meetings at night by the signal fire. I think I started to understand why Avelia so longed to talk to Sergeant, although their entirely innocent conversations had made her brainless brother resentful.

“Meow!” I said in a calming tone, then rubbed my whiskery chin against my mistress’s leg. Avelia picked me up, hugged me… and suddenly started crying. This was the last thing I expected from the fearsome Swordmaiden.

Avelia spoke for a while, in her own language, forcing the words out, about her hurts and her worries, her triumphs and failures. I meowed, let her stroke me. Suddenly, something raised my hackles. Some suspicious sound that had no place in a forest. I turned sharply away from my owner’s embrace, pricked up my ears.

Translator skill increased to level thirteen!

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-five!

Voices! Humans talking. And getting closer! Then I heard a clear command: “Release the hounds!” Danger! The people must have found the thief’s tracks and sent out pursuit. Avelia noticed my alarm, scooped me up and disappeared into stealth. Then the Swordmaiden ran straight ahead and soon we suddenly found ourselves on the shore of a lake. There the girl clambered up a half-fallen tree and stopped, crossbow at the ready, looking around and listening tensely. The sounds were strange — howling, cracking branches, the thud of fast feet. I would have sworn there was a pack of dogs on our trail if only dogs existed in this world.

I felt my mistress gasp sharply in fear when a whole pack ran out of the undergrowth before us onto the lake shore. A pack not of dogs, but of wiry reptiles running on their hind legs. They were seven feet long, with narrow jaws full of teeth on flexible necks. Short front legs and powerful back ones, with skin covered in sparse gray and black feathers. The beasts stopped at the water’s edge, span their heads from side to side, flared their nostrils, trying to catch the scent. And the beasts weren’t wild — each wore a leather collar!

Pack Raptorhound. Level 34 Female. Bald Skull’s pet (7).

Pack Raptorhound. Level 11 Male. Anaconda’s pet (7).

There were another five at least. Thunk! The nearest ‘hound’ fell, a crossbow bolt in its head. The remaining six instantly turned their heads toward us. They didn’t seem to see us, but they could still hear and smell. Incidentally, the creatures really were in a pack — when the first one fell, the number above the others’ heads went down to six.

“Get out of here, you idiot! You can’t take them all on!” I wanted to scream, but all that came out was a pitiful “Meow! Meow!”.

In the meantime, as if on command, all six reptiles rushed the collapsed tree, fixing on our position with ease. Several of the raptors emitted strange noises in unison, like a whistling shriek, and Avelia and I both fell from stealth. That was all we needed!

Curse Magic! Slow! Slow! Slow! The Swordmaiden knocked down the nearest beast with a throwing knife as it jumped onto the leaning tree trunk. Then the girl suddenly stumbled and dropped the next knife before she could throw it. Too late, I heard the shot.

☠ Spike. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 60 Torturer.

He was short, with a shaved head and huge muscles, his torso bare and tanned bronze. He wore army camouflage pants and jackboots. And he held a huge hunting rifle in his hand and was reloading for a second shot. But it wasn’t the gun that surprised me, nor the bright red color of his name above his head; it was the whole bundle of skulls tied to the terrifying man’s belt. The huge butcher’s cleaver hanging on the other side of that belt also drew my eye.

In the meantime, more humans emerged from the bushes onto the lake side — wheezing, tired and red-faced, but still dangerous in their numbers. Many had crossbows and other ranged weapons.

The Swordmaiden finally admitted the impossibility of victory. She jumped to the ground and began to run as fast as she could. I spent copious Magic Points to put a Slow curse on each raptorhound in turn.

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-two!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-four!

A small tree nearby splintered into sawdust with a crack — the buckshot just barely missed the sherkh girl as she ducked and weaved through the woods like a fox. A couple more shots rang out, then the thicket hid us from our pursuers. The pack steadily fell behind. Each of the raptorhounds had lost at least half its speed; a level 72 Slow was no small thing!

A couple of minutes later, Avelia sharply changed direction, heading for the fast mountain stream. My mistress spent some time running along through the water, then took off her wet shoes and kept running barefoot. She came out on the opposite bank, wiped her feet thoroughly with a scrap of cloth and threw the stone with her wet footprints on it into the river. Then she went into stealth and changed direction again, heading toward the hills. The furious shouts and threats of the worst possible punishments for the long-eared thief slowly faded into the distance. We’d escaped our pursuers, but I’d missed something — who was that chasing us? I’d never seen those raptorhound things before. And nor had I seen those humans in the village of Orshi-Ur. But I was sure those experienced players had been able to read the thief girl’s name when she fell out of stealth, and mine, which meant they got my real master’s name too.

* * *

Avelia’s wound was just a scratch — a shot pellet had hit the girl’s left shoulder. The Swordmaiden extracted the lead ball without the help of any Healers and bandaged the wound. Then she went back to her usual reconnaissance work, this time headed for the river village.

Just a couple of hours later, Avelia and I watched from a tree top as the huge blaze tore across the river island. All the homes in Rumbler’s Refuge were burning. Tongues of flame licked the sky. The storehouse of logs and planks was a raging inferno. The fire ate even the palisade and the wooden bridge. The column of smoke from the burning village could probably be seen as far away as the snowy pass. But who could have set the village on fire? Not that I didn’t have my suspicions. On the wet grass, I could see a multitude of human footprints and strange clawprints that looked like they could have come from those raptorhounds. That group that chased us could have had something to do with the blaze. But where were all the people of Rumbler’s Refuge?

And what was my mistress waiting for? The Swordmaiden was definitely waiting for something, lying in ambush and watching the river bank closely. Until now, she had been walking along the bank, in the shallows so as not to leave a trace. Then she threw away the stolen mirror and flashlight to confuse her trail, then set off again through the water for a while. Then she climbed back up onto the bank, carefully covering her tracks behind her. It felt like we were hunting someone. But who?

Time passed, but nothing changed. I got bored. With nothing to do, I leveled up my Elemental Magic by buffing myself and Avelia with Stoneskin, shaking nearby branches with gusts of wind. Suddenly, my mistress tensed, then practically ran down the tree. In stealth, quietly, on her tiptoes, she moved toward the bank. There! One after another, booted footprints appeared in the sand. A sherkh! And I already suspected who it was.

The specter walked along the bank, studying the tracks of the humans and raptors. Then it stopped, apparently watching the river island as its buildings burned. He stood a moment, then started walking along the bank again. Then he sharply changed direction, headed for some items he saw shining on the bank. That was just what Avelia was waiting for; she stood only paces from the lures, standing on a tuft of grass and leaving no trace in the sand. The invisible visitor stopped. The mirror suddenly disappeared. Now! The Swordmaiden didn’t shoot — she swung her arm and brought her crossbow down on him like a club.

Wow! That did it! Arvedo Un Ponar appeared from stealth and fell to the sand, stunned. So that’s who my mistress had been hunting! That made sense; she set the assignments for members of her own group, knew where they patrolled. She knew he could be the only sherkh here. It had to be her useless brother, come to rubberneck at a burning human village. I was so wrong about Avelia! She hadn’t forgotten that despicable attack. And she hadn’t forgiven. She had just been waiting for her moment to get her brother alone to settle the score. And here was her chance.

What would she do next? I wondered. Would she kill her younger brother, as she had done twice before? Humiliate him in the same way Arvedo had wanted to humiliate her? But no. For some reason, the girl seemed in no hurry to enact her vengeance. She just disarmed Arvedo, took his daggers and threw them aside. She didn’t even tie him up. She just crouched down next to him in the sand, waited patiently for her brother to come round.

Fifteen minutes passed before the stunned sherkh finally twitched. He groaned, sat up, holding his thumping head in his hand. Then he checked his belt in search of his weapons, turned sharply and stared at his older sister.

The brother and sister spoke at length and thoroughly, but my Translator skill was too low level and I wasn’t familiar enough with the sherkh tongue to even guess what they were talking about. The conversation’s tone was perfectly peaceful. Sergeant was mentioned a couple of times, as was Hundred Skull City. Maybe Avelia was warning her brother that Sergeant would be helping her with the challenge at the city. Maybe she was telling him that nothing tied her to the human, and suggesting that they both overcome the traps in the ancient ruins together. I don’t know. In the end, they came to some agreement, even hugged. Peace and harmony between the siblings again?

But as soon as Avelia turned away to get a pen and ink from her backpack, the mask of courtesy fell from her brother’s face. No. This smelled nothing like peace and accord. The anger and loathing in his eyes were meant for the most evil of enemies, not for a sister. But when the Swordmaiden turned back round, her smiling younger brother was back again. Avelia carefully wrote something on a wooden tablet in an ornate script with black ink, then they both signed it in turn. Some kind of contract? Avelia sprinkled the tablet with dry river sand, blotting the ink, then put it away in her jacket pocket. She straightened proudly, swept her hair back, crossed her arms, and… suddenly, Arvedo attacked his sister!

The girl didn’t defend herself. She let him thrust first one dagger into her stomach, then a second. The experienced level 52 Swordmaiden could have easily dodged the rather basic strikes, but she didn’t even try to move or stop him. What the hell was going on?! I realized already that the Swordmaiden didn’t plan to resist, that she had accepted her death. But what was I supposed to do? Sit calmly and watch while that psycho cackled and sent my new mistress back to the graveyard with one calculated stab after another?

I couldn’t just sit there. Firstly, the level 40 Scout would get too fat from all that experience by killing a high-ranked player at level 52. Secondly, I didn’t like Arvedo Un Ponar. I didn’t like him one bit. So… Curse Magic, attack my mistress! Slow, Slow, Slow! I had no time to do anything more — the Swordmaiden took another two stabs to the chest and stomach, then fell down dead. I had still technically taken part, so my Whiskers got a share of experience for helping to kill a player almost thirty levels above me.

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-three!

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-five!

Your character is now level twenty-four!

Reward: three skill points (total available: nine) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-three).

Arvedo Un Ponar pranced in celebration nearby. He’d finally got even with his sister and leveled up to forty-one in the process. I bared my teeth. I had nothing but bad feelings about that Scout. No matter. You won’t be celebrating long, asshole, I thought.

Transformation Magic! Transform into Cruel Arachnoscorp! I hit him from behind, from stealth, with my venomous stinger. That strike had never let me down. It was starting to become my kitten’s signature move. The sherkh’s lifeless body froze with a grimace of boundless surprise on his face. He fell down into the sand. I could take him out any number of ways, but I decided to try something new. Elemental Magic! Combined Fire and Wind! No longer a pathetic spark, but a tongue of flame blowing like a torch!

Woah! It was almost a flamethrower! Although it drank mana like it loved the taste. I ran out of juice before my burning enemy lost all his health. I had to finish off the sherkh with ordinary bites.

Transformation Magic skill increased to level thirteen!

Elemental Magic skill increased to level ten!

Elemental Magic skill increased to level eleven!

Conjurer skill increased to level four!

Hand-to-Hand Combat skill increased to level six!

Your character is now level twenty-five!

Reward: three skill points (total available: twelve) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-four).

I did it! I avenged my mistress, got the maximum possible benefit out of the two sherkhs’ conflict, got a whole bunch of experience and went up two whole levels! And although I wasn’t at all sure that Avelia would approve of my interference, let alone her brother, it didn’t matter now. I’d taken an important step toward becoming an independent player with my own interests and motives, not just someone else’s dumb pet.

My Whiskers now had over a hundred Magic Points. The little kitten was steadily becoming a real mage. And finally, level twenty-five! Now I was ready to go out into the big wide world! Before I had time to get used to this new sensation, a new message appeared before my eyes:

CONGRATULATIONS! You reached level twenty-five! Reward: +2 character stat points. Your game class has been set to Shadow Hexxer permanently. You can no longer change your game class.

Shadow Hexxer class bonuses: +20 to Stealth, +20 to Curse Magic, using Curse Magic spells does not break stealth (using magic from other schools will still remove stealth).

New Curse Magic skill learned: Veil of Darkness.

New Transformation Magic skill learned: Incorporeal Beast.

ATTENTION! Skills incompatible with game class deleted: Hand-to-Hand Combat and Dodge. Accumulated eight skill points have been converted into free points (total: twenty skill points).

ATTENTION! Because you have killed players several times, your character’s name will now show a warning symbol in the form of a skull.

Damn… It would be a little harder to make like a cute and harmless kitten now that everyone I met would see just how dangerous I was!

Chapter 11 [Sergeant]

Downstream

THE MARSH MISTRESS actually did fit on the raft, although it was no easy task to bring the cruel arachnoscorp onto the logs as they bobbed in the water. I even had to use Calming Touch, otherwise there was no way the giant spider would set foot on the platform, unstable as it looked to her. After that was done, we set off with the very first signs of the dawn. The huge armored raft slowly drifted down the river, the two creeping crocodiles as escort. I ordered Katy and Tick-Tock to protect the humans and chase any dangerous creatures away from the raft. I was on foot, leading Atlas along the bank and talking with Varya as she rode beside me on Irosaurus Regina. The Engineer’s daughter yawned openly — the girl hadn’t managed to sleep that night. She’d done the journey to the forcefield and made it back before the dawn.

She’d asked me to keep talking to her so she wouldn’t fall asleep. We discussed our most serious challenges — we only had a little milk left for the baby, and nowhere to get more. Hope’s mother had left that morning with the other humans to go further into the world outside. They had no plans to return to the energy barrier. She said as much in the note she passed through along with two jars of breast milk. It was a very hard decision for the mother, but I couldn’t blame her — she wouldn’t be able to survive on her own once the other humans went further out into the frontier. She had to follow the group.

Little Hope was sated and peacefully sleeping for now, and we had enough milk to feed her once more, maybe twice. That was all. The problem was starting to look pretty serious. Where could we find a nursing woman? And would she agree to nurse someone else’s child? As an alternative, we could try to catch a female mammal of some wild species, in the hope that its milk might be fit for a human child. We’d need to do that in the next day or two, otherwise little Hope would die.

The only animals I’d seen in this world that fed milk to their young were mice, and I wasn’t sure the little rodents my cat Whiskers occasionally caught even played by those rules. The chimeric monkeys came to mind too, but although they were outwardly somewhat similar to the gorillas of old Earth, they were more likely reptiles. I’m no biologist, but I didn’t see any teats on the female chimeric monkeys. The surest option was still to find a nursing mother with a baby among the thousands of humans inhabiting the Pharaoh’s lands. And try to convince her to adopt another baby. This was no easy task, and it would take a lot of thought.

“What’s that?” Varya asked in concern, pointing into the distance.

I looked at the view that appeared to us as we rounded a bend in the river. I was struck dumb. The river village was gone! Where Rumbler’s Refuge had once stood, now there were just burnt shells of buildings. The blackened remains of the drawbridge and the charred logs of the palisade stuck out from the river bed. What happened?!

I jumped off Atlas and called over Tick-Tock the creeping crocodile — I needed to cross the deep and dangerous river to see with my own eyes what had befallen the river village. Varya stayed behind to keep an eye on the animals. I stripped to my underwear, folding up my clothes and putting them into a waterproof plastic bag. A minute later, I was wandering the charred ruins alongside the other members of my group, who had moored the raft up at the island. There were plenty of tracks on the island — both human and some belonging to some strange creatures with long splaying claws. Some giant lizard? No, they couldn’t be lizards. It looked like they walked on two legs, and I saw evidence of long tails here and there. I racked my brain, but couldn’t remember any creature from this world that could leave tracks like that.

Tracking skill increased to level sixteen!

There was little of value that could be saved. Apart from some iron nails that Edward Samarsky pulled out of the burnt logs with a claw hammer. And a few beansprouts. Almost the entire harvest from the priceless seeds I’d brought had died in the fire. Only around twenty shoots had survived, the ones furthest from the burning section of the plot. The seedlings were wilted and scorched, but Max Dubovitsky still carefully dug up all the shoots still alive along with their roots and soil. He assured me that we could still save the valuable plants. I left it up to him. I’m no botanist or horticulturist — Max had more experience than me with that type of thing. Personally, I thought there was barely a chance in hell of bringing those shoots back to life.

But something else of value caught my eye. It was hidden from the others in the thick rushes behind the smoking lake at the island’s other side. Varya and I had made a nest and shelter out of branches and mud there. We took the three chimeric megasaurus eggs and placed them on a bed made from a thick layer of mulch in the nest. We had tried to recreate the conditions of Irosaurus Regina’s lair, and when I checked the nest a few days ago, the eggs were alive and well. Rumbler and the other villagers didn’t know about the eggs, so they hadn’t taken the precious eggs with them.

I was up to my ears in mud and had near a dozen leeches hanging off me by the time I got there, but I reached the spot. All three eggs were whole, and more than that, they were still alive. With the greatest care, I carried the priceless eggs to the raft one by one and gave them to my sister to look after. The level 18 Veterinarian examined the huge darkened eggs and said she could feel the heartbeat of the future giants in each one of them through the thin shells, and even felt movement.

“They’ll hatch soon! If not today, then tomorrow!” my sister announced.

Nothing else held us on the island. Our raft set off, traveling further downstream toward Hundred Skull City. Judging by our partial map and the speed of the current, the Dreadnought would reach our destination around midday. According to the Philosopher, this was the best time to pass through the traps and illusions of that dangerous zone. Wishing the others good luck with the rapids further downriver, I went back to Varya on the creeping crocodile and told her the good news that the three megasaurus babies would soon hatch.

“Now that’s some news…” The sherkh Swordmaiden appeared a couple of paces from me, smiling. “Shouldn’t I kill those dangerous little dinosaurs to take an advantage away from the humans?”

Varya shouted in fear, taking the long-eared sherkh girl’s words seriously, but I knew Avelia well enough to know she was joking.

“Don’t worry, Varya, if the magnificent Avelia Un Ponar wanted to break the megasaurus eggs, she’d have done it already without warning us first. Anyway, she knows perfectly well that I and my group stay well out of political squabbles and we have nothing against the sherkhs.”

I said those words with an air of calm confidence, but of course, I couldn’t be completely certain. What if I was wrong about Avelia? But the Swordmaiden’s laugh confirmed it — she was just kidding. The tension relaxed.

“Hey, Avelia! I’ve been wanting to thank you for helping to save me. Just one thing, though… What did you do with my kitten?!”

Whiskers was barely recognizable. He’d grown a lot, and it no longer even seemed right to call him a kitten. He was now a young, furry, whiskery cat, full of confidence and strength. Not yet a hardened street tom, but by no means the helpless whining furball that came into the new world. And my pet’s description…

☠ Whiskers. Cat. Level 25 Shadow Hexxer. Sergeant’s pet.

Level twenty-five? Shadow Hexxer? A skull next to his name with that threatening orange color? What the hell had happened to my pet in the two days that he’d been gone?

“This clever furball took full advantage of a leveling boost,” the Swordmaiden said, picking the ginger cat up and gently cuddling him to her breast. “I’m so grateful to Whiskers! He protected me fearlessly all this time.”

What ‘leveling boost’? What was Avelia talking about? She gave no further explanation. She also failed to answer my question — who exactly had my pet killed? At least she answered Varya’s question about what had happened at the river village.

“The Pharaoh’s people did it. The squad that burned down Rumbler’s Refuge is led by a human by the name of Spike.”

Spike? There was a name I’d heard before. That was what they called the commander of the group of punishers that was headed for the river village to deliver retribution to the villagers for their defiance. It all matched up. My sister and I were lucky we left the village when we did!

“Right…” was all I could manage. “Well, now it’s time to return the pet to his rightful owner, Avelia.”

“Not a chance!” the Swordmaiden snapped, affronted. She held my pet even tighter.

Then, suddenly, the cat in her arms… dissolved, and, leaving a strange trail of darkness in the air, he drifted to Varya’s shoulder as she stood listening to our back-and-forth. There, Whiskers took on the form of a ginger cat again and started cleaning himself as if nothing had happened. This demonstration of his abilities was so impressive that the Swordmaiden, Varya and I all stood with our jaws on the floor.

“I suggest we leave the question of who Whiskers belongs to for later. First we have to complete our main mission today: getting to the center of Hundred Skull City and making it out of there alive with the loot” the sherkh Swordmaiden suggested, and I agreed immediately. It was true; we didn’t have the time for arguments right now. A serious challenge awaited us.

“You staying on foot? Or do you want to ride up on Atlas with me? Or on the megasaurus with Varya, if you want. I don’t recommend the creeping crocodiles — the water is cold today, you’ll freeze.”

Avelia thought for a moment and looked over the mounts on offer, then decided to ride with me. I let Tick-Tock the creeping crocodile go to catch up with the raft, then I climbed onto the giga-komodo’s back. The long-eared sherkh girl had already swung herself up easily and was waiting for me.

“Same as before, Sergeant — if your hands go wandering, they might fall off. And order the human woman to ride further away, so she can’t overhear us. I have a lot to discuss with you, and not all of it is fit for listening ears.”

Varya snorted in disapproval when she heard that, but decided to be diplomatic. She twitched the reins, leading Irosaurus Regina forward. As soon as Atlas resumed his run along the river, Avelia sat down behind me on the huge lizard’s back and spoke quietly:

“Sergeant, you’ve shown me that you’re a man of honor, that you keep your word. We aren’t friends, but still, I trust you. That’s why I held up my end of the bargain in advance — I met with my brother and settled all the conflicts that arose between us. It wasn’t easy, and don’t ask what it took. But I did it — Arvedo Un Ponar swore that he won’t pursue you any longer and has no more quarrel with you. And you’re no longer an enemy of the Eastern Garrison. I hope you appreciate that!”

The Swordmaiden made her speech with emotion clear in her voice, and she seemed to be expecting gratitude from me for the help, or maybe even some generous gesture in response. I couldn’t help but knock her down a peg or two:

“A mutual acquaintance of ours, a certain Huntress from your group, told me yesterday that she was hearing about your guild’s sentence against me for the first time. She even told me there was no way it could be true. Any comment on this oddity, guild leader’s daughter?”

Avelia blushed, clearly embarrassed. I could tell she was considering going into stealth and jumping off the giga-komodo, anything to end this conversation. All the same, she got a grip on herself and tried to answer:

“Anita Ur Vaye is a simple Huntress, so she doesn’t know everything that happens in Eastern Garrison. I am indeed our leader’s daughter, as you said, and a squad commander. That means I have more information than a low-ranking member of the guild. And as it happens, I’m surprised you met my friend Anita. Tell me how you met. It’s important!”

That was such an obvious attempt to change the subject that I laughed. Alright, I’d go along with it just for her sake. I told her about little baby Hope, brought in by the sherkh Huntress. At the same time, I asked whether the Eastern Garrison had any nursing mothers that might agree to help us.

“You have to understand, Sergeant, it’s not that simple,” Avelia said, dropping her eyes. “I’ve spent enough time studying your race, your language and customs, and just getting used to your appearance. I no longer think you humans are quite as stupid, clumsy, smelly and disgusting as you seemed at first. But most sherkhs aren’t like me. Many of them have never even seen humans, and your appearance will shock them. For them, your race is completely alien. This might sound offensive, Sergeant, but no sherkh woman would accept a human baby and willingly feed it.”

Her answer wasn’t nice, but it was honest. I dropped my head sadly. As if to soften her words, Avelia hastened to add:

“Don’t worry, Sergeant. I’m not like the other sherkhs. And your appearance doesn’t bother me at all. Although I won’t deny, human, you are far from the ideal of beauty among my people. Among the sherkhs, a handsome man must be agile and quick, tall and thin, imperceptible in stealth, and certainly blond — those are the fundamentals, I think. You don’t satisfy any of the criteria. You’re too square and muscular, much bigger and slower than any sherkh man. You have no stealth to speak of. But I saw the interested looks you got from the human women on the river island. And that young Scout, the one who galloped off ahead in a huff, she looks at you when you aren’t watching too. Say, is she your new girlfriend now that furry Shelly is gone?”

“Uhm, Varya…” I mumbled, blushing and unable to find the right words. “No, she isn’t my girlfriend. She’s beautiful, kind and nice. Maybe even too nice. And her dad has given me all signs of approval short of a written invitation, but I… I don’t know why, I just can’t do it. Maybe it’s that Varya is too… too pure, maybe? For a casual relationship. And I already have a girlfriend for the long term, even if she is far away right now.”

“You mean that fleabag veich loser?”

Her voice suddenly dripped with obvious enmity for Shelly. Strange. What difference should it make to Avelia? Was she really jealous of my long-tailed girlfriend? She couldn’t be! Avelia had only just told me of how humans fail to measure up to her people’s ideal of attractiveness.

“Shelly isn’t a fleabag,” I said, feeling the need to stand up for her. “As for loser… You know, there isn’t a single person in my small group that has a positive Luck Modifier. My sister Julie has the highest, at zero. All the rest have negative or even extremely negative Luck. I checked. I can’t say for sure about the winged veyer kid, but judging by what I’ve seen happen to him so far, Avir Tan-Hoshi is just as much of a loser as the rest of us. We’re the League of Losers. Shelly fits into our little group just fine.”

“And what is your group’s purpose? Why have you gathered together and not joined the Pharaoh?”

“Purpose..?” I chuckled. Last night, I’d had a long conversation with the Philosopher and the other group members on that very subject, and much of what was said was still fresh in my mind. “We just don’t feel all that drawn to the hierarchy of blood and slavery that the Pharaoh has built in his guild. It’s a horrible way to rule! Can’t say we’re tempted by the open fascism that your people have in place either. Where I come from, slavery and fascism are considered the worst ways to rule. So we’re taking a different path. Everyone in my group is free, and anyone is welcome from any sentient race, as long as they share our convictions and work for the good of the whole. For now, we just want to learn more about the laws of the new world, survive and level up. Then we’ll leave the sandbox and go settle in the world beyond. Sure, little Hope showing up has changed our plans some, but I’m really glad that none of our group members suggested that we abandon her. If anyone had, I would have kicked them out without a second thought. Every life is precious, but a child’s life doubly so!”

We rode in silence a while. Avelia seemed to be pondering my words, or maybe just thinking of something else. Finally, she broke the drawn-out silence:

“You know, my own Luck Modifier is minus two,” the sherkh Swordmaiden admitted in a quiet whisper. She seemed very embarrassed, as if she’d said something shameful. “And although my Agility is fine, I fail almost all the Luck checks I get. That’s what stopped me from completing the traps in Hundred Skull City on my own, twice. That really annoyed dad. If I fail again today…” Avelia sighed heavily, “then I won’t be a squad leader anymore, just a front-line scout in my horrible brother’s squad. Or I’ll have to beg to join your group of losers like me!”

She seemed to say that last part as a joke, but I could tell it wasn’t as simple as that. Avelia might have been casting out a line, trying to check my reaction to the possibility of her joining us. Or maybe she was just teasing me.

I wanted to say something approving, because Avelia had soured completely, but then I saw Varya rushing back toward us with my cat on her shoulder. The Engineer’s daughter skidded Irosaurus Regina to a sharp halt beside Atlas.

“Sergeant, your Whis… I mean… I just remembered seeing a nursing mother animal! A big Chimeric Cougar in the Snowy Pass! And I even know where its lair is!”

Chapter 12 [Kitten]

Hundred Skull City: Entrance

VARYA AND I WERE the first to arrive at the destination. We watched from the bank as the raft, bristling with countless sharpened wooden stakes and gleaming metal spikes like a porcupine, turned away from the center of the river and unhurriedly meandered toward the ancient ruined harbor at Hundred Skull City. Edward Samarsky, bare to his waist, was the first to jump out onto the bank with mooring lines in hand. He pulled the raft closer and deftly tied the rope to the huge bronze ring on the jetty floor as if he’d been a sailor all his life. I noted that our Mechanic had already reached level fifteen, and he looked more confident, self-assured. The former momma’s boy was flourishing in the new world, gaining strength and independence. I couldn’t help but notice Varya’s interested glances at the tanned boy. Scrawny he may be, but he was also agile and had a lust for life. I have to admit, I even felt a little jealous — I’d hoped that Varya would wait for her feline friend to learn to transform into a human.

“Wonderful!” the Philosopher said, stepping onto the jetty. He took out a sheet of paper and started to peer at the ancient city spread over the hill. He seemed to be comparing it to a drawing he made earlier, from another vantage point. “While we wait for Sergeant to get here, let’s decide — who wants to go to Hundred Skull City?”

What did he mean “who wants to go”? I couldn’t believe anyone would miss the chance to see an ancient city full of treasure and mystery. But the Philosopher knew what people are like. Apart from him, nobody wanted to go into the dangerous city and risk their lives. Varya, Julie, Edward and Max Dubovitsky with the baby in his arms just lowered their eyes, shook their heads. The winged veyer didn’t understand the question. He just looked at the other group members, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Meow!” I jumped from the Scout’s shoulder to the Philosopher’s, showing my willingness to go.

“I see…” It seemed his companions’ decision upset the Philosopher. “Well, friends, I’m going anyway. With Sergeant or even alone, but I have to go. This place interests me greatly. The rest of you can await our return here on the bank.”

Avir Tan-Hoshi had been looking at the ancient ruins of the city sprawling over the slopes of the nearby hill. He spread his wings and took off, apparently wanting to see it from above, but a sharp shout from the Philosopher stopped him:

“Back, veyer! I saw birds struck by lightning as they flew above the ruins! You can’t fly over the city!”

The veyer didn’t understand the explanations, but he got the idea from the human’s tone and landed. Since our group leader seemed to be running late, everyone started to get on with the jobs of the day. Varya fed little Hope. Julie let the Marsh Mistress off the raft onto the bank, called over the creeping crocodiles and tended to them. The Engineer and the Mechanic were inspecting the right side of the raft. There was something they didn’t like the look of. Maybe some rocks did some damage on the way here.

I ordered the rock lizard Snowflake to stop sniffing around the bank and follow me. I wanted to take her hunting. I’d discovered the ability only recently — like any full-fledged player, I could now give commands to pets belonging to members of my group. I didn’t know if I’d always had the ability and never known, or if it had only unlocked as my Translator skill leveled up, but animals understood my simple commands and even obeyed them. Although not always. Apparently, in their eyes, a cat still didn’t have enough authority to count as a full-fledged master. That meant the Marsh Mistress ignored me completely. So did the megasaurus. Katy and Tick-Tock obeyed sometimes. As for Snowflake, she was always willing to follow me anywhere.

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-five!

A level twenty-five black snake rustled in the bushes as it crawled toward me. Wow. It was hunting me! Six and a half feet long, equal to my level, fast and probably venomous. But that didn’t matter — I had magic and I was hungry. That snake was about to be lunch! Stoneskin on myself and Snowflake! Slow on the enemy! Slow! Slow! Weaken! Get ‘er, Snowflake! The lizard grabbed the listless and curse-stricken snake right beneath its head, around its throat. Yes! Strangle it! A few seconds of battle and the snake’s body uncoiled, limp.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level seventeen!

Snowflake, now level twenty, moved aside to let me approach our slain prey. Great. Lunchtime for me and Snowflake!

* * *

Sergeant arrived half an hour late. His giga-komodo couldn’t keep up with Varya’s long-legged and fast megasaurus. But it surprised me to see my master supporting the sherkh Swordmaiden with one hand as she snoozed on his shoulder. Wow… Sure, Avelia had hardly slept last night as she roamed through the huge area of land she was responsible for, from one meeting place to another, leaving wooden tablet instructions for her squad. But the fact that the always on-guard Swordmaiden was relaxed enough to sleep in the presence of a human meant that the sherkh girl trusted Sergeant completely.

The Beast Catcher gently shook Avelia awake. She raised her head and gasped in fear when she saw the humans all around her.

My master looked over the crowd, coughed. “Allow me to introduce Avelia Un Ponar, skilled Swordmaiden and daughter of a sherkh guildmaster. She has kindly agreed to accompany us through Hundred Skull City.”

Everyone peered at the long-eared girl with great interest and took turns to greet her politely. Avelia Un Ponar was clearly shy of all the attention from another race, but she didn’t disappear into stealth. The Philosopher walked over and hurried to speak:

“It looks like it’s just you and me, Sergeant. Or you, me and this beautiful white-haired lady. The others have declined to accompany us to Hundred Skull City.”

The Beast Catcher looked surprise, but the little Veterinarian answered for the crowd:

“Brother, Hundred Skull City is a really dangerous place. No loot can be worth spending any of our few lives on it. At least, that’s how I see it…”

Sergeant shrugged.

“Well, I won’t force anyone. Wait here on the bank, then. But please, Edward and Max, could you make two solid spears? Better yet, three. As soon as we get back, we’re going to catch an animal that lives in the snowy pass. It’s a deadly predator, but also the nursing mother we need so bad. Julie and Varya, you prepare plenty of meat and fish — it might come in handy for the taming.”

I meowed approvingly. Yes, I was the one who told the others, through Varya, who could understand me, about the Chimeric Cougar I’d met — a deadly man-eating predator of the type one wished never to run into. But only if you didn’t know about it and were suddenly attacked. If, on the other hand, one was to approach the situation wisely, prepare sufficiently, then I saw no particular danger — the beast could be seen from afar through the IR goggles, slowed and weakened, and then the Chimeric Cougar would be no great threat.

I jumped into the Swordmaiden’s arms and, alongside the Philosopher and the Beast Catcher, we headed for the ancient ruins. It was strange, but even at noon and without a cloud in the sky, Hundred Skull City was immersed in semi-gloom. I saw static charges firing between the buildings, along with clouds of something like smoke or some magical mist. It looked sinister, but for some reason I felt drawn to the mysterious and no doubt dangerous city. Sergeant and the Philosopher shared my urges and burned with impatience.

Before we’d gone even fifty paces, the winged veyer landed beside us. The boy pointed at the dangerous ruins ahead, then pressed a fist to his chest and dropped to one knee before Sergeant.

“A mi vigo! Tori pa Sergeant!”

It seemed the boy planned to go with us and was trying to tell us we could rely on him. Well, an experienced Thief sure might come in handy on this venture. He could find traps, open locks and doors, and just keep an eye on the city from above. Sergeant seemed to think along the same lines. My master gave Avir Tan-Hoshi an encouraging slap on the shoulder, then gestured for him to join the group alongside the Philosopher and the Swordmaiden.

* * *

We stood right outside the city wall, in no rush to walk through the hospitably wide open gates. The Philosopher hurried to fill the others in on his thought process:

“This location is, of course, a kind of challenge, and we can take all kinds of paths to the center depending on the strengths of our characters. We can force our way through by defeating the guardians of the ancient ruins. When I examined the city from the top of that hill, I saw some fast creatures shrouded in clouds of mist. If we can dispatch them, then we can go directly to the very center of the ancient city. Or we can rely on agility and try to climb up walls and across roofs. We can try to navigate the labyrinth of narrow alleyways. There are no creatures there, but there are a lot of traps. I went in from the opposite side. There are several primitive bait traps there by the destroyed gates. They were no trouble. Then there was a simple logic puzzle. Then I had to choose the correct door, with clues on the wall beside. I got through the outer wall, got past the first row of buildings, but then I got impatient… or I missed something. A flame burst hit me in the legs.”

“Only just behind the outer wall?” the Swordmaiden snorted derisively. “That’s only the start of the journey! I entered twice from the west, where the wall is collapsed. I solved almost all the puzzles and avoided the traps. I got two thirds of the way there, but I got stuck in the inner courtyard both times. If you can solve the secret of that place, old man, then we’ll be almost there! Let’s take the path I know!”

Everyone looked at Sergeant. He nodded his agreement. It made sense — why get bumps and bruises figuring out a new path if we could walk one we already knew? Staying at a safe distance just in case, we turned left and walked around the city. Fifteen minutes later, we stood by the entrance Avelia mentioned, with a breach in the wall.

“Mara!” the Thief shouted in alarm, pointing at something.

I couldn’t see anything suspicious, but the Swordmaiden nodded agreement.

“Yes, a trap. Don’t step on those stones. Keep to the right side of the alleyway.”

Neither Sergeant nor the Philosopher could see any danger in the pile of rocks she pointed out. Nonetheless, they heeded the warnings from their more experienced allies. We walked around twenty yards, then the veyer suddenly announced ‘mara’ again and raised a taloned hand in warning. We stopped. The veyer dropped to his stomach, crawled forward. In around five yards, he stopped, look around, pressed on a seemingly ordinary brick in the wall. With an earsplitting screech of metal, a long rusty blade shot out from the wall, stopping roughly at chest height. My master gulped nervously and turned to Avelia, who was white-faced. She shrugged guiltily.

“I didn’t know about that trap. But I still had a bad feeling about that part of the alley anyway. Those blood-darkened walls,” the Swordmaiden pointed at dark patches on the old brickwork. “And those old bones there. So I climbed up onto the wall here both times, and went along the roof to the end of the building.”

We ducked under the rusty blade and continued on, delving deeper into the maze of narrow alleyways. At some point, Avelia told everyone to get down on their hands and knees and crawl after her. Neither the Thief, nor anyone else could see a trap, but the humans and the veyer still followed the Swordmaiden’s advice. We walked through the broken doors of a stone house, then, still on all fours, we crept over to some stairs leading upwards.

“Mara! Un deko babakh!” Avir Tan-Hoshi piped up again, pointing at the old worn steps and something only he could see on the ceiling.

Translator skill increased to level fourteen!

“We don’t need to go upstairs,” Avelia said, making calming gestures. “I climbed through the window.”

We did the same. And a minute later, we were standing in the inner courtyard of a large mansion. The entire courtyard was laid with square stone tiles, some of them pressed into the ground slightly by heavy stones lying atop them. A few more boulders lay on the ground nearby. To the right and left were smooth, high walls. No way to get up without a grappling hook. There were sharp spikes at the top of the wall anyway, and smoke wafted into the air from the other side as if to hint that this way was the wrong one. The only path left open to us was straight ahead, toward the huge locked metal door in the distance.

“This is where I got carried away both times,” Avelia gestured at the whole yard, spreading her arm. “You can walk on the tiles, no problem. Nothing happens. But if you step on that tile lying separately just in front of the door, a powerful fire spell activates. It kills instantly.”

“Were the stones already on the tiles like this?” the Philosopher asked, examining the first puzzle Hundred Skull City had to offer him with rapt interest.

“Some were. Some I put there myself. There’s some kind of hint written on the wall in a room behind us. It shows this courtyard, and some of the tiles are marked. I tried to put stones on the marked tiles, but the trap at the far door still activated.”

“Well, well, let’s see…” the Philosopher murmured thoughtfully and wandered off to acquaint himself with the hint.

I tried walking along the tiles in the courtyard. Even under my light weight, the tiles sank down, then rose up again once I stepped off them. Sergeant wandered the courtyard too, then put on the infrared goggles.

“Woah! Look at that smoke above the wall! When the wind carries it over to our side, the IR goggles let me see some beams that are invisible to the naked eye! I think if we interrupt the beams, it’ll activate some trap. Take a look!” The Beast Catcher offered the nightvision goggles to the sherkh Swordmaiden.

Avelia looked at the trap Sergeant had pointed out for some time, then took off the IR goggles and started to examine them.

“Night glasses. Where did you get these?”

“Your brother had them in his bag, along with an army radio. I wouldn’t mind asking Arvedo Un Ponar where he got those things. They were made in the human world. Rare items like that don’t grow on trees.”

Avelia said nothing, just returned the IR goggles to Sergeant. But I was watching the girl carefully. I could tell that the sherkh Swordmaiden knew the answer, she just didn’t want to share it. It seemed some humans must have made a quiet agreement with the sherkhs to smuggle valuable items to them, although officially, the invisible people traded with no other races. Since time was passing, and something seemed to be holding up the Philosopher, I began to study the courtyard’s strange puzzle myself.

A square ten-by-ten grid. A hundred plates that could be depressed. Some of them were held down by stones. And a lot of the stones were at the very start of the courtyard. There, in the first row, there were three tiles at once held down, including the cornermost tile. Then an empty tile, then another with a stone, empty, stone, then three empty tiles. Did there have to be some kind of symmetry? Bare tiles and tiles with stones mirroring each other? No. There was nothing like that in the second or third rows.

Hmm… What could the pattern be? In the first row, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 were empty. Both odd and even numbers. No pattern. What if you read them in reverse, from right to left instead of left to right? Then the stones marked out 1, 2, 3, 5, 7. Wait! That sequence felt familiar… It couldn’t be! Could it really be that easy? Gotta check the second row to confirm… Yeah, it was right! Only now I had to read the sequence from left to right, meaning I had to alternate the sides I started from. Then the stones marked the tiles 11, 13, 17 and 19. It all fit!

Intellect increased to 25.

They were prime numbers! Numbers that can only be divided by one and themselves without a remainder! Now that I knew the numbers we needed and the side to start a new row from, I could easily place the missing stones correctly on the tiles!

I was so proud of myself! I didn’t know if I’d have figured out the solution if I hadn’t put both my free points from hitting level twenty-five into my cat’s Intellect stat. I think I still would have gotten it, it just would have taken more time. Now I needed to think of a way to convey that knowledge to the big oafs surrounding me. Jump around and scream, drawing the attention of the group members to the right tiles to put the stones on?

There was no need. The Philosopher ran out of the room with a drawing of the clue, spent a moment looking at the courtyard tiles, compared it to his sketch of the clue, then shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Eureka! I figured it out! We need to put stones on the prime number tiles!”

After those words, the Philosopher’s character level went up to seventeen. Apparently, our ‘Diogenes,’ as he was sometimes fondly called, had gotten experience for successfully solving the puzzle, or had leveled up some special skills of his class. Not fair. The game system hadn’t given me any experience, even though I solved it first, and without using the clue.

A minute later, all the correct tiles were covered with boulders. There was only one stone left unused. It all looked right. One hundred and one is a prime number too, so the tile by the door needed a stone too. But the big oafs were hesitating for some reason. They seemed to be remembering the sherkh Swordmaiden saying that she’d died twice when she stepped on that very tile. Nobody wanted to follow in her footsteps if the Philosopher had made a mistake.

“Who wants to risk it?” Sergeant asked his companions.

Avelia suggested drawing straws. The Philosopher suggested that the one with the most lives should do it. Sergeant had some idea of his own. The argument might last a while. So instead of waiting for them to finish, I checked that the stones were all arranged correctly on the tiles, then leaped forward and stood on tile one hundred and one. With a disgusting screech, the heavy age-darkened bronze door slowly began to raise…

Chapter 13 [Sergeant]

Hundred Skull City: Challenge

I FELT USELESS. All the other members of the group were hard at work to help solve puzzles and get past traps in Hundred Skull City. The Thief and the Swordmaiden were on point, helping us to avoid all kinds of dangers and advance toward the city center. The Philosopher solved the hardest puzzle. Few could have figured that one out. Even the cat made himself useful by giving out buffs. I was our only dead weight. Eleven Intellect and twelve Perception. With those stats, my Sergeant didn’t have a chance of successfully completing the challenges in Hundred Skull City, and my minus three Luck Modifier was a death sentence in such a dangerous place. As a fighter, my Beast Catcher wasn’t much good either, so the path through the main streets and their hordes of monsters was closed to me. All I could do was drag along behind my friends, follow their instructions to the letter.

Now the time-darkened bronze door slowly lifted, revealing a passageway into the well-preserved ancient mansion. Walls made of huge blocks of white limestone, marble columns, bas-reliefs on the ceiling. But none of my companions were quick to go in. Inside, it seemed strangely dark and… just wrong somehow. A sticky, almost living darkness waited to meet us. It swallowed up the bright midday sunlight, blotting out anything three paces beyond the hospitably open door. There were no windows or other sources of light in the room. This unexpected obstacle caused a lively discussion. The Philosopher even suggested that someone run back along the city walls and cut some sap-filled branches to use as torches.

“No need. I have a flashlight!” Finally, something I could do for the group.

Avir Tan-Hoshi took the electronic flashlight from my hands, figured out on his own how to switch it on, then clicked his tongue in excitement. It worked — the bright beam from the LED flashlight dispersed the creepy gloom. Avelia dug around in her shoulder bag and pulled out an electronic flashlight of her own, although not quite as bright. That flashlight, incidentally, was clear proof that the sherkhs did actually trade with humans, although they officially denied it. Unless she just stole it from some careless villager. That sure was possible.

I was the last one of us through, and as soon as I stepped inside, the metal door descended with a crash behind me, cutting off our exit. Everyone stopped. The Thief and Swordmaiden spent a long time lighting up the walls and the bronze door now blocking our exit. They could find no way back. Only forward.

We passed through the great hall with its tall stone columns, their tops lost in the darkness, and approached an old marble staircase. To everyone’s disappointment, the stairs went down deep underground. We couldn’t rely on having any light except from our two flashlights. Damp and cold drifted up from the tunnel. It was cut right into the rock, descending sharply down. The veyer’s familiar cry “mara!” told us that something was amiss with the staircase too.

Nobody wanted to go down, but we soon learned that there was no other way out of the great columned hall. There were actually some huge bronze gates on the far wall, but we couldn’t find any way to open them, although we tried for at least half an hour. While the Thief and Swordmaiden combed the hall in search of hidden levers and pressable tiles, I had the time to closely examine the image of a beast on the gates — a huge creature like a winged lion with a scorpion’s tail crossed with a dragon. The image was old and thoroughly covered with scratches and dents. It seemed our group was far from the first who tried to open these locked gates, and our predecessors hadn’t managed to do it by force.

“It’s useless. There’s no way through,” the sherkh Swordmaiden said, finally giving up. “We have to go down those stairs into the depths of these dangerous ruins.”

Well, there was no way back. Our only path led down into the ancient catacombs, no doubt highly dangerous and full of traps. Was I frightened? Strangely enough, no. I surprised myself, but I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. I suspected it was all down to the cat sitting on the Swordmaiden’s shoulder — I noticed long ago that sadness and grief lift in the presence of Whiskers, and Stamina Points recovered faster too. Right now, none of our group was panicking. They spoke calmly and only about the challenges we faced.

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-three!

Uhh… Now I had no idea what had happened. I imagined that something moving and warm flashed in the darkness of the hall, a blurry red streak. I asked Avelia to shine her flashlight in that direction. Nothing. Just ranges of tall columns disappearing into the darkness. Well, night vision wasn’t always reliable. It could have been reacting to a gust of warm air in the room. Just in case, I put the IR goggles on and they confirmed it was a false alarm. Anyway, the veyer had already disarmed the trap on the stairs. Judging by the winged boy’s gestures, we couldn’t set foot on the first two steps. The rest of the staircase was safe.

We carefully began to descend down the seemingly endless stairs. We walked slowly, giving the Thief time to examine the steps in case of traps. It got colder and colder. Even I started to shiver, let alone my companions. Avelia was the first to notice the dim light at the end of the long staircase. Soon, everyone was staring raptly at the bluish light that awaited us at the end of our descent. With the greatest possible care, we went down the final few steps and looked through the doorway. The source of the light was a pedestal at the center of a large circular room. More precisely, it was the items on the pedestal.

A large two-handed hammer, two identical one-handed crossbows, a heap of some dark clothing, a thick ancient tome and a couple of scrolls. I got the impression that these items were the reward for overcoming the dangers of Hundred Skull City. And a reward crafted specially for our group members. The hammer must have been for me. The crossbows would go to the Thief… or actually, the Swordmaiden. The Thief would get the set of dark gear. The book and scrolls were for the Philosopher. That seemed right.

The Philosopher echoed my thoughts, confirming that we were thinking along the same lines. But he also added that the aura around the items meant that they had magical properties, although that was obvious anyway. All the items lying on the altar contained magic. ‘My’ two-handed hammer glowed blue, although I couldn’t read its attributes.

Your character does not have enough Intellect to determine this item’s properties.

Yeah, I know. According to the game system, Sergeant was a little on the slow side. ‘Muscles for brains’ was an apt description for my character. But hey, couldn’t I just pick the hammer up to see what it was like? I didn’t have to be able to read its stats, right?

“Don’t go near the pedestal!” Avelia snapped, stopping me as soon as I took my first step.

To Avir Tan-Hoshi, who had also begun to approach the altar behind me, the Swordmaiden snapped a word that was now familiar to us all: “mara!”. “It could be dangerous. I’ve seen this before in an old fortress. I barely got away.”

Did I imagine it, or did the cat sitting on the girl’s shoulder nod approvingly? No, it couldn’t be. Just a coincidence. Animals can’t understand human speech. The Philosopher’s words rang out clearly in the silence that fell.

“Colleagues, does it not occur to you that this was all… kind of… a little too easy?” The Philosopher wasn’t looking at the trophies themselves so much as the room at large, and especially the heavy bars on the opposite wall. A breeze blew through them. “We haven’t even reached the center of Hundred Skull City yet. We’re only two thirds of the way there. Our job isn’t done, so why are we being offered rewards?”

The Swordmaiden froze, slowly turned to our ‘Diogenes’ and… suddenly clapped her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of approval so unexpectedly informal that the Philosopher seemed shocked.

“You’re right, old man! Father said that in Hundred Skull City, each player can take only one reward, and its value depends on how far the player gets. How could I have forgotten?! These items on offer to us are a trap in themselves! If we take them, then we’ll get nothing else of value even if we get to the very center of the ancient ruins!”

Choice made.

Avelia’s words and the game message floating before my eyes were like a trigger — the altar of trophies began to slowly and soundlessly descend, disappearing into the floor. With growing alarm, the Thief looked from us to the disappearing loot, but still stayed where he was. As soon as the altar disappeared completely into the floor, a stone tile moved over it as if it had never been. At the same time, the portcullis at the far wall rose silently, inviting us to go further, to continue the trials.

* * *

ATTENTION! You found the first of eight hidden areas in the game’s starter zone!

The rate at which you gain experience and skills has been tripled.

Duration: 48 hours.

The message came up as soon as I walked through the now open passageway. Judging by my companions’ comments, they saw similar game messages. It seemed our Diogenes was right — we had successfully completed another challenge. The corridor was short and straight, and it ended with a big hole in the floor. We couldn’t see the bottom even with our flashlights. The drop was maybe five yards across. If I gave it a good run-up, I could jump across to the other side if necessary. But I suspected that such an obvious solution would be wrong, and the alarmed cry of ‘mara!’ from the veyer also stopped me from doing anything too hasty.

A hanging walkway had once led across the gap, but only the ropes remained, stretched from one end to the other. It would take a tightrope walker to cross along them. However, there was a whole pile of wooden planks next to us that looked suitable for building a bridge. A few more planks were nailed to the right wall. Must be some kind of clue.

The Philosopher took the first piece of wood from the pile and placed it across the taut ropes. None of us expected what happened next. A bright flash of fire, and the charred crosspiece fell into the abyss. The Philosopher himself barely had time to jump back, and then we all had to help beat out the flames on his clothes.

“Damn, that hurt…” the Philosopher grimaced, examining what was left of his trousers and the inflamed blisters on his legs. “That took half my hit points. And look, the fire didn’t burn away the ropes. It seems we do have to build a bridge, but we have to place the planks in a specific order.”

The Thief quickly found the solution. He knocked the pommel of his knife against the pieces of wood fixed to the wall and realized that they all sounded different. Apparently, the challengers had to find the right planks by ear and put them in the right order. I didn’t bother getting involved, just left them to it — I’ve never been good at music, and I’d always been tone-deaf. My music teacher in school gave me a C out of sympathy and noted that “Andrei Bestuzhev-Kislyakov couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Music is not his calling.” It seemed Avelia Un Ponar was similarly musically challenged — the sherkh girl blushed and moved away, letting the others try and solve it. But the Thief and the Philosopher seemed to have no trouble, and the bridge was soon built. The kitten was the first to run across the walkway and confirm that it was safe.

Your character is now level twenty!

Reward: three skill points (total available: nine) and one mutation point (total available: seven).

ATTENTION! You have reached level twenty. You can now choose another three skills.

An entirely unearned reward, since I hadn’t done anything to help solve the musical puzzle. All the same, the game flooded me generously with experience — that must have been the effect of my triple EXP bonus. The Philosopher got a new level too, which healed all his burns. So did the Thief, and even my Whiskers was now a level twenty-six Shadow Hexxer. Only the Swordmaiden didn’t level up — apparently, Avelia Un Ponar needed a lot more experience to reach the substantial level of fifty-three than us low-level scrubs.

A short corridor, then another staircase leading still deeper into the catacombs of Hundred Skull City. Another two hundred steps and more traps on them found by Avir Tan-Hoshi. Finally, we ended the descent and stopped before some massive bronze gates that looked identical to the ones we saw in the dark hall full of columns. The same image of some kind of dragon or winged lion adorned the darkened metal, the same countless scratches and dints. If we hadn’t been going deeper and deeper all this time, I would have sworn that we were back in that dark hall. Only there was one important difference — unlike the last gate, this one was ajar! And I could see a flickering light behind it, like someone was holding a torch.

ATTENTION! As soon as you walk through the gates, there will be no way back. Death, victory or triumph awaits. Prepare for your final challenge and fight the ancient guardian!

* * *

The whole group could see the alarming red message. The smiles slipped off all our faces and all conversation ceased. A battle with an ancient guardian… That sounded sinister. We couldn’t see or identify the enemy that awaited us, although Avelia did look through the crack between the doors and told us the beast was huge, shrouded in flames and very agile. Could it be a dragon?

Should we prepare, maybe take some new skills? Thankfully, I had three whole skill slots left. I’d need to spend my nine free skill points somehow too.

I checked my armor, lowered my helmet visor and took out my axe. Heh… I shook my head at myself. What kind of fighter was I? I didn’t even have the Axes skill to help me better use the only weapon I had. Should I take that skill now? I thought for a moment, then rejected the idea. Even if I put all nine of my free points into the new skill and got it up to level ten, I’d still be a pathetic excuse for a melee fighter. I doubted I’d be able to do any damage to the ancient guardian. I was no DPSer. My job was to tank, keeping the monster’s aggro for as long as I could, so that the skilled Swordmaiden and sharp-eyed Thief could pepper the beast with arrows. I said just that to my allies.

“Yes, I think that’s the only strategy here,” the Philosopher agreed. “The Thief should fly up and attack from the air while the lovely Swordmaiden shoots the enemy from stealth and Sergeant keeps it occupied. If they manage to finish off the ancient monster while our tank is still alive, then great. If not, then I’ll have to tank, although I’m sure you already know I’ll only be able to buy you a few seconds,” our Diogenes shrugged guiltily. “My character is completely non-combative, has no weapon or armor skills and possesses nothing more dangerous than a knife and fork. In any case, friends, I want to say thank you to all of you. It’s been fun and enlightening.”

The Swordmaiden nodded and even bowed slightly to the Philosopher. Then she shared some crossbow bolts with the winged Thief and moved her throwing knives into pockets on her belt. Even Whiskers the cat got ready, bristling up his fur to look twice as big as normal. The Philosopher was about to pick him up, but the cat chose to jump onto the Swordmaiden’s shoulder instead.

Instead of Axes, I decided to take the Tenacity skill, which increased my character’s resistance to fire and other environmental threats. That would come in handy against a monster shrouded in flame. Also, the additional protection was added to the 25% I already had from the Resilience ability from my high Physique and the Hardy Brute ability from my low Luck.

Level one Tenacity skill learned.

11 of 13 possible character skills at level 20 chosen.

My fire resistance rose to 25.25%. Just a quarter of a percent per skill level? Not much, to put it lightly. All the same, I put my seven free points into Tenacity, raising the skill to level eight and my resistance to fire and other environmental damage to 27%. I put the two remaining points into Heavy Armor. Alright, now I was ready. The other group members also declared they were ready to fight the monster.

“Well, let’s go!” I pushed on the heavy gates, opening the path into the lair of Hundred Skull City’s ancient guardian.

Chapter 14 [Kitten]

Final Boss

A MANTICORE. I knew that before I read the info on the guardian of the ancient ruins. Lying in wait for us was a giant black lion with a scorpion’s tail, broad wings and an aura of flame.

☠ Fiery Manticore. Level 80 Female.

A mythical beast mentioned in many legends of old Earth. On the one hand, it seemed strange to see a legendary creature here in the new world. But on the other, I’d seen dragons here too, so why not? In any case, standing before us now was a truly fearsome foe. It was fast, with vicious claws and sharp, deadly teeth. On top of that, all the legends depicted the manticore with incredible regeneration and a capacity for healing even grievous wounds in mere moments. The venom at the tip of its horrifying scorpion tail is the deadliest of all, and has no antidote. It was eight feet across at the shoulders, had broad wings behind its back and its twenty-foot-long tail ended in an eleven-inch stinger gleaming with venom. I didn’t know how closely this manticore matched the legends, but the monster’s size and power was astounding.

Sergeant was in no hurry to advance. He stood by the door and examined both the enemy and the theater of the upcoming battle. There was no cover at all in the hall — no columns or alcoves, only one entrance and a round arena about forty yards in diameter, with a very high ceiling above. The arena was well lit in the center thanks to the monster’s flames, but it was gloomy by the walls. Avelia went straight into stealth and crept in that direction. I sat on the Swordmaiden’s shoulder and activated stealth too, then translucency, although I hoped the manticore wouldn’t bother attacking me, tiny critter that I was. Our opponent obviously belonged to the ‘large and very large’ category of creatures, so my Little Furball skill should activate and make the manticore ignore me. Theoretically. But that was if I planned to stay passive, and on the contrary, I was going to be casting spells and attacking the enemy as hard as I could. There was no guarantee that the manticore would ignore my use of painful magic.

The monster didn’t attack, just cocked its head curiously at these adventurers who dared challenge it. Golden cat’s eyes with vertical pupils closely tracked Sergeant and the Philosopher as they headed in opposite directions, but the monster remained passive for now, save nervously twitching its twenty-foot-tail side to side. But when the veyer flapped his wings and flew up toward the ceiling, the manticore stretched out like a cat expecting a fun game. Its eyes sharpened, it licked its lips and adjusted its wings.

“Careful! It’s about to take off!” Sergeant shouted and started running forward, axe in hand, trying to draw the guardian of the ancient catacombs to attack him.

But the manticore had no desire to play with the human. A jump, a sweep of huge wings, and the giant creature was chasing our Thief. Avir Tan-Hoshi screamed like a little girl, clumsily flipped backwards head over heels and only through some miracle avoided a bite from terrible teeth and a whip of the tail. But the pursuit had only just begun, and the giant cat was in the mood to play aerial catch. Landing feet-first on the wall, the beast instantly turned and bounced off again, launching a new attack on the veyer as he flew as hard as he could to the other side of the hall.

A crossbow string thrummed — the Swordmaiden hit the fiery manticore with a bolt to the stomach. Only then did I recover from my strange stupor and get to work. Curse Magic! Slow the enemy! Slow! Slow! Slow!

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-four!

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-six!

I planned to deprive the manticore of one of its main strengths — speed. But even at level seventy-four (and with the Shadow Hexxer class bonus, that was actually ninety-four), my Curse Magic spells had almost no effect. Just like with the giant megasaurus before, the target’s size mattered, and my magic was extremely weak against the large creature. I redoubled my efforts, casting one Slow after another on the manticore. Avelia hadn’t stopped shooting either. She’d already put half a dozen bolts in the target, but it didn’t even seem to notice them.

The veyer successfully evaded the claws, teeth and tail once again, although the flames still scorched him. Avir Tan-Hoshi threw off his burning cloak in flight and went into a sharp dive, pulling up only just before he hit the floor. I didn’t know if it was by accident that the Thief brought the fiery manticore to the Philosopher, or if he planned to switch the beast’s target, but that’s what happened. The massive winged body landed with a crash a couple of paces from the human, catching our Diogenes with a wing and knocking him over. The fiery manticore watched the human for a few seconds as he got to his feet, groaning in pain, but it seemed to think this toy uninteresting and switched its attention back to the fast winged Thief, now already hovering beneath the ceiling.

At that moment, Sergeant ran up to the manticore, swung his arm as far back as he could and buried his axe in the gigantic cat’s side. The manticore roared in pain and instantly turned to face this new danger. Sergeant began to raise his weapon to strike again, but the monster was faster. It lashed its tail, flinging my master fifteen feet away and sending him rolling across the floor. The axe clattered from his hands, his helmet and heavy armor flying off as he landed.

Coughing up blood, the Beast Catcher pulled himself up to one knee and groaned in pain, clutching his apparently broken right arm to his chest. The manticore didn’t attack, just watched as the injured man stood with a great effort, then, leaving droplets of blood in his wake, began to stagger toward the exit from the arena and the still ajar gates, where the Philosopher had already managed to make his escape. Uh-oh… Just one hit and our ‘tank’ seemed to be out of action. The beast didn’t try to stop them from running, just watched in disappointment as the winged veyer flew after them through the gates — apparently, he too decided that the manticore would catch him eventually and it wasn’t worth tempting fate.

Only Avelia and I remained. Although our allies had left, the Swordmaiden kept firing her little one-handed crossbow at the massive winged cat, although I could see clearly that her weapon was dealing no damage to the guardian of the ancient ruins. But even those little needling strikes annoyed the creature. It turned its gaze to its final opponent remaining in the arena. The guardian turned toward where the shots were coming from, loosed a fearsome roar like a lion. The roar boomed around the hall, echoing endlessly off the walls and blocking up our ears.

Luck check failed!

Magic Resistance check successful!

ATTENTION! Your character is stunned! Duration: 120 seconds.

ATTENTION! Your character is shell-shocked! Agility reduced to 3. Movement and action speed reduced to one third. Duration: 120 seconds.

I didn’t know which debuff I’d avoided, but plenty had found their mark. And worse, I was knocked out of stealth, and so was the Swordmaiden. Now that the manticore could see the enemy annoying it, it folded up its wings and galloped toward us!

Luck check failed!

Agility check failed!

Damn it… I couldn’t keep hold of the girl’s shoulder as she rolled away. I flew to the floor. Having learned from previous painful falls, this time I landed on three legs, keeping my wounded one up. I wasn’t too successful — I still fell on my side, but at least I didn’t worsen my old injury. A heavy clawed paw landed a mere inch from my face, singed my whiskers with fire. I was lucky it didn’t crush me.

Choose the learnable skill Tenacity for your character?

Tenacity like defense against fire and other non-physical stuff? No need. Right down at floor level, I barely felt the heat from the manticore’s flame aura. It didn’t even drop my health. May the battle continue! Stoneskin on Avelia, and on me too! Slow on the manticore! Another Slow! I even tried Icy Touch, since the target was so close.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty!

Woah, it actually worked! The fiery monster must have had a weakness to ice spells. The hot flames wreathing the guardian fell! The giant beast, until now trying to grab the swiftly dodging Swordmaiden with his teeth and claws, roared again (thankfully, my deafness prevented me from getting any new debuffs) and turned sharply toward me. A tooth-filled maw yawned above me. I flinched, expecting imminent death. Looked like this was the end…

But the beast just cast an indifferent gaze at the tiny kitten, then started to turn its head in search of the true foe that dared cause it pain. I was terrified of drawing its attention, but it was just too tempting to hit it with cold again. Especially since Avelia was taking advantage of the situation — she took out a dagger and drove it into the guardian’s scorpion tail. She had to demonstrate great feats of agility and acrobatics a second later to avoid furious sweeping wings and tail strikes. In any case, the Swordmaiden got the manticore’s attention. My turn!

Only first, I needed to prepare. Darkness Aura to at least somehow hide me from the creature’s gaze and make up for my lack of stealth. Incorporeal Beast form. And finally, a combined spell — Icy Touch combined with Weaken!

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty-one!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level fourteen!

Conjurer skill increased to level five!

The gigantic monster roared in pain and stared at me with a strange expression of surprise and mistrust. It seemed the creature couldn’t believe that the tiny little critter next to its paw could be the source of its suffering. Taking advantage of the unexpected breather, the Swordmaiden… did not attack again, but shot for the exit from the arena with incredible agility. What? She was abandoning me?! But while the manticore froze, glancing first at the escaping prey and then at the tiny kitten, I used my battle-tested combined spell again!

Conjurer skill increased to level six!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-six!

Your character is now level twenty-seven!

Reward: three skill points (total available: twenty-six) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-six).

My mana was restored, and just in time, too — now I’d really gotten the fiery manticore’s attention. Uh-oh! One of the creature’s giant paws was coming down on me! I covered my ears in fear, preparing for pain and death.

What? I’m still alive? I couldn’t believe what had happened. Although yes, while I was still in my incorporeal form, I was practically invulnerable to physical attacks, and the guardian had lost its fire aura. Shame the invulnerability didn’t last long — just thirty seconds, like any other transformation. Somehow I didn’t want to check whether the spell had a cooldown time. Time to get out of this arena! I bolted for the half-open gates. Alright, ‘bolted’ might not be quite right. With the debuffs to my movement speed and Agility, it looked like a slow-motion film. The beast tried to attack me with its huge paws, teeth and even its tail a few more times, but got another Icy Touch in response and backed off. It flew back to the center of the hall, sat down on its haunches and started licking its wounded paw with an offended look on its face.

The first round, such as it was, had ended in a draw — we hadn’t defeated the guardian, but at least we were still alive.

* * *

The big oafs had a long meeting. They were all in a bad mood, and even my Soothe didn’t help. First of all, they bound their wounds. Thankfully, Sergeant’s arm wasn’t broken, just badly bruised, which wasn’t a problem. The big oaf’s Regeneration could handle it. Then they counted their remaining crossbow bolts. The Thief had twelve in his quiver and the Swordmaiden had just four. And she’d already managed to spend all her throwing knives, though I didn’t know exactly when. As it turns out, the white-haired girl wasn’t just dodging the manticore’s attacks as I suspected, but also counterattacking in response. The sherkh Swordmaiden was some fighter, that was for sure! Although her skills in battle still weren’t enough to defeat the guardian of the ancient ruins.

While our fighters rested and went over the mistakes of the last battle, the Philosopher came downstairs and soon told us that the bridge we’d built across the gap had already fallen and there was no way back because all the planks were on the other side of the drop. It soon became clear that there was no way out except through the fiery manticore.

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-six!

My fur bristled, my ears pricked up — I felt sure I heard careful footsteps from the direction of the stairs. Strange. All the group members were here in front of me. A false alarm? An echo? I strained my ears, but the sound of distant footsteps was gone. I must have imagined it. Anyway, my master distracted me by starting a new conversation.

“It’s going to be hard to kill that thing. But we could try to take away the guardian’s Stamina Points. I still have some of the sapping potion left,” Sergeant suggested, digging around in his backpack.

He took out a folded faded leaf, unfolded it and looked doubtfully at the remnants of the dark brown mixture. There was only a tiny amount of the mixture of the red villus mushrooms left, barely enough to dip a few arrows or just one blade. Not enough to work.

“How have fiery manticores been defeated before?” Avelia asked. “I get the impression humans are familiar with this creature.”

Sergeant just shrugged his shoulders vaguely, unaware of the answer and apparently thinking of something completely different. The Philosopher answered for him:

“In one of the legends, the hero jumps onto the creature’s back, provokes it to attack him with its tail, then jumps out of the way so that the beast kills itself with its own venom. In another, I seem to recall a strong pet fighting a manticore… I think it was a dragon. I can’t seem to recall any other cases. Hey, Sergeant, where are you going?”

My master stood up suddenly and walked toward the arena entrance with purpose. The Beast Catcher stopped, turned.

“I want to try something. What if Hundred Skull City is something more than just a load of ancient ruins? What if the traps here are specially tailored for each person? We came here in a group, right? And Hundred Skull City presented us with challenges to suit each one of our group members. All of you — Thief, Swordmaiden and Philosopher — have been able to use your skills to help the group make progress. But there hasn’t been anything for me. What if we have this wrong? What if the fiery manticore isn’t our enemy to fight together, but my challenge? A challenge for a Beast Catcher?

Avelia and Diogenes exchanged confused glances, but couldn’t find any objections to Sergeant’s words. As for me, I thought my master’s reasoning was perfectly logical. It made sense — our group had no chance to defeat such a dangerous high-level monster with brute force. What if we really did need to take a different approach to this challenge?

“And if I’m wrong…” Sergeant continued, smiling awkwardly, “well, the game system often tells me that my character doesn’t have enough Intellect. It’ll just be my punishment for being an arrogant dumbass.”

I jumped onto my human’s shoulder, showing that I approved of his decision and planned to go with him. Sergeant turned toward the arena again, but Avelia Un Ponar shouted him back.

“Wait!” The girl ran up to the Beast Catcher and stopped a step away. “Sergeant, your ‘league of losers’ has gone beyond my zone of responsibility. After the challenges in Hundred Skull City, our paths will diverge, and we may never meet again. But no matter how it all ends, I want to tell you — I admire your bravery and nobility. And this is for luck!” The long-eared Swordmaiden raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed the boy, then blushed and moved away, disappearing into stealth.

“Thank you, Avelia!” Sergeant said to the empty air, then turned and walked decisively toward the dangerous manticore awaiting him.

Now that no flames emanated from the guardian’s body, the hall was dark. Only our companions’ flashlights behind the gates barely banished the impenetrable darkness. That and the manticore’s glowing orange eyes. The beast still lay in the center of the arena and barely reacted to the human’s approach, just turned its face lazily toward the returned enemy. The human took ten paces forward, stopped, showed his empty hands.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just here to talk. You must get bored, alone in here all the time. The only entertainment you get is when the occasional adventurer wanders through, and all they want is to hurt you. Right?”

The human slowly walked forward, step by step. The manticore raised its upper lip, baring its fangs, but did nothing else. Still no flames appeared.

Soothe skill increased to level twenty-six!

Sergeant walked almost right up to where the gigantic creature lay, sat down beside it. He shook his head as he examined the arrows deeply embedded in the manticore’s body, along with three knives driven up to the hilt into its chest.

“Will you let me ease your pain? I can pull out those dumb knives, if you want.”

Without waiting for an answer, the human carefully pulled one of the throwing knives by the pommel. The fiery manticore growled, nervously twitched its tail, but didn’t attack. Sergeant threw the bloodied weapon away and reached for the next one. A fearsome roar stopped his outstretched arm.

“What’s wrong?” the human asked quietly, calmly, looking the monster right in the eyes. “It’s alright. It’ll be over before you know it!”

Sergeant pulled the second knife from the beast’s chest and threw it away too. Then, ignoring another growl of displeasure, he pulled the final knife from the manticore’s body. Then he carefully stroked the thick fur on the neck of the gigantic half-lion, half-scorpion creature. I figured my master must be using Calming Touch at the same time. The manticore voiced no objections.

“I told you it’d feel better. Manticore… Uhm… Manny, I’m going to try and pull the arrows out too, but it’s gonna hurt a lot worse. Will you let me?”

The human rose and walked around the huge beast, but the manticore suddenly stood on all fours and turned, preventing the human from reaching its vulnerable stomach. Its dangerous tail moved and the venom-tipped stinger gleamed in the light of the flashlights.

“Alright, Manny. Not the arrows, then. But what else can I do? How can I help you? If I had meat, I’d feed you. But what would a steak be to you? A mouthful. Anyway, you’re a magical creature. You probably don’t even need to eat.”

I noticed that Sergeant had leveled up to twenty-one. So far, my master’s plan seemed to be working — the game algorithms approved of his behavior. Now the human needed to somehow press his advantage. Sergeant continued to talk to the dangerous beast.

“What do you want? Entertainment? Of course, you must want to stretch your legs, have some fun. So why sit here alone? Come with us and leave these boring catacombs! There are lots of birds you can chase up there, and plenty other fun things to do. We’ll play so many games… More than you can imagine! We’ll explore all kinds of places. And if you let me fly on you, then we’ll be kings of the sandbox! All the pharaohs and sherkh leaders in the world won’t stop us. Nobody will stop us! And once we get bored of hanging around here, we can go out into the big wide world! We’ll even find you a nice lady manticore! You’ll have little winged kittens and they’ll play with Whiskers. Just make sure they don’t hurt my pet, he’s only little!”

Soothe skill increased to level twenty-seven!

Sergeant was talking total crap, but his even calm tones seemed to be working on the beast. The manticore stopped twitching its tail and laid back down again. It even turned its face to present the other side of its neck for stroking. Suddenly, I realized — the noises the beast was emitting weren’t growls of displeasure, but a pleased guttural meow like a big cat.

Then a miracle! The huge and terrible winged beast suddenly shone with multicolored sparks, and… disappeared!

CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully finished the challenge of Hundred Skull City!

Take your reward and use the portal to exit.

Your character is now level twenty-eight!

Reward: three skill points (total available: twenty-nine) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-seven).

A nine-foot tall orange oval portal appeared in the center of the arena, crackling with charges of electricity, intolerably bright after the dark that reigned in the hall. Sergeant winced in pain, covered his eyes with his hand. Then he moved it away and stared with amazement at the gold, red-glowing signet ring lying on the floor where the manticore had stood. It caught my interest too, and I read the item information:

Fiery Manticore Signet Ring. Regeneration +3. Fire Resistance +25. Ability to summon a level 80 fiery manticore (three times, with a cooldown of 24 hours between each summon).

Pretty nice signet ring! Far better than the mace offered to the human last time. But this was the Beast Catcher’s reward — where were the promised rewards for me and the rest of the group? As if in answer to my question, a stone slab shifted a few yards from the portal, and a white triangular altar rose up from the floor. Upon it were two identical one-handed crossbows, a stack of dark clothing and an ancient worn leather tome. All the same items as a few challenges ago, but this time they glowed with an orange aura instead of blue. They were clearly higher in quality and value.

But where was the kitten’s reward? There had been some scroll last time that I assumed was mine, but it was gone now.

Ah, there it is! A strange runic inscription had appeared on one of the altar’s smooth sides. As soon as I looked at it, the inscription shone, flashed and disappeared. The altar’s side was just smooth white stone again.

Bookworm skill increased to level twelve!

Advanced Curse Magic skill learned: Paralyze.

Just what I needed! Perfect for my character! It was hard to think of a reward that could be better and more specially tailored for a Shadow Hexxer. Now I could not only slow and weaken my enemies, I could completely paralyze them! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I couldn’t stop myself from jumping around for joy.

“Was it that easy?” the Philosopher said as he walked into the arena, now level twenty, and immediately scooped his ancient book from the altar, then stopped by Sergeant as he inspected his signet ring and read aloud the ring’s properties for the Beast Catcher.

“It wasn’t easy at all,” my master objected, putting his hard-earned signet ring on his right index finger. “The taming nearly broke at one point. I was right at the edge. The manticore was just about to burst into flames again, and then my Calming Touch wouldn’t have worked. And my Stamina Points went down to zero twice, even though Whiskers was doing all he could to help, as far as I can tell anyway. And I had to pick up the Beast Master skill right there, and put all my free points into it. Turns out that skill doesn’t just change the amount of pets you can have at any one time, it expands the list of creatures you can tame too. At level one hundred, I’ll even be able to tame night beasts. The point is, that manticore was tough. But the main thing is — it worked!”

All this time, Avelia Un Ponar and Avir Tan-Hoshi had been standing by the altar and trying to somehow split the three remaining trophies between themselves. The items in question were the two identical crossbows with magical properties and the fine form-hugging black clothes that looked perfectly suitable for either the Thief or the sherkh Swordmaiden.

“Sergeant, settle this for us!” the Swordmaiden demanded. My master approached the altar.

The beast catcher tried to take the dark outfit, but… his hand passed straight through the cloth. Interesting… so only the one for whom the trophy was intended could take it? Then what was the problem?

As it turned out, the Thief and Swordmaiden alike could pick up both the dark outfit and the crossbow. Avir Tan-Hoshi picked up the outfit, turned it over… and everyone could see the slits in the back of the outfit designed for wings.

“That’s obviously for you,” Sergeant tried to gesture his meaning to the winged boy.

“But then that means that both crossbows are for me!” the sherkh Swordmaiden said excitedly. “The Thief can’t just have more rewards than everyone else.”

I didn’t know why Avelia was given two crossbows at once, and why she even wanted two of the same kind — she could only use one at a time. In my view, one of the weapons had to be for someone else. But who? The Thief? The Beast Catcher? The Philosopher? All of them had already gotten their rewards!

What happened next was something I never expected!

A new figure appeared by the altar — a long-legged and long-eared sherkh in dark clothes! And many of those present in the hall, including me, recognized him right away — it was Arvedo Un Ponar, Avelia Un Ponar’s younger brother. He quickly grabbed one of the crossbows, then tried to take the second, but his fingers passed through the item. Without tarrying by the altar, the sherkh ran to the portal with his loot in hand. He stopped just outside the rift in space, turned and cast a malevolent eye at the Swordmaiden.

“Looks like we both got the same rewards, sister! And that means I win our main bet, because I didn’t need anyone’s help, I just walked into the center of Hundred Skull City behind a bunch of idiots! And father will be very interested to hear that you not only communicated with the Beast Catcher, to whom you were told to go no closer, but you even kissed him!”

With those words, Arvedo disappeared through the portal. Avelia moved to go after her brother, but stopped, dropped her hands to her sides helplessly — the invisible sherkh would be practically impossible to catch. Especially since he’d just demonstrated that he could walk the length of Hundred Skull City right next to the group and not be detected even once.

Sergeant’s words broke the silence and surprised us all:

“Take it!” The Beast Catcher offered Avelia Un Ponar the precious Fiery Manticore Signet Ring. “With this, the loot you bring out of Hundred Skull City will be more valuable than your brother’s! I want you to win the contest!”

The Swordmaiden looked at the Beast Catcher mistrustfully, as if fearing it was just a joke. But no, the human was deadly serious. He handed over his hard-won prize. The Swordmaiden took the precious reward and quickly hid it away in one of the pockets of her suit. She looked at Sergeant and tears filled her eyes.

“Sergeant, you… you’re amazing! Know that from now on, you’ll always have a friend among the sherkhs. Have no doubt — I will return this ring to you. But if my father takes it away from me, then I’ll work off its value in your League of Losers. I swear it!”

Avelia bowed slightly to Sergeant and ran through the portal, hurrying to be the first to report back to the leader of Eastern Garrison and show off her loot. As soon as her dark silhouette disappeared to flashes of lightning through the portal, crisp applause began to echo through the hall. Everyone turned sharply at the sound.

A painfully familiar figure stood by the arena doors. He wore an old-fashioned suit with golden buttons and cufflinks.

Chapter 15 [Sergeant]

Discussion with a Player

THE MYSTERIOUS MAN with whom all this had begun, back in that restaurant… Now that was last person I was expecting to see here in the new world! That same confident gaze, used to giving orders, those same piercing black eyes that contained the wisdom of a great many centuries lived, untenable to mortal man. There was no name above his head, which clearly contradicted the rules of this world and told me that it was not a player standing before me. Actually, that’s not quite right. It was actually a PLAYER standing before me, playing a hand of the Great Game, not a character in this game. Not a piece on a chessboard, but the chessmaster controlling the knights and pawns.

Although… was it so surprising? He and I had met the last time in the last Great Game. But it was the reactions from my allies that surprised me — the Philosopher took a deep respectful bow, and Avir Tan-Hoshi just dropped down to his knees, pressed his face into the floor and started repeating “Vallar! Vallar! Vallar!” over and over until the gentleman in the dark suit stopped him with a light touch. I didn’t bother sucking up to him like that, just gave the mighty creature a short nod.

“Curious,” the PLAYER said with a slight smile, looking at me and the Philosopher. “Very few candidates have been able to get my attention and stand out from the monotonous gray crowd enough to merit a conversation before their transfer to the new world. In recent times, there have only been two. So it amuses me that you have both met in this huge world and joined forces. I feel providence at work here, the hand of fate. How interesting. Worth further study. But I am here on an entirely different matter…”

Whiskers suddenly fluffed up his fur and hissed, causing the gentleman in the old-fashioned suit to break off and turn to the kitten.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you. Incidentally, you’re the only one that didn’t give consent to be taken to the new world. That means you can go back. You don’t want to? Then why this show of displeasure? I can see that you are the most successful of your ‘league of losers,’ and you are very proud of your achievements. Despite your pitifully low initial stats, you were able to create a highly unusual and promising character that may grow into a true terror of this world. So what are you complaining about?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he having a conversation with the animal? Actually, I could recall the Cartographer talking to my kitten too. And Varya insisted that she’d found a way to understand my pet. And it seemed the cat could convey his own thoughts through his meowing, since the PLAYER nodded.

“Yes, well noted. I agree. There should be a way to increase transformation time. I believe that such a mutation or skill will appear soon. This world truly is new. It may lack a few features here and there. Incidentally, the other side is not against it. Consider the matter already resolved.”

The gentleman in the old-fashioned suit lost interest in the kitten, turned back to me.

“But now — to more important matters. Sergeant, you have amazed everyone. No, no, it’s nothing to do with the manticore. The guardian of these ruins has been defeated many times, albeit through different means. Usually by force. Sometimes it is lured out to the stairs where the massive beast gets stuck and becomes powerless. You are the first to have tamed it. And you know, there’s a certain irony in the fact that the sherkh Scout, who had no desire at all to help you, actually did. Arvedo Un Ponar remained in the arena, which is why the gates of the hall stayed open, allowing you all to regroup and heal your wounds. It is not the manticore of which I wish to speak — it is the fork you have created in possible global events.”

I have to admit, I didn’t understand a word of these confused explanations. What the hell was he talking about? Thankfully, the Philosopher stepped in to explain that he meant my generous gift to Avelia Un Ponar.

“Yes, exactly right. An unexpected decision that might change the course of history and fundamentally influence the future of this world. Forks like this happen rarely. If the eyes of Paris had fallen not on Helen of Troy, but on her younger sister Penelope, every bit as beautiful as the elder, then the Trojan War may never have happened. Yes, there would still have been a localized conflict between the isle of Ithaca and Troy, but the only consequence would have been reduced import tariffs for sardines and oysters, and cunning Odysseus would have been satisfied. Many great and just heroes of antiquity would have survived, and the Great Game on Earth would have ended two thousand years ago, with my opponents’ victory.”

Wow… A surprising rendering of the events of antiquity. I’d never thought of such an entirely possible alternative line of history. In the meantime, the mysterious man continued:

“If the hordes of Batu Khan had not been delayed at the small town of Kozelsk, losing precious time during their winter campaign, then Europe in the form that you know it would not exist. There would be entirely different countries, and they’d be called khanates. If the British had taken Rudolf Hess seriously, then the empire upon which the sun never sets might still persist to this day.”

Damn! It was hard to argue with such a powerful creature, capable of talking with such ease of the paths that human history never took. But never mind these old historical events that couldn’t be tested anyway — what did I have to do with all this? As if in answer to my unvoiced question, the gentleman in the old-fashioned suit continued.

“With your gift in hand, will the sherkh girl win her bet and become the general of Eastern Garrison’s army? If so, then Avelia will doubtless overturn her father and refuse to fight with the humans. She will take her clan beyond the barrier into the world outside. The sherkhs will weaken here. The New Pharaohs will take advantage, and there will be a great war with a great many losses, whose outcome even I cannot yet predict. The humans will most likely win, but it is not yet certain. Or will the leader of Eastern Garrison view his daughter’s deeds as dishonest, and declare Avelia’s brother the victor? In that case, the girl will be banished and you will gain a companion whose loyalty and good feeling toward you are under no doubt. But then it will be the sherkhs who start the war, and after two years of bloody battles, they will win, pushing the few surviving humans out through the barrier. An interesting choice upon which the future political landscape of this world depends. And since you have created this exciting situation, Sergeant, I have a gift for you — you can choose who shall win the feud of brother and sister. I promise you, the outcome will be exactly as you say!”

I stood stunned as if someone had hit me round the head with a sandbag. This was awful! The lives of many thousands of humans and sherkhs depended on my words! No. I couldn’t take on that kind of responsibility.

“You already took that responsibility when you gave your precious ring to Avelia Un Ponar,” the mysterious man said, easily reading my thoughts. “But I won’t rush you, Sergeant. There is still time. And although your pet clearly wants to tell you his own views of the situation, I will not translate his hint. Decide for yourself.”

The man in the old-fashioned costume moved his gaze onto the Philosopher, and now sadness and disappointment came through in his voice.

“As for you, old man, I do not understand. So many words about the ‘heritage of the old world,’ the ‘great mission of conveying the knowledge of hundreds of scientists to our descendants,’ and the need to ‘ensure that the new generation not be ignorant and primitive.’ Where is all that now? You’ve been here seventeen days already. And you thoughtlessly risk yourself, although your life is more valuable to the human race than the lives of hundreds of other humans put together. What if you had died in the night beasts’ attack on the river village, or here, in Hundred Skull City? What would have come of the priceless trove of knowledge in your head then?”

The Philosopher looked embarrassed. He lowered his eyes like a careless student before an angry teacher.

“My apologies,” our Diogenes agreed. “Routine got in the way. There were always urgent matters to attend to. But I’ll do better! Today, I’ll start writing an encyclopedia full of the scientific knowledge that must be kept for future generations! I even already found a compound suitable as an ink replacement. I can find wood to write on.”

“Here!” A big tube case appeared in the immortal creature’s hands, the kind engineers once used to carry diagrams. “You’ll find paper and writing instruments inside. But remember, old man, you are not young, and this world is full of danger. Each day could be your last. You can save your race the many centuries of effort that would be required to rediscover all those scientific formulas and laws of nature. But your descendants will only get the knowledge that you manage to save for them!”

“I understand, O Great One! I will make every effort to complete this epic work and preserve our priceless knowledge for human civilization!”

“Only human?” the mighty creature shook his head in disapproval. “I expected more from you, old man. Actually, I expected much more from all the players called here! You have been presented with a huge world of endless possibility, yet here you are, getting caught up on old frameworks that have long since lost relevance, failing to see the freedoms given to you! What is the point in starting an interracial conflict when there will soon be a great many variations within each race, and the difference between individuals will be far greater than that between humans, sherkhs, veyers and veichs?! The concept of race will soon be blurred, and then will lose its relevance entirely! Long ears and huge eyes with nightvision, tails and wings, gills and extra pairs of arms, invisibility and instant teleportation, tentacles and scorpion venom… The game rules and the mutation points you earn allow all of this. And all of it will most certainly happen and will become part of the genes of subsequent generations. The future inhabitants of this world will be stronger than the superheroes from your silly comics, and it won’t matter to them at all what shape their neighbor’s body is or how many limbs it has.”

To me, the future he described was more frightening than exciting. Would all those countless mutants still be considered members of a single biological species? Would new bloody conflicts arise, this time over someone’s lack of a second pair of eyes or wings on their back? As if hearing my thoughts, the immortal stranger turned to me. He stood expecting a response, but I just shook my head.

“I won’t choose! May history go its own way, without my interference.”

I think my answer disappointed the gentleman, although no emotion showed on his face.

“As you wish, Sergeant. Even your refusal is a choice. The decision will be made without your involvement. Now it is time to hand out the gifts and penalties — there is a reason I came here, after all! From now on, the veyer shall be able to understand human speech and talk to humans. Diogenes, I leave you with only one life, so that you value it and the time you have left to you. You will get the maximum possible mutation points for what you have lost. Sergeant, your ability to attract girls is now defined in special characteristics — this is your reward and your curse. Whiskers, your leg is healed. There. All have been rewarded, and I have no further business here.”

A flash, and I was standing by the ruined city wall alongside the Philosopher, Avir Tan-Hoshi and the kitten. Right by the spot where we began our journey into Hundred Skull City. The veyer instantly fell to his knees and started saying “vallar!” over and over again, whatever it meant. The Philosopher, whose name ‘Diogenes’ now showed in his character description, shivered.

“It’s a miracle we survived, Sergeant! Both of us annoyed a very influential power with our actions. I’ve been given a clear warning that my days are numbered. Immortal creatures don’t give out warnings like that lightly. Well, perhaps I don’t have long to live, but I will complete my mission! I will hand down to the next generation the Clapeyron—Mendeleev equation, the Heine—Borel theorem, Avogadro’s law, Kirchhoff’s circuit laws and many more discoveries of physics, chemistry and mathematics! Even several generations hence, humanity will not fall into primitive ignorance. It will preserve the knowledge it has gained over thousands of years!”

I stood and watched my over-excited companion as he continued to name scientists and the discoveries they had made. Awful, losing so many lives like that all at once. In the Philosopher’s shoes, I’d be beating my fists on the ground in hysterics, decrying the injustice, but my companion was holding up pretty well, even burning with enthusiasm. I clapped Diogenes on the shoulder and leaned down to my cat.

“Nothing to tell me, dumbass? What did you ask our almighty friend for?”

“Meow!” was the only answer I got, after which the long-whiskered ginger cat began licking his furry balls enthusiastically.

I must have overestimated my pet’s intelligence. Maybe he was clever for a cat, but he didn’t quite make it to the status of a sentient creature. Shame. Hey, what was all that about my stats? I opened my character sheet.

Casanova * learned ability

+10 to reactions from women of all sentient species.

+50 to reactions from married women of all sentient species.

-20 to reactions from married men.

Uhm… I wasn’t even sure if I should bother appearing in populated areas with stats like these. This really was going to be more curse than blessing.

Chapter 16 [Kitten]

The Pharaoh’s People

HEY, THAT WASN’T fair! There I was, sweating my guts out to level up Translator, greedily grabbing at every unfamiliar word or letter in a foreign language so as to better understand people of other races. Now the veyer had it all for nothing! And my reward of a healed paw was, to put it mildly, not exactly impressive given that the damaged back leg would have healed on its own after a week and a half. I had been given basically nothing. On the other hand, what else could I expect from a member of that team in the Great Game? He had his own interests that didn’t match mine at all. I was lucky I got off lighter than the Philosopher, lucky to be alive!

ATTENTION! Change in game rules! The Transformation Magic skill now affects transformation spells, increasing the time spent in the transformed state by 1% for each skill level. In addition, the duration of magical creatures and their combat abilities can be enhanced by taking the Shapeshifter ability (added to the list of optional player abilities).

Woah! Seems I was a little too hasty in my assessment. I opened the data sheet on the newly added Shapeshifter ability and read it. Hmm… +1% Health Points and damage dealt for every skill level, increases the duration of magical forms. Works not only on creatures of Transformation Magic, but also druidic beast forms, all possible temporary mutations of fighters of various classes and a whole range of other cases. Wow, useful ability. A must-have for all kinds of characters of the most varied classes. That was my real reward! I’d take it!

Level one Shapeshifter skill learned!

12 of 13 possible character skills at level 28 chosen.

Hmm, I’d wanted to keep some free skill points for the Translator skill to start talking to those big oafs sooner, but now was one of those times when investing in another skill was very useful and gave a return right away. So I put nineteen of the twenty-nine points I’d saved up into it, leveling up the Shapeshifter skill to twenty — that meant plus 20% to my physical damage dealt as an arachnoscorp or snake, and more survivability, and extra seconds as a transformed creature.

Actually, even better… I reread the description a few times just to make sure… it said absolutely nothing about increasing only physical damage! And that meant that in incorporeal form or beetle form, my magic would be 20% stronger than when I was a cat! This was a dream come true!

I put the remaining ten free skill points into the Translator skill as planned, leveling it up to twenty-four. Wonderful! Another eight or nine character levels and my Whiskers would finally be able to talk!

“What does that word mean, ‘vallar’?” the Philosopher asked in the meantime. Avir Tan-Hoshi answered right away that it meant ‘watcher’ in the language of his people, or more specifically, one of the eleven great immortal beings that created this world, settled it with sentient and non-sentient creatures, and have since then watched over their creation. The plans and aims of the vallars were not for mere mortals to understand. All they could do was live out their lives and be grateful for every day they got, never forgetting to praise the eleven creators. I expected the Philosopher to have some comments on the bird-man’s words, but Diogenes was silent, deciding for some reason to leave the subject alone.

In the meantime, the big oafs returned to the Dreadnought, and my master started to ask the Thief, who could now understand human speech, how he had ended up in the Cartographer’s cage. The veyer seemed embarrassed at first and didn’t want to talk about it for some time, but in the end he relented. Yes, it was his own dumb fault. He knew perfectly well that the Cartographer was no simple man. But he couldn’t resist — the items in the bags fixed on the dragon’s saddle were just too tempting. And Tina Ur-Ravi, his older and more experienced rival in thievery, made fun of him and dared him to go and prove he was a worthy Thief, then they could talk of more serious matters. So, when the Cartographer went into his tent to ask the flock leaders some questions, Avir Tan-Hoshi decided to seize the day. He quietly glided down from a nearby tree onto the back of the huge fiery lizard, stretched an arm out toward the nearest bag and… a thunderclap, paralysis, and the next thing he knew, he was in the cage.

He spent twenty days in confinement without a morsel of food or a single chance to spread his wings or stretch his legs. His cruel warden gave him a gulp of water only sometimes, once every three days or so, enough to keep the prisoner alive. In that time, the Cartographer himself visited around thirty large and small villages, met hundreds of players, passed through energy barriers into different sandboxes multiple times and even crossed an ocean. Then one day, when Avir Tan-Hoshi was so weak that he could barely tell reality from his fever dreams, the Cartographer suddenly opened the cage and released the Thief, considering his punishment done.

The winged boy had no idea where his flock was, with everyone he knew. He suspected it was very far away, on another continent of this huge world. To Sergeant’s next question of what he planned to do next, Avir Tan-Hoshi just shrugged vaguely.

“If I meet some other veyer tribes, I’ll try to see if I can live with them. In the meantime, I’ll stay with you, if you’ll have me.”

“An experienced Thief is always nice to have in a team, and you’ve shown your skills,” the Philosopher said.

Sergeant nodded his approval and started to add something, but fell silent as he saw the view that opened up to us from atop the hill. Half a dozen armed humans stood on the bank next to the raft. They had it surrounded, and they were talking to our friends about something. And, judging by Edward standing by the rotating ballista, the Engineer with his rifle in hand, Julie up on the Marsh Mistress, Varya on her Irosaurus Regina and the creeping crocodiles who had crawled out to help, the negotiations were not going well.

The leader of the soldiers gestured actively, waving his arms and angrily demanding something from our friends. It seemed a serious conflict was brewing.

“Forward!” Sergeant commanded without a second thought, and we hurried to help our friends.

I sat on my master’s shoulder and went invisible so that we had a trick up our sleeve if it came to a fight. But the appearance of three more people on the opposing side sharply lowered the soldiers’ eagerness for battle. They sheathed their swords and moved a few paces away. I didn’t see any firearms, just swords and crossbows, and all their levels were low too. The most experienced of our opponents was a level 35 Gunner with a strange nickname, Papa Dan — a kid with a shaved head and a broken nose, in a leather biker jacket and high army boots. Sweatpants rolled up at the knee completed his silly outfit. I identified him as the leader of all six right away.

“What the hell are you doing?” my master headed straight for Papa Dan, on the offensive right away. “What do you want with my allies?”

“You’re all in the lands of the Pharaoh, so you have to pay us, ‘cos we’re in a higher caste,” the bald one answered, although I heard no particular confidence in his voice.

However, after casting an appraising glance at Sergeant, holding his eyes on the character description for a moment, Papa Dan found his courage again. Level twenty-two and the non-combat Beast Catcher class clearly didn’t impress him.

“They want to capture us and sell us into slavery, brother!” Julie complained loudly from the saddle of the cruel arachnoscorp.

“Is that so?” Sergeant’s voice boded nothing well for the strangers.

“You aren’t from the New Pharaohs guild, so the law gives us the right to arrest you and take you as property,” one of the soldiers spoke up, showing a silver token on a chain around his neck. “We’re from the first caste, and you must obey us! Allow us to tie you up and do not resist!”

“Did someone hit you in the head, kid?” Sergeant switched his attention to the upstart. “I have four tamed monsters right here who can tear apart your squad in a second. We just defeated a level 80 fiery manticore without taking any losses. And all of us are free humans. We don’t obey your rules. So I don’t give a crap what caste you’re in, dumbass! All of you hand over your tokens and apologize and I’ll let you leave alive. If not, you’ll wake up in the graveyard!”

Bluntly put, yes, but effective! I saw our opponents exchange nervous glances. They were clearly unprepared for such open rebellion and threatening responses. But Sergeant’s low level obviously confused them, and the commander of the six decided not to back down. A blink, and he was aiming a pistol at Sergeant! I heard Varya Tolmachyova gasp in fear.

But my master seemed only amused by this show of force.

“Someone definitely hit you in the head. Papa Dan, have you read my name? Yeah. Sergeant. That’s because I was in the army. And that means I can tell a gas pistol from a real gun. Go ahead, shoot! It won’t work on me — I have almost complete immunity to poisons. You, on the other hand, will die!”

Papa Dan nervously glanced back at his allies in search of support, the pistol shaking in his hands. The air crackled with tension, so I decided to step in and help my master. Incorporeal form for stronger magic! Paralyze the enemy with the pistol! Time to test out my new skill.

Shapeshifter skill increased to level twenty-one!

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-five!

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-seven!

Wow, it worked great! Papa Dan froze with glazed-over eyes, then slowly fell onto his back like a plank of wood, his arms still outstretched before him. It was more like freezing or petrification than paralysis, in which the victim couldn’t control their weakened muscles. But that didn’t matter, the main thing was that it worked. And I got three skill level-ups at once! That must be my leveling bonus from Hundred Skull City working its magic.

I suspected everyone there was surprised by the squad commander’s strange behavior. Including Sergeant. But my master played it off beautifully, making as if it was an everyday occurrence for his enemies to fall over for no apparent reason in front of him. He approached the Gunner with an impassive expression on his face, pulled the pistol from his unbending fingers and calmly put it into his bag, then took the token from around the paralyzed man’s neck and hung it around his own. Then he turned to the other five enemies and asked evenly:

“Does anyone else want to try threatening me?”

Nobody volunteered. All five looked at the Beast Catcher with open fear, threw their swords and crossbows to the ground, then meekly handed Sergeant the silver tokens that confirmed their membership in the first caste.

“Pick up your weapons, I don’t need them!” my master generously allowed. “And take this idiot with you. Papa Dan will come round in a few hours, and I really hope he appreciates the lesson on not getting cocky with strangers. Tell your bosses you met some free humans — just like the ones the Pharaoh sent to conquer the eastern lands. We’re no enemies to you, but we won’t let you mistreat us. If your leaders want to know more, tell them to ask a noble of the Pharaoh by the name of Haze. He knows me well.”

There were no questions. The soldiers picked up their commander’s senseless body and hurried to move away, heading somewhere to the northwest, toward hills overgrown with woods. As soon as they were a safe distance away, the Engineer voiced his concerns:

“Are you sure that was wise, commander? Now the Pharaoh’s people will never leave us alone. A stronger unit will come, and we won’t be able to deal with them.”

Sergeant just waved a hand vaguely.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. This is the only way to deal with people like them. They only respect strength. Like in the army, where the vets always try to bring the rookies to heel. They’ll leave you alone if you don’t give in to their threats. But if you show weakness even once, they’ll hound you all your life.”

“But what if…” the Philosopher didn’t finish his sentence before the Beast Catcher interrupted him.

“If any really serious players take an interest in our group, not just those small fries, then we’ll find a way to pay for our freedom and prove our worth to the Pharaoh.”

“But what was that anyway, brother? You have magic now?” Julie changed the subject, climbing down off the giant spider and walking over.

Sergeant laughed and playfully mussed his sister’s hair.

“I don’t even know what it was. Looked like a cruel arachnoscorp bite. The exact same symptoms.” Everyone looked at the Marsh Mistress, standing ten paces away from the scene of the event. “But maybe it was one of our Whiskers’ tricks. He’s a Shadow Hexxer after all, and this could be one of his hexes.”

Wow! I just couldn’t believe my furry ears. After a mere three weeks, my master had finally realized that the kitten on his shoulders was more than just a fluffy scarf. No more questions arose about the paralysis; everyone was more interested in hearing about our group’s adventures in Hundred Skull City and how the veyer could speak to humans now, and soon they were all busy preparing to hunt the Chimeric Cougar in the snow.

While the others were occupied, Varya approached Sergeant.

“You’ve changed a lot now that you’ve been through Hundred Skull City, Sergeant,” the Scout said quietly. “You aren’t just higher level, you’re more… more assertive, I guess, more sure of yourself. I haven’t noticed that about you before. I have to admit, it really suits you. Why don’t you and I take a walk over to the hill and back while the others are talking amongst themselves? Without Whiskers. Take the cat off your shoulders. I’d like to talk to you in private, Andrei. We have a lot to talk about.”

Chapter 17 [Sergeant]

Mother’s Milk

I EXPECTED all kinds of things from my conversation with Varya. I even worried that this was my new Casanova ability rearing its dashingly attractive head, making the humble and upstanding girl suddenly decide to shift our friendship up a gear or three. Don’t get me wrong, I found Varya attractive, but she wasn’t the kind of girl who would agree to be a side piece. A closer relationship with her meant I could forget about my girlfriend Shelly and all the other beautiful girls I might meet in this world. I wasn’t ready for such a life-changing decision, and abusing Varya’s trust would be mean. That’s why I got nervous well in advance, started thinking of ways to let her down easy, to tell her I wasn’t ready for anything serious.

But I was wrong. The subject of our conversation was something completely different, although no less important. Whiskers was… me?! My own mind, stuck in a cat’s body?! It wasn’t easy to believe at first, but what the Scout told me really did explain a lot of the strange occurrences with my pet. His conversations with the Cartographer and the ‘vallar,’ a few incredibly timely actions. For example, when the kitten ran up and stepped on the tile in the inner courtyard of the mansion in Hundred Skull City. Back then, I’d thought it was just a coincidence, a dumb animal not understanding the risk of its actions. But Whiskers, as it turns out, had calculated everything and realized that there was no longer any danger, then decided to demonstrate to the group that we could move further. I could remember at least a dozen similar examples of acts that seemed strangely conscious for a kitten.

“Curse Magic. Weaken and Slow. The ability to restore Stamina Points to allies. Stealth and the ability to turn transparent,” Varya continued to rattle off all she knew about my pet. “And actually, it was Whiskers who told me about the Chimeric Cougar at the mountain pass. The kitten met the cougar practically right after he got to the new world, while waiting for you to revive. The cougar thought he was a cub and took him away to her lair.”

“But why didn’t Whiskers tell us all that?”

The girl shrugged uncertainly.

“I suggested he should reveal himself, but he didn’t want to. He said he doesn’t want to see sympathy and compassion in the eyes of the humans around him. He also thought it was best that people not take the little kitten seriously.”

“Wise move on his part. Some settlers would pity him, others would fear him, and in the end everyone would avoid him. But why did you decide to tell me?”

“I believe that for the sake of the whole group, the commander must know all the capabilities of the group members. Well, and…” The girl suddenly went bright red, took a deep breath before continuing… “I’ve decided to tell you that although I like you, out of the two Andreis available I’ve chosen the one locked in the cat body. I’m sure he’ll find a way to become a human, and I’m willing to wait for him. Don’t be upset. You’re my best friend, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Varya stopped and looked into my eyes, waiting to see how I’d react. Don’t be upset? I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn’t have to make any excuses or feel awkward anymore. But I knew better than to say that to the girl — then she’d be the one getting upset. So I said nothing. Varya misunderstood my silence.

“So you are upset. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you for your honesty. Shall we go back to the others?”

Varya turned to look at our companions on the bank and laughed.

“Dad and your sister are looking at us. Probably wondering what the big secret is. And Edward too. I have to admit, I’m a little afraid of him. There’s something… off about him. Sometimes he looks at me like he’s undressing me with his eyes. He made a pass at me a couple of times, but I made like I didn’t understand his gross hints. Sergeant, could I ask you to put your arm around me? That way everyone will think we’re together. He won’t try anything with the leader’s girlfriend, he isn’t the type.”

I have to admit, sometimes I can’t understand the wonderful ways that women think at all. Like now, for example, I was surprised. She just ‘rejected’ me, and now she was asking me to hold her, make to the others as if she was my girlfriend. But I didn’t refuse Varya the favor. I held the girl around the waist as we walked back to our traveling companions.

* * *

It wasn’t far from Hundred Skull City to where the snows began, around four miles. We traveled it in an hour and a half. ‘We’ meant Varya, my sister Julie, Avir Tan-Hoshi, Max and myself, plus the kitten sitting on the Scout’s shoulder. It was in this team that we set off to catch the dangerous Chimeric Cougar, which, according to Varya, could turn invisible. We had to leave Atlas, who was carrying our things, at the edge of the snows — the armored reptile stubbornly refused to enter the cold zone. Snowflake refused to go any further too — she jumped down from my sister’s shoulder and stopped obeying commands. I suspected that for the giga-komodo and the rock lizard, like for all cold-blooded creatures, going into the cold meant certain death.

Evening was coming, so we had to hurry. We didn’t want to run into the dangerous predator in the dark. And the night beasts hadn’t gone anywhere either. They’d be sure to visit us when night fell. Although I wasn’t particularly afraid of the beasts — there were six of us, so the night beast’s level would be very low. We could deal with them.

In the meantime, it was getting cold. The temperature must have been near minus twenty. The wet snow crunched underfoot, and sometimes we were up to our knees in it, making our journey a tough one. I got pretty lost in the snowy forest, although Varya told me we were literally only a mile or so from the spot where the night train arrives with new human settlers every midnight. We had to hurry to finish up before then, too — we didn’t want to run into Axe’s gang, the group that captured new slaves for the Pharaoh.

“The Chimeric Cougar’s lair is right over there!” our Scout informed us, pointing at a snowy mountain slope a little over a quarter of a mile away.

We’d already discussed our hunting strategy, so everyone knew what to do. The Thief, with warm clothes over his dark bodysuit, loaded his crossbow with a tranquilizing bolt. Max Dubovitsky and I took out our long spears. They were cut from hard wood and burnt over the fire to make them even stronger. My sister and Varya prepared their net, woven from rope (I got two levels of Item Crafting as I sat weaving with the rest of the group), and went into stealth — their task was to sneak up to the cougar, throw the net over it and then, while the beast was tangled up and pinned to the ground with our spears, to tie up the creature’s legs. Whiskers’ task was to slow and weaken our opponent so we could deal with it.

“Well, let’s go!” Time pressed, and I wanted this done before nightfall.

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-four!

What was that? In the opposite direction, in the depths of the murky forest, some shadow flickered. I activated night vision. Damn. Too far away to make out the creature’s heat signature. No problem — I had a special something for occasions like this. I put on the infrared goggles… and my jaw dropped! There were humans there! A group of humans! At least four, lying down in the undergrowth and tracking our movements. That was all we needed! I told my companions about the observers.

Everyone stopped, afraid. We couldn’t even think about hunting the dangerous Chimeric Cougar with someone hunting us.

“What are we going to do, Sergeant? Retreat?” Max Dubovitsky asked.

Everyone stood tensely, waiting for my answer. I said nothing, just examined the snowy slope and the dark forest again carefully. I saw no other strangers, only the first four.

“For now, we act like we know nothing. Move slowly and carefully toward the Chimeric Cougar’s lair. But we need to know more about those people. Varya, that’s a job for you!”

The Scout shifted the kitten onto my shoulder and then soundlessly moved off toward the mysterious watchers, walking in a wide circle around and towards them. All the other members of my group left the woods into clear space and moved slowly forward, step by step.

Now I recognized the place. Over there, by the small cliff, was where I revived after Badass killed me. Not far from the beast’s lair, as it turns out. I was very lucky not to run into the Chimeric Cougar back then, on my very first day in the new world. I would have had no chance whatsoever. And there was the lair! A warm spot in my night-vision goggles against a backdrop of snow and cold stone. Well camouflaged. There was no way I would have seen it without night vision. Was the Chimeric Cougar inside right now? Or had she smelled us and gone into hiding?

I looked from side to side, trying to find our target. There she was! The huge beast was lying by a heap of rocks just thirty paces from us, watching tensely as the strangers approached her lair. I don’t know how, but the cougar knew she’d been seen. I didn’t even have time to warn the others properly before the huge beast attacked us!

“Careful! There she is!” I shouted and pointed toward her, although to the others, the Chimeric Cougar was still invisible, with only her pawprints appearing in the wet snow. At that speed, she’d be on us within three seconds. A bolt thrummed as the veyer got his bearings and shot at the approaching enemy. The Engineer pulled the Thief back and stepped forward decisively, his spear at the ready.

“Meow!” Meow! Meow!” Whiskers screeched hysterically from up on my shoulder.

Just yesterday, I would have thought the dumb cat was just scared from hearing our shouts and feeling the tense atmosphere. But after my conversation with Varya, I knew that the critter was casting spells as fast as he could, helping the rest of the group. And his spells were working! Our enemy’s speed dropped noticeably until she was walking at an unhurried pace for the final few yards. That gave Julie time to open her net and throw it toward the beast. It wasn’t too successful — the cougar didn’t get tangled up, — but she at least showed us the outline of her invisible body. Then I rushed forward, stuck my spear into the ground and took her main strike!

Hand-to-Hand Combat skill increased to level eighteen!

Tracking skill increased to level seventeen!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level thirteen!

Damn it! The apparently solid spear broke like a thin match and the leaping cougar knocked me off my feet. If it weren’t for my strong bone armor, I would have lost an arm — first she tore at my shoulder with her horrifying five-inch claws, then she sank her teeth into my left elbow and squeezed until it crunched. Ouch! In the first second, I lost a third of my health, then kept losing around eight or nine percent every second. But I didn’t panic or try to separate the fierce predator’s steely jaws and free my arm from her mantrap mouth. On the contrary, I tried to stuff the limb further into the maw of the beast, holding on to her as hard as I could with my legs and free right arm wrapped around her, trying to hinder the Chimeric Cougar’s movements. I don’t know when the beast came out of stealth, I just suddenly realized that I’d been able to see my deadly opponent for a while.

Agility increased to 19!

I managed to beat back a claw a few times as it tried to tear me from my armor shell and rip me to pieces, but then I failed to block a heavy blow to my head. Holy..! My vision went dark for a few seconds. My head rang with the weight of the strike on my helmet. I must have been concussed. My companions were shouting something to me, but I couldn’t hear them. Finally, Max Dubovitsky’s face swam into focus above me, leaning over me. More by the motion of his lips than any sound, I made out his words:

“Let her go, Sergeant! We can’t bind her back legs!”

What did he mean ‘back’? What about the front ones?! Although… for some reason, my health bar had stopped falling. It was frozen at twenty-seven percent, and there hadn’t been any new strikes in some time, and the cougar’s jaws had opened. With difficulty, I focused my eyes and saw that I was lying on the snow with my arms around the furry beast. And the Chimeric Cougar was firmly pinned to the ground, with a spear haft across her neck. She seemed completely limp. Had we accidentally killed her? Our mission was to take the mother cougar alive! Where else would we find milk for little Hope? But no, I could feel the cougar’s breath — she was alive. The beast was stunned or paralyzed. I disentangled myself from her heavy paws and sat up in the snow.

Oh, my head… And my arm was in tatters too… But it looked like we did it. I must have said that aloud, because Max Dubovitsky answered:

“Yes, Sergeant, we did it. There were some hiccups at first, but on the whole, your plan worked. We wrapped her up, pinned her down, stunned her and bound her. I think if we had my daughter with us as planned, we could have dealt with the creature easily. Although the cougar is… wow… level eighty-two!”

I didn’t believe him and turned to look at our trophy.

☠ Chimeric Cougar. Female. Level 82.

Wow… Quite the catch! Varya didn’t tell me our enemy was so strong. Thick black fur, orange cat’s eyes, a long tail. Two hundred pounds of muscle, teeth and claws. Even stunned, I couldn’t help but feel respect for the Chimeric Cougar. We had to make sure she was well tied up before she came round…

While the Thief and Engineer tied the Chimeric Cougar’s legs with wire, Julie gave me first aid. I had a graze and a massive raised bruise on my forehead. My left arm looked like a tractor had run over it, all bloody from shoulder to elbow. But, surprisingly, I had no broken bones or serious injuries. The bleeding and torn skin was nothing — my regeneration would soon fix it.

“What, did I miss all the action?” Varya said as she materialized next to me. “Couldn’t you have waited for me?”

“Tell that to her,” I nodded at the huge cougar lying nearby. “She attacked without asking permission. Did you find out who those people were?”

“Sure I did,” the Scout answered as if it went without saying. “They’re from the New Pharaohs, levels between thirty and thirty-five. Not the ones we met on the bank. But the most interesting one was the fourth, who I just barely caught up to — a runner sent to report our position. He’s an old acquaintance of yours — Badass. He’s a level seventeen Marauder now, and in the New Pharaohs too, but fetching and carrying for stronger players. From their conversations, I heard that it was Badass who somehow found you, and the other three came to confirm his information.”

Badass found me? No way… I started to feel a cold sweat. The game system had told me that I’d killed that player three times, which meant that I would be marked for him as a ‘personal enemy.’ And that he would always see a marker showing the direction to me and the distance between us. Not very fair. How was I supposed to hide from a furious and persistent criminal?

I revealed this alarming information to my companions. There was no way to hide from the New Pharaohs while they had Badass tracking us, or more precisely — tracking me. At least the trio didn’t have a radio, since they sent a runner for reinforcements. We had twice their numbers, so I doubted the three would do anything until their reinforcements came. That gave us a little time to breathe. We’d be able to load up the Chimeric Cougar onto the stretcher we’d made from branches and drag her to Atlas, then take her back to the raft. Then, once we were safely floating down the river, I’d tame the tied-up creature. I said exactly that to my companions, suggesting that we not waste any time — we had to hurry.

“You’ve forgotten one thing, brother. There’s a little helpless Chimeric Cougar kitten in the lair. We can’t leave it here alone! It’ll die of hunger!”

That was a good point. I approached the lair. It was a dark hole that twisted down into the earth. Kind of creepy. It didn’t seem right to send a little girl down there, but I wouldn’t fit, nor would the Engineer or even the winged veyer. Varya crawled into the narrow gap between the stones and, a minute later, pulled out a small black kitten a little bigger than Whiskers. It whined in fear.

“Give it to me!” I asked the girl, taking the little furball from her hands.

It only took me one Calming Touch to calm the critter down. Another touch and the black kitten relaxed, stretched out luxuriously in my arms and started purring.

Taming skill increased to level sixty!

Beast Master skill increased to level nine!

Your character is now level twenty-three!

Reward: three skill points and one mutation point (total available: ten).

Perfect timing! My cuts and bruises from the fight with the kitten’s mother instantly healed, and my Health and Stamina Points fully recovered. Whiskers was still sitting on my shoulder, and together we looked down at the black kitten with a sense of tenderness.

Chimeric Cougar Level 2 Female. Sergeant’s pet.

A girl. Small, furry and adorable, at least for now. Her little teeth were just starting to get sharp. It was clear that the little thing still lived off her mother’s milk. And that was good — it meant there would be food for little Hope too.

“By the way, Sergeant, about our recent conversation about radios,” the Engineer said as he and the veyer finished tying up the huge cougar. “You said you have one. Have you tried to listen in on the radio chatter among the New Pharaohs?”

“Yeah, I tried switching on the radio outside the river village, but I couldn’t hear anything. We must have been too far away, and the mountain range probably interfered with the signal too. We could try again.”

I took the batteries out of my thermal goggles and put them into the radio. I left all the settings as they were. This time, as soon as I switched the radio on, I gasped as I heard a loud and unfamiliar voice speaking.

“… what do you mean civvies took your tokens? Stop talking nonsense. How is that even possible?”

“But that’s what happened, Spike! They say they ambushed them by the river. Stunned them, took their weapons and their first caste badges.”

“If they lost their marks, that means those six morons are unworthy of the first caste! Punish them all. Hang three of them. Maybe a death will teach them to be more careful. Take the other three as slaves. They can draw straws. And send a search party to find out about these strangers at the river.”

Wow! That was about us! It was a good thing we’d decided to move the raft to the opposite bank of the big river and hide it in the rushes before we left. I hoped they didn’t find it. Even if they did find it, crossing the river in that spot was no easy task — there was a strong current, dangerous beasts, and Katy and Tick-Tock were always happy to turn hapless fools into snacks. On top of that, there’s a reason Edward Samarsky trained so much to use the ballista — he wouldn’t miss a swimmer or a boat.

In the meantime, the Engineer, who sat listening to the radio chatter with me, was making strange gestures, pointing first at the radio and then at me. What was this strange pantomime? Was he trying to warn me that they might hear us if we talk? I hurried to calm him down.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hear us. You have to press the activation button here to transmit.”

“Do you think I’ve never used a radio, Sergeant? That’s not what I mean. Let’s try to play for time by feeding the slave traders bad intel! So that they not only stop listening to Badass, but even arrest him and investigate him. Let me try! I’m good at imitating voices. It was a trick of mine in drama class in my youth.”

I didn’t know what exactly Varya’s father was going to do, but I handed him the radio. The Engineer cleared his throat, took a breath and pressed the transmit button.

“To anyone who can hear me! This is Haze, noble of the Pharaoh,” my jaw dropped — the voice was near perfect. “Hulk and I are being held captive somewhere near the village of Un-Talavi. We were betrayed by a low-level rat by the name of Badass. That snitch sold intel to the sherkhs. He’s working for them. If you see Badass, rip his guts out without a second thought. When I get the chance, I’ll report more details. I don’t have long to talk right now. Over and out.”

Max Dubovitsky lowered the radio with a satisfied smile.

“What do you think, Sergeant? Did I sound like Haze? Now nobody will listen to Badass, and we’ll have time to get out of this dangerous area.”

I took a deep breath, looked at Avir Tan-Hoshi standing frozen in open-mouthed fear nearby, and told the Engineer that he’d just begun a great war between the humans and the sherkhs.

Chapter 18 [Kitten]

Unexpected Meeting

WE DIDN’T MAKE IT before dark. The Chimeric Cougar was too heavy to carry by hand. Making a litter out of fir branches to drag her on took time, as did shifting the dangerous predator onto it now that she was awake. The cougar’s furious growl through her tightly tied jaws had the fury of thunder, and she constantly drooled and twisted her whole body, testing the bindings’ strength every second and doing all she could to stop the humans from moving her. Personally, I thought it was a mistake to move her at all — we should have tamed her right there on the mountain slope, even if it took a bit more time. But then the animal would be able to move on her own, and could help against the night beasts. I transmitted these thoughts to Varya, but she didn’t even bother translating them for Sergeant; she wanted to get out of that dangerous area as soon as possible, and she was all in favor of getting the Chimeric Cougar to the raft and taming her there.

With great difficulty, the big oafs still somehow managed to drag the captured creature to the edge of the snows, but then they hit an unexpected snag — Atlas the giga-komodo rolled up into an impenetrable ball as soon as dusk fell, and refused to unroll no matter what the Beast Master said. There was a short meeting about what to do. Leave Atlas here, in foreign territory, and drag the Chimeric Cougar another three miles through a dangerous forest in pitch darkness? Or spend the night here in the forest and try to tame the dangerous predator in the meantime? Each option had its pluses and minuses. We’d also lost track of the watchers observing us, so we had no idea where the Pharaoh’s people were. They could easily find our trail, or discover a stranger’s giga-komodo curled up in their territory and kill it. To make matters worse, Axe’s people were due to show up somewhere nearby, to pick up a new load of slaves, and we didn’t want to run across those thugs either. The most alarming thing of all was that the New Pharaohs had been silent on the airwaves since the Engineer said his piece through the radio. Our group members didn’t know what was happening, and that got under their skin.

In the end, the big oafs chose the second option — to stay the night, to protect Atlas and the defenseless tied-up cougar. But with a slight alteration — first they’d milk her and send a runner with the milk to the raft to feed little Hope. Or rather, send a flier — the winged Thief was given the job, since he had a far better chance of making it across the dangerous forest and reaching the raft than anyone else. Varya Tolmachyova risked her life trying to milk the bound cougar’s teats into a glass jar. It was no easy task. It was some circus trick to ‘milk’ a furious beast that could maim anyone who came near even with her legs bound. Strength and agility got us nowhere — the few pathetic drops of precious liquid we got weren’t worth the risk it took to get them.

What did help was showing the mother her black kitten, the sight of which put her into a frozen stupor. We dropped the little thing on the ground and he tottered toward his mother’s teat on shaking legs. While the kitten fed, the mother lay unmoving, allowing the humans to milk their share. Sergeant took the opportunity to use Calming Touch several times. The cougar stopped growling at the humans, but still refused to eat the meat and fish they offered.

The veyer flew off with the precious milk and the humans held another meeting. Should they light a fire? It was chilly here at the edge of the snows by night, and fire kept the forest predators at bay. And fighting the night beasts was far easier when you could see them. But the bright light would make our camp easy to see, and it would be only a matter of time until the Pharaoh’s men found us. So they decided not to light a fire, but to make shelters in the trees to protect against possible danger instead. And although Sergeant insisted at first that the ‘branch nests’ weren’t necessary, that he could easily take care of five Feelers, in the end he had to agree that there could be plenty of other dangerous beasts nearby, and some shelter could come in handy. A few suitable stout trees grew nearby, in whose thick canopy we could fashion some cots and hide away from prying eyes.

But the big oafs weren’t fast enough.

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-seven!

I was the first to hear the night beasts come, and I told Varya right away. The pack was coming closer, and there were clearly far more howling voices in it than the five or six that Sergeant was expecting. At least twice as many, if not three times.

“Sergeant, the night beasts are already here! A lot of them! Protect my father!” the Scout cried, grabbing the cougar kitten and disappearing into stealth.

A frightened Julie followed suit a second later, taking her Snowflake with her. Varya ran as fast as she could into the dark of the woods, in the opposite direction from the dangerous beasts, but I didn’t like how this was going at all. I needed to be close to Sergeant, to help my master in the coming battle. So I jumped from the Scout’s shoulder and ran back. It was so much easier to jump and run on four good legs!

Agility increased to 19.

Even better! Perfect timing! Increased Agility meant I could run faster. I quickly returned to the small glade where the giga-komodo was rolled up into a bony ball. I got there just as Sergeant was giving a leg up to Max Dubovitsky, helping the older man climb up into the tree branches. The Engineer hid away in the thick branches to escape the approaching pack. But Sergeant himself didn’t have time to climb up the tree — the night beasts were already close. And… clearly visible against the black forest, I saw two blood-red clouds approaching my master in huge leaps. Two Alphas at once?! How?! That should only happen when there were at least twenty people around! Or was it a wild pack that could appear regardless of towns or players nearby? If so, then our luck was worse than ever…

Whatever the case may be, I didn’t bother worrying about it too much. Time to get to work. Curse Magic! Slow and Weaken on the closest Alpha, a level 18. Paralyze!

Invalid target for this spell.

What? The beast must have had immunity to paralysis, or I’d misunderstood something about how the spell works. I switched my attention to the second Alpha, a level 14. At that moment, Sergeant saw the two Alphas and swore eloquently. He got a good grip on his axe and glanced from the approaching enemy to the Chimeric Cougar tied up a few paces away. It didn’t look like there was any way to save our hard-won mother cougar from the night beasts. The cougar herself seemed to understand that too — she fought with all her might to try and free herself so she could fight.

“What are you doing, brother?! Hurry, up the tree!” Julie screamed when my master put away his axe and crouched down next to the cougar with knife in hand, cutting the ropes binding her jaw.

I didn’t know why the little Veterinarian hadn’t run away with the Scout. She couldn’t do anything to help her brother in the fight, and she only risked her life for no reason by staying in danger. Sergeant seemed to think the same.

“Run! Save yourself!” he shouted at his sister, but instead of running, the girl appeared from stealth, crouched down next to him and started to untie the wire binding the cougar’s legs.

Idiot! Sure, it would be hard to untie knots with invisible fingers, but the stealth skill had a cooldown too. She wouldn’t be able to hide again for the next couple of minutes. For Julie, that meant death — even slowed, the deadly Alphas were getting ever closer, with a herd of twenty Feelers following close behind. There just wasn’t time to slow them all down.

And then… My ears rang with the sound of gunfire. Both Alphas fell down in mid-leap, rolling across the ground.

Your character is now level twenty-nine!

Reward: three skill points and one mutation point (total available: twenty-eight).

Both Alphas were dead! And the game system showered me with experience for helping to kill them. But who had killed the dangerous monsters with such ease? In the meantime, the shots continued, now echoing from all sides, and I saw bright flashlights. Half a minute later it all stopped, and into our clearing came…

☠ Haze. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 67 Psionic.

Now I could see the insidious Psionic’s real high level, not the pathetic ‘seven’ he showed in Pan’s Landing. Haze wore a long leather cloak reaching all the way to the ground, tall army boots and night-vision goggles. For some reason he was looking right at me, and I knew the Psionic could see right through my stealth. Suddenly, my Mana Points started to leak away rapidly. A few seconds later I stood completely empty, with no mana left. Then the Psionic lost interest in me entirely and switched his attention to my master.

“You sure gave us a good chase, Beast Catcher! Put that knife down, you won’t have time to use it anyway.”

Sergeant, still not done with cutting the ropes off the cougar, obediently threw the knife aside; he knew perfectly well that he had no chance whatsoever of standing up to such a strong player. Especially since more and more players emerged onto the forest glade after Haze, and they were all armed. Among the arrivals I saw Hulk… and Badass. So that’s how they found us!”

In the meantime, Haze examined the black and purple giga-komodo bull and whistled in admiration, then approached the tied-up cougar and sat down next to it fearlessly. He even pulled back her lower lip and examined her sharp fangs. And the apex predator didn’t even think about biting or resisting!

“A wonderful specimen!” Haze delivered his verdict, patting the cougar’s head and turning to Hulk. “I think this is the same man-eater that keeps eating Axe’s people at the snowy pass. I recall there being a reward for killing this monster.”

Hulk stepped forward, silently unholstered his pistol and put it to the Chimeric Cougar’s head, but Haze stopped his bodyguard:

“Don’t be hasty. The Pharaoh might have his own plans for such a dangerous beauty. Take the beast to the Eastern Fortress. And set a guard around this giga-komodo — such a valuable bull must be kept for breeding. As for you…” the Psionic leered at the frozen Beast Catcher. “Tell me, how did you know I was imprisoned by the sherkhs?”

With deliberate slowness so as not to provoke the soldiers tensely aiming weapons at him, Sergeant reached out and unclasped his backpack. He took out the radio and the night-vision instrument.

“I found this on a sherkh by the name of Arvedo Un Ponar after he attacked me. He’s the son of the leader of Eastern Garrison. Rare items that even humans don’t often have, let alone sherkhs. And I heard from the people of the river village that the sherkhs captured a noble of the Pharaoh who was sent to them. I haven’t seen many nobles in the lands east of the mountain range, which the sherkhs consider their own. Based on all of that, I figured you were the emissary, Haze.”

The dangerous Psionic suddenly laughed, put the radio and the IR goggles into his cloak pocket and ordered his guards to lower their weapons.

“Yeah, these are mine. You’re pretty sharp for a Beast Catcher. I was the one sent into sherkh territory, that’s right. But it ain’t no easy task to keep a mega-psionic prisoner, which the invisible folk soon learned. The pile of corpses that Hulk and I left behind should discourage the sherkhs from tangling with the Pharaoh’s nobles for a long time to come. And…” Haze darkened and touched a hand to his temple as if his head had suddenly started hurting, “take off the item blocking my psionic abilities right now!”

Sergeant resignedly took the Wyrm Signet Ring off his finger and put it in Haze’s outstretched hand. Haze silently examined the valuable object. I expected the Pharaoh’s noble to take the precious ring for himself, like he had the other items, but to my surprise, he returned it to its owner.

“A rare item. That Cartographer has one. Where did you get it?”

Sergeant told him the truth, that the ring was taken from the Cartographer as payment for information on how to tame cruel arachnoscorps.

“Is that so…” Haze fell silent, then turned back to the Chimeric Cougar and Atlas, looked at the sharp-toothed rock lizard on my sister’s shoulder, examined the animals for a minute, then continued. “We’ve had conflicts in the past, Beast Catcher. And I really don’t like that you’re carrying an unearned first caste token and hiding behind my name when you talk to other humans. I would kill you for that! But it seems like we’re on the same side in the upcoming war with the sherkhs for dominion over this zone. And you might be useful to the New Pharaohs, as might this veterinarian girl. So you’re both coming with us. The Pharaoh himself may want to speak with you. If not, then I’ll find some use for you. But nobody needs that kitten. He’s dangerous. Servants, kill him!”

What?! The conversation had seemed to be going pretty well, and I was calm and relaxed, so Haze’s words came as a complete surprise. What could I do? I had no mana, so I couldn’t switch to incorporeal form and get temporary invulnerability from firearms. I couldn’t turn into a beetle and fly away either. So I started running as fast as I could!

But I only made it a few leaps before my body suddenly froze.

Magic Resistance check failed!

“Just like I thought,” Haze said from behind me, his voice dripping with self-satisfaction. “The kitty understands human speech. But it’s still too dumb to figure out that the gunners can see it in stealth.”

Magic Resistance check failed!

Something knocked me out of stealth. Haze approached, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. He lifted up my tiny ginger body and turned me around before his eyes, examining me from all angles.

“An ordinary cat at first glance, although the Shadow Hexxer class is certainly concerning. What are you? Never mind. We’ll figure it out later. Cage him! And guard him with your lives! Now get ready to move out. We’re heading to the Eastern Fortress.”

Chapter 19 [Sergeant]

In Service of the Pharaoh

“GET UP, BEAST CATCHER!”

I was being shaken awake by some old man, gray and toothless, whose long beard would have been the envy of Merlin and Gandalf both. “You’re expected in the palace!”

At first I thought I was still asleep. Some mystical magician was inviting me to the palace… But no, the bearded old man was real, and very insistent. I had to wake up, although I’d only gotten a couple of hours rest through the night.

Savelius Krapivin. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 23 Astrologer.

Astrologer? An old, half-forgotten profession. I didn’t know why it wasn’t the more modern ‘Astronomer,’ but stargazing was probably fun either way. Especially in an entirely new world; the first members of the profession would make a multitude of discoveries and name constellations, stars and planets, immortalizing their work in history.

That said, the slave collar around the old man’s neck bothered me, as did his worn, dirty gown. It seemed Astrologers and people of the scientific professions weren’t much respected among the New Pharaohs. Once sure he had woken me, the Astrologer hurried to leave, limping and coughing with old age.

I yawned, rubbed my eyes and swung my legs off the bench I’d fallen asleep on, covered up with a scratchy blanket I’d been issued. I looked around, examining the small room we were left in last night. Stark decor. Just two benches and a rickety old stool supporting a spent candle in a clay mug. At least it wasn’t a prison cell — there were no bars on the windows, and the door to the corridor wasn’t locked. I checked before I went to sleep. I was glad they didn’t consider me and my sister prisoners, didn’t assign us a guard. They didn’t even take away my axe and knife, or any of my other gear.

Dawn was already breaking outside. Julie slept peacefully, covered head-to-toe with a blanket. Snowflake was curled up on her shoulder, watchfully guarding the girl’s peace. Although the Astrologer was only talking to me, I decided to wake up my sister. I didn’t want to leave her alone in an unfamiliar place. The reptile raised its head and hissed a warning when I approached, but didn’t attack — I was marked ‘friendly’ in her settings.

A few minutes later, Julie and I left the building, which appeared to be serving as a barracks or temporary accommodation. Players back from the night shift slept in all the rooms on both sides of the corridor. All of them had a combat character class, but their levels were still pretty low, none over thirty that I saw. At level twenty and twenty-three, Julie and I didn’t fail to measure up against these players — on the contrary, we at least matched the squad in strength, which I suspected was why we were put here.

An old sign nailed above the door read Family Housing Unit Four. For some reason, it was crossed out. Made sense; I hadn’t seen any families, just soldiers of the New Pharaoh, all of them male. The small building was surrounded by a strong and high fence, but the gates stood open and I saw no guards.

“There’s nobody guarding us, bro,” my sister said in surprise. “Should we escape? We could get to the raft and sail off to where they can’t get us.”

It sounded tempting, but I didn’t want to make any rash decisions. We’d have to maintain contact with the New Pharaohs for a while anyway, until all our group members hit level twenty-five. And we had little Hope with us, who needed looking after, and most importantly, feeding. And my cat was missing too. I needed to find out what had happened to him. So for now, it was best not to make any sudden movements, to maintain this situation in which we weren’t considered prisoners and were left free.

A light two-wheeled cart awaited us, hitched to a green medium-sized lizard stood up on its hind legs. The task of driving us in this unusual conveyance fell to a boy of around ten or eleven, a humble level 12 Coachman. He wore a slave collar too — apparently, cabbies in the New Pharaohs were also low in status. My sister and I came closer and stared at the nervous reptile. It hissed and threateningly bared its teeth.

Pack Raptorhound. Level 38 Male. Bald Skull’s pet (1).

Wow! It wasn’t the reptile itself that interested me so much as the tracks it left. Four-toed, with broad splayed claws. And the creature had a long tail which sometimes touched the ground and left a trace. So that was whose tracks I saw in the ashes at Rumbler’s Refuge! It seemed the New Pharaohs regularly used these creatures to get around quickly. And the player who tamed them had the strange name Bald Skull. I wouldn’t mind meeting him, to share tricks of the trade.

Tracking skill increased to level eighteen!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level fourteen!

In the meantime, the raptorhound didn’t calm down, just kept hissing and snarling. When the boy whipped the lizard, it stopped obeying at all, just started to back off and hiss threateningly at the young Coachman. That brought new lashes of the whip.

“Stop!” my sister said, running forward. She threw her arms around the lizard’s neck, protecting it from new strikes. “Can’t you see he has a wound between the toes on his right foot? It’s infected. It hurts him to walk!”

Paying no heed to the coachboy’s cries of caution and the lizard’s fearsome hissing, my sister crouched down next to the dangerous beast and opened her first-aid kit. She took out some ointment and a sharp scalpel and started her operation.

“What the hell?!” the boy shouted. “Relax,” I said. “Julie’s a vet. She knows what she’s doing.”

Just in case, I used Calming Touch on the raptorhound three times until it finally stopped hissing and calmed down. The entire operation to open and drain the abscess took three minutes at most.

“Done!” Julie said, now a proud level 21 Veterinarian.

“Wow, you’re awesome…” the little boy said, changing his tune. “I wouldn’t have risked getting within biting distance. They’re all trained to catch runaway slaves. They can bite right through people. But I guess you’re free, so the raptorhound shouldn’t touch you.”

I looked at the little coachboy’s metal collar again. It was pathetic to see slavery among humans that so recently lived in a free world. I decided it was best to keep such thoughts to myself. We climbed onto the cart and clattered down the dusty road in a northwesterly direction. I looked out across the tended rectangular fields with interest. Not grain like I’d first thought. Some kind of vegetable. Thick stalks ending with clusters of small blue flowers.

“That’s the local flax,” the coachboy said when I asked him about the unusual fields. “They use it to make nice clothes for the first caste and the nobles. Simpler folk get clothes made of the rough fibers of this world’s version of ferns.”

More examples of inequality. I darkened and asked no more questions. But every time I saw workers in the fields, every last one of them in a slave collar, my urge to leave the lands of the New Pharaohs only grew.

* * *

Our destination turned out to be a small settlement of around twenty two-story stone houses. Practically a metropolis by the standards of the new world, a real center of civilization. Strong outer walls with guard towers, countless arrow slits and a drawbridge over a wide moat made the ‘Capital,’ as our guide called this stone village, a tough nut to crack.

I examined the fortifications, estimated the thickness and strength of the walls, but I couldn’t figure out how such a large town of five hundred people could fight off the night beasts. High walls and a perimeter guard weren’t enough. With so many people in one place, there would be flying night beasts like the Lesser Terror I’d seen, not to mention others even worse and more dangerous.

Our cart went inside and stopped by a large construction site where hundreds of slaves toiled to erect a huge semicircular building. We were greeted. I recognized Haze and Hulk right away, but this was the first time I’d seen that tall and musclebound man surrounded by twenty bodyguards. Dark, close-cropped hair, skin tanned almost black, a red tunic with an intricate and colorful pattern, a gold crown on his head bearing the face of a sphinx…

The Pharaoh.

What, no name, no level, no game class? Just ‘The Pharaoh’? But how could he hide his character information? Then again… I remembered that Haze had pulled tricks like that on me before, altering the information on his character, and his companion’s too.

Our coachboy jumped down off the carriage and dropped to the ground before the fearsome guild leader, pressing his face right down into the dust. Not a nice sight. My sister and I frowned in disgust, exchanged glances and decided to make do with bows, giving due respect to so influential a figure as the Pharaoh.

“Are these the transgressors?” I heard him ask Haze in a quiet voice.

Haze confirmed it. The Pharaoh asked me and my sister to come closer. We stopped three paces away, as close as his bodyguards let us get.

“Sergeant… An interesting nickname. Did you serve in the army?”

“Yessir!” I barked, deciding to play the role of dumb and obedient grunt. That usually works pretty well on higher-ups. Management loves a diligent dimwit.

“You’re a Beast Catcher by profession. Why do you need such heavy and uncomfortable bone armor?”

A strange question. I didn’t get the point. Did the Pharaoh want my giga-komodo plate armor? Or did he just want to know if I was wearing the armor to look good, or if I really used it?

“Yeah, it’s heavy. But it’s saved my life more than once in fights against the night beasts, and when taming dangerous monsters. It’s been nice to have in combat against the sherkhs, too. I’ve had the invisible ones shooting arrows at me before I even knew they were there, and stabbing me in the back with a poisoned blade too. The armor helped me withstand the first attack, and then it was just a matter of grabbing the sherkh and defeating him. They’re weaker than humans and they have no idea how to fight hand-to-hand.”

The Pharaoh laughed approvingly and spoke to someone I couldn’t see behind the thick row of tall bodyguards.

“There, see… He seems fine. A warrior by nature, served in the army. Fully worthy of carrying the mark of the first caste.”

“Perhaps so,” a young feminine voice answered. “But this Beast Catcher isn’t as simple as he wants to appear. I still cannot read his thoughts. And his sister hates us.”

The welcoming smile slid from the Pharaoh’s face, replaced by a predator’s grin. Whoever the unseen woman was, the guild leader clearly trusted her opinion. This was not good… It was a critical moment, and I needed to do something fast. I began to speak, choosing my words carefully.

“It’s true. We heard nothing good about the New Pharaohs in the river village and from the recent settlers. And my sister and I have only seen terror and violence against civilians from your punisher squads. Julie has no reason to like you. All the same, we’re human. And given that war between humans and sherkhs seems inevitable, we choose the human side. Especially since the Cartographer and the vallar are both among the eleven creators of this world. They told me that directly. As for reading my thoughts,” I took off my Wyrm Signet Ring, “I have nothing to hide! Read away!”

The bodyguards split, letting forward a short dark-haired woman in a luxurious emerald-green dress. She was young, no older than twenty-two, shapely and stunningly beautiful. And she held a tiny baby in her arms, wrapped up in a blanket. Strangely, I couldn’t read any information on the baby, unlike the mother:

☠ Victoria Bastet. Human. Female. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 78 Courtesan.

Courtesan? Odd game class. Her name bar was bright red, which, in combination with the skull symbol before her name, meant she was highly dangerous. And level seventy-eight! Wow. The Pharaoh might have been even stronger, I just couldn’t see his level. This meant that standing before me now was the highest-level player I’d ever met.

All the same, she didn’t look like a deadly monster to me, just an insanely beautiful woman. Inhumanly beautiful. It was for women like this that heroes did their great deeds, for women like this that wars began. Men would give everything they had to spend a night with such a woman.

“Don’t even think about saying that aloud,” the goddess hissed in my ear as she approached. “The Pharaoh is jealous and sends my servants and bodyguards to the chopping block for the slightest suspicion. But I can’t forbid you from dreaming, soldier boy. Dreams, they say, sometimes come true. Time will tell…”

Victoria smiled, showing perfectly even white teeth, then slowly walked a circle around me. Then she approached my sister and fearlessly stroked the white crested reptile sitting on her shoulder.

“Charming! I heard you have an earthling kitten too.”

“Yes, Lady Victoria,” Haze answered for me. “Sergeant has a ginger kitten by the name of Whiskers. He is strange and dangerous. He escaped a locked cage in the lower tier of the Eastern Fortress last night. We don’t know where he is now.”

I couldn’t hold back a smile. I knew bars and padlocks wouldn’t hold Whiskers. The powerful Courtesan finished her inspection, returned to the Pharaoh and announced her verdict:

“You are right, my lord. Sergeant is a fearless warrior by nature, and a talented Beast Catcher. He could be useful to your guild, but he has a great love of freedom and is unlikely to obey out of fear or threat of punishment. The girl is the same, and she’ll follow her brother to the ends of the earth. Test them! Let them prove their worth! Have them catch the minotaur that lives in the southern ruins. I want to see that legendary beast in the arena against your best gladiators!”

“As you say, my beloved!” the huge musclebound man embraced and kissed his Courtesan gently, then turned to me and announced for all to hear:

“Did you hear that, Beast Catcher? If you can deal with the minotaur, then you and your group will remain free and can roam my lands to your heart’s content! If you fail, your heads will roll for your arrogance and for violating my laws! Oh, and before I forget,” the Pharaoh turned to Haze, “pay the Beast Catcher seven gold coins. That is what was promised, as I recall, for the bloodthirsty monster at the snowy pass!”

The Pharaoh and his entourage moved off toward the large construction site. Only then did the coachboy rise from his knees and sweep the dust off his clothes. The mighty Psionic walked over, counted out seven large gold coins. They were new and shiny, with the Pharaoh’s profile on one side and a winged lion on the other. Not a manticore. A sphinx, maybe, although the low quality of the engraving made it hard to identify the creature precisely.

“What, are you surprised?” Haze asked, distracting me from my inspection of the coins. “That’s what the Pharaoh is like. Terrible in anger and generous to those who earn his approval. And he knows all about the humans and the winged veyer on the river raft. Your freedom is in your hands!”

I nodded, showing that I’d gotten the message. Then I motioned my head toward the dark-haired beauty surrounded by bodyguards as she disappeared into the distance.

“Say, who is she?”

The simple question seemed to frighten Haze for some reason. He answered in a whisper, barely making a sound:

“Not so loud, Sergeant, if you want to live! She is Lady Victoria, a noble of the Pharaoh and his only partner. She is very strong in illusions and psionic magic, stronger even than me. She is jealous and brooks no competition. At her insistence, the Pharaoh executed all his other courtesans and lovers. Now Lady Victoria is our leader’s spouse, and…” Haze paused for a moment, then continued, “in practice, she is the true ruler of the New Pharaohs!”

Chapter 20 [Sergeant]

Territory of the Strongest Guild

FROM HAZE, I learned that Atlas had been taken to the other giga-komodos in the common stables, and that a watch had been placed on the river raft. Nobody was planning to arrest my companions, but any attempt to escape the lands of the New Pharaohs would no doubt be prevented. The strongest human guild had the necessary means and capabilities to ensure it. And the Psionic warned me that the Pharaoh and Lady Victoria weren’t known for their patience. This meant that although there was no specific deadline for catching the minotaur, we had to hurry — any delay would be taken extremely negatively and could have dire consequences for me and all my companions. Lady Victoria was used to all her whims being catered to immediately.

Well, if that was the case… I didn’t know if it was just sheer arrogance, but I asked the dangerous Psionic to give me a map so that I could at least get an idea of where to go after the mythical minotaur. Haze didn’t give me a map, but he did let me examine the one he had. I couldn’t hold back my cry of excitement. It was incredible! Clearly drawn by an experienced topographer, in color and in great detail, with the scale indicated, overlaid with a mile grid, lines indicating the heights of all the peaks and valleys, and the distances along the roads between known settlements. Even the depths of lakes and the great river were shown in many spots, even the fairways where ships could pass!

Incidentally… the great river, for some reason called the Northern Amazon, was shown on the map with great accuracy along with all its tributaries, its current and old blocked-up streams, its islands and its fords. And there were no waterfalls downstream all the way to the energy barrier itself! That meant that we could definitely use the raft to get out of the sandbox!

Judging by the map, it was around twenty-five miles from the Capital to the southern ruins where the minotaur was seen, and the path led mostly through tropical woods and swamps. Also, Hundred Skull City was marked with the same symbol as the southern ruins, along with three other areas west of the mountain range. But the ruins of the ancient fortress in the hills east of the waterfalls wasn’t shown on the map, and nor were the ruins in the marshes where I tamed the cruel arachnoscorp. Although its western part was thoroughly filled in and highly detailed, Haze’s map was covered with white emptinesses showing unexplored areas in the east.

I found the rough location of the ancient ruins I knew of, the borders of the Faraway Forest, the waterfall behind the river meadow and the range of hills along which I took the group of settlers to the barrier. Haze used a lead pencil to barely perceptibly sketch in the areas I pointed out, then, to my surprise, gave me a friendly smile.

“You really catch on quick, Sergeant! I hope you can handle your task from our guild leader. Then maybe we can talk about you staying for the long haul. The New Pharaohs will need all kinds of tamed creatures for the coming war — mounts, predators to fight against gladiators in the arena and entertain the rabble. There’s always work to be found for a talented Beast Catcher. The New Pharaohs pay well for captured monsters, let alone tamed ones, especially when the beasts are rare. And the more dangerous, the better. Like that high-level Chimeric Cougar, for example.”

“Where is that cougar, by the way?” I asked, only to be told that the guild Beast Catcher by the name of Bald Skull was working with her now. If the dangerous beast could be tamed, then it would guard the slave pens or maybe become a pet of one of the nobles. If not, the man-eater would probably be killed — it was too dangerous to leave alive.

“Here’s your giga-komodo mount,” Haze pointed at a marker on the map around two miles from our position. “You can pick it up. Tell them I gave you permission. There’s a big market there where the second-caste craftsmen sell their goods. Weapons, armor, healing potions, clothes, supplies for the road. I suggest you buy everything you need before you head out. By the way, there are mercenaries at the market too. For a price, they’ll go along with and help you complete your mission. You can also buy slaves, although the most valuable ones are taken from Axe as soon as he catches them — some for the mines, some for the fields. Only the useless dregs end up at the market. They won’t be much help for hunting down a minotaur. Except maybe as a live lure to distract the beast…”

I kept an impartial expression on my face with great difficulty while my stomach twisted in disgust. Only a minute ago, I had forgotten that this noble of the Pharaoh was such a bad man, even started to feel like I could get along with him. But his disregard for living people, as if they were just useless trash… No, I knew I couldn’t get along with Haze. Or with his masters.

* * *

After a short meeting with my sister, we decided not to go to the market first, although we did need to buy supplies. First we visited the local Beast Catcher, to pick up Atlas and maybe find out some new beast-taming methods.

We hadn’t even walked half a mile before my sister suddenly yelped and crouched down, grimacing in pain and rubbing her right ankle.

“I missed a Luck check. Didn’t see that mole hill and accidentally twisted my ankle,” Julie complained tearfully.

Snowflake ran in alarmed circles around her crying mistress, unable to see the danger or understand the problem. I crouched down next to my sister, helped her bandage the swollen ankle joint. I picked up her trainer, already long past the point where sewing could have saved the sole, put it on her hurt foot and tied the laces. But the girl couldn’t go any further.

“Bro, do you think you could find a stick for me to lean on while I walk?”

I did even better — I lifted her onto my shoulders. The little Veterinarian can’t have weighed more than eighty pounds even with all her bags. With the girl sat on my shoulders, I started walking again.

Physique increased to 22.

Choose the learnable skill Tireless for your character?

The game message sprang up when my Stamina Points had fallen nearly to zero. Not bad. This was the second time I’d increased that stat. And as for that Tireless skill… I checked the game manual. It increased my Stamina Point total and regeneration speed. That sounded cool, of course, but I still didn’t want to rush the choice of my final skill. The next time I’d be able to add to my skillset would be at distant level fifty, and that would take a long time leveling and surviving in this complex world. What if I suddenly had a desperate need for something else? Best to make do with what I already had.

STOP! DANGER OF DEATH!

My sister and I saw the sign after about half a mile by a fork in the road. The right-hand path was well trodden and led to the settlement Markettown, judging by the sign. The left-hand path, barely visible in the grass, was marked by this warning sign. In spite of the warning, we turned onto the left path.

WILD PREDATORS! DANGER OF DEATH! PATH CLOSED!

This next warning sign met us after another three hundred yards. But we could already see a high fence and some structures beyond it, so I went closer. Without fear, I ignored yet another warning sign, opened the gate in the fence and… suddenly stopped. I had reason.

An astounding view opened up to me and my sister. A huge pack of raptorhounds ran around a trampled area surrounded on all sides with a high fence. They were chasing a large bird like an overgrown ostrich. Thirty-seven raptorhounds, judging by the number above their heads. There were green ones, black ones, furry-legged ones, others covered in bright multicolored feathers. The wounded fleet-footed ostrich was still somehow dodging the pack pursuing it, although I could clearly see it wouldn’t survive long. The victim’s seconds were numbered. The fear-maddened bird veered desperately, dodging teeth snapping at its feathers, then… ran straight at me!

Damn! I should have stepped back behind the gate and closed it, but I hesitated. And it wasn’t easy to move quick with someone sitting on your shoulders. The huge bird burst through the opening to freedom, throwing the gate wide open and nearly knocking me down, then zoomed off into the distance like a roadrunner. Worse, the entire overexcited hunting pack, all thirty-seven bloodthirsty lizards, were headed straight for me and Julie!

It was too late to close the door. I grabbed my axe, planning to fight for all I was worth, and… without even knowing why, I roared at the top of my lungs, wanting to scare off the bloodthirsty lizards bearing down on me. And it worked shockingly well! The pack suddenly stopped.

Beast Master skill increased to level ten!

Choose the learnable skill Intimidation for your character?

The first lizard froze just a couple of yards from me, its wide yellow eyes scrutinizing this unfamiliar human. It wagged its tail just like a dog. It was a scary moment — I was afraid to make any sudden movements and dispel whatever strange stun my voice had inflicted.

“Throw them meat, brother! You have some in your backpack!” the girl sat on my shoulders suggested.

It made sense, but I didn’t have time to do anything. A sudden sharp whistle made the entire pack instantly turn around and gallop away as if something terrifying was chasing them. As one teeming, biting mass, the raptorhounds flooded to a small half-open cage on the opposite side of the square. They crowded around the opening and fought, each raptorhound trying to squeeze its way through the door before the next. Now half had made it in, now two thirds. By the time there were only a few left outside, a loud shot rang out! One of the lizards fell down dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The others disappeared into the safety of the cage in the same instant. The door shut behind the last survivor.

With rifle in hand, into the area walked… I don’t even know if he could be called a man. He was a giant at least eight feet tall, and very broad across the shoulders. In hide shorts, barefoot and bare-chested, his tanned body gleaming with sweat, huge muscles clearly visible under the skin. He had a dark untidy beard like a highwayman and a clean-shaven head.

Bald Skull. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 51 Beast Catcher.

“Fed up of living?” the giant shouted to me and Julie from afar. “Or did you forget how to read? Doesn’t seem to matter how many warning signs I put up, there are always idiots ready to be eaten!”

“Hey there, colleague!” I answered good-naturedly, ignoring his abuse.

Bald Skull stopped grumbling and finally read the character information of the strangers invading his territory.

“Oh, Sergeant!” the giant smiled, his anger immediately fading. “I’ve been wanting to meet you. They brought your giga-komodo bull to me today. I’m impressed, to say the least! What an animal! As soon as I let him into the pen with the other giga-komodos, Atlas challenged all the other males to fight at once and beat them all up until they rolled up into balls. Then he played soccer with ‘em a while, kicked ‘em from wall to wall. Once he was done playing and showing ‘em who’s boss, he mounted all the females in turn and now he’s resting in the shade, a day’s work done. Good thinking, by the way,” he nodded at Julie on my shoulders. “Your experience as a Beast Catcher is clear.”

What did he mean? I had no idea, but Bald Skull soon explained.

“The raptorhounds have a very simple hierarchy — whoever is tallest is strongest. They eat anything smaller than them right away, but big and tall prey they leave be. In nature, they serve larger reptiles, helping them round up prey and taking the leftovers as a reward. So you did right by making yourself look tall and strong. All the same, you took a big risk. These are wild beasts here in the pen, they’re not used to people yet. Your trick might not have stopped ‘em.”

I stayed silent, not explaining to Bald Skull that I’d put my sister on my shoulders for an entirely different reason, and not at all to intimidate the raptorhounds. In the meantime, the giant closed the outer gate and slowly walked toward the corpse of the lizard he’d killed. He easily picked up the shot raptorhound in one hand by its thin neck, examined the body and threw it over the fence, from behind which immediately came the sickening sounds of thirty luckier creatures fighting over the meat of their fallen relative.

“I used my mutations specially to increase my body size and appear more imposing to monsters, but it doesn’t always help,” Bald Skull continued. “I have to keep ‘em in constant fear and punish ‘em hard for the slightest disobedience. I drill ‘em here, train ‘em for obedience. As soon as they start obeying commands, I tame ‘em and sell ‘em. The demand for raptorhounds is high. They’re like the dogs of this world — they track, chase down game for their masters, guard homes. They can even pull carts. So, you’re here for that Atlas of yours?”

I told him yes, that we’d come for the giga-komodo mount, and that Haze had given permission to pick him up.

“Gimme a sec, I’ll bring out your big boy. His offspring are going to be awesome! Was it a long ride, if you don’t mind sayin’?”

“Around sixteen hours,” I answered, and the huge man nodded in satisfaction.

“Not as long as I thought. I expected two days at least. I try not to get involved with high-level giga-komodos myself — they’re a real hassle. You can tame five small ones in the same time, and they’re all the same when hitched to a cart, practically.”

“Do you happen to have that Chimeric Cougar?” I asked, tossing out a line as I recalled Haze’s words. I got a bite.

“Of course, where else would she be? Stubborn man-eater, don’t wanna be tamed at all. Wanna see ‘er?”

I agreed, lowered my sister to the ground and followed our host into a hut standing off to one side. My old acquaintance stood there, chains leading from all four of her legs and her neck to some rings set in a concrete slab. She was just as wild and untamed as when we found her at the snowy pass. When I appeared, she roared and snapped, struggled against her chains in an effort to reach me with tooth and claw. The sight of me clearly brought back unpleasant memories to the fearsome man-eater.

“She doesn’t eat nothin’. Beating her and shocking her don’t help. She just don’t wanna give up,” Bald Skull said, pointing at the whip and circuit breaker by the wall. “If she doesn’t calm down by nightfall, I’ll have to hand ‘er over to the arena for the Pharaoh’s gladiators to fight ‘er. Seems a shame. She’s a beast of rare strength and beauty.”

I yearned to find out how the Beast Catcher had electricity in his house, but I decided to raise another more important matter first:

“The cougar didn’t eat anything from me either. But don’t hurry to hand her over for slaughter just yet,” I asked the giant man. “I have an idea. I have her kitten. Just the sight of it turns the mother meek and obedient. I managed to tame the kitten just by being nice to it, by the way, no need for beating or shocking. I think we can tame the mother the same way, if we can get her to calm down first. Let me come back tonight, with the kitten. Maybe we’ll be able to tame her. Good chance to talk, too, share some tricks of the trade.”

Bald Skull glanced at the space above my head and grimaced sourly, apparently less than impressed by my humble level twenty-three. He probably thought I had nothing new to tell him. Plus, I expected the Beast Catcher had some reward promised for handing the beast over to the arena. I hurried to add:

“Creeping crocodiles, cruel arachnoscorps, a fiery manticore, megasauruses, rock lizards… I’ve tamed them all in the eastern lands.”

“We don’t get those here,” the huge Beast Catcher said doubtfully, shaking his head. “Interesting list though. Alright, pal. I’ll keep hold of this chimeric beast for a while, won’t hand it over to the arena just yet. But I want you here tonight with some interestin’ stories. We don’t hear anything about the lives of free settlers here. We can discuss professional matters too. Hey, what’s that racket?”

I could hear the strange sounds too, coming from the direction of the pen of wild raptorhounds. The raptors whined and shrieked, but not in fear. It sounded strange, as if they were complaining to someone. Hey, where was my sister? I couldn’t see her where I’d left her. Massive Bald Skull noticed the same. We exchanged glances and hurried to investigate the noise.

Julie sat in the very center of the wild pack as if it was the most natural thing in the world. With her first-aid kit open, the little Veterinarian was examining the reptiles one after another. She treated bites, stroked and calmed down some of the raptors, fed meat and fish to others from her bag. And the deadly predatory beasts just stood there and waited for their share of bandages and affection! One got impatient and stuck its head into the bag of food uninvited. The girl rapped her knuckles on its forehead and… the whole pack started hissing, chasing away their overeager brother, keeping him away from the little girl with the white lizard on her shoulder.

“This girl bewitched somehow..?” Bald Skull asked, not believing his eyes.

“Julie is a Veterinarian. She’s used to working with carnivores,” I explained, although even I watched the scene wide-eyed. “Somehow, the animals can feel that she wishes them no harm and they let her heal them, even when the treatment is painful. Once I saw her climb halfway into a creeping crocodile’s mouth to pull out a bone stuck deep in its throat. A twenty-foot-long man-eating monster, and it just lay there with its mouth open until she was done.”

“Holy cow…” the giant Beast Catcher said, turning away, unable to keep watching. “They’d eat me right up. Hey, Sergeant, can you leave your sister here until tonight? I have a lot of wounded and exhausted animals that could use some healin’. As payment, the girl can take any raptorhound she wants — whether already tamed or one of these wild ones.”

Julie, who could hear our conversation perfectly, answered for both of us without stopping her work:

“I choose that female there, with the bright feathers on her head. She’s really weak and she has a dangerous festering wound on her chest and a broken lower jaw. She’ll need a lot of healing. I’ll nurse her back to health and ride her! And I’ll call her Princess!”

Chapter 21 [Kitten]

The Cat That Walks By Himself

THEY THOUGHT they’d caught me. Hah! It took me three seconds to get out of that cage — I just turned into a snake and slithered between the bars. But the two guards in the room with me were a problem. They could have been peacefully dozing at this late hour, or going about their business, but instead, they were taking Haze’s order seriously and carefully guarding a tiny cat! What was I, a dangerous dragon, that my cage had to be guarded with such vigilance!?

Time passed and matters didn’t change. I could have used magic, of course. For example, with an Infect curse on the guards — that spell had always caused a sudden stomach upset, which would have sent both of them off to the lavatory in a flash. But I was stronger now, and so were my spells. I didn’t want to accidentally kill the guards. What if, instead of diarrhea, I gave them a heart attack or the bubonic plague? The problem wasn’t that I’d feel sorry for them and suffer pangs of conscience. This was still a game world. Both the guards would revive, and more experienced than before. But without a key, how would I open that metal door blocking my path to freedom? I couldn’t use items, so even if I took the key from the guard’s belt, I wouldn’t be able to open the door with it. Nor would I be able to break down the solid metal panels of the only door into this small room, which served as a storeroom for metal ingots and spools of wire.

No, I needed a different approach here.

“Meow!” I whined.

Both guards perked up, approached the cage.

“What’s with him?” the freckled ginger young man asked, the assault rifle over his shoulder rattling against his chainmail vest.

“No clue. Maybe he’s hungry?” answered the second man, older and bearded, around thirty, in a bulletproof vest with ‘SPECOPS’ emblazoned on the back.

“Could be. I don’t think we’ll find any Whiskas around here. Anyway, they told us not to open the cage.”

“You dumbass,” the older bearded one laughed. “Ordinary cats don’t get spoiled with that premium shit from the pet store. They eat what they’re given. Meat, fish, even bread.”

“I wouldn’t mind some bread,” the ginger boy sighed heavily. “I’ve been having sweet dreams of white bread rolls, still hot, fresh, with a crispy crust. Ahh… If only we could grow wheat here in the new world. If I eat any more of those mushrooms they give us, I’ll turn into one.”

The guards fell silent. Then the younger asked the older — why did he think they were guarding a little kitten at all?

“Hell knows…” the former special operative shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe the critter is a gift from Haze to one of the nobles?”

“If it’s a gift, then it must be for Lady Victoria,” the young man brightened up, nodding. “They say she really likes cats. Her castle walls are covered in cat paintings, and she has a park full of statues of ‘em. She has a cat in the palace too, from the old world.”

“I heard she has two or even three cats.”

“Well, I bet they want to breed them then. That must be what this guy is for. It’d be so cool if they bred cats here in the new world! We’d have normal house pets instead of those awful lizards. Those things seem to want to eat their owners half the time!”

“I’ve never been fond of cats,” the bearded man grimaced. “They’re no use. They just eat and shit. Better if they brought back dogs.”

I listened to their conversation with great interest, even stopped meowing. I had no idea who this Lady Victoria was. But was it true? Had other pets been brought from the old world, just like me? It sounded like there were other cats! Lady cats, to boot! What if… my breath caught at the thought… what if those cats, too, were more than they appeared at first glance? If there were other cute little fluffy creatures with a human mind trapped inside… It would be incredible to talk to others like me! I could find out tips and secrets from them, hear of the skills, mutations and spells they’d used to survive. Life would be so much easier!

The guards had lost interest in me, moved away from the cage. I started meowing pathetically again. I tried to make the noise as piercing and annoying as I could.

“What’s that ginger dumbass howling about now..?” the mustachioed special operative frowned. He rapped his knuckles on the cage, which only made me scream louder. “Don’t laugh, but… I got a bad feeling about this job. Haze wouldn’t have put a guard on just any old cat. And you see the skull next to his name? This little demon has killed people. Probably put ‘em at ease with his meowing, then tore out their throats!”

“Oh, come on, it’s just a little cat! Maybe he’s just thirsty. Should I fetch some water?”

“We’re not allowed to open the cage!” the more experienced one reminded him, to which the ginger one answered that he’d pour the water in from above, between the bars.

Idiots! Who expects a cat to drink like that?! All the same, I pricked up my ears. This was my chance! Ooh, they’d soon discover there was good reason for their fear. As soon as the younger one opened the outer door with his key, I acted! Curse Magic! Paralyze on the ginger one! Paralyze on old beardy! And another on each, just to make sure!

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-six!

It worked! Both the big lugs fell to the floor. It was perfect — one of them fell right in the doorway, keeping the door open. All the same, I had to hurry. Transform into snake! Out of the cage and the room, fast, while the door was open! My nimble serpentine form slithered over the prone body and slipped into a gloomy corridor, barely lit with rare torches on the walls.

Damn, where was I? It was a long corridor that seemed to stretch out endlessly in both directions. Locked doors, a great many doors. Was I in some kind of dungeon? Where was the exit? I heard faraway voices in one direction — humans. I didn’t want to run into them at all. I could, of course, try to slip past the guards in stealth, or even knock them out with magic, but my mana wasn’t infinite, and now wasn’t the time for unnecessary risk. Anyway, I’d be in trouble if I ran into another locked door that I couldn’t get through.

More than that, I saw something that greatly encouraged me — a ventilation grill in the wall! Hurry, inside before my snake transformation ends!

Made it! I was in a dark air vent, with a powerful stream of air flowing by from somewhere above. From below, I heard an even hum — that must have been the blades of a powerful fan, sucking down air from the surface into the underground level. The fact that there was a fan meant there was electricity. But then why was there no electric lighting in the dungeon, just primitive torches? I had a great many questions, but the answers would have to wait. Right now I had a more important task — getting to freedom!

Transformation Magic! Transform into beetle! Now to crawl up! Crawl, and not fly, because my beetle form was rather large, and couldn’t fly in the tight vertical shaft of the air vent, particularly against the air flow. Sure, I was moving slowly, but all the same I felt hopeful — my sensitive insect antennae caught the scents of grass, flowers and some sort of refuse on the air coming down. There was a way out up there! Freedom!

Perception increased to 19.

Funny. This was the second time this stat had leveled up precisely when I was using sensory organs that I didn’t often use. I’d have to think about that, when there was time. It turned out they had me locked up pretty deep! Working its little legs, my beetle passed at least two underground levels, judging by the ventilation grills in the wall. I was just starting to see light high above. It wasn’t bright — it looked like it was still early morning up there, but that was even better; it would be easier to hide.

But what was that ahead? A rat?! Yes, a rat! The furry face sticking out of a hole in the wall sniffed, twitched its whiskers, listening to the rustle of my legs. Black predatory eyes watched as the hopeless prey crawled right into its clutches. I saw two sharp and disproportionately long teeth in the rodent’s mouth. A Saber-toothed Rat! Just like the one I’d fought in the bean batch to save the harvest left unguarded by the big dumb humans. Back then, the Saber-toothed Rat was a serious opponent for me, even deadly dangerous. But times had changed!

Elemental Magic! Combined Fire and Wind! The Wind component was essential, otherwise the air flow coming from above would blow my own spell back at me and burn me up. I might have even overdone it with the wind — a stream of hot flame shot out as if from a flamethrower toward the whiskery face sticking out of the hole. Take that, rat! With a whine of fear and pain, the well-scorched rat disappeared into its hole. I smelled the sharp scent of burnt fur.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty-two!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-seven!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level fifteen!

One rat down, three skills leveled up! The triple bonus to leveling speed was clearly working. That wouldn’t have helped if I’d fallen down the vent, which nearly happened — my bug transformation time was nearly over, and I just barely noticed in time to refresh the skill.

Shapeshifter skill increased to level twenty-one!

I dragged my bug body past the final floor and out onto the surface through a pipe, half-covered in a metal hood to keep the rain out. I looked out. It seemed I was in the inner courtyard of some big castle, or even a full-fledged fortress. There were sentries up on the walls, plus an observer sitting up a watchtower with night-vision goggles and binoculars. Where was I?

It must have been the Eastern Fortress. From what I remembered, that seemed to be the place to which Haze had ordered his guards to take the helpless cat. It was a shame they’d put me in a closed crate — I saw nothing on the way here, which meant I didn’t have the slightest idea which part of the sandbox I was in now. Where was Hundred Skull City in relation to this place? Where was the great river, the raft, Sergeant’s party? And where was my master now, anyway?

It didn’t matter. All would be clear with time. And although the watchers in the towers and the sentries on the walls were mostly looking outward, not into the inner courtyard, I still had to be careful. Transform back into cat! Stealth! Translucent mode! And Veil of Darkness, just in case, to blur the outline of my body and make me look like smoke or fog to any onlookers. Eastern Fortress, meet the perfect spy! I’ll find out all your secrets, and you don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of catching me again!

* * *

I enjoyed my invisibility and watched, listened, sniffed, crept into everywhere I could, and especially places I shouldn’t. I climbed onto the roofs of the watchtowers and crawled back down to the underground floors. I walked within a step of awake and aware people, and they couldn’t see me!

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-eight!

Stealth skill increased to level twenty-nine!

Your character is now level thirty!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-nine).

Level thirty! Finally! I’d been waiting for this for a long time. Now I could choose another type of magic for Whiskers. But then I hit a most frustrating barrier.

ATTENTION! You cannot choose the Illusion Magic skill! Your character has reached its limit of possible magic types!

I ran into the same problem when I tried to take Healing Magic. Sadly, it seemed a Shadow Hexxer could take only three types of magic at once. Shame, but that was that. I’d have to get by with my Curse Magic, Transformation Magic and Elemental Magic. If I’d known about that limitation, I would have chosen the last of my thirteen skills long ago, and I would have had time to level it up since then.

What to do with my free points? I didn’t touch the mutation points — I was saving them for Modified Vocal Chords. As for the six free skill points, I put them into the Translator skill — I couldn’t wait start talking to humans and be understood.

After that, I continued exploring the place I’d been brought to in a box. Before the sun had risen above the mountains, I’d found answers to the most important questions. Yes, this definitely was the Eastern Fortress, the outermost human stronghold, used as a staging ground to patrol the eastern pass and the sherkh border, and as a shelter for retreat when tensions got high. The underground storerooms were full of provisions and a truly ungodly amount of all kinds of weaponry — from swords and crossbows to sniper rifles and even light artillery. Enough to equip an entire army. But it turned out I was wrong about the electricity — the blades of the huge ventilators that brought fresh air down to the underground floors were turned by tamed giga-komodos walking endlessly in circles.

The size of the fortress stunned me. Thousands of soldiers could hide here and hold out through a siege. But at the same time, the nighttime garrison in the fortress was tiny by contrast — forty people at the most. Unsurprisingly, this was due to the night beasts. Forty people divided over a large enough area caused only weak Feelers and a few Alphas to appear, which couldn’t get over the moat and through the walls into the fortress, and therefore represented no danger. The sentries patrolling the walls ignored the beasts as they scurried on the other side of the moat.

But with the dawn, when the night beasts disappeared, the situation changed dramatically. The drawbridge was lowered, the gates opened, and humans poured into the fortress from all sides. Groups of scouts returned from their night patrols, fully equipped squadrons and solo players came from barracks somewhere nearby. At the morning formation, I saw at least four hundred people assembled in the square. Most were men, although there were plenty of women in army uniform too. They were all at least level forty, and some had skulls before their names. But even in this crowd of fearsome warriors, the squad commanders stood out — true stars with orange nicknames, some even red, in full equipment and with the very best weaponry, every single one above level fifty. Some of the commanders had used their Mutation Points to make their bodies larger than normal humans, or to add predatory claws or eyes with vertical pupils. There was a human with snow-white wings at his back, the head of a group of scouts.

I must have been observing the elite of the Pharaoh’s army, the hammerhead capable of protecting the eastern frontier and keeping the sherkhs from doing anything stupid. Or, on the contrary, to go out beyond the border and bring the fight to the foe. And this fortress wasn’t the only one — as I overheard the human conversations, certain words flashed up again and again: Swamp Citadel, Northern Fortress and Mountain Fort were the names of the other fortifications on the border with the sherkhs. The soldiers called the sherkhs a ‘competing race’ and even ‘enemies,’ and few doubted that the war against their neighbors would begin any day now. The Pharaoh had gathered thousands of troops at the border, and the smallest spark could ignite a bloody war.

The man in command here was the commandant of the Eastern Fortress, a grey-haired veteran called White Bear, an exuberant man over six and a half feet tall, with fists as big as melons and an extra pair of arms, which must have cost a great many Mutation Points.

☠ White Bear. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 69 Gladiator.

With his size, ferocity and four arms, White Bear reminded me of Prince Goro from Mortal Kombat. But unlike the Prince, who was never known for his wit, the commandant was smart, too. It was White Bear who was responsible for border defense, who took reports from the commanders and distributed tasks to the squads. Incidentally, it was the voice of the commandant of the Eastern Fortress that I heard when Sergeant activated his radio at the snowy pass and listened in on the chatter between the New Pharaoh commanders.

The commandant gave orders, assigned missions and personally punished transgressors. Right before my eyes, White Bear used his bare hands to tear apart a soldier that had done something wrong. And it shocked nobody; apparently, the soldiers were used to this from their commander. But what amazed me most was that the puddle of blood flowed into the commandant’s body, and a bright red symbol in the form of bloody teeth lit up above White Bear’s head. Must be a symbol of a temporary buff or fury. At least the creepy four-armed monster didn’t start eating the human remains.

It seemed White Bear was God and king here. But that all changed as soon as the fortress gate swung open and a carriage entered, hitched to a pair of agile lizards. Not a trace of the commandant’s importance and grandeur remained. White Bear ran like a late messenger boy to meet the new arrivals, and personally opened the door to the carriage, dropping down to one knee before the important guest. A short raven-haired girl unhurriedly climbed down from the carriage and ordered the commandant to stand with a careless wave of her hand.

☠ Victoria Bastet. Human. Female. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 78 Courtesan.

Courtesan? What a strange game class. And why so much respect for her? Not only White Bear, but also the squad commanders, and especially the front-line troops, all fell to their knees and bowed low.

“Haze said you let the kitten go…” Victoria Bastet’s first words pricked up my ears. Was she asking about me? Was this the same cat-crazed Lady Victoria who my jailers were talking about? She didn’t seem like the kind-hearted housewife type, to sit and stroke a beloved meowing furry pet.

White Bear seemed to think the same. I didn’t know where this woman’s power lay, but the four-armed giant shook in terror after her words. Stuttering and stammering, the commandant hurried to answer:

“The kit-kitten is s-still here on the g-g-grounds. The only w-way out of the f-fortress is over the bridge, and we h-have guards posted there. W-with thermal goggles and m-magic arcana scrolls. It won’t slip by, even invisible.”

Is that so..? Seems I relaxed too soon. The fact that people weren’t scouring the entire massive fortress for me didn’t mean that my escape had gone unnoticed. The big apes were just lulling me into a false sense of security, when in actual fact they’d placed guards in the most obvious spot the cat would have to go through to leave. I have to admit, I’d already looked round the Eastern Fortress and I really was thinking about leaving to go look for my missing friends. Although I would probably have turned into a bug and flown rather than walking through the hospitably wide open gates. All the same, it was alarming to hear that I might be caught again. I suspected it would be far harder to escape a second time.

“Where are those idiots who were guarding the cat?” the Courtesan asked in strict tones. White Bear relaxed right away — the storm had missed him this time, the strange visitor’s anger had not fallen on him.

“They are in the infirmary, my lady. Both of them. It’s taking them time to come round since the beast cursed them. At first we thought it was a venomous bite, but no. The healer says it’s a paralysis spell, and of very high level. After five hours, they have only just begun to move and speak. It is very similar to what happened yesterday on the river bank. Identical symptoms. And both guards claim that they didn’t open the kitten’s cage. The lock on it is whole, I checked, and all the bars too.”

“Paralysis? Polymorphism? And he understands human speech. How fun…” Lady Victoria’s smile touched only the very corners of her mouth.

I didn’t know what had put her in such a good mood. The dangerous visitor seemed about to say something else, but a babe’s cry from the carriage interrupted the young woman mid-word.

“I must go, Commandant. When you catch the cat, immediately send it to me at the palace, with all the necessary precautions! Driver, onward!”

The woman, leaning on White Bear’s offered arm, climbed inside the carriage and closed the door behind her. The young man at the reins cracked his whip, urging on the raptor team. It was then that I decided. I had nothing more to do in the Eastern Fortress, but as for who Lady Victoria was, and why she wanted to catch this kitten so badly, I wanted to find out. Did she just love cats? Could be, but it seemed to me that something greater lay behind her interest in fluffy pets.

In two leaps, I caught up to the carriage as it clattered away, jumped onto the rear rack and hid between the large boxes woven from vines. I didn’t plan to reveal myself to the woman, but I definitely wanted to check out her palace, and her three lady cats in particular.

They didn’t even check the carriage as it left the fortress — the gate guards just bowed low, letting the mysterious Courtesan pass. Well, all the better. Soon we’d reach our destination, and I’d learn what secrets this dark-haired pet lover was hiding. Too late, the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’ came to mind. Here’s hoping curiosity would have mercy this time.

Chapter 22 [Sergeant]

Old Acquaintance

“WAIT, BRO,” Julie stopped me as I finished saddling Atlas. “Here, take this!” The girl stretched out a hand and offered me a bottle topped with a plastic lid. It was filled to the top with a murky whitish liquid. “This is for Hope and the Chimeric Cougar’s kitten.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“You milked the Chimeric Cougar?! That’s dangerous!”

“Nothing dangerous about it. She practically asked for it herself. I mean, she didn’t resist at all. Her milk wasn’t going anywhere, and she was all swollen and painful. I helped her and I knew she wouldn’t hurt me.”

My sister’s skills never ceased to amaze me. Even now, at level twenty-two, the little Veterinarian was fearless before fierce carnivores. What next? Would she walk among the night beasts and heal their wounds? Julie laughed at my surprised face, wished me luck and was about to set off back to the pen full of deadly raptorhounds — apparently, there was a full day’s work there for her, — but then suddenly stopped.

“Brother, if you end up at the market, buy me some new boots instead of these trainers. They’re falling apart. Size four and a half. But take Varya with you — she needs to find a replacement for her torn shirt, and she’ll pick me out some good shoes. I know you — you’ll buy me the kind of big army boots you could mix mud in. I’m a girl, you know, I need something stylish.”

I blushed. My sister read my mind. I really would have gotten her some waterproof rubber boots or something similar, considering the primeval and impassable places to which fate had thrown us.

Atlas obediently turned onto the path leading to Markettown and charged toward the fork in the road. I knew the path by the Capital to Hundred Skull City. The great river was only a stone’s throw from there. The giga-komodo was well rested, full of strength and galloping at the speed of a horse. One hour later, I stood on the bank, waving my hands to draw the attention of my companions, who I knew would be watching the riverside. So it was. Ten minutes later, the Dreadnought moored up nearby, camouflaged from its sides to the tip of its mast with bundles of canes and boughs of firs. My friends had even somehow managed to cover the Marsh Mistress in branches and canes, making the cruel arachnoscorp look like a huge haystack.

“How do you like our camouflage, Sergeant?” the Engineer asked, clearly proud of a job well done. The Mechanic also smiled in satisfaction as he climbed out onto the bank and secured the raft with ropes, waiting for my opinion of the Dreadnought’s new look. “Some soldiers passed by on the other bank this morning, but they didn’t see us!”

I didn’t bother disappointing my friends by letting them know that the New Pharaohs already knew all about the Dreadnought and its inhabitants. On the contrary, I praised them for their initiative. Then I brought them up to speed — the strongest human guild had promised not to touch us and agreed to guarantee free movement throughout its territory, but in exchange, they wanted us to catch a dangerous minotaur in the southern ruins. I told them all about what I’d seen in the Capital, Julie’s work at the reptile farm, the kitten’s escape from Haze, the reward that we all got to share for catching the Chimeric Cougar, the nearby market.

I was pleased to hear no complaints after I was done. So what if we had to catch a minotaur? After all the challenges we’d successfully completed, this one didn’t sound too hard. On the contrary, the whole group was inspired. They burned with the urge to set off as soon as they could.

“We got some reinforcements!” Varya Tolmachyova took me inside the structure on the raft and showed me two almost identical black reptiles, each a little over three feet long. The calves were overjoyed to see the girl and crowded round her right away. With mouths open and necks outstretched, the little megasauruses demanded food. Varya gave each reptile a couple of pounds of fish, and the scaly pair flopped down on the floor, digesting their food and lazily closing the white veils of their second eyelids. Was it just me, or did the calves grow a little after feeding? And they were already past level one…

Chimeric Megasaurus. Level 2 Male.

Chimeric Megasaurus. Level 3 Female.

“They hatched last night,” Diogenes said in annoyance as he toiled over a table covered in unfurled scrolls, his epic work to preserve the knowledge of human civilization. “All they want to do is eat. It really gets in the way of my work. As if a constantly crying baby and a screeching invisible kitten weren’t enough, now these dinosaurs keep pilfering my scrolls and eating them.”

Normally, the Philosopher was cheerful and full of energy, but now I noticed he looked tired, despondent. I got the impression he hadn’t slept at all last night.

“That’s right,” Varya confirmed my observation. “He hasn’t stopped writing his funny formulas since you all got back from Hundred Skull City. He didn’t want to break for lunch.”

That made sense. There was a reason for our acquaintance’s gloom, and I didn’t judge him in the least. How must it feel to lose all your lives but one in a world so full of danger? Finishing this work of his, so important to humankind — that was all that mattered to the Philosopher now. And anything that distracted him from it annoyed the hell out of him.

“Wait, weren’t there three eggs? Did one not hatch?” I asked, deciding to change the subject.

There was no answer. They just exchanged suspiciously guilty glances.

“Well? Tell him!” Diogenes snapped. Varya blushed and lowered her gaze to the floor.

“It’s… my fault. I thought Irosaurus Regina would take the calves and care for them. But she…” the girl sniffled, “she attacked and ate her calf! I barely managed to save the other two from her. Why would she do that, Sergeant? She’s their mother!”

I shrugged uncertainly. Back on Earth, I knew that reptiles would eat the eggs and young of other reptiles at the slightest opportunity. Maybe when we moved the eggs from the nest and took them somewhere else, the female megasaurus stopped seeing them as her own? Who knew… But I did know a way to keep the young ones safe from their now dangerous mother — tame them fast, so they’d be marked as allies for Irosaurus!

“Next time the dinos want to eat, let me feed them. In the meantime, you take care of Hope and the cougar’s kitten,” I said, handing the girl the bottle of milk.

Edward Samarsky stuck his head round the door of the structure. “You’re wanted, Sergeant.”

To say I was surprised is an understatement. Few in the New Pharaohs knew me. Who could be wanting to see me now? At first, I assumed it would be some runner from the Pharaoh or his Courtesan to tell me it was midday and ask why I still hadn’t set off for the minotaur. But our visitor waiting on the bank turned out to be far more interesting — it was the long-eared sherkh Huntress by the name of Anita Ur Vaye. The same one that brought us little Hope wrapped up in a blanket.

The sherkh girl had revealed herself in human territory? That could go badly… I shot a glance over the nearby hills covered in thick bushes. I couldn’t see any watchers from the Pharaoh, but I had no doubt that there were attentive eyes on the bank. My contact with a member of a ‘competing race’ would not go unnoticed. The leaders of the New Pharaohs would no doubt hear of it today. There’d be trouble. All the same, I walked toward the white-haired Huntress.

“Greetings, Sergeant! May your days be full of joy!” the light-haired girl bowed low as I approached, which was very strange. The sherkhs had never shown such deference to humans before. “I am sent by Avelia Un Ponar, new leader of Eastern Garrison. She asked me to return something that belongs to you.”

Anita stretched out a hand and offered me the Fiery Manticore Signet Ring. Wow… That meant the Swordmaiden had been declared the winner in her wager with her brother. And the almighty vallar was right in his prediction — Avelia Un Ponar had wasted no time in overthrowing her father and taking the place of the Eastern Garrison guild leader.

“Avelia Un Ponar asked me to relay her deepest apologies for the fact that she used the ring in a duel with the chief, and summoned the fiery keeper once. As compensation for the damaged artifact, the new chief asks you to accept me into your ‘League of Losers.’ I swear to serve you faithfully and truly, Sergeant!”

What kind of trick was this? I exchanged surprised glances with my companions as they watched the scene unfold. Even the Philosopher had torn himself from his notes to come and see the sherkh messenger. He asked me to find out if I could refuse this… compensation.

“I take that as a great slight, and mistrust in my capabilities,” the Huntress answered Diogenes. “As if my life and loyalty are insufficiently valuable in human eyes. But the oath is already given. There is no way back. And in any case, Avelia Un Ponar can give no other compensation now — this morning, the Eastern Garrison left our occupied lands in its entirety and went through the energy barrier into the world outside.”

* * *

After that news, the Philosopher’s mood was even worse. He put aside his work for a while, had a quick bite to eat, then sat down on the bank with a cup of hot tea in hand, deep in thought. Diogenes sat silently, just watching the waves on the river, the cup in his hand forgotten. I went to ask what was on our wise man’s mind.

He moved, freeing up space for me to sit beside him.

“Sergeant, this is the least advantageous turn of events. Yesterday, there was still some semblance of balance between the humans and sherkhs. Despite all their sword-waving and threats of fighting, in actual fact neither the humans nor the sherkhs were particularly desperate to start this war. Now everything has changed. Some of the sherkhs are gone, and the humans will soon consider themselves to be the stronger side. Now war between the two sentient races is inevitable, and even the immortal players of the Great Game cannot predict its outcome with certainty. I have no idea who will win either. But I do know perfectly well that this war will hit our group hard.”

I didn’t quite get it. What did we have to do with it all? We were a neutral party. In fact, we did all we could to distance ourselves from interracial conflicts. But Diogenes just shook his head at my objections.

“Sergeant, there’s no sitting on the sidelines here. The sherkh guilds remaining in the sandbox will no doubt soon declare Avelia Un Ponar a traitor, if they haven’t already. And they don’t have to look far to find the one who lured a daughter of their people off the true path. A human by the name of Sergeant. Who else?! You’re the only human Avelia spoke to. In the eyes of the sherkhs, that makes you an enemy. They’ll never forgive you for the departure of Eastern Garrison.”

I frowned, lowered my head. Damn! He was right. That’s just how it would go… But Diogenes wasn’t even done yet. The brewing war had still more to threaten our group with.

“To the Pharaoh’s people, you’re an outsider. You’re not from their clan, and you’re independent and defiant. To them, you’ll always be suspicious, one who consorts with enemies of humanity. After the first loss in the war, and there will be losses in a war of this scale, the Pharaoh will look for people to blame for painful defeats. And you, Sergeant, will make a fine scapegoat for the New Pharaohs. Imagine! You walk unhampered through human lands, clearly gathering intelligence. And you have a member of the ‘competing race’ with you, through whom you surely pass information. That’s enough to put a reward on your head. In the end, both the humans and sherkhs will pursue you, Beast Catcher, bearer of misfortune, and the rest of us too. They’ll kill us at every opportunity.” No matter how many lives you have, they’ll soon run out. One way or the other, they’ll kill us all. We have to leave, Sergeant. Preferably right now. Tomorrow may already be too late.”

I sat down, struck dumb by Diogenes’ words and the future he laid out. It was a bleak prediction, no doubt. On the whole, I agreed with the Philosopher. We needed to go beyond the forcefield and get far away from this brewing war. But how? Diogenes was only at level nineteen. My sister had reached level twenty-two. I was at twenty-three. Edward Samarsky was way down at seventeen. We needed at least two or three more days, if not more, for the whole group to reach level twenty-five.

And that was without considering little Hope, still a level-zero baby. When did children start leveling up in this world? I had no idea. And how could we leave without Whiskers? First we had to find my missing cat. I said as much to the Philosopher, and he sighed heavily.

“The kitten will turn up. He’s smart. Suspiciously smart, even. All our group members will level up soon. As for little Hope… She’s really our only problem. Everything else is solvable. Ask the long-eared girl how the sherkhs managed to take their children into the wider world,” Diogenes suggested, nodding toward the Huntress as she spoke casually to the veyer. “I doubt they abandoned their children. That means there must be a way.”

Diogenes looked at the cup of cold coffee still in his hand. He drank it down in one gulp, then stood, signaling the end of our conversation.

“I have to get back to work, Sergeant. I would go to the market with you, but I have no time. There’s too much to do. On the bright side, you and your children will thank me for the knowledge my scrolls bring you.”

I didn’t delay the man any further. I knew how important Diogenes’ work was. And I really had become interested in the question — how had the sherkhs gotten around the level limitation to get their children through the forcefield? I called Anita over, asked her to tell me more about what had happened last night in Eastern Garrison, and how the change of power unfolded in the guild. The young Huntress willingly told me.

According to her, Avelia and Arvedo went to see their father at the same time. The argument between brother and sister was bitter, overstepping all bounds of decorum and descending into a swearing match that turned physical more than once. Worst enemies don’t argue as hard as brother and sister. It was clear to all assembled that whichever sibling won, the loser would have no place in the guild.

It wasn’t easy to judge them. On the one hand, Avelia demonstrated a more valuable prize for completing the trials of Hundred Skull City. On the other, Arvedo accused his sister of cheating the challenges, violating the traditions of the sherkhs and displaying unworthy behavior. The guild leader, level 78 Shadow Master Al’tair Un Ponar, listened to his children, but refused to resolve their dispute. This angered the daughter, who considered herself the winner, having fulfilled all the conditions set by her father. The representative of the Grand Emperor of the Sherkhs adjudicated the dispute, declaring Avelia Un Ponar the winner.

As the guild leader promised, the Swordmaiden became general of the Eastern Garrison army. Five hundred combat-class players in Eastern Garrison swore to carry out their new commander’s orders unflinchingly, and for the sherkhs, such oaths were sacred and unbreakable. Immediately after her appointment, the newly-minted commander of the guild’s army challenged her father to a duel, accusing the chief of violating traditions, of being weak-willed, of favoritism toward his son.

It was decided that the battle should take place immediately, before the eyes of the whole guild. Guards were placed around the arena perimeter. The priests called the gods of the new world as witness and declared that none could dispute the duel’s outcome. The guild’s mages cast a wall of fire around the square, so that none could enter the arena or leave it. The representative of the sherkhs’ Grand Emperor declared that she would personally watch to ensure that the duel was fair, in full accordance with the rules. No poisoned weapons. No crossbows, although throwing knives were allowed. The duel participants were forbidden from using stealth. All other moves and magics were allowed. The battle would be to the death, and the loser would be forced to leave Eastern Garrison after resurrection.

The high priest signaled the start of the fight. The Shadow Master was twenty-five levels above the Swordmaiden, and he immediately rained a hail of strikes down on his daughter, pouring all his strongest skills into the assault. Al’tair Un Ponar managed to wound his daughter several times, but at the most critical moment, Avelia used her Sphere of Invulnerability artifact, making the Shadow Master’s most powerful strikes useless. Then she moved to attack. The battle was long, and both were hurt many times. Healing elixirs and potions to recover strength came into play, as did throwing knives, blinding dust and artifacts carefully saved by each opponent for a rainy day. Firestorm, Mist, Fan of Blades, Shield of Creators, Call of the Cruel Arachnoscorp… In response to her father summoning an arachnoscorp, Avelia summoned the fiery manticore. And her monster turned out to be far stronger and more mobile. It quickly tore apart the chief’s clumsy insect.

After that, the Shadow Master reeled and disappeared into stealth, although that was forbidden by the rules of the duel. He couldn’t leave the arena due to the ring of magical fire, but he could use his stealth to heal or attack his opponent from behind. But Avelia didn’t give her father the chance to recover and stab her in the back. The Fiery Manticore’s roar knocked the Shadow Master out of stealth, and then the battle ended in an undisputed victory by Avelia Un Ponar. In front of a huge gathering of sherkhs, the Grand Emperor’s representative declared Avelia Un Ponar the new leader of Eastern Garrison.

Immediately afterwards, the new guild leader gave a fiery speech in which she ordered her subjects to pack their things and prepare for a great migration. Avelia declared that the Eastern Garrison would not participate in a senseless war with the humans for a very limited territory, and instead would go out to conquer the huge world of lands available for settling, just as other sherkh guilds had done before them.

At first, Avelia Un Ponar’s decision caused a tense silence. It was the polar opposite of the politics of the previous guild leader, who obeyed the sherkhs’ Grand Emperor in all matters. But then there were lone cries of support, and they quickly grew into a mass celebration. The sherkh warriors and peaceful craftsmen alike were overjoyed — they would avoid war, and many of their lives would be saved. Even the Grand Emperor’s emissary, who at first tried to talk the young Swordmaiden out of it, admitted in the end that she supported the path that Avelia had chosen, and she would follow the young Swordmaiden to the ends of the Earth.

I listened to the Huntress’s long tale, replete with gesticulations and emotional commentary. Then I asked the question that interested me most of all:

“Wasn’t it hard for the mothers to abandon their children? After all, babies can’t go through the barrier. You saw that with little Hope!”

Anita’s answer gave me both hope and disappointment.

“What do you mean, Sergeant?! No sherkh woman would ever abandon her child! There is some way to get a child through the barrier. Unfortunately, to my deepest regret, I do not know the way. Avelia sent me to find a Beast Catcher by the name of Sergeant and return the ring before I saw what they did to get the children through.”

I wanted to ask the sherkh many more questions, but we had to put our conversation on hold. Our winged sentry suddenly raised the alarm, shouting and pointing into the distance. I looked at the distant hill for a long time. A strip of dust was descending from its peak. When the dust cloud got closer, I saw a carriage hitched to two reptiles, galloping through the undergrowth toward the riverbank at full speed.

Chapter 23 [Kitten]

Palace of the Cat Goddess

THE ROAD WENDED its way through the lush valley, then suddenly began to weave upward to the cliffs. It climbed the mountains in a serpentine spiral, the carriage clattering its way upward, somehow twisting itself around the tight turns on the narrow and uneven path. Then the wheels knocked across a bridge over a gorge, and we suddenly stopped. End of the line.

I didn’t wait for the servants or guards to come and greet the arriving lady. Still in stealth, I jumped down onto the ground and immediately ran off. Some thick bushes hid me from possible watchers. Where was I? It was a small, well cared-for garden, surrounded on all sides by a tall stone wall. Paths of white sand. A bright summerhouse cloaked in ivy. A dark-haired girl in a slave’s collar tending flowers. By the path was a white plaster statue of a young woman holding a cat. A little further along was another statue, this time a cat sitting proud as a lion. This must have been Lady Victoria’s palace, the one my prison guards spoke of. It smelled of cats, too — my nose immediately caught and identified fellow members of my species. Two — no, three cats regularly visited this inner courtyard and left plenty of scents here.

There was the first of them. A large and well-groomed Siamese was sat on a bench, cleaning herself.

Smoke. Cat. Female. Level 44 Birdhunter. Victoria Bastet’s pet.

Level forty-four. She’d been in this world a while. Suddenly, the cat stopped grooming herself and started sniffing the air in alarm. A gust of wind must have brought my scent to her. She sharply turned her head toward me, twitched her ears, narrowed her eyes at the empty sand path. Trying to step soundlessly, I quietly walked around and moved further away. I had no desire to get entangled with one of Lady Victoria’s pets.

Stealth skill increased to level thirty!

Once I’d gotten round the threatening feline resident, I continued my investigation of the garden. Suddenly, loud shouts and angry words tore at my sensitive ears — the Courtesan was upbraiding one of her servants for being irresponsible and lazy. The Gardener had somehow upset her, done something wrong or not finished his work on time. I couldn’t tell exactly. I crept toward the noise, peered out carefully from behind a bush. The plump middle-aged man was on his knees, trying to explain himself and begging for mercy. He was on his last life, he said. He just needed a little more time, he said.

The pleas did nothing to soften his strict mistress. Lady Victoria waved a hand and the crying servant suddenly fell silent, stood up and started walking toward the gates, his eyes glassy. The gate guard didn’t try to stop the servant as he left the palace. In fact, he hurried to move aside and let the guilty party pass. Moving like a mechanical doll, the Gardener walked onto the bridge and stepped off the side of it into empty air. A scream of despair drilled into my sensitive ears, then stopped sharply.

Horrible… I had no doubt about it — Lady Victoria had somehow taken over the servant’s mind and relinquished control only at the last second, when his fall and death were inevitable. Something told me that the dread Courtesan had timed it deliberately, to enjoy her dying servant’s death scream.

“Find me another Gardener,” the woman said to the gate guard, then moved her gaze to a girl sweeping the path.

“Come here!” Lady Victoria demanded, and the servant quickly ran over, dropping to her knees before her lady. “You said you know a man called Sergeant.”

In spite of her fear, the girl objected:

“My Lady, I never said that!”

“Yes, you did. Or perhaps you thought of him. It matters not,” the Courtesan frowned. “I heard that name for the first time from you. Tell me what you know of this person.”

Now I looked at the kneeling girl with far greater interest. She knew my big oaf of a master? How? This was certainly the first time I had ever seen her. Her name was Margarita, a level 15 Jill of All Trades. I thought I knew everyone Sergeant had met in the new world. I’d almost always been by his side. Could he have met this woman in that short span of time when Sergeant was in the game, but the system hadn’t let me in yet? So it turned out.

“My Lady, I saw Sergeant for fifteen minutes at the most. It was around a month ago, back on the night train that brings newcomers to this world. He was a tall and strong young man in spotted clothes, green, gray and black. Confident, good-looking. He was the only one who didn’t panic, who started helping others. Sergeant gave me his t-shirt so I could cover up. Then, when we arrived, he wanted me to go with him to Hundred Skull City. I refused. I was scared to just go off into the unknown with a stranger. That was all the contact we had. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Well, your old acquaintance has been found. Not only did he survive in this dangerous world, but he has formed a ragtag group of free players like him. Now he is a level 23 Beast Catcher, and a good one, by all reports. Do you regret not going with him?”

The slave said nothing. Her mistress laughed.

“You don’t have to answer. I see it in your eyes. But right now, I am more interested in Sergeant’s pet. What can you say about the ginger kitten?”

Margarita looked at her strict mistress fearfully.

“There was no kitten with him in the train car. I would have noticed.”

“Is that so…” For some reason, this information really caught the Courtesan’s interest, even lifted her spirits. “I see that you are not lying. This grows more and more interesting… in that case, I will give you to the Beast Catcher if he can complete my task. The Sergeant has no woman, I felt that right away. I’m sure he won’t refuse such a gift. But remember, this is only a game of sorts. You will still belong to me. Your task will be to find out all you can about the kitten — his abilities, where he came from. And let me know when he returns to his master. If you complete this task, then I will give you freedom. You will be able to go where you choose. Now prepare a bath for me. I am tired from my journey.”

There the conversation ended. The serving girl quickly retreated into the two-story manor. Lady Victoria returned to the carriage, where her baby was crying again. After a moment’s hesitation, I ran into the building — I needed to figure out who this dreaded Courtesan was, what she was up to. I hoped to find the answers to these questions in the manor.

* * *

Wow! It really was a palace. A huge hall, marble staircases, paintings and endless statues of cats. I saw two more living cats, also well-groomed and glossy, on the first floor, sleeping on soft cushions. Level 33 Moon and level 38 Furball. I didn’t want to run into them. I gave them as wide a berth as possible and continued to explore the manor. I found a big bathroom and lavatory on the first floor, a few servants’ rooms and a kitchen where an Asian man was cooking something aromatic that made my mouth water. My empty stomach growled. It was high time I had something to eat. I hurried out of the kitchen.

There wasn’t much to do here on the first floor, so I hurried up to the second. A bedroom with a huge four-poster bed with drapes. A child’s room with a rocking cradle for a baby. A drawing room. A room full of closets of clothes, with a giant mirror covering an entire wall. I didn’t show up in the mirror. A dining hall where that serving girl was setting the table for one. And a library.

It was the library with its bookshelves that interested me most of all, and I headed there. The shelves were stacked with hundreds of scrolls and ancient worn leather tomes in an unfamiliar language. I’d already seen similar books in the old fortress, but these ones here were well preserved. Shame I couldn’t read the titles on the books’ spines to figure out where the interests of the lady of the manor lay. Although… I jumped up onto a shelf and used my claws to pull out one of the tomes shining with a magic aura, dropped it onto the floor.

The thud of its fall sounded far too loud. I froze, expecting someone to come investigate. Nobody did. I opened the book. Some complex geometric drawings, diagrams, unfamiliar runes glowing with dim light… Nothing I understood. Either this was some textbook on rune magic or just an atlas of the constellations in the night sky. I turned through a few pages, but the rest of it was just as impenetrable.

Then I suddenly realized: I’d dropped out of stealth for some reason — I could see my paws with the dark smoke of Veil of Darkness curling around my claws. What happened? Was it because I touched the book?

“I knew you’d come straight here,” Lady Victoria said from behind me, laughter in her voice. My breath caught in fear and I span around.

A very large black cat stood in the library doorway, nervously twitching her tail. Long-legged, short-haired, with huge yellow eyes. I couldn’t figure out the breed. A Bombay, maybe, only not as solid or muscular. Or maybe an Egyptian Mau with an unusual coloring?

☠ Bastet.

No level, no game class. Just a bright red tag with a skull symbol before the name. In any case, if this was the level 78 Courtesan before me, then this was an enemy out of my league. I tried to go into stealth again, but it didn’t work for some reason.

“Were you looking for this?” The cat didn’t move, but one of the ancient heavy tomes hovered away from the bookshelf all on its own and carefully landed on the floor without a sound, opening and turning to a specific page. “The spell of transforming into a human? Well, I give it to you! Use it!”

I turned my face to the drawing. A complex pattern of crisscrossing lines, a dozen shining incomprehensible runes at the top of a triangle. What was this? How could I use it? The cat waited half a minute, then spoke again with a mix of disappointment and surprise in her voice.

“You don’t know the ancient tongue? And you can’t talk, although you understand human speech? Then why did you bother coming into my magical library? How did you hope to become human, little thief?”

The conversation had taken an unexpected turn. The cat twitched its tail in annoyance. This was surely the end… But no attack came from the lady, neither by claw nor magic.

“Alright, let’s try something else. Follow me!”

The cat turned away and walked out of the room. Nothing was left but to follow her. Although… maybe it wasn’t too late to run? I glanced at a half-open window in the hallway. Run to the window ledge, jump out into the park and transform into a bug there? But the window suddenly slammed shut on its own.

“I advise you not to flee,” the black cat hissed in displeasure without even turning round. “I have sought you too long to let you go now, Whiskers. Or should I call you Andrei?”

How did she know so much about me? She must be reading my thoughts. I discarded all thoughts of escape and obediently followed after the lady of the house. We crossed the hall and went into the bedroom. The black cat jumped up onto the bedside table and stopped in front of a row of vials. Deftly, as if she had long trained to do it, she used her claws to pull out a cork in a vial of purple liquid, then overturned the bottle to pour the contents onto the table. She moved aside to let me up.

“Drink it up! I mean, lap it up! You’ll have about forty minutes in human form. Long enough for us to talk.”

The drink didn’t smell too good, like old fermenting jelly. All the same, I tasted it. Gross! I nearly threw up. Definitely no good for cats.

“Come on!” the cat urged me on. “You have to drink at least a third of it, otherwise the transformation will be partial. I know it doesn’t taste good, but it’s the least painful way.”

I overcame my disgust and lapped up more of the sticky disgusting liquid. Then, suddenly…

Shapeshifter skill increased to level twenty-two!

The world shook. The floor suddenly sped away from my feet and the ceiling rushed down to meet me.

“Meoooow! I mean, what the hell?!”

I didn’t recognize the voice. I looked down at my hands in amazement. Human hands, with five human fingers, not cat’s claws. It worked! I was a man again! But something was wrong. I had no ginger hair on my arms and chest! And the old scar on my wrist was gone. And my legs weren’t as hairy as before. And below my stomach… There was just a mass of ginger hair with a penis sticking out of it, and it was half again as long as my own should be. Not that I was complaining, but this wasn’t my body! A mirror, I need a mirror!

I must have shouted that last part aloud.

“Don’t panic. It’s normal,” came a calming voice from behind. Suddenly, I was conscious that I was completely naked in front of a woman. “Your usual body is occupied by the human called Sergeant. This is what a ginger cat turned into a man looks like. And you know, it’s certainly not a bad body. A beautiful, young, strong man.”

I turned and… all the words stuck in my throat. The black cat had turned human too. The young woman Victoria Bastet stood naked only a few paces away. Tall, dark of hair, long of leg and inhumanly beautiful. A little late, I recalled that Bastet was a cat goddess in Ancient Egyptian mythology. How could I forget that? A cult of cats, cat statues and cat paintings everywhere. Could she be a goddess..? The power of Victoria Bastet’s magic outstripped any I had seen so far. If she wasn’t a goddess, then she was certainly a remarkable player. And merciless and deadly. I couldn’t forget that for a second. That said, in her current form, the cat goddess invoked no fear. Instead, she stirred entirely different feelings within me.

“I’ve been wanting to have a very serious talk with you,” Victoria began in a strict voice, staring right into my eyes. Then her eyes suddenly traveled downward and she stopped in mid-sentence. Her pupils widened.

Ahem… Awkward. I wasn’t sure what to do. It was too late to cover up with my hands, and that would be silly anyway.

“What… What do you want from me?” I asked the first question that came to mind, anything to break the awkward silence and draw the Courtesan’s attention away from the protruding body part she was staring at.

The beautiful woman said nothing. With a wicked smile, she came closer and slowly ran a manicured nail across my chest.

“You’ve been at least a month without a woman’s touch… I can see that right away. And your thoughts… are very loud and expressive. No, I am not a goddess, although I thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. You know, business can wait. It’s so rare for cats to find tomcats nowadays. Remember, Andrei, you have forty minutes in human form. Don’t waste it!”

Chapter 24 [Kitten]

Secret of the Cat Goddess

I WASTED NO TIME, and my ‘conversation’ with Victoria Bastet was eloquent and passionate. It was in full swing when the sharp blast of a hunting horn suddenly sounded out from the direction of the courtyard. What was happening? My experienced and tireless lover froze too, listening intently. I listened too, heard iron-bound wooden wheels clattering over the planks of the bridge, metal clanking, reptilian mounts screeching.

Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-nine!

Victoria heard the sounds too, pulled herself from my embrace sharply and sat up on the bed.

“My husband is here. Such poor timing…”

“Huh. And who is your husband again?” I asked, conscious that I should have asked that rather important question some time ago.

“The Pharaoh.”

The Pharaoh? My heart nearly stopped. It seemed unlikely that the leader of the strongest human guild, a man renowned for his cruelty, would be happy to see a lover in his wife’s bed. Now I was really in trouble…

In the meantime, beautiful Bastet with her disheveled hair quickly threw on a gown, cast an admiring glance at me and suddenly asked whether my character had the Shapeshifter skill.

“Yeah, level twenty-three,” I answered proudly with no clue why she wanted to know at such a critical moment.

My answer clearly disappointed the Courtesan. “Not good… Ordinarily there’d only be seven minutes left on the potion, then you’d turn back into a cat. I could explain a new cat in the house. But the Shapeshifter skill makes transformation elixirs last longer. You won’t be able to turn into anything else for another fifteen to seventeen minutes.”

How did she know all this? The Shapeshifter skill had been added literally the day before. When had Lady Bastet had the time to learn so much about it? Or did the game give her more information on skills than it did me, with my twenty-five Intellect? And why couldn’t I just use my transform spells? I checked, opening the list of available Transformation Magic spells. They were all grayed out, inactive. No problem! I went into stealth and activated translucency, but Victoria just shook her head.

“No, that won’t work. My husband has many enemies, and faces a war with the sherkhs. The Pharaoh has grave fears for his life, so he is careful to the point of paranoia. Before the leader of the New Pharaohs enters, his best Scouts will examine the palace with thermal goggles and high-level skills that can detect all sorts of things. They’ll certainly detect an invisible man. They’re trained to find sherkhs. I have another plan.”

I suddenly fell out of invisibility. How did she do that?! Once more, I doubted that a human stood before me, even a high-level one well versed in magic.

ATTENTION! Your character description has changed. You are now Felix Ginger. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 23 Woodcutter.

I knew perfectly well that it was all just illusion. In reality, I was still Sergeant’s pet cat, but players wouldn’t see that now — instead, they’d see this new description above my head. Something else was bothering me — why go to all this trouble to rename me?

“I’ll say that some insane naked maniac crept into the house, attacked me and tried to rape me,” Lady Victoria explained as she quickly ran a comb through her hair. “The Pharaoh won’t take long to decide what to do about it, he’ll be so furious that he’ll just burst in and kill you quickly. You’ll revive back in your cat body and come back tonight, when my husband and his people are gone.”

The Courtesan spoke with distant indifference, as if one of my lives was worth absolutely nothing in her eyes. What a bitch! She wanted to get herself out of trouble at the cost of my life? I barely held back the desire to strangle the treacherous witch. All that kept me from it was the knowledge that attacking was hopeless — a level 78 player could easily take me out, and my actions would only confirm her tale of a madman breaking in and attacking her. This needed a different approach… I tried to calm down, to keep my tone even.

“Who would believe a story about some random madman? Just give me some clothes and put Gardener in my description instead of Woodcutter. I’ll tell the servants that I was sent to replace that last slacker. Or you could make me a Chef. Then I can go to the kitchen and help your only Chef. He’s up to his neck in work.”

“So you saw what happened to my Gardener. And you’ve already met my Chef, too…” Lady Victoria’s eyes narrowed. Her look made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I braced for an attack. But then she relaxed, laughed. “You know, Andrei, that might just work!”

The Courtesan had been a hair’s breadth from taking me out, but now a spark of interest appeared in her eyes. The woman walked to the wardrobe, dug around in one of the lower drawers and threw me some men’s trousers, sandals and a t-shirt.

“Here, try them on. If you survive, that will greatly increase your status in my eyes.”

ATTENTION! Your character description has changed. You are now Felix Ginger. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 13 Chef.

So I was to be a Chef. I quickly pulled on the clothes she gave me. The trousers fit just fine. The t-shirt was actually one of my own. I remembered putting it into my backpack on the day I packed my things. The mistress of the home must have taken it from the serving girl and put it with the rest of her men’s clothes. I didn’t put too much thought into why the Courtesan had so much men’s clothing. I had other things to worry about.

“Run to the kitchen while the servants are still checking the garden. No, wait! One finishing touch. I’m going to create an illusory slave collar on your neck. There’ll be fewer questions that way. And take that flask of human transformation potion. You’ll need it to maintain your form. Done, go! Tell Li I bought you to help him.”

As fast as I could, I ran down to the first floor. I flew into the kitchen where the older Asian man Li was still working by the stove. I told him I’d been sent as an assistant.

“Finally!” the Chef breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I’ve been asking the Lady for a kitchen hand for so long. And you’re just in time! Fifty people just arrived, and we have to feed them all! You worked in a kitchen before?”

“Uhm, some,” I said, shrugging vaguely.

All my experience was limited to kitchen shifts in the army and my time as a student, when there was nobody around to cook for me but me. Of course, I could clean and cook potatoes and make a decent steak, but asking me to do anything more complicated might not go too well.

“Level thirteen…” the Chef read my character information and shook his head doubtfully. “I can’t let you do any actual cooking yet. But never mind, there’s plenty of work here for an unqualified kitchen hand. Don’t worry, you’ll level up fast in a busy kitchen like this. For now, take this knife and cutting board. Chop these greens finely. Then pluck those birds over there and bring some water from the well.”

When three high-level Scouts from the Pharaoh’s guard walked into the kitchen a couple of minutes later, I was already toiling away at my cutting board in a chef’s hat and apron. The Scouts examined the kitchen, looked into the pots standing by the wall, even waved around some gleaming amulets dangling on chains. They found nothing suspicious or dangerous. They asked Li who I was and he answered that I was a kitchen hand and I worked there. Amazingly, it went off without a hitch. The Pharaoh’s guards seemed satisfied and left to inspect the palace’s other rooms.

* * *

I’d been working in the kitchen for two hours. I was sweating, tired, I had two bad cuts and a scald from boiling water. In my human form, I could hold items in my hands just fine, but after almost a month of being a cat, I was completely out of the habit of using fingers. Learning fine motor skills all over again was a damn tough job. The smallest inattention was all it took to fail a Luck check. That meant another cut, burn or bruise.

But I was doing alright — over those two hours, none of the players in the palace had found reason to suspect the Chef’s new assistant. The Pharaoh’s people thought I was a servant and paid me less attention than the furniture. I took lunch to the guards at the gate and they just assumed I’d arrived along with the large group of players.

Shapeshifter skill increased to level twenty-six!

That was another perk to being in human form. I didn’t know what was influencing my leveling more — completing human work or passing for a human without arousing suspicion — but the skill was leveling up very fast. I even relaxed a little. Which is why what happened next came as a shock.

When I brought lunch to Margarita Ovchinnikov in one of the servants’ rooms, she asked me outright: “You’re actually a ginger cat, right?”

“Uhm… what makes you think that?” I said, trying to hide my fear behind laughter.

“It’s just…” the girl smiled at me. “I just have a way of noticing little things. You’re wearing the t-shirt that I once wore, until I was given this serving uniform. The Lady wouldn’t share such things with just anyone. And I didn’t see you arrive with the Pharaoh, and I’ve never seen you before among the other palace servants. You don’t have to tell me. But if you really are a cat, then if I were you, I’d run away from here as fast as I could while I still had the chance.”

“Why?” Maybe that question gave the game away, but I needed to know what danger threatened me.

“So I wasn’t wrong.”

The girl smiled sadly, then told me to follow her. First she warned me not to make noise or talk loudly — the palace’s mistress was currently in the first-floor bathroom with her husband, but she had extremely good hearing.

Quietly, on tiptoes, we walked through the hall to the nursery. My escort pointed at the cradle, covered over with a canopy. Margarita put a finger to her lips and carefully moved the opaque veil aside, revealing the child. Inside the cradle was… no human child, but a black kitten! It took a lot of restraint not to shout in surprise.

“This is why the servants aren’t allowed to go into the nursery,” the girl whispered, pointing at the furry kitten sleeping among its cushions. “Lady Victoria says she fears charms or evil spells, so she never shows her kitten to anyone, even her husband. And she never leaves it for long. She always takes her daughter with her when she travels, but then she puts illusion spells on the kitten to make the animal look like a human child to everyone else. And Lady Victoria herself turns into a black cat when she sleeps, too. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. She isn’t human, she’s a cat. An evil, lustful cat, who killed her mistress and took her place by the Pharaoh’s side.”

The girl quietly covered the kitten with the veil and left the room on tiptoes again. I followed. We returned to the servant’s room. Margarita closed the door behind her and slid the bolt shut from inside.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, failing to see the girl’s stake in the whole affair.

Margarita was quiet a moment, then pointed at her slave collar.

“Help me escape! As soon as the mistress realizes that I’ve uncovered her secret, I’m done. She will kill me to keep her place by the Pharaoh’s side secure. But I don’t know how long Lady Victoria can hide the truth. A child is supposed to grow up, learn to talk and walk. One day her husband will ask why his daughter is still in a cradle when other girls her age are crawling and babbling. The little kitten that the Pharaoh believes to be his daughter is doomed. She will ‘die.’ From illness or something else. The inconsolable mother will declare a cause of death and everyone will believe her. In reality, the kitten will become a ‘pet,’ another one of those cats that lives in the mistress’s palace. All this is why Lady Victoria desperately wants another child, but one that can integrate into human society. She can’t have children with her human husband, but wild tomcats only give her mindless kittens. So the Lady has been searching for a sentient cat, whose offspring will also be sentient, like both its parents. And if you are such a cat, and especially if you’ve already slept with the mistress, then… you’re in trouble. As soon as Lady Victoria is certain she’s pregnant, she’ll kill you to keep her secret safe! Oh, no…”

Margarita went white with fear. The girl sobbed, covered her face with her hands. I turned sharply to find out what had scared the girl so badly. A large and wet black cat stood by the window in our locked room, nervously twitching its tail.

Time seemed to stop. Thoughts span furiously in my head. What could I do? Run? Not likely. Attack Bastet with magic? Out of my arsenal of spells, only Paralyze might work against such a strong mage, and that wasn’t guaranteed. But I had to do something. Doing nothing meant death. I took a deep breath, and… cast Paralyze on the serving girl! Margarita froze and fell to the floor like a puppet with her strings cut. The cat shifted her gaze from me to the motionless girl and back again several times, then spoke, not hiding her annoyance and surprise:

“Why did you do that? Do you think my heart-stopping spell doesn’t work on stunned targets?”

“No. It’s just… I have a couple of important questions for you after all I’ve heard. Very important questions. And I don’t want a curious serving girl to overhear us.”

I think I managed to surprise the lady of the house. The black cat twitched her tail nervously a couple more times.

“Alright. You’ve intrigued me. I’m listening, Andrei.”

“Do I understand right that you’re the only creature in this world that I can have children with? Answer honestly. It’s very important to me.”

Lady Victoria took her time over answering. It seemed this was a touchy subject. But then the cat spoke, choosing her words carefully.

“That may be so. Although I’m not sure. This horrible girl listened in on my conversations with my cats in moments of sadness, then mixed the truth with her own conjecture. Yes, my child is not the Pharaoh’s. And the cradle holds my kitten, who will never be sentient. That is where the truth in her words ends. I did not kill my mistress. She lost her final life for another reason. And it isn’t necessarily the case that you or I can’t have children with humans. There haven’t been enough… ahem… experiments… to be certain. But even if that is the case, the children of shapeshifters can live among humans and blend in with them perfectly on the outside, though they will have far greater capabilities. Potentially, you and I are rulers among humans. Our magic is strong. We can control people, make them serve us. That’s how it was back in Ancient Egypt, when sentient cats ruled over mankind. And in the new world, with its endless possibilities, we too can…”

Victoria broke off in mid-sentence. I stayed silent, letting her develop her thoughts, but Bastet added nothing more to what she’d said. Then I asked my next question, or rather, made my offer.

“My master has a child on a raft. Three weeks old. A girl by the name of Hope. Her mother went beyond the barrier, left the child behind in the sandbox. Nobody in the New Pharaohs knows about her. In fact, very few humans here do. I thought that might be of interest to you…”

An instant, and a young naked woman appeared before me in place of the cat, her hair still wet from the bath. Ignoring the serving girl laying at her feet, Lady Victoria spoke decisively:

“You’re not wrong. The baby girl certainly does interest me. That child could become a princess with a great future. To the carriage! We’ll take no servants, I’ll steer the raptors myself. I need to talk to your master Sergeant as soon as possible.”

“Wait,” I said, deciding to stand on principle despite the tension in the air. I pointed at the unconscious servant. “You promised Margarita freedom if she found Sergeant’s kitten. She held up her end of the bargain. Free her!”

Victoria Bastet pulled a face. In cat form, she would have hissed.

“That nasty bitch stuck her nose in where it doesn’t belong, and she’ll pay for her curiosity with her life. You know I can’t let her live.”

“No, that won’t do. Margarita will go through the barrier with Sergeant and his group. That’s the best way to keep your secret. And it’ll show me that I can trust you.”

Intellect check successful!

Magic Resistance check successful!

Choose the learnable skill Mental Defense for your character?

Choose the learnable skill Magic Defense for your character?

I smiled in satisfaction as I watched the growing fear in the dread witch’s eyes. I must have just reflected some spell. And while Victoria froze, still not believing what had happened, I took a step toward her, embraced her and kissed her right on the lips. The young woman twitched, but then softened. We stood for a minute, lost in the kiss. I broke away, looking right into the deadly woman’s eyes.

“We don’t need to argue. We’re on the same side in this world. Let Margarita live, and you can count on my help. I’ll take her to the carriage. You get dressed and meet me in the courtyard. And grab that book with the human transformation spell. That will be my rewa… Meoow!”

Before I could finish my sentence, the room’s floor suddenly rushed up to meet me and the ceiling stretched upward. What the hell?! Why?! Then my Mana Points suddenly burned away to zero in a split second. I lost the ability to cast spells. I was helpless.

Lady Victoria leaned down and picked me up by the scruff of my neck. She turned the ginger cat before her eyes and spoke with reproach in her voice:

“How can you lose track of your transformation time like that? Such a rookie mistake. Keep making it and you won’t survive in the world of humans. You are still weak and inexperienced, Andrei, and yet you make demands. I don’t like that one bit. I’ll forgive you this time, but next time, I’ll kill you!”

The young woman glanced at her serving girl, then back at the helpless cat hanging from her hand. She sighed deeply.

“Alright, I’ll let Margarita go, since I promised. And I’ll give her three days to level up and get through that barrier. I don’t know how you’re going to tell her that, but if I see this worm in the territory of the New Pharaohs after her three days are up, she will have a long death! And if information about my child spreads, I will destroy not only this girl, but you too, and all the players from Sergeant’s crew! As for the transformation spellbook, you can have it, minus one page. The one you want. That page you’ll get once the Beast Catcher and all his band go through the barrier, and you stay with me. You’ll work for me a while, complete a range of tasks to earn my trust, and then and only then will I teach you how to turn into a human!”

Chapter 25 [Sergeant]

The Courtesan’s Gift

WHAT THE HELL was all that? I watched thoughtfully as the carriage clattered away. According to Haze, who knew the hierarchy of players in his guild well, Lady Victoria was the true leader of the New Pharaohs, and just now she’d suddenly galloped her way here to the bank of the great river. And the level 78 Courtesan arrived without the bodyguards that you’d expect to be escorting such an important individual. She didn’t even have a driver. She brought an unconscious girl by the name of Margarita Ovchinnikov. She ordered the free players of my group crowded on the bank to unload the woman from the carriage. This is my gift to Sergeant, she said. He knows her.

It was true; I remembered the girl. She was the one that ended up in the new world completely naked after trying to kill herself in a bathtub. Now Margarita wore a serving girl’s uniform and a metal slave collar. And for some reason, the girl was unconscious.

While the members of my League of Losers crowded around the unconscious girl in the grass, the Pharaoh’s spouse examined our raft with interest, a babe wrapped up in cloth in her arms. She nodded in satisfaction at the defensive walls and spikes, the ballista and the circling creeping crocodiles. She exchanged a couple of sentences with the Philosopher as he toiled over his epic work, played with the megasaurus hatchlings and the Chimeric Cougar kitten, looked apprehensively at the Marsh Mistress and the two people of other races in my group, then left the raft.

She called me over at the end and asked, although it was really an order, that I not waste any time capturing the minotaur, that I should go hunt it right away.

“I give you two days. The day after tomorrow, by nightfall, the monster must be in the arena. I forbid you from involving members of the New Pharaohs in your hunt. My warriors currently have other matters to attend to. The Pharaoh said the sherkh guilds have started moving. We need all our forces on the border right now. Prove that you are worthy, that you deserve your freedom!”

After that tirade, the Pharaoh’s wife took the reins in hand herself, shouted the hitched raptorhounds into motion and started clattering away back home, leaving a cloud of dust behind her. All we could do was stand uncertainly around the girl, a level 18 Jill of All Trades. As we stood, the guild name ‘New Pharaohs’ disappeared from the description above her head.

Margarita Ovchinnikov. Human. Female. Level 18 Jill of All Trades.

I could barely feel the girl’s breath. Her eyes were closed and her limbs strangely stiff. Shame my sister Julie wasn’t with us. The ever capable Veterinarian might have been able to provide some medical help.

“Take the collar off her,” I ordered the Mechanic and Engineer, then headed over to Diogenes — I needed to find out what the influential and powerful lady had asked him about.

“Nothing in particular,” Diogenes shrugged. “She just asked about the strengths of the Philosopher class, but I don’t think she even listened to the answer. The scrolls of priceless formulas, lemmas and theorems spread out over the table didn’t interest her one bit either. She seemed more interested in our little baby. She even looked into the basket and touched her.”

She touched her? A wave of alarm washed over me. I walked over to Hope, sleeping quietly, and glanced into the baby’s cot… only to shout in surprise. Instead of a human child, my own kitten Whiskers lay in the bed, tightly wrapped up in a blanket! The animal was conscious. He stared daggers at me. His paws were bound with rope and his jaws muzzled with birchbark to stop him scratching and biting.

Whiskers. Cat. Male. Level 31 Shadow Hexxer. Sergeant’s pet.

There could be no doubt about it — this was my own cat, who had disappeared to who knows where for the last few days, and had apparently found time to level up nicely. But what had happened? Had the Courtesan kidnapped the child, using her magic to replace the girl with my pet unnoticed? But why did the Pharaoh’s wife need the baby girl in the first place? Maybe the girl who Lady Victoria had left with us would answer when she woke up.

I untied my pet. The kitten ran out of the room, hissing furiously. The megasaurus hatchlings jumped up and ran after him excitedly, but I wasn’t worried about him in the slightest — Whiskers could stand up for himself.

“Sergeant, there’s something you need to see,” Varya said from outside, her voice somehow strangely lifeless. I went out and she pointed out what she wanted me to look at.

Woah… The unconscious girl’s mouth was full of thick, dark blood. Her tongue was completely gone. Cut out at the root! Why maim her like that? What the hell was going on?!

Varya’s face was white as she surveyed the horrible sight. “Such meaningless cruelty…”

“Not at all,” the Philosopher said, walking over and leaning down to look at the mutilated girl. “It’s both a punishment and a warning. Perhaps a hint that she should stay quiet about something, and level up quickly to fix the injury.”

“I found this in the girl’s bag,” the Engineer’s daughter said, handing me a thick and worn leather-bound book. “It’s something related to magic.”

I opened the heavy tome, leafed through its pages. Geometric patterns, drawings of strange polygonal shapes, odd diagrams that meant nothing to me. All the text in the book was in an unfamiliar language. At the end of the book were two color drawings, a man and a woman, clearly human. But the page opposite the drawing had been very roughly cut out with scissors, leaving only a narrow strip of paper marred with dried blood.

ATTENTION! Your character does not have enough Intellect to identify this item.

Whatever this book was, for the time being I put it with the scrolls on Diogenes’ desk and called for a group meeting. We needed to decide what to do in light of this new situation. Whiskers the cat joined in on the discussion too, jumping up onto Varya’s shoulder. The two megasaurus hatchlings, who never did manage to catch up to the cat, slowly crawled their way back onto the raft at a snail’s pace, whining with fatigue. I took the opportunity to feed them. A fish for each hatchling was enough to tame them.

Taming skill increased to level sixty-one!

I sent the megasaurus hatchlings to rest and digest their food, then went back to the group and explained what had happened.

“What’s there to think about? Let’s catch the minotaur and get as far away from this dumb sandbox as we can, like we planned to before!” Edward Samarsky said. But to my next question, as to whether Edward would be personally involved in the hunt, our Mechanic blushed and answered no. “How could I even help, Sergeant? You’re the Beast Catcher here. My character is non-combat, and my skills aren’t suited to hunting at all. I’ll only get in your way.”

The Huntress and the Scout giggled to each other — it was comical to see the boy deflate after talking so bravely only a minute ago. I reminded the girls how serious our situation was and asked the whole group who among them would risk their life to catch the dangerous minotaur.

Diogenes refused, but nobody would even think of blaming him for that, let alone mocking him — with only one life left to him, he had to be extremely careful. Anyway, his writing had already boosted his level and skills. He was already level twenty-one — three levels in one day. Another couple of days of hard work and the Philosopher would reach level twenty-five, which would mean he could travel through the energy barrier.

All the other group members were willing to go. On top of that, Varya with the cat on her shoulder suggested the surprising idea of taking the unconscious girl with us, on the basis that she needed experience fast to level up and heal her wound. Then we could find out what happened to her and who mutilated her like that. At the same time, unnoticed to the other group members, Varya winked to me and gestured at the cat. I got the message. It was Whiskers who had given the girl that tip. Well, the cat probably had more information than the rest of us. His advice was worth taking.

“If everyone else is going, I’ll come too!” Edward said. “Only I need some time to get ready. I’m no fighter, so I don’t need a weapon, but we’ll probably need traps and snares to catch a beast as big and dangerous as a minotaur, and I’ll need materials to make them. Sergeant, you said there’s a market nearby. Maybe I can find the tools and parts I need there.”

“Now you’re talking!” I said, giving Edward an encouraging clap on the shoulder. “We all need to get ready, so let’s head to the market first. My sister is near there anyway. Saddle up the Marsh Mistress, Atlas and Irosaurus. We’ll take all three mounts. We’ll take the Chimeric Cougar’s kitten too, and the megasaurus hatchlings can run with us. It’ll help them level up and they won’t be in Diogenes’ way while he works.”

“Wait!” Anita Ur Vaye suddenly spoke up. “Maybe I’m ignorant of human customs, but someone just kidnapped a child that we all promised to take care of. Does that not bother any of you?”

The rebuke rang out harsh and true. Everyone lowered their eyes before the Huntress’s gaze. Whatever need the Courtesan had for Hope, nobody wanted to tangle with the Pharaoh’s spouse. But Anita was obviously right. We took the baby girl into our group and promised to take care of her. I knew that most of our group considered this child of someone else’s to be a burden, preventing us from escaping the sandbox, but I didn’t feel that way. I asked the white-haired girl to take a walk with me along the river bank, to talk alone. The Huntress obediently followed after me.

But I started the conversation with a completely different subject.

“Anita, you’re a close friend of your new guild leader. Why did Avelia Un Ponar suddenly decide to part ways with you forever, sending you to join a band of losers? Is it a punishment for something?”

The girl laughed, happily, sincerely and infectiously.

“What are you talking about, Sergeant? I didn’t do anything wrong, and I certainly haven’t parted ways with Avelia Un Ponar forever. On the contrary, I’m honored that the leader of Eastern Garrison entrusted me with this mission. She could give it only to her closest friend. Avelia had no doubt whatsoever that you and your group would soon go through the barrier. My task is to help you in all matters, and then help to find Eastern Garrison in the endless world outside. For many reasons, the guild leader wants to meet you there, beyond the barrier. You’re a capable Beast Catcher, and the sherkhs can protect you and your people. Avelia believes we can work together to the benefit of both sides.”

Wow… That suddenly cleared up a lot. It was true — I’d never heard of the invisible folk taming creatures, and it was a tough world to survive in, let alone thrive, without any trained animals. We really could help each other. Well, that was that question answered. I took a deep breath and returned to the matter of the stolen child. Anita told me her view:

“I am not blind, Sergeant. I have noticed that the only adult human female in your group is far from burning with desire to be a mother for that child. Varya Tolmachyova hasn’t spoken to the babe once, or picked her up, or played with her. She only took care of the child when she was asked directly to do so. I have to admit, I don’t understand her at all. The girl is healthy. Any woman would be glad to have such a wonderful child. Every baby needs a loving mother, and if Varya won’t be that for Hope, then I’m willing to take on that role myself. I was the one who saved Hope and took care of her, and I believe that my meeting with her was not by chance. To be honest, little Hope was one of the reasons I so willingly agreed to Avelia’s request to join your group. But my baby girl has been stolen! And I’ll do anything to bring her back! The sherkhs in the other guilds surely know where the Pharaoh’s noble Victoria Bastet lives. I’ll talk to my kin and find out. And then I’ll steal my child back. Yes, I know how dangerous that woman is, and I swear I’ll be careful!”

Right… That was all I needed, a mission to kidnap a child from the Pharaoh’s wife’s palace. That would put paid to our relationship with the strongest human guild once and for all. On the other hand, I had no idea what Lady Victoria wanted from a child not even a month old. The Courtesan already had her own child, and if she’d wanted to simply adopt the baby out of the kindness of her heart, then why not talk to me about it? That meant her intentions weren’t good. But then, what did she want with the girl? What if she needed to sacrifice an innocent child for something, or use her as an ingredient in some special magic potion? Who knew what to expect from that crazy Courtesan?

In short, the situation was complex. I thought for a while and weighed it all up, then made my decision.

“I was counting on you to help capture the minotaur, Anita, but I understand your concern for Hope. Alright. Go and talk to the other sherkh guilds. Find out where the Courtesan lives, how strong the defenses are, and, above all, find out how we can get a child through the barrier and into the wider world. As soon as you have that information, find me. I’ll help you get the child back. I promise!”

* * *

Our coming to the market caused a real furor. The humans of the new world were already used to raptorhound mounts, and giga-komodos weren’t too rare either. The huge cruel arachnoscorp, however, was another matter, as was the even larger megasaurus with her two hatchlings running along behind her. It made for exciting street theater. As did the winged veyer boy — many here hadn’t even heard of the flying species. But most surprising of all was that we were free humans who weren’t part of the New Pharaohs guild. We were showered with questions — who were we, why did we have no slave collars, and what was free life like? I answered all the questions as best I could, and I suspect that the number of people wanting to escape the whip hand of the Pharaoh significantly increased after our visit.

One unpleasant episode darkened my interactions with the townspeople. A stranger, a thin and unkempt level 40 Miner suddenly attacked me with his fists, accusing me of flirting with his wife. There were a few women standing around me at the time, listening raptly to a story of our difficult and dangerous free life. But I had no idea which of them was the jealous husband’s wife, and I certainly hadn’t been flirting with any of them. I suspected that this was my Casanova curse in action, lowering my character’s standing with married men.

The Miner attacked suddenly from behind and pushed me to the ground, started beating me with his fists. But he clearly overestimated his strength — I grabbed his right arm and twisted it painfully, threatening to break it at the elbow over my leg. My opponent howled in pain and lost all his will to fight.

Hand-to-Hand Combat skill increased to level nineteen!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level fifteen!

Your character is now level twenty-four!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: eleven).

Before I could express my surprise that the game system had rewarded me so generously with skill and character levels for an ordinary street fight, I suddenly realized that the man was dead. One of the market watchmen was wiping a bloody sword on the dead Miner’s clothes. He stood and made a loud announcement:

“This man broke the law by attacking a member of the first caste,” the guard pointed at the silver token around my neck. Then he turned to me and lowered his voice to a whisper. “As for you, Sergeant, stop these seditious speeches before you get yourself into trouble. You came to the market to buy things, so buy things, and stop spreading your tales of freedom!”

We did just that, examining the stalls with their goods laid out on top. Margarita hadn’t come round yet, so I entrusted Varya with picking out some clothes for the new group member, and asked her not to forget shoes for my sister too. There were silver and copper coins in circulation, so the seven gold ones I’d been given turned out to be a very hefty sum. Enough to buy clothes and shoes for my whole group, along with tools, thick ropes, skeins of wire, hooks, crossbow bolts and even ammunition for Max and Varya’s firearms. The ammo turned out to be handmade here in the new world, but the caliber matched our guns, and the rounds worked fine when we tested them.

“Sergeant,” Edward Samarsky said, running over with an armful of silver metal plates. “Look, I found some titanium at the armorer’s! It’ll be hard to work it, but I can remake your bone armor into titanium armor. It’ll be absolutely impenetrable! Handy for you, and I’ll level up my skills making it!”

We were still browsing when the sounds of distant cannonfire from the northeast drew our attention.

“It’s started…” the weapon merchant said with a heavy sigh, listening wide-eyed to the distant explosions. “Our people are assaulting the sherkh watchtowers in the mountain pass. The Pharaoh’s squads set off that way early this morning, towing howitzers and crates of shells. War is upon us…”

The other humans around us didn’t share the merchant’s gloom. On the contrary, shouts rang out all around us in praise of the Pharaoh. The townspeople celebrated “those sneaky invisible folk finally getting what’s comin’ to ‘em.” Few at the market had any doubt that human victory would come quick and easy, since they had a huge advantage in military technology on their side. Machine guns and artillery against spears and arrows. Who could doubt the campaign’s inevitable success?

“We’re gonna have cheap blonde sherkh girls for sale here soon! Make your pre-orders!” a fat slave trader shouted across the whole market. There was one who really celebrated war.

I thanked fate that Anita Ur Vaye wasn’t with us. Her presence right now would be extremely dangerous — wild with anticipation of sherkh blood, the crowd would have simply killed her, and we wouldn’t have been able to stop them. We hurried to finish our purchases and spend all our coins down to the last copper, then left the market behind.

* * *

My jaw hit the floor when I saw my level twenty-six sister. “Damn, you sure have grown… You overtook me. You could walk through the barrier right now.”

“Yeah, I worked pretty hard today,” Julie yawned, clearly exhausted, but proud of herself. “My Veterinarian class is confirmed now, and I got bonuses to my Medicine, Animal Healing and Herbalism skills. Plus a huge bonus to standing with wild beasts. I think I could even go into a hungry lion’s cage now. At least, the Chimeric Cougar doesn’t growl at me anymore, and she lets me look at her wounds. Oh, by the way, here’s some more milk for little Hope!” The girl handed me a full bottle.

I didn’t want to upset my sister with the news that baby Hope had been kidnapped. Instead, my sister and I picked up the cougar’s kitten and went to see the deadly man-eater herself. The Chimeric Cougar growled furiously as I entered, but all her aggression evaporated the moment she saw her kitten. Like last time, the beast froze and allowed us to bring her offspring to her. The kitten immediately sought out its mother’s breast. I seized my opportunity to use Calming Touch on her a few times. Then, slowly, with extreme care, I presented a large chunk of meat to the Chimeric Cougar. The hungry beast stared at me a moment as if weighing her options, then… she took the food right out of my hand and started eating! A taming bar appeared above her head.

Taming skill increased to level sixty-two!

Beast Master skill increased to level eleven!

“You’re awesome, bro! We’re going to have another strong defender alongside the Marsh Mistress. Let’s call her Darkness? It suits her.”

One piece of meat wasn’t enough, even such a big one — the beast was huge and starving. Fortunately, I was well prepared and had plenty of meat and fish with me. The cougar ate everything, and all the food seemed to have the same effect on the taming meter. It quickly filled up and had already reached sixty-five percent when Bald Skull came in. One look was enough to tell him what was happening.

“You did it, Sergeant! You broke the beast! Damn! Congratulations! I gotta say, I underestimated you. I thought you came to me to see how a more experienced Beast Catcher works with wild animals. But I just saw the monsters you have with you and I’m amazed. And this cougar, damn, I just couldn’t get her to start taming. I was ready to send her to slaughter.”

This praise from my colleague was pretty nice to hear. As was Bald Skull’s next offer — to spend the night at his house, with a promise of a tasty meal and the chance to try some home-made berry wine. We took a quick count. With the master of the house and his three servants, plus seven guests, that made eleven players. That meant one Alpha and eleven Feelers at a pretty low level would appear when night fell. We’d have no trouble with that. I told him as much.

My concern seemed to amuse the big man. “We sure won’t have any trouble! You’ll get to see what the pack raptorhounds are capable of, Sergeant. I have twenty of them trained in the back yard, plus thirty to thirty-five wild ones in another two pens. When they work together against a common enemy, their pack bonuses stack. If we release the whole lot of ‘em on the night beasts, it’ll be a fun show! With the pack bonuses, the raptorhounds will tear apart all the night beasts in seconds!”

At that moment, the Chimeric Cougar’s taming finished. I asked Bald Skull to remove the chains from the beast. I was now in full control of her, and she was no longer a threat to us.

☠ Darkness. Chimeric Cougar. Level 82 Female. Sergeant’s pet.

The huge Beast Catcher whistled in admiration. “A magnificent specimen! The crown jewel of your collection! I was offered a whole gold piece to prepare this beast for the gladiators’ arena. But I don’t regret the lost money at all. A beauty like this should live! Hey, speaking of money… you interested in selling those little megasauruses, Sergeant? They look a promising pair. I’d raise them to be mounts for the Pharaoh himself and his wife. I could pay you with a rare Beast Catcher item instead of money.”

I hadn’t thought of selling the two megasauruses until now. But… why not? I wouldn’t be able to take the hatchlings through the barrier anyway — they were more than a few days from level twenty-five. The local money here held no interest for me — it was in circulation only in the territory of the New Pharaohs. Outside the barrier, it would be useless. But an item for a Beast Catcher? That caught my attention. I asked him to show it to me. The hulking Beast Catcher departed for a couple of minutes, then came back with something wrapped up in a bag. When the cloth was thrown back, I saw an aged bronze club, or rather a heavy scepter. It was around thirty inches long, ornate and covered with geometric patterns.

Stern Mentor. One-handed club. Class: rare.

Strength +1. Taming skill +8. Intimidation skill +8.

Chance to stun on hit: 24%. Chance to cause fear on hit: 12%. Chance to subdue target on hit: 0.5%.

ATTENTION! 90% of this weapon’s damage is dealt to the target’s Stamina Points instead of Health Points.

“I bartered it off a slave trader at the market,” Bald Skull said. “Imagine, it’s obviously for a Beast Catcher, but he was using it to beat his slaves. What a dumbass! I’ve been using it to stun wild giga-komodos. It’s convenient. Every fourth hit knocks those armored giants off their feet. Then ya club ‘em again to get ‘em tired and tame ‘em faster. And you never have to worry about accidentally killing ‘em, since the club takes away way more stamina than health. What do you say, do we have a deal? I can tell you’re interested. Your eyes are lit up.”

He was right, I was so interested that I couldn’t hide it at all. Although the item description didn’t say as much, the object was clearly specialized for Beast Catchers. And although I didn’t approve of Bald Skull’s brute-force taming methods, I couldn’t deny that sometimes force was what it took. That settled it. I’d take the Stern Mentor!

Chapter 26 [Kitten]

Mission of Survival

I DIDN’T LIKE any of this! I didn’t like the war that had started between two sentient races, or the fact that Victoria Bastet had treated me so badly, giving me conditions that barely differed from open blackmail and depriving me of the ability to turn into a human. I didn’t like the way that cat woman had mutilated the serving girl, or that Sergeant had failed to take with him the magic tome that I wanted to use to study Transformation Magic. But in particular, what infuriated me most of all was that my big oaf of a master had so thoughtlessly decided to spend the night a bare five miles away from the fiery frontier of the war.

I could still hear the cannonfire, although its intensity dropped as night fell. But even if the sherkhs lost their strongholds in the mountain pass, no doubt numerous invisible sabotage units had already infiltrated New Pharaohs territory. There was no way to avoid that. The border between the humans and sherkhs stretched out for tens of miles. It was unrealistic to post guards with thermal goggles all along it.

Bald Skull’s manor was the one and only source of the humans’ tamed animals, and that made it a prime target for an attack. I’d bet any amount of catnip that the Beast Catcher’s home would be attacked tomorrow at dawn, or even tonight, and all Bald Skull’s animals would be destroyed. It was such an obvious move that if there was no attack, then the intellectual capabilities of the sherkh commanders would drop low in my estimation. And did Sergeant really fail to see that the sherkhs would gleefully slay every last member of the League of Losers in Bald Skull’s house, taking out their anger for the departure of Eastern Garrison?!

But for some reason, the war didn’t bother those lumbering idiots in the slightest. My warning conveyed through Varya was ignored, even laughed at. Bald Skull had faith in his toothy defenders and had no fear of attack, since the pack raptorhounds possessed not only incredible speed and a powerful bite, but also the ability to reveal invisible targets. That was why they were so valued in the Pharaoh’s army. The master of the house even allowed himself some mocking comments about the white rock lizard sitting on Julie’s shoulder, also an animal that lives in packs, he said, but totally useless, unlike his fine raptorhounds.

The atmosphere at the table was merry. The wine tasting went down well, and both Beast Catchers got pretty well cut. Their discussion of professional matters had long since grown into philosophical debate and nostalgia over past lives in a world left behind. This carelessness led the humans to very nearly miss nightfall. Only at the last moment, after a reminder from one of the servants, did Bald Skull suddenly stand up and stagger to the door to release his storied raptorhounds from their pen. That’s when it all happened. The master of the house barely took one step outside the threshold into the inner courtyard before he suddenly gasped, fell to the ground. A dozen arrows at once stuck out from the giant man’s chest. Oh, how I sometimes hated to be right.

We were under attack! I screeched loud, warning the humans, then instantly turned invisible and ran to the window. I saw no one in the courtyard, which was no wonder, given that our attackers were invisible. Although… in the distance, by the far pen full of giga-komodos, I saw a body and recognized it even through the gloom. An old servant girl of Bald Skull’s, who helped her master feed the numerous animals on the grounds. I also heard the sound of many fast feet. The sherkhs were surrounding the house! A muffled voice drifted through the wall: “Ubi roto onsh vaye morte. Balt Skall non vat viota!”

Radar Ear skill increased to level thirty!

Translator skill increased to level thirty-one!

I puzzled together that the sherkh squad commander was ordering someone to go meet Bald Skull at the respawn point and kill him again. Apparently, the target of this attack wasn’t just the animals, but the Beast Catcher himself — the sherkhs planned to kill him over and over again until the human lost all his lives. The second Beast Catcher in the house could expect the same treatment. I turned to my master in alarm. He couldn’t die. One death could lead to a whole chain of revivals and deaths at the nearest respawn point, and that meant the final destruction of his character.

Credit where it’s due — as soon as Bald Skull died, Sergeant sobered up instantly. His high Physique and resistance to poisons must have helped. My master put on his helmet and rushed for the back door, closing it. Just in time! Only one arrow shot from the back yard hit the human on his bony armor and ricocheted upwards, thrumming into the ceiling.

“Weapons out!” Sergeant shouted at the top of his lungs, heaving the huge crossbar across the heavy door.

The human’s shout came in tandem with the howl of many voices at once. The night beasts appeared right on time, and there weren’t eleven of them, as the humans had been counting on, but far, far more. And worse…

Magic Resistance check successful!

That awful part howl, part scream that pierced through to the bone. It was unmistakable. A Lesser Terror! For the first time, I’d managed to resist the influence of its panic-inducing scream, no doubt thanks to the long range, the dampening walls and my increased Intellect. The game system invited me to take the Magic Defense skill again, but I had other things to think about. I’d successfully deflected the mental attack, and the winged beast’s cooldown time was three minutes. An ocean of time by the standards of battle.

But although I’d successfully defended against the psionic attack, the same couldn’t be said for the humans and the veyer boy. The big oafs screamed and careered through the house. Only Sergeant kept his wits about him and was now trying to calm down Varya, who was hanging off his shoulders and writhing in hysterics. Also, the Lesser Terror didn’t seem to affect Julie, for some reason. The Veterinarian girl stood uncertain in the middle of the room with Snowflake on her shoulder, staring wide-eyed at the chaos around here.

The fact that a Lesser Terror had appeared meant that at least fifteen sherkhs were attacking us. Well, at least our attackers would be getting it in the neck too. I looked out at the yard and saw with surprise that not a single sherkh had emerged from stealth and started running around in panic. What the hell?! Why didn’t the flying creature’s magic affect them in stealth? And what were all those lights that suddenly lit up in the distance? There were at least twenty. One of them suddenly darted straight at me. I jumped back from the window in fear.

Thud! An arrow flew through the window and stuck into the wall, its tip bound with burning hemp. And judging by the dull thuds that followed, all twenty burning arrows were now embedded in the walls. The sherkhs wanted to burn down the wooden manor! The humans had to do something fast to put out the fire or at least get out of the building. But the big oafs were still wasting time, running around in a panic or trying to calm each other down.

Soothe! I activated the ability to try and remove the panic from my group members, but I didn’t notice much of an effect. My nose caught acrid smoke — the building was already burning, and it was dangerous to stay in it. Damn. I had to abandon these useless morons and act alone! Without leaving stealth, I turned into a bug and flew out into the courtyard.

Stealth skill increased to level thirty-one!

At the far end of the yard, behind a thick fence, twenty of Bald Skull’s tamed raptorhounds roared, desperate to enter the fray. The reptiles couldn’t see the sherkhs, but they heard the approaching howl of the night beasts perfectly. They knew a battle was afoot. The raptorhounds teemed in their pen, launching themselves at the fence in fury. Dumbasses. You’ll just die pointlessly! If there’s a Lesser Terror, then the night beasts have at least two Alphas and twenty-five Feelers. They’ll wipe the floor with you, and never mind your pack bonuses! The only way to win is to combine with the two other raptor packs, then attack the sherkhs first, otherwise they’ll just shoot you from stealth…

Then I suddenly had a far more serious problem than Bald Skull’s pets. The Lesser Terror wheeled in the sky and came straight at me! Night beetles were probably part of the winged beast’s diet, and now it was planning to make a nice meal of me. Think again, Terror. I wasn’t about to be anyone’s dinner! Curse Magic! Slow! Slow! Slow! Slow! Paralyze!

Invalid target for this spell.

Paralyze failed to work again, although this time it didn’t matter. The huge black bat with its long tooth-filled face was now so slow that it was almost frozen a few feet from me, its wings not even moving.

Level 17 Lesser Terror.

Up close, it didn’t look so scary. It was around the size of a large raven, with flashing beady eyes, big bat ears and sparse fur dotted with bald spots on its chest. If it weren’t for its scream, nobody would have paid the pathetic creature any mind. Before it fell toward the earth, I hit it with my combined fire and wind spell — my favorite flamethrower!

It worked great! The monster fell from the sky in a slow fiery comet. I think the Lesser Terror burned up in the fire before it even landed.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty-three!

Conjurer skill increased to level seven!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level sixteen!

Woah. Did I just take out a Lesser Terror all on my own? Now that felt good! Shame I wasn’t allowed to celebrate the triumph — an arrow whizzed by a hair’s breadth over my head, then another. Damn! I must have dropped out of stealth when I used my fire spell, and now I had the attention of the sherkh archers. And the attackers themselves were still invisible to me — I couldn’t even respond with magic. Quickly, before they shot me down, Incorporeal Form and Veil of Darkness to hide me!

Oh, sh… Through some miracle, I dodged the fireball headed toward me. The bright flame sped off into the night sky. Even Incorporeal Form might not have saved me from such deadly magic if the enemy mage had hit. Perhaps Veil of Darkness helped me, blurring my outline, but next time I might not be so lucky. I needed to get out of the firing line! My beetle form buzzed as I descended, describing mad circles in the air to try to avoid attack. Forked lighting lanced through the night sky only ten feet away. The enemy spellcaster was strong in Elemental Magic, far stronger than me. I wouldn’t mind hitting him with a Paralyze! Ugh. If only I could see my foes…

Wait! I had an idea! The raptorhounds could reveal invisible targets! I needed Julie’s new pet, who was far more likely to listen to me than the other raptorhounds. It was a ginger female with bright feathers on its head… There she was! Already in the pen for tamed raptors!

Princess. Pack Raptorhound. Level 24 Female. Julia Sinitsyna’s pet.

I dived at Princess and landed on the raptor’s back. Meow! Meow! Listen to me! Yes, I’m your ally in this fight. Now tell your family to roar with all their strength! Hard enough to knock those sherkhs out of stealth! I’ve seen you do it before with my own eyes!

It was useless. Princess didn’t understand me. Or maybe she understood, but just ignored the annoying bug distracting her from a more important task — furiously throwing herself at the fence with the other raptorhounds and trying to bite through it. I really didn’t want to spend my Mutation Points, but it seemed I had no other choice…

Basic Animal Speech.

This ability allowed me to not only understand, but also talk to wild beasts, more or less. This addition to the Translator skill cost a whole eight mutation points, but it could help out in situations like this one. I repeated my message to Princess, but the mottle-feathered airhead just ignored me again! But another raptorhound understood me — a large black female at level fifty, apparently the alpha of this pack. The matriarch turned to me, stared at my huge bug body with surprisingly clever eyes, then bowed her head right to the ground and emitted a piercing howl! Right away, all the other raptorhounds stopped their fruitless attempts to break through the fence and entered into chorus with their leader. My ears rang from the howling of twenty throats at once.

ATTENTION! Your character is deafened! Duration: 180 seconds.

That hurt like hell. But I’d done what I set out to do — figures in black clothes suddenly appeared all over the big courtyard. Sherkhs! And, judging by the descriptions above their heads, they were fighters of Southern Garrison. As soon as our enemies appeared, a double shot boomed out from the house, and the two nearest sherkh archers fell. The panic debuff on Max and Varya in the house had finally ended! The father and daughter had joined the fight!

Unfortunately, they couldn’t do any more — after the two archers in the group dropped, all the other sherkhs leaped into action, quickly moving out of the line of fire. The Elemental Mage also responded on the move, firing a burning fireball at Bald Skull’s house. The fire spread across the wall and the straw roof like a furious red inkblot, sending the flames of the wooden building three times higher into the air. If the humans didn’t leave the burning building right now, they were doomed. But the attackers were keeping both exits tightly covered…

Fortunately, soon the sherkhs had bigger problems — the first night beasts arrived on the battlefield, and a huge burning Alpha at level thirty-nine raged into the courtyard, surrounded by several Feelers. Most of the archers switched targets to the Alpha while one of the sherkhs — a sharp level 40 Warrior — drew the dangerous monster’s attention, deftly dodging its attacks right beneath its nose.

The warrior’s agility and self-possession amazed me. But this was a rare case in which I was on the side of the night beasts. Slow on that too-fast sherkh! Slow! Slow! That did it! Now moving sluggishly, the Warrior failed to dodge the next attack from the toothy monster.

Curse Magic skill increased to level seventy-seven!

Shapeshifter skill increased to level twenty-eight!

Mysticism skill increased to level twenty-eight!

Your character is now level thirty-two!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-three).

My mana fully recovered when I leveled up, bringing me back to full strength. I was ready to continue the fight. A sherkh Scout rushed in to replace their fallen Warrior and I hit him with seven slows at once. He followed in the Warrior’s footsteps in short order. A young level 44 female Scout quickly replaced him, blonde hair streaming out from beneath her black hood. And I… I know it was irrational and stupid, but I couldn’t raise a hand against the cute young woman. I switched my attention to the other sherkhs, casting Weaken and Slow, then focused on the most dangerous of my foes — the level 57 Elemental Mage, who had just hit the Alpha with a lightning bolt right in its open mouth and killed it.

Mana Drain on him! Another Mana Drain! Slow! Weaken! And finally, Paralyze! Uh-oh…

Invalid target for this spell.

Paralyze wasn’t working for some reason, and I’d made a critical mistake by drawing the high-level enemy’s attention. The Elemental Mage turned toward me. When the bright fiery point of light appeared between the spellcaster’s spread palms, I knew what was about to happen, but there was no time to do anything.

In the blink of an eye, the giant fireball crossed the distance between us and exploded in the middle of the raptorhound pen, throwing the six-foot reptiles into the air like toy figurines. Heat consumed me, threw me into the wall of the pen. I felt no pain. All I saw was my character’s Health Bar dropping to zero. The last thing I remember thinking before the world went dark was NEVER AGAIN WILL I TRY TO FIGHT A HIGH-LEVEL MAGE!

ATTENTION! Your character has died! Second of ten possible deaths!

You will revive in 14 minutes and 59 seconds.

Looked like it was time for another mini-game, like after every death. I knew from the humans’ conversations that this time I’d be a wolf running in a big pack, chasing a deer and earning Mutation Points for successfully biting the fast and strong target. But… for some reason, the game didn’t start. Pain came instead, and a message appeared before my eyes on a blood-red background:

ATTENTION! Your character has been successfully revived.

Spent life restored.

What was happening? My whole body hurt, I almost couldn’t open my eyes and when I did, my vision was murky. My Health Points were balanced at 3-4%. But I seemed to be hearing just fine, and I recognized the voice of Julie the Veterinarian.

“You got hit bad, Whiskers… Your fur is all gone, you’re all covered in burns! But you can’t die now. Sergeant needs you, and so do the others. Without your magic, the sherkhs and night beasts will bury us all here. So get back into the fight, kitty cat! Try to level up to heal. And you get that mage for what he did to my Princess…” she sniffled. “I couldn’t get her back.”

Chapter 27 [Sergeant]

Slaughter in the Night

BALD SKULL’S big wooden house burned. The heat and acrid smoke made it a worse hell to be inside every second. We had to get out. But sticking a nose out of the back door meant instantly drawing fire from at least a dozen archers. We had to use the front door leading out to the pens of still untrained wild beasts. A servant girl tried to jump through it, but she didn’t even make it two paces before she fell down, peppered with crossbow bolts. Sherkhs on that side too.

“Go into stealth!” I shouted to my sister, the only one apart from me to maintain her sanity after the attack from the Lesser Terror. “Get to our animals and try to release the Marsh Mistress, Darkness and Irosaurus. They’ll help us.”

“Princess can help too, and the other raptorhounds,” Julie nodded and disappeared with Snowflake on her shoulder. Only the swirling smoke showed my sister’s path to the open front door. I clenched in pained anticipation, but no shots came. Julie successfully made it past the sherkhs’ watchful eyes.

At that moment, the smoke parted for a second and I suddenly saw my enemies — a group of three sherkhs in black bodysuits, crossbows and bows held at the ready, just fifteen feet from the door. I don’t know who was the more surprised, me or the sherkhs. They saw me too and realized they’d dropped out of stealth. Their second of confusion was enough for me to jump and roll across the floor to get out of the firing line and take cover in the house. Then the smoke covered up my opponents again.

Choose the learnable skill Acrobatics for your character?

Some Acrobat I’d be, with my low Luck. I was lucky I didn’t break anything in that roll… While I stood by the wall and caught my breath, a double shot rang out behind me, followed by Max and Varya exchanging gleeful shouts — the sherkhs must have dropped out of stealth on the other side of the house too, and the Engineer and his daughter took their chance to thin our enemies’ ranks. And the winged veyer, who had finally come round and descended from the cupboard he’d flown up to in a panic, shot a crossbow bolt through the window. I didn’t know if our Thief hit, but a fireball flew at the house in response, making the flames lick up ever higher. Another minute and we’d all die in this furnace.

Tenacity skill increased to level nine!

That was nice, of course, but the 0.25% boost to my fire resistance wasn’t about to make much difference. I could barely breathe. My hair steamed, ready to catch fire at any moment. What was this doing to my allies, who had neither the Hardy Brute perk, nor the Tenacity skill, nor heightened resistance to environmental forces from high Physique? One look at the Engineer was all it took to know that he was about to lose consciousness any second. We had to risk it.

“Follow me, we’re going outside! Varya, into stealth! Edward, carry Margarita!” I commanded, lifting the big table before me by its legs to serve us as a shield. If it fit through the door, of course.

The table fit when I turned it sideways. But the Engineer’s daughter didn’t manage to get into stealth — at first she turned invisible, but then she dropped out of it a second later. I suspected that the sherkhs were having similar problems. It was hard to figure out another reason for them all coming out of stealth at once. It was a strange phenomenon. I wondered if it had anything to do with the constant howling of the raptorhounds all around. But most incredibly of all — nobody shot at us! All three of our enemies stood with their crossbows discharged, having fired them at a level eleven Alpha that appeared by the house. The other sherkhs on this side of the house were busy with the night beasts too, in particular the two Alphas, and they paid us no mind. They’d pay for that! I threw away the heavy table, took out my Stern Mentor and brought the bronze club down on the head of the nearest archer. Got him! The stunned sherkh fell down, all his Stamina Points gone.

Hand-to-Hand Combat skill increased to level twenty-one!

Heavy Armor skill increased to level sixteen!

Three or four throwing knives bounced off my tough bone armor. I needed to say thanks to Max Dubovitsky for creating the heavy armor out of giga-komodo shell plates. It had gotten me out of plenty of trouble. One of the sherkhs put away his useless throwing knives and drew a curved blade, but then hesitated a moment, measuring up my armor and club, and decided to flee instead. The second jumped away and started reloading his crossbow, then suddenly fell down with a huge hole in his chest. Gross… It looked like a giant piece of flesh had been bitten out of his body along with his heart and half of both lungs. The rifle shot had boomed out right by my ear and nearly deafened me. I turned, planning to thank the Engineer or his daughter for the critical hit, but then froze in surprise when I saw that neither of them had saved me.

Margarita Ovchinnikov stood with the third gun at her shoulder. She’d just leveled up to nineteen. And the rifle in her hands was familiar. I remembered seeing it recently, hanging on the wall of Bald Skull’s house. Its owner had showed it to me. An ‘elephant gun,’ he’d called it, with some crazy high caliber that would tear small wild game apart, and so could only be used for hunting beasts as big as a T-rex.

“Hey, Sergeant,” the girl said, her voice not only healthy, but even playful, her muteness and weakness both gone. “How can I help?”

I have to say, in her elegant leather bodysuit, with the rifle in her hands and a cartridge belt at her waist, Margarita no longer looked like a downtrodden serving girl, but a proud huntress or even a daring bandit. All she needed was some cowboy boots, a broad-brimmed hat and a bay horse and she’d look like a stagecoach robber straight out of the Wild West.

That meant we had another gunner. Perfect! I ordered the gunners to cover our retreat to the farthest pens and to take out anyone who tried to get close to us. We ran through the darkness, away from the raging fire. Then I noticed that it wasn’t just Bald Skull’s house in flames. The pen of tamed raptorhounds was on fire too, along with the workshop, the storehouse and the structure where the Beast Catcher had been trying to tame the Chimeric Cougar. It seemed the sherkhs had made it their goal to burn the whole place down. But I suspected that the invisible ones had made a mistake — the night beasts overwhelmed them with their fury and numbers, and their main advantage — the ability to fire at enemies from stealth — wasn’t working. Right in front of me, a sherkh girl fell, struck down by the Alpha and then swarmed by a heap of sharp-toothed beasts. The sherkh who I’d stunned was already being eaten alive by Feelers, his death scream quickly cut off.

One Feeler strayed, rushed toward us, but fell down dead a second later, rolling across the ground with a bolt through its eye. The veyer laughed and reloaded his crossbow as he ran. We wasted no time, trying to get as far away as possible from the bloody battle between the sherkhs and the night beasts. Woah! I nearly crapped my pants when a huge toothy maw at the end of a long neck shot right at me out of the darkness. The teeth stopped only a couple of feet from my face, and then I recognized Irosaurus Regina.

Although the animal belonged to Varya, I suddenly got an interesting idea. The raptorhounds obeyed larger predators in nature, and the megasaurus suited that role just perfectly. I climbed up behind our Scout onto the huge dinosaur’s back.

“Trust me!” I said to the Engineer’s daughter, turning back in confusion. I told her to direct Irosaurus toward the pen of wild raptorhounds.

The huge megasaurus crashed into the raptorhound pen, bringing down the fence. Thirty reptiles scattered in all directions, pressing themselves to the far walls of the pen in fear. I shouted as loud as I could and pointed my club at the nearest pack of night beasts.

“Attack! Tear them apart!”

Then I led by example, turning the gigantic megasaurus and aiming her at the enemy. The Marsh Mistress suddenly hove into view and joined my mad rush at the enemy. Then it happened! With a fearsome howl, the whole pack of raptorhounds followed me!

Monster Riding skill increased to level fifteen!

Beast Master skill increased to level twelve!

Yes, get them! Five or six Feelers went down in the first three seconds, shredded in the raptors’ teeth. Drunk on blood, the reptiles seethed into the fight, but I directed the megasaurus to the other pen where thirty more raptorhounds were jumping at the fence, howling and desperate to fight. Time to free them and combine the packs! As if from nowhere, the Chimeric Cougar suddenly appeared and joined us, her mouth covered in blood.

Beast Master skill increased to level thirteen!

Your character is now level twenty-five!

Reward: three skill points (total available: twelve) and one mutation point (total available: twelve).

CONGRATULATIONS! You reached level twenty-five! Reward: +2 character stat points. Your game class has been set to Beast Catcher permanently. You can no longer change your game class.

Beast Catcher class bonuses: +20 to Taming skill, +20 to Beast Master skill. Resource and time cost to tame creatures is halved. Wild beasts will not attack you first, with the exception of those in packs, those over double your level, game bosses and night beasts.

Yes! I’d done it! I was overjoyed at my reward, and just the fact that I’d finally gotten to level twenty-five! Now I could leave the beginner’s sandbox and head out to the wider world. At my command, the megasaurus emitted a terrible roar that echoed through the land.

“Sergeant, this is my animal, you know! You gave it to me yourself!” Varya reminded me, looking back at me from her seat in front and frowning. I just laughed.

“Of course she’s yours. But what difference does it make now? We were dying in a fire five minutes ago, and now we’re winning! Look! The sherkhs are running, and the night beasts only have one Alpha left. We’re winning!”

In a flood of emotion, I pulled the girl close and kissed her. The Engineer’s daughter was so surprised by my boldness that she didn’t even resist. I quickly got a grip on myself, pulled back, apologized for my lack of restraint. Especially as the sherkhs, who I’d written off only a moment ago, had organized themselves and now attacked again. A fireball flew out of the darkness and exploded right in the thick of our raptorhounds, launching the reptiles into the air and noticeably decreasing their number, and the herd bonuses along with it. Worse, at least ten fast figures in dark clothes started taking out the raptorhounds methodically, one after another. I started my celebration far too soon…

I jumped off Irosaurus onto the Marsh Mistress and steered the many-legged beast toward our most dangerous enemy — the mage! Lightning thundered down, struck the huge spideress in the chest, but the strike wasn’t fatal to such a large and powerful creature. The Marsh Mistress lost only quarter of her health. Then a jump and… damn it! The enemy Elemental Mage had incredible agility, too, dodging the eight-legged attack and running away to the side. Although… I slowly smiled from ear to ear; the Elemental Mage’s movement speed was getting slower and slower with each passing second. My ginger Shadow Hexxer was alive and working with all his might.

Twin rifle shots rang out behind me — our gunners striving to take the sherkh mage out of the fight. But as the bullets landed, a blue cocoon flashed up around the mage’s body and deflected them. A crossbow bolt fired by the Thief was also suspended in the air without reaching its target. It was some magic shield. Ignoring an arrow piercing through the darkness and sticking into my left shoulder, I guided the Marsh Mistress toward the level 56 Elemental Mage once more.

Ouch… A fireball hit the spider and burned us both. But that was the last thing the sherkh could do. His shining cocoon broke, and the Marsh Mistress sank her mandibles into the enemy’s chest.

Heavy Armor skill increased to level seventeen!

Tenacity skill increased to level ten!

Monster Riding skill increased to level sixteen!

I managed to beat out the fire, in no small part thanks to Whiskers appearing next to me, his touches putting out the fires. A level 33 Shadow Hexxer, wow… I stroked the little cat, put him on my shoulder and looked around. The last sherkhs were running away as fast as they could, but nobody pursued them. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of sherkhs, Feelers and raptorhounds. Fifteen surviving raptorhounds, many in a terrible state, staggered through the slaughter like timid shadows. Victory had come at a high price…

Edward Samarsky approached, his jacket wet with blood. “I caught two archers,” he said. “I leveled up just in time, otherwise I’d have croaked.”

Max Dubovitsky limped over. “Yeah, it’s a miracle we survived.”

Julie the little Veterinarian sniffled. “Not everyone did,” she said. “I lost Princess. And look over there,” she pointed sadly into the distance.

I looked in the direction she was pointing. The Chimeric Cougar, black and red with burns, her fur still smoldering, howled in anguish as she leaned over something small and blackened. I jumped down from the Marsh Mistress, walked toward the cougar. The huge beast was licking her tiny kitten, now a hardly recognizable clump of burning meat, trying to bring it back to life. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I fell to my knees beside her. Julie approached and laid hands on the corpse, held on for a few seconds, then shook her head — there was nothing she could do. Darkness’s kitten was dead.

All the members of the League of Losers gazed at me silently, awaiting further instructions. I stood, looked around. There was nothing to do here in these smoldering ruins, especially since the sherkhs could come back and attack again any time, possibly with reinforcements. I heard the crack of assault rifles and the boom of grenades in the distance — the sherkhs must be attacking the market town too, and the humans were defending. If the sherkhs were victorious there, then they’d head here to finish off their bloody business and end the survivors. We needed to get away, and fast.

Thankfully, the giga-komodos had been forced to interrupt their sleep to get out of their burning pen, and our Atlas was wandering nearby, sniffing at the smoke and shaking his armored head in disgust. We needed to saddle him and get out of there before he rolled up into a ball again.

“We’re leaving!” I commanded, pointing to the southwest, toward our quest and the minotaur. “And we’re taking the raptorhounds with us. The sherkhs are enemies to us now, and these fast beasts seem able to knock them out of stealth with their howl, and stop them disappearing again. We’re going to need that to survive now.”

Chapter 28 [Kitten]

Rest

WE SHOULDN’T HAVE left… From the sherkhs’ conversations, I knew there was a group of invisible fighters guarding the respawn point. That meant Bald Skull and his servants would revive completely helpless, surrounded by enemies. They would likely die again and again, losing multiple lives. That really bothered me, but I had no idea where the nearest respawn point was. I had no way to help the our welcoming host. Varya didn’t even bother translating my suggestion to spend the night combing the area in search of reviving players. She thought it was dumb. We were alive, and that was lucky enough. And this wasn’t even our war — that’s what the Scout believed, and so did the other members of our group too.

And so the League of Losers fled the war, taking to its heels (and paws, hooves and spider legs) as fast as it could. All the same, Max Dubovitsky was clearly nervous. In his view, we were moving far too slowly, and our enemy could easily catch us up. The Marsh Mistress slowed everyone down — although the cruel arachnoscorp tried as hard as she could, she was still slower than Irosaurus Regina, Atlas, Darkness and the raptorhounds. Nobody even suggested that we abandon our strongest assault animal. Sergeant just pushed the giant spider harder and fed her with copious meat so she could recover her stamina and move her chitinous legs faster. Varya and Avir Tan-Hoshi followed behind us, covering our group’s tracks as much as they could.

The night was unusually cold. I saw frost on the grass for the first time in the new world, and puddles covered with a thin crust of ice. The Philosopher was right — the warm season was ending. We had to prepare for the winter. Maybe it was the low temperature that stopped Atlas from curling up and sleeping, which was all he usually did at night. Instead, the armored giga-komodo stubbornly kept up his steady pace, working his muscles and staying warm.

The raptorhounds walking with us got distracted by a forest beast that we scared out of hiding, and at some point split from the group, disappearing quietly into the night. Only a tar-black female at level 52 and two males covered in horrible burns at levels 34 and 45, continued to walk with us. The female was the same one that understood me in the tamed animal pen. She was probably the cleverest of all the raptorhounds Bald Skull had tamed. She had enough Intellect to understand me, and now that I’d taken the Basic Animal Speech perk, I could translate her whistles and roars. The black female feared the dangerous nocturnal forest. She was hungry and tired, and loud about it. I did my best to calm her with Soothe, to stop the valuable beast from abandoning us like the rest of her pack.

This raptorhound had no name, and it still said in her description that she was Bald Skull’s pet. Although that didn’t stop the strong black raptor from carrying out the commands of the other Beast Catcher and periodically blasting out a sharp scream that echoed between the trees, to reveal any sherkhs that might be following us. The two males weren’t as smart, and couldn’t understand me. They had other things on their mind, anyway — their terrible burns covered almost their entire skin, and they had other wounds from the battle with the sherkhs. Sergeant’s sister treated the injured animals. The little Veterinarian rubbed ointment on the raptors’ burns and bandaged them up, to keep their arrow and knife wounds from getting infected. The two injured raptorhounds weren’t tamed, but I felt no danger from the carnivores. They at least had enough Intellect to know that they couldn’t survive on their own in their condition, and that the humans not only had no ill will toward them, but wanted to help, heal and feed them. The lizards took me as an ally and a member of their pack, so they made no move to attack me.

In any case, I had Darkness to protect me. After the death of her own kitten, the Chimeric Cougar had redirected all her maternal energy onto the only other kitten nearby. The giant beast kept a constant watch on where I was, tried to always keep me in view. She shared scraps of meat from the Beast Catcher with me. She sniffed me and licked my fur as often as she could. She reacted jealously when Varya picked me up, even growled at her. When the veyer was telling an emotional story and raised his voice not far from me, Darkness ran over instantly and stood between me and the winged boy, baring her teeth and growling furiously at our Thief. This hyper-protectiveness was somewhat… stressful. On the other hand, it was kind of nice to get extra food and have someone to lick the back of my neck clean. It would be far harder to try to change the beast’s mind and explain that I wasn’t her child. Best to let her be. It was no harm.

We’d been traveling all night with only a couple of short stops whenever our Scout didn’t like the look of the road ahead, and urged the megasaurus forward to check it while we waited. Our group stopped only when morning came, and none of us had any strength left. We made camp on the shore of a small, clear lake. The Mechanic and the Engineer quickly cut down some branches and fashioned shelters and beds out of the boughs of firs. In the meantime, Sergeant and Varya collected brushwood and lit a big campfire to warm the group up. The sound of chattering teeth filled the camp, even from the group’s strong leader. Some hot herb tea warmed us up a little more, and then the first rays of the sun over the horizon finally began to chase away the night’s cold.

Edward and Max Dubovitsky took first watch, along with the new girl Margarita, who wanted to keep them company. The humans, although exhausted from the night’s journey, didn’t just sit by the fire; they used wire, steel plates and springs to craft clever devices — snares and traps that could come in handy for catching large beasts in the future. Including the half-mythical minotaur who our League of Losers was sent to catch, although nobody in the group knew anything about our target. How big was the minotaur? Certainly big, but how big exactly? As big as a bull, an elephant or even bigger? How many legs did it have? Did it have high Intellect, or was it just a dumb animal? The trio on watch discussed these questions in hushed tones, trying not to awaken their sleeping companions. At the same time, Edward Samarsky tentatively tried to flirt with the new girl, and she seemed to approve. She laughed at the boy’s jokes, blushed at his suggestive compliments, happily answered his questions. That suited me just fine — maybe our young Mechanic would chase after Margarita and leave ‘my’ Varya alone.

Yeah, I wasn’t sleeping either. I was snoozing by the fire with half an ear open, letting Darkness groom me and warm me with her body. I wanted to find out whether Margarita would tell her new acquaintances of my ability to turn into a human, thereby revealing my most guarded secret. I also feared for the safety of Lady Victoria’s secret. I remembered the threats from the Pharaoh’s spouse with crystal clarity. But everything was fine so far — Margarita hadn’t mentioned me in the conversation once, and she limited her descriptions of life with the Pharaoh’s wife to a few short, general phrases. She explained her paralysis and missing tongue as a punishment for disobedience, and refused to go into detail. Soon I relaxed; Margarita seemed smart and careful enough.

But there was something else keeping me awake. The recent battle with the sherkhs replayed over and over in my mind. It was a miracle that I’d survived. In fact, I hadn’t survived at all — it was only through a miraculous confluence of circumstances that my character was revived. That bothered the hell out of me. After all, I was deservedly proud of my fluffy Shadow Hexxer. I’d managed to create a truly unusual and extremely strong character, if not capable of taking out most enemies, then at least able to flee the most dangerous of them without dying. Predatory animals, night beasts, mighty steel-clad soldiers, quick and agile scouts with arrows — I feared none of them. But every encounter I had with a strong mage — be it Haze, Lady Victoria or the Elemental Mage from today — ended in my thorough and bitter defeat. I hadn’t just lost, I’d been crushed. Why was that? I had to figure out the reason and take measures to make sure it didn’t happen again.

The most obvious explanation was that I couldn’t take control of my enemy’s mind — I hadn’t learned that kind of magic, it was another specialization. I also couldn’t fire off destructive spells like the unholy fireballs of last night, or a meteorite rain or a cone of cold. With time, I hoped to learn the fireball spell and other Elemental Magic spells, but they would never compare with the might and destructive power of a specialized Elemental Mage. My own spells — Mana Drain, Infect, Slow and Weaken — worked on enemy spellcasters, but had no instantaneous effect. As soon as I attacked, any mage could respond with something powerful and deadly that my little cat couldn’t survive.

The only instantaneous ‘ultimate’ spell that I had, Paralyze, didn’t seem to work on the strongest enemies. And it didn’t just fail to work due to magic resistance; I got the message “Invalid target for this spell”, which implied that there was no way it could work. Maybe high-level enemies and those with high Intellect were protected from Paralyze? I found nothing about it in the game manual, but I’d already seen that Paralyze wouldn’t work on Alphas, Lesser Terrors or high-level mages. So how was I supposed to fight those enemies as a Shadow Hexxer?

I remembered that the Infect spell had once worked well on a sherkh Shadow Mage. But again, it was far from instant, and that mage was only level forty-five. I could turn into an arachnoscorp or a snake to attack spellcasters, but only in the right circumstances, and only with time and preparation. No matter how I span it, I couldn’t see a reliable way to defeat enemy mages without adding to my arsenal of spells.

But what if it was worth trying another path? Instead of increasing my offensive capabilities, what if I raised my defenses so I could survive better? Sure, adding a few hit points or improving my stealth wouldn’t cut it. But I could take Magic Defense. Surely there was a reason the game had suggested it to me so many times? And that would allow me to reflect the Lesser Terror’s attack more often.

I read the skill’s description and my hopes faltered. Each level of the skill gave only an extra 0.25% chance to deflect enemy magics. Not much, to put it lightly. The skill wouldn’t proc often, and I couldn’t see a way for it to level up on its own, unlike so many other skills. I’d have to spend a bunch of free skill points to get any kind of noticeable effect from the investment. To increase the chance to deflect enemy magic to just one in three, I’d have to spend all my free points for the next forty-four (!!!) character levels. And then I’d probably still die, because my low Luck meant that even a one-in-three chance might never proc…

I didn’t want to spend my free points. I was saving them for the Translator skill, so I could finally speak to the big oafs. And it seemed far better to spend them on my other skills than to level up a vague and entirely unreliable protection against spells. Better to skip Magic Defense for now, then. I’d save the free slot for something more useful. And about that — I should check Whiskers’ skills. I opened my character sheet.

Whiskers. Kitten. Male. Sergeant’s pet.

Class: Level 33 Shadow Hexxer.

Character stats:

Strength 8 (-30% damage dealt in close combat)

Agility 19 (+25% movement speed, +25% reaction speed, +25% action accuracy)

Intellect 25 * Your high Intellect gives your character special abilities

Perception 19 (+25% range to vision, hearing, sense of smell)

Physique 15 (No bonuses)

Luck Modifier -2 * Your low Luck gives your character special abilities

Character stats:

Health Points: 265 / 265

Stamina Points: 109 / 554

Magic Points: 162 / 162

Carrying capacity: 2.2 lbs * Inventory unavailable

Mutagens used: 2 (18 points spent)

Fame: 2

Character skills:

Curse Magic 78 (effectively 98)

Radar Ear 31

Mysticism 31

Stealth 31 (effectively 51) * Translucency ability

Soothe 30

Transformation Magic 17

Elemental Magic 24

Tireless 18

Bookworm 12

Conjurer 10

Translator 31 * Basic Animal Speech ability

Shapeshifter 30

12 of 13 possible skills at level 33 chosen

Attention! 9 unspent skill points available

Attention! 24 mutation points available

It was interesting that two stats at once — Agility and Perception — had reached nineteen. That was good on its own and it promised useful bonuses in the future when the stats reached twenty. I knew what happened at twenty Agility — the Daredevil skill gave the ability to climb trees, jump long distances and squeeze through the narrowest of gaps. But there was no information about what happened at twenty Perception in the game manual. Oh well — I’d find out when I got there.

As for the last skill to be chosen, I couldn’t come up with any good ideas no matter how hard I racked my tired brain. Just as I failed to solve the problem of fighting enemy mages. It seemed my little Shadow Hexxer wasn’t ready to go up against such enemies just yet. Well, every class had its strengths and weaknesses. My weakness was my vulnerability to magic, and that meant I had to keep my kitten away from enemy spellcasters. Others could fight them — my task was to be a support and help the big oafs by weakening their enemies and draining mana from them.

I put my nine accumulated free skill points into Translator, leveling the skill up to forty. A mere ten points in this skill now stood between me and the Modified Vocal Chords mutation. I had more than enough Mutation Points, so very soon, this ginger cat would be speaking Human!

With those sweet thoughts I drifted away, lulled by the warmth and meowing of the huge cat that thought herself my mother.

Chapter 29 [Sergeant]

Southern Ruins

BOTH THE BURNT MALES died despite my sister’s best efforts. It hurt to look at Julie. She was in tears, just stricken with grief, blaming herself for not saving them, for not having good enough Veterinarian skills. It might have made sense practically to feed the raptorhounds’ bodies to our other animals, but nobody argued when Julie said we had to bury them. Edward and I took shovel in hand, and I… for the first time I saw a living example of what class specialization and character skills meant. Despite my high strength, visible muscles and sincerest efforts, the humble skinny Mechanic was at least three times faster than me as a digger.

And strangely, while I worked with the shovel, the game system leveled up my… Hand-to-Hand Combat! That must have been the most suitable skill for this work in the Beast Catcher’s repertoire. Edward, on the other hand, clearly had specialized skills for simple tools. He worked like a bulldozer, and leveled up to twenty-one in the process. He didn’t even break a sweat, as if digging out an entire ton of hard-packed earth was just a warm-up for him! When there was nothing but a small mound left at the burial site, Margarita broke off from washing underwear in the lake nearby and rewarded the heroic digger with a kiss. I started noticing last night that our newcomer was attracted to Edward and encouraged any attention from him, and never missed a chance to show the boy her own favorable view of him. Who knew how that would go? Anyway, I was happy for them.

We set off right after breakfast, or I guess it would be lunch. Somewhere around midday. Although it was kind of hard to tell the time — the weather was bad, the sky wreathed with dark clouds that blocked every last ray of sunshine. The trees bent to the ground in gusts of sharp cold wind. A thunderstorm was brewing. This had its advantages — the resulting downpour should wash away our tracks nicely. Although I doubted anyone even wanted us, that the sherkhs or anyone else would bother pursuing us. I suspected that last night, our League of Losers fully lived up to its name; we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I doubted the sherkhs would put much effort into finding us.

Although… I noticed that the description above the only surviving raptorhound in our group had changed.

Pack Raptorhound. Level 52 Female (1). Masterless

Masterless? Uh-oh… very recently, this raptorhound had been marked as belonging to Bald Skull. That meant the giant Beast Catcher had been killed by the sherkhs, and he had died his final death. And the assassination must have been planned in advance, with a view to weakening the New Pharaohs — the Beast Catcher did a great deal for them by providing raptorhounds and other animals. And that meant the second Beast Catcher known to the sherkhs should fear for his life. I called the raptor over and she obediently ran up, cocking her head, sticking out her tongue and even wagging her tail like a dog.

My sister, riding up beside me on the Marsh Mistress, looked down. “She’s looking for a new owner and she knows you’re the boss around here. Give her something to eat.”

The beast had already been fed that morning along with our other animals, but it wasn’t so much the food that mattered here as the ceremonial recruitment into the ranks of our pets. I took a big piece of raw meat out of a bag tied to the giant spider’s back, threw it to the raptorhound. Jaws clamped shut, a gulp, and the meat was no more.

Taming skill increased to level sixty-three!

Beast Master skill increased to level thirteen!

One piece was enough. The description above the dark raptorhound’s head changed. She was now my pet. She couldn’t be much use without pack bonuses. I offered her to my sister to ride, and Julie accepted, although she pointed out that she couldn’t actually ride her without a saddle. I suggested that she choose a name for her new pet right away, but she seemed in no hurry. She’d been distant all day since her two scaled patients died, and she was still sniffling occasionally.

Edward, who had been half-watching the taming of the raptor from Atlas’s back as he and Max toiled over some creation, raised his head and offered to make a saddle out of strips of leather and thick steel wire. But later, in the evening, because right now he and the Engineer were busy crafting some protective plates designed to strengthen the Marsh Mistress’s abdomen and front legs. Our cruel arachnoscorp siege weapon sure could use the extra armor — her natural chitin couldn’t always withstand sherkh arrows or the teeth of the night beasts. I had to pull no less than ten arrows out of the spider, and several of her eyes were burnt out from fire spells. The empty sockets oozed slime. The fate of the entire group depended on the survivability of our strongest battle beast, which was why our Mechanic and Engineer worked even as they rode, drilling and filing down bone scales and titanium plates to construct armor for the arachnoscorp.

Margarita assisted them, helping to hold down materials with pliers and providing the necessary tools. The girl generally tried to be active and useful to all members of the League of Losers, no matter the job. She cooked and washed up, fed the animals and helped load and unload them, cleaned clothes. She even offered her services as a scout, though her skills weren’t much good for that.

I understood her perfectly, and I knew it wasn’t just out of a desire to make friends and fit into the group. Based on the girl’s story, it was clear that Margarita had done something to anger the dread Lady Victoria and had been banished with the condition that she leave the territory of the New Pharaohs within two days. If the Pharaoh’s wife saw the girl again, she could expect to die the worst death imaginable. Margarita refused outright to say what exactly she had done to earn this hatred from her mistress, and I didn’t press the matter. But the only guaranteed way to avoid seeing Lady Victoria again was to level up to twenty-five fast, and then leave the sandbox through the energy barrier for the wider world. In that, our goals lined up perfectly.

Suddenly, our column stopped. Varya the Scout, riding up ahead on the megasaurus, had raised a hand in warning.

“What’s up?” I asked Varya, peering into the sparse bushes ahead.

“I don’t know…” the girl shrugged. “I thought I saw movement. But no. I don’t see anything. False alarm, I think.”

All the same, our Scout was in no hurry to start moving again. The winged veyer Avir Tan-Hoshi flitted down from the Marsh Mistress where he’d just stopped to rest, then flew a couple of circles over the bushes. He noticed nothing dangerous. He rose up higher toward the heavy low clouds, examining the hills dotted with sparse greenery. I examined the suspicious-looking bushes too, but saw nothing dangerous even with my night vision. It was worth checking out anyway, just in case. I called over the raptorhound and pointed at the suspicious greenery. The black female got the message and emitted a piercing howl. And… right before our eyes, in the thin bushes where it seemed even a hedgehog couldn’t hide, three sherkhs from Southern Garrison suddenly appeared, sitting on their haunches!

It didn’t take long to find out if they were hostile — two of the sherkhs raised their crossbows and fired before any of us had time to react. The black raptorhound galloping toward them collapsed and rolled across the ground, two arrows in her chest.

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-five!

“Nooooooooo!!!” Julie screamed, so loud that my ears rang.

The little Veterinarian jumped down from the spider and ran over to the black raptorhound as it convulsed in agony. The third sherkh switched his aim from the raptorhound to my sister, but before he could pull the trigger, he reeled and fell on his side. Ginger Whiskers’ meowing showed that he was working at full steam, and the archer’s fall was no accident. Nor were the strangely slowed movements of the other two sherkhs, who now rose as if in treacle, their legs barely moving. A coordinated volley of two or even three rifle shots interrupted their pathetic attempt to escape. One died right away — it was hard to live with your head taken off by a shot from an elephant gun. The second was only wounded in the side and fell, dropping his crossbow, then reaching at a sloth’s pace for the twin daggers sheathed at his belt.

“Leave them! We need them alive! Uhm… At least one of them,” I was forced to correct myself, because Darkness had just leaped into the fray and finished off the paralyzed sherkh with a clawed paw, tearing the archer’s chest open along with his thin black bodysuit. “We need him to tell us why the sherkhs are following us.”

I jumped down from the Marsh Mistress, disarmed the last of the sherkhs and tightly bound his arms behind his back with some wire from the Mechanic. My sister’s pet Snowflake was trying to nip at the wounded sherkh. I chased her away and set the man on his feet.

Tamir Vai Ugashi. Sherkh. Male. Guild: Southern Garrison. Level 41 Tracker.

His injury wasn’t life-threatening, especially since Varya was already bandaging it. The prisoner’s eyes darted between me and the human girl, his gaze burning into us with fury, but he couldn’t do anything. He just kicked his legs, trying to hit one of us, but it only looked comical under the effect of the slow spell.

“Load him up onto Atlas!” I commanded, then walked over to my sister. She was kneeling before the raptorhound’s body.

I expected hysterics over the pet’s death, but Julie was too busy for tears. She’d already pulled both crossbow bolts out and was hurriedly binding the raptorhound’s bleeding wounds, using healing magic here and there — blue sparks zipped from the tips of the girl’s fingers into the beast’s body.

“I can save her, brother! And I will!” The dark cloud was gone from the little Veterinarian’s mind. Now she was at work, and full of determination. “I’ll call her Laika. She’ll guard our house. We’re going to have a new house one day, right? We aren’t just going to wander the world forever.”

“We’ll have a house!” I told the girl as she leveled up to thirty right before my eyes. “It’ll be the coziest and safest house ever. Where we can wait for the winter to end and protect ourselves from all the dangers of the world. But right now we have to go, before the other sherkhs miss this group of scouts. Oh, perfect!”

My last phrase referred to the rain, which had finally started. Rare droplets quickly turned into a true downpour. Just what we needed to cover our tracks from pursuers.

* * *

The rain poured unceasingly, not stopping until nightfall. We had to change direction several times through the veil of water when streams turned into furious floods. We strayed off course and wandered long with no idea where we were. We might have walked right past our target if it weren’t for our Scout’s sharp eye. She noticed a strange greenish light to our left, along with some dark sharp shadows on the horizon — either cliffs or the contours of towers in an old fortress. The strange diffuse light was coming from them. Could this be the Southern Ruins, rumored to be home to the minotaur?

The group moved in that direction, but soon we had to stop. All the other group members were suddenly losing Health Points, and they complained of a strange dizziness and sudden weakness. Nothing of the kind happened to my Sergeant. Probably thanks to his high Physique. That was the highest of all Sergeant’s stats, and I’d put both the free points I got at level twenty-five into Physique, raising the stat off all the way to twenty-four, which increased both my Health Points and Stamina Points, along with my regeneration and resistance to environmental forces. I suspected that my regeneration overcame the drop in hit points, so I didn’t experience any ill effects. But a message popped up before my eyes and put me on guard:

Tenacity skill increased to level ten!

There was definitely some aggressive external influence here. Some poisonous gas? Radiation? The intensity of whatever it was quickly grew as we got closer to the ruins. We couldn’t even think of going any further without preparing first, especially now, when night was about to bring its beasts and other dangers. I ordered a retreat and decided to set up camp at a safe distance from the old ruins.

We found a convenient and even relatively dry spot beneath the crown of a huge tree. I would have called it an oak, with its knotty roots and its trunk five arm spans thick. It even had oak-like leaves. But could juicy bright orange fruit like elongated plums grow on an oak? The thunderstorm hadn’t ended yet, and we all knew the danger a lightning strike could pose to trees standing alone like this one, but we decided that, since the tree had survived for so many decades already, it would probably make it through the night. And as far as we all saw, the lightning seemed to strike the tall spires of the ancient fortress nearby with enviable precision, preferring them to the trees and other heights nearby. Our Engineer even advanced the theory that the area around the fortress would be totally safe thanks to its convenient lightning rods.

Despite the danger of discovery, we lit a campfire. We were all soaked through and freezing, and it would be a harsh night with no fire. We were also waiting for the night beasts. We hadn’t even unsaddled the Marsh Mistress and Irosaurus Regina yet, and it was better to fight in the light, when you could see the enemy. Although by all our calculations, the maximum level of the Feelers shouldn’t be more than eight, and we should see no fearsome Alphas among them.

But night fell, and the Feelers didn’t come. That was somewhat strange, although it confirmed my earlier observation that the night beasts didn’t seem to appear near ancient ruins for some reason. I didn’t see them at Hundred Skull City either, nor at the ruins in the hills. Even in the swamp ruins where I’d once tamed the Marsh Mistress, no Feelers had appeared to disturb me and Shelly. Was it a coincidence? Or a hint from the creators of the new world about where to build settlements?

We ate meat, some edible roots and the fruits of the ‘oak,’ so sour they made us make faces. I was the first to try the ‘plums’ and I found them perfectly edible. We didn’t throw away the stones — fruit trees were a great rarity, and the Engineer suggested we should plant the stones wherever we decided to set up after we left for the wider world.

To warm us up faster, I even uncorked the bottle of wine Bald Skull had given me. Of course, we discussed recent events and built our plans. Max expressed the view that, now that the war had begun, our mission to catch the minotaur was no longer relevant — the rulers of the New Pharaohs wanted to use the horned monster in the arena to train gladiators and amuse the populace, but they’d hardly be throwing any large events in wartime. Varya’s father suggested we abandon the whole idea, return to the Philosopher and then just float downstream through the barrier. Just two members of the league of losers, he said, — Margarita Ovchinnikov and Edward Samarsky — hadn’t yet reached the required level to go through the barrier, but at the rate we were leveling up, they’d get there in a day or two. By the time the Pharaoh and his terrible wife missed us, we’d already be beyond their reach. So why should we risk entangling ourselves with a dangerous monster?

I insisted that we continue to carry out the task we were given. While we were completing a mission from Lady Victoria, the New Pharaohs wouldn’t touch us. Who knew what the humans of the strongest guild would do if we just dropped everything and went back empty-handed? Anyway, we hadn’t even seen the minotaur yet, we’d only just reached his lair. Maybe things weren’t as hopeless as we feared? Despite the gradual draining of our Health Points, we could still approach the ancient ruins and look around. We could set some traps and snares, lure out the horned creature and tie it up. Then we’d hand the monster over to the first squad we found from the New Pharaohs and head out to the world beyond the forcefield with a clean conscience.

Our sherkh prisoner sat nearby and listened to our conversations carefully, his ears twitching to catch every word. I offered him food several times, even promised to retie his hands in front or just untie them, leaving only his feet tied. I even suggested leaving the plate somewhere away from the group, to honor sherkh laws and ensure that none of the humans saw him eating. The prisoner just snarled and ground his teeth, hurling short, simplistic abuse at me. Like “you think you know our customs, but you’re just a fool!” and so on. The tied-up Tracker also refused to answer my questions. His loss. He could go hungry if he wanted.

Margarita watched my attempts to talk to the sherkh for a long time, then finally broke.

“Why are we even wasting our time with him?! He’s an enemy, and that’s that! We should finish off our enemy and be done with it! And we sure could use the experience for killing a level forty-one.”

What was I hearing? I tried to keep my face neutral, but it was tough — the humble and helpless Margarita that I’d first met on the train, then watched later in the League of Losers, was the last person I would have expected to be a cold-blooded killer. Yes, she’d killed twice in the last day, but that was all in defense of her own life, not a calculated execution. I turned to Margarita, looked her in the eye and handed her a knife.

“Think you can kill a defenseless prisoner? Alright then, go ahead! You’ll get a new level, maybe even two.”

Margarita hesitated. She glanced at the tied up sherkh, then back at the knife in her hands. Then she turned to Edward in search of support, even offered the knife to the Mechanic. He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not a saint, but I’m no torturer either.” Margarita dropped her head and handed the knife back to me.

The sherkh had been watching the whole scene closely. His lips twisted in a grin and he laughed.

“Humans are weak! You fear to get your hands dirty. We sherkhs are far harsher and more pragmatic. But since you don’t plan to kill me, will you consider letting me go?”

“So you can go back to the others and tell them where to find us? No, thanks. We aren’t that stupid.” Now it was my turn to laugh and grin back at the bound man. “You got one thing right, sherkh. We don’t plan to kill you. There’s no point. You’ll revive and bring your guildmates back. Who needs that? No. We’re going to take you out to the world beyond the barrier and then release you to the four winds. We’ll even give you back your clothes and weapons. Then you can go join Eastern Garrison or live on your own, it’s up to you. But you won’t be going back to Southern Garrison. They’ll mark you a deserter and traitor.”

Choose the learnable skill Intimidation for your character?

Choose the learnable skill Diplomacy for your character?

What was diplomatic about that..? I’d just spent enough time talking to Avelia to know what I was saying. For a sherkh, shame was a hundred times worse than death. Anyway, it seemed to be working, and then some! The satisfied smile on the prisoner’s face fled before a look of despair. The bound Tracker started to panic — he roared, railed against his bonds, tried to pull himself free. The Engineer stood up in alarm, but I told him to sit back down. Let the sherkh rage and realize there was no way to escape. Maybe then he’d get a little more compliant.

Sure enough, a minute later the Tracker abandoned his fruitless attempts to break through the thick wire, turned his head toward me and spoke like a man doomed:

“I’ll answer your questions, human. But you must promise to kill me. Later, once you reach the barrier to the world outside.”

He seemed ready to agree to anything now — to give up any information, swear any oath, as long as he was allowed to die and return to his guild.

“I won’t kill you, I’ll just let you go.”

The sherkh looked up in surprise, his eyes widening. I cocked my head.

“Maybe this is hard for you to believe,” I said, “but I and the members of my group are no enemies to the sherkhs. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some of your people before. Even the leader of Eastern Garrison, Avelia Un Ponar. I could talk to most of them easily, without anger or aggression. We even helped each other from time to time. I’ve never encountered Southern Garrison before, so the attack from your troops was completely unexpected. It should come as no surprise that I want to understand the reason for it.”

Choose the learnable skill Diplomacy for your character?

The same suggestion from the game system again… What was this skill anyway? It seemed unnecessary for a Beast Catcher, but then, I wasn’t just a solo player, I was the leader of a small group. Maybe it would be useful for all of us? I opened the game manual. Hmm… Lowers aggression in members of other factions and guilds, including NPCs, game bosses and living players alike. Unlocks unique dialog choices and increases the chances of reaching agreements. Affects the conditions of trade deals, although not as much as the specialized Trading skill.

Could definitely come in handy… But before I could make a decision, the sherkh distracted me.

“Untie my arms!” he asked. “I give you my word that I will not flee, human. And I will not attack your humans or the veyer.”

I nodded to Edward and the Mechanic took the wire off the prisoner’s wrists and elbows. The Tracker rubbed his sore wrists and then, without a single prompt from me, started to tell me about how his fellow sherkhs had been driven into a fury from the human attack. After all, the humans’ long-range howitzers destroyed more than just the fortresses on the border. Several villages full of civilians had been wiped from the face of the earth, and most of the people sent to the respawn point were nursing mothers and infant children. Some died twice, even three times in the same day.

At the order of the Great Leader, all the guilds assembled units of avengers whose task was to attack the humans in their own territory. Destroy bridges, burn down the manors of the nobles and valuable players in the New Pharaohs, slay the tamed beasts. The prisoner told us that a group of fifty stealth attackers from Southern Garrison crossed the border high in the mountains, where there were no human watchers. Then the group split into three squads. One group went to destroy the human Beast Catcher’s manor. The second attacked the barracks of the trade town’s defenders. The Tracker didn’t know the target of the third group, but they went somewhere north, to the cliffs. The Tracker himself ended up in the second group and didn’t participate in the attack on the human Beast Catcher.

But right after all three squads reunited, he was tasked with tracking the escaped human Beast Catcher along with three other experienced trackers. The task was not easy. The group lost the trail several times. It took a long time for them to untangle the loops and false tracks we left behind. But all the same, they completed their task and found our group on the lakeshore the next day. They sent one runner off to report our location while the others continued to track us. Yes, they carelessly gave themselves up somehow. But the fact that this wasn’t even the same Beast Catcher that the first sherkh squad had been sent to hunt only became known to Tamir Vai Ugashi from the talk in the camp after his imprisonment. All the same, I had no doubt whatsoever that the leader of Southern Garrison had decided to kill the other Beast Catcher too, and right now a group of sherkhs were out in search of the squad that had disappeared in the storm. And sooner or later, they’d find us.

Suddenly, the storyteller’s face twisted in horror. The sherkh fell silent, watching something behind my back open-mouthed. I turned sharply and my own jaw dropped in surprises.

By the trunk of a big tree, leaning on a huge poleaxe and digging around in his teeth with a piece of straw, stood the Minotaur himself! Definitely Minotaur with a capital M. He was huge, at least twelve feet tall. He walked upright, with two mighty musclebound arms, his hairy tree-trunk legs ending in hooves. He wore a padded vest and leather shorts, with a necklace of many human skulls around his powerful neck. Horns stretched out from his head and a his body glowed a sinister green.

“I see you have to come visit me,” the terrible beast growled like thunder, spitting out his piece of straw and taking up his poleaxe in both hands. “So I thought I’d come join this campfire sit-down myself!”

Chapter 30 [Kitten]

Refuge with a Monster

☠ Minotaur. Legendary Monster.

THE SKULL SYMBOL indicating a dangerous man-eating monster raised no eyebrows at all. On the contrary, I would have been shocked by its absence. But ‘legendary monster’? Even the Fiery Manticore had no such title. We were in for a tough fight! I held on to hope that the huge Minotaur would pay no attention to a creature as small as me, that he’d stick to the big oafs. But I had no plans to let him kill my companions unpunished either. So I arched my back, stretching and flexing my muscles. What could I do against a Minotaur? I didn’t even know where to start. Slow would be pitifully weak against such a massive monster, and there was no way Paralyze would work at all. No point in sapping mana from the Minotaur — it wasn’t a spellcaster. And any fire or ice spells would just draw the horned monster’s attention to me.

The big oafs were confused too. They took out their guns, but didn’t shoot, just exchanged tense glances, nobody wanting to be the first to fire. I understood them perfectly. Our chances of surviving a fight against the massive monster seemed extremely slim. Maybe we’d have some chance of success if we used our battle pets , but the Marsh Mistress and Irosaurus Regina were far away. We wouldn’t make it to them in time — the Minotaur would kill the whole group first. All in all, matters looked dire, and the humans saw it too.

Only Sergeant kept sitting by the fire as if nothing was amiss, stoking the coals beneath the skewers of meat. My master was the one to break the drawn-out silence:

“Hey, bull man, you should hire our group to guard your castle!”

What!? Was he mad!? Judging by the other group members, who slowly turned toward him with wide eyes, they were asking themselves the same question. The huge horned beast seemed taken aback by this unprecedented insolence.

“What did you call me, mortal?!” the Minotaur boomed out, his fearsome roar promising retribution, but Sergeant just shrugged calmly.

“What do you want me to call you?” the Beast Catcher asked evenly, still focusing on cooking the meat. “You speak in my language and I think you used to be human. I don’t know your real name. Minotaur is too general. Horny would be rude.”

“I’ll say! I’d tear off your arms and legs for such insolence,” the mighty beast agreed, taking a step toward Sergeant and raising his heavy serrated poleaxe high above his horned head. “As it is, you will simply die.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that later,” Sergeant said with a calm that the most enlightened Buddhists would envy. “What about my offer first? You must get all kinds of uninvited guests every day. Some of them want to take your horned head as a trophy, others just want to dig around in the ruins in search of loot.”

“As if you are not like them…” the giant beast, although breathing noisily and flaring out his broad nostrils, still stopped and lowered his weapon.

Sergeant looked the Minotaur right in the eyes and spoke with reproach:

“You see my Beast Catcher class? That means I don’t kill wild beasts, I catch them. And your head holds no interest to me as a trophy. More than that, if we did somehow manage to kill you, then the Pharaoh and his Lady Victoria would publicly dismember me. Me and my group were sent to catch the ‘the dumb and dangerous beast’ that lives in the Southern Ruins. The rulers of the New Pharaohs wanted to throw a bloody show at their arena, with a minotaur as the star. But since you aren’t a dumb wild animal at all, the mission is obviously off. And that means we need a new job and would be grateful to any new employer. Especially the legendary Minotaur himself.”

The horned monster didn’t react, so the Beast Catcher continued:

“You must have some jobs to do that an experienced Engineer and Mechanic could handle. Fixing things in the castle, setting up traps against those uninvited guests, sharpening your poleaxe. Our team also includes a healer and an experienced serving girl who can clean your rooms and wash your dirty clothes. We even have a cat to chase mice away.”

Amazing. For the first time since my very first day in the new world, I felt true admiration for my master. I would have clapped my furry paws if I could. Until now, the Beast Catcher had relied more on reckless courage, good survivability and a penchant for making impressions on beautiful women of any race. This was something else entirely. I never expected a game this subtle from that dull lug. This was more what I’d expect from an experienced diplomat. The Minotaur thoughtfully scratched his head with a huge hand. He seemed caught off guard too, and didn’t know what to say to such an unusual offer.

“Matters like this aren’t settled on the spur of the moment, I think,” Max Dubovitsky said, catching on to the leader’s strategy and putting away his gun. “Please, sit by our fire, mighty Minotaur. I don’t know what minotaurs eat, but we have meat and roasted fish, fruit and even a little wine.

The huge dread beast turned to him and… obeyed! He stuck his poleaxe behind his belt, bent his hairy hoofed legs and sat down cross-legged by the fire with a grunt. I immediately activated Soothe to lower our visitor’s aggression and lift his mood.

“You are strange people…” the horned beast muttered thoughtfully, taking the skewer of meat Sergeant offered. “Humans, a sherkh and a veyer in the same group. Get a veich and you’ll be fully multicultural. A full house.”

I noticed that word ‘multicultural,’ not one in wide use here in this world. That was good evidence in favor of Sergeant’s suggestion that the horned guest was from our world. Not only that, but I also saw my master touching the minotaur a couple of times as if by accident, both when giving him the skewer and then when passing him the large gourd full of wine. He must have been using Calming Touch. The horned monster drained the half-full gourd in two gulps and placed it by his hooves. In the meantime, the Beast Catcher continued.

“We do have a veich, or at least we did. A girl by the name of Shelly. She’s waiting for us out beyond the barrier. If she’s still alive, with that terrible Luck of hers…” Sergeant sighed sadly and reached for the wine, found the bottle empty and flung it into the darkness.

Edward shifted, crouched down nearby. “You said ‘full house.’ You used to play poker? I wasted so much money at the poker tables in my day that my dad nearly killed me. But I still sometimes feel the urge to play. I can’t control it, it’s like an addiction. If only we had a deck of cards…”

“We can make a deck, there’s plenty of paper in the castle,” the beast said, pointing a huge hand at the ruins behind his back. Then, once done with his meat, he looked up. “I know the Pharaoh well,” he said. “Long ago, we tried to conquer this new world together. A despicable man, not to be trusted under any circumstances. In many regards, he’s the reason I ran away from humans and became a minotaur. My name is actually Zachary… or was. And my surname was Horn. The bullies at school called me Horny, but my friends called me Bull Man. That was a long time ago…”

Soothe skill increased to level thirty-one!

It seemed our strategy was bearing fruit, and the now slightly tipsy Minotaur had changed his mind about attacking entirely. He sank into reminiscing over his old life. I thought I could see a tear begin to form in the corner of one huge black eye. The huge beast sighed heavily, then seemed to come to a decision:

“Alright. Have it your way. There’s work enough for everyone. Even for you and your cat, Beast Catcher. But I have no way to pay you. There’s no gold in the castle, nor valuable artifacts. There are old books, but they’re in a strange language. I can’t read a word. I use them to light the hearth. If they’re of interest, take them all, if you like. I don’t need them.”

“Agreed!” Sergeant declared, then leveled up to twenty-six right before my eyes. One of the Beast Catcher’s skills must have been working on all cylinders while he spoke to the Minotaur, but I couldn’t figure out which exactly. Taming, maybe? Or Beast Master?

The Minotaur stood, frowned at the constant rain.

“First I need to disable the defenses, or you won’t reach the castle alive. When the green light above the towers goes out, pass through the central gate with all your things. The castle is damp and full of heaps of garbage, but anywhere under a roof is better than spending the night on the naked plains in the rain. We’ll discuss the work in the morning.”

As soon as the monster disappeared in the veil of rain, and the sound of his steps faded, Varya shared her fears with the rest of us:

“Are we about to walk right into this man-eating monster’s trap? If the Minotaur reactivates the defenses, we won’t be able to leave the castle!”

“I can hear you, and that ‘man-eating monster’ part was most rude!” the voice of the castle’s master drifted back through the dark. “Trust me or don’t. The choice is yours. But if I wanted to kill you, I could have done so long ago.”

That was true enough. Although I still saw a trick in the Minotaur’s words. Yes, he could have killed us, but then his uninvited guests would have revived who knows where. But if the nearest respawn point would now be within the walls of the ancient castle, then these easily-led simpletons would be unable to escape due to the active magical defenses. Then monster would spend the next few days chasing his victims through his labyrinth of corridors and halls, where the castle’s master found his way far more easily than his tasty guests.

* * *

My fears were groundless, at least for the time being. The magic defenses (or whatever they were) that burned Health Points were switched off by the castle’s owner and didn’t come back. Inside, the castle was dilapidated. It contained a huge number of narrow corridors, with cracks in the walls and breaks where the huge horned beast wouldn’t have squeezed through, unlike the humans and certainly the cat. It looked like it would be far easier for a small creature to hide here than for the huge Minotaur to catch them.

The members of the League of Losers left their animals under a canopy in the inner courtyard and went to make themselves at home in the rooms of the well-preserved north wing. It was cold and damp in the rooms, but after the windy encampment out in the fields, the conditions seemed almost royal. There was even firewood for lighting the hearths, which the humans used right away. The Minotaur told them they could go wherever they wished in his castle, then staggered off to the central hall. Where, judging by the loud snore like someone sawing wood, he fell asleep. It seemed the dread man-eater was sated, drunk and happy with life, so he had no plans to attack the castle’s guests this night.

But just in case, Sergeant still arranged a watch rota. It even included the imprisoned sherkh. Tamir Vai Ugashi agreed without the slightest objection. Since giving his oath, the sherkh had behaved with incredible calm and obedience. But no watch was needed. The night passed peacefully. Nothing even disturbed the party’s sleep.

The many large and ferocious saber-toothed rats stalking the corridors were the only danger, although even they were more an annoyance than a threat. They feared humans and didn’t approach our rooms. But they did try to hunt me and Snowflake a couple of times, when I took the rock lizard off to explore the castle in the middle of the night. Fire magic worked great against them, and the least careful rats went to feed my scaly companion. The other rats learned from their brother’s sad end and got more careful, no longer attacking, just watching us from afar. And then Darkness joined our explorations of the castle, and the situation changed drastically. The Chimeric Cougar started catching the pesky rodents with great enthusiasm and agility, like a real cat. She brought me between five and seven furry corpses at a time. I, of course, refused my ‘mother’s’ treats, and the Chimeric Cougar ate them herself. By morning, she was so full she could she barely move.

The castle contained none of the heaps of human bones, cages of prisoners or torture chambers that might be expected of a terrible man-eating minotaur’s lair, at least not as far as I saw, and I explored all the surviving rooms, and even went down into the deep catacombs beneath the castle. The big room in which the Minotaur fell asleep looked like it had once been some kind of feast hall. There were still tables and benches, and the room was strewn with broken plates and glasses. The castle’s owner slumbered, wrapped up in the scaly skin of some giant lizard or enormous snake. I didn’t know what creature it had belonged to, but I definitely didn’t want to meet it.

Although I hadn’t found any human remains or other signs of antisocial behavior on the part of the Minotaur, nonetheless I still had my doubts. I was in no hurry to declare the castle’s master indisputably innocent of any man-eating for now, because I also hadn’t found whatever device must switch the fortress’s defenses on and off. That meant there were secret rooms in these ruins that I hadn’t found, so it was too soon to relax.

* * *

First thing in the morning, Sergeant climbed one of the castle’s tall towers and looked around. Then, back down with the other members of the group, he said he could see the great river to the southwest, and he finally knew where he was. The Northern Amazon, as the people of the New Pharaohs called our familiar river, flowed just a mile or so from this old castle. So the Beast Catcher suggested we send someone upstream to meet the Philosopher on the raft. And then, with their combined efforts, they could bring our Dreadnought downstream and moor up by the castle. Once the work was done here in the castle and Edward and Margarita reached level twenty-five, we would weigh anchor and finally set sail for the world outside.

“I’ll go!” Varya offered at once. “I’ll try to be careful and not get in any trouble with the New Pharaohs or the sherkhs. I’ll reach Hundred Skull City and meet the Philosopher by nightfall on Irosaurus Regina; she’s fast enough. Expect us on the Dreadnought within a day!”

Sergeant just shook his head doubtfully.

“Tick-Tock and Katy won’t obey you. And Regina is too big to travel on the raft. You’ll have to ride back, and the Philosopher can’t crew the raft alone. I’m going to have to go. But first I need to to talk to the Minotaur and discuss the work he wants doing here.”

“Send me, brother!” the little veterinarian blurted out suddenly. “Edward made a saddle and harness for Laika the raptorhound! We’ll get there in a flash! I’ll talk to the creeping crocodiles and hitch them up so they can pull the raft. Anyway, there’s no special work for a Veterinarian here in the castle, and I won’t be much help with cleaning up or repairs.”

The leader took some time to answer this time. He was quiet for some time, racking his brains.

“I can’t let you go alone, sister. It’s too far, too dangerous. Thirty miles across forests and swamps full of creepy predators. That weak little raptorhound would struggle even in peace time. It’s worse now, with the war. Armed units roam the countryside. I’ll go crazy worrying about you. Sorry. No!”

Julie frowned, hurt. She lowered her voice to a whisper:

“I don’t like it here. It’s scary. All these rats. I can’t stand them. They’re afraid of you grown-ups, but they look at me like they’re hungry. I feel their eyes on me right now, looking out of all the cracks. I might be a Veterinarian, but that doesn’t stop these rats. And also…” the girl lowered her voice still further, “I don’t like how easy it was to befriend the Minotaur. I don’t trust him. I think the master of this castle has some plan for us. But as soon as he no longer needs us, he’ll eat us all!”

Julie wasn’t the only one who thought that way. I was worried too, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong about this castle, and the League of Losers had fallen into a deadly trap. But Sergeant didn’t see it that way.

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth! The Minotaur has treated us pretty well so far. We don’t know his story yet, but maybe he has his reasons to hate those uninvited guests constantly invading his castle. But if you’re not comfortable here…” The Beast Catcher surveyed his squad, his gaze stopping on the winged Thief. “Then it’s settled; you can go to Hundred Skull City with Varya. But take the veyer with you. He’ll scout the path from above. And take Whiskers too! Our furry little Shadow Hexxer can protect you all if necessary.”

Chapter 31 [Sergeant]

Working for the Minotaur

WE DIDN’T WASTE any time, just got straight down to clearing out the old rooms. We pulled out fifty stretchers of broken bricks, old plasterwork, mud and the remnants of furniture good only for kindling. Then we cleared the main corridor leading from the north wing to the central tower, patched up the spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. We were all exhausted. Even me, despite the huge difference in Stamina Points between me and the rest of the group. On the other hand, the work had its bonuses — I leveled up Item Crafting to level eighteen, and Edward and Margarita reached level twenty-three almost in synchrony.

The castle’s master awoke only toward midday, until then shaking the old walls with his mighty snore. When he saw us, the Minotaur seemed confused at first. It took him a minute to remember who we were and that he’d invited us to work in his castle. He was also upset to find that the Marsh Mistress had covered half the courtyard with webbing to make herself a lair. And that several humans had left the castle without his knowledge. That caused serious indignation. It was a good thing lunch was ready, and the smell was so good that the horned monster agreed to join the feast. After that, the Minotaur’s mood improved right away.

“Well done!” the castle’s owner praised us for our efforts. “This is starting to look like a decent home. But first of all, I want to fix the front gates. They’ve long since broken and fallen off. They’ve been lying in the courtyard for as long as I can remember. And we need to hammer together a bed for me. To be honest, I’m getting sick of sleeping on a cold floor. A strong bed, big. At least thirteen feet by twenty-two…”

The Minotaur seemed about to add something, but he turned his face up to the gloomy sky and stopped sharply mid-word. What was it that interested him so much in the heavy, low stormclouds? And that strange size he wanted, thirteen feet by twenty-two. I looked at the huge Minotaur sceptically. He was definitely at least thirteen feet tall. But then why twenty-two feet..? Did he expect to grow? Or… was it to do with what I’d seen in the central hall, where the Minotaur spent most of his time? That giant scaly skin shed by some colossal reptile. That thing was around seven yards long. Could there be something else living in the castle? Something the Minotaur didn’t want us to know about?

I didn’t voice my questions aloud, nor ask anything about the castle gates. We’d already seen the gates lying under heaps of garbage, torn from their hinges. It looked like the castle had been taken by storm some time long ago, and the gates smashed down with a powerful battering ram. But judging by the rust on the metal reinforcements and the state of the wood, it must have happened four hundred years ago. Long before the birth of our contemporary Zachary Horn, who had become a minotaur for some reason. I just confirmed that we’d do all the work he wanted, but the gates first of all. I even added that this was in our interests too. After all, since the war began between the humans and sherkhs, they’ve been chasing each other all over the countryside. I didn’t want a band of armed thugs to wander into the castle.

“That’s for sure!” the Minotaur agreed. “The defenses are down. We could get uninvited guests any time. Not that I’m afraid of them, but they’re so much bother…”

Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-seven!

Tracking skill increased to level twenty!

Diplomacy skill increased to level six!

Diplomacy skill increased to level seven!

Your character is now level twenty-seven!

Reward: three skill points (total available: fifteen) and one mutation point (total available: fourteen).

For what must have been the thousandth time in the last day, I thanked fate for the fact that I’d taken the Diplomacy skill after all. I was sure that was the only thing that got us out of the frying pan when the Minotaur first turned up. And afterwards, the Diplomacy skill leveled up rapidly while I talked to the Minotaur. Now I’d gotten two whole levels in a row!

The Minotaur’s foul mood was gone, and now the noticeably happier Minotaur crashed back to his chambers. We mere mortals got started on the gates. It was no easy job. We had to take off the reinforcing metal strips, scrub off the rust, pull out the old wrought-iron nails, take measurements, cut logs, replace the rotten gate beams… It was a good thing we had tools and an Engineer and Mechanic who knew what to do and did it with great professionalism. Margarita and I basically ended up just helping them.

The work was going at full swing when our sherkh atop the wall raised the alarm, shouting and pointing at the overcast sky. Soon, all the others heard the beating of massive wings, saw a huge winged shadow. Less than a minute later, a mighty rock dragon alighted right in the castle courtyard. Black, with a bright scarlet mane, it cast a suspicious glance around the yard, ready to char anyone it found dangerous.

I ordered the Marsh Mistress to climb deeper into her webbed lair and not come out again — the dragon was reacting a little nervously to the spideress. Flame flickered behind its clenched teeth. I also calmed down Tamir and Margarita, who seemed ready about to flee at any second. I told them that I’d seen this tamed dragon before, and I knew its rider too. The Cartographer climbed down the rope ladder on the dragon’s side and looked around with interest.

“Sergeant?! You’re the last person I expected to see here!” the traveling merchant said, walking over to me and stretching out a hand in greeting. “I flew over the river island, but the whole place is in ruins. I assumed Pan decided not to get entangled with the Pharaoh’s people and took his settlers through the barrier. Especially since I saw that furry girl from the river island only this morning. What was her name again..?”

“Shelly?” I asked, trying not to show in my voice how badly I wanted to hear news of my long-tailed girlfriend. Otherwise, I feared, the information trader would have demanded a high price for the answer.

“Yes, that’s the one! Shelly! She was sitting on a rock by a veyer encampment right at the edge of the Misty Valley. I almost went down to ask her about Pan, but the wind was very unsuitable for turning and landing. And that damned Misty Valley… I have no love for that cursed place.”

I made a mental note of ‘veyer encampment’ and ‘Misty Valley,’ then told the merchant the sad news:

“Old Pan is dead. Killed by the bodyguard of Haze, noble of the Pharaoh.”

The information merchant sighed heavily, lowered his head in what appeared to be sincere grief.

“A shame, truly. He was a good man. I always enjoyed talking to him. He knew more about this world than any other human. His knowledge would have helped save many lives. Rest in peace, wise old man! Anyway… How did the winds of fate bring you here? Where are the castle’s owners?”

Owners? So the Minotaur wasn’t alone here after all? I was already getting valuable information, and for free.

I started to tell him the short version of what had happened in the last few days and how we ended up in the castle, but then the Minotaur appeared, drawn by the noise. And… rushed over to hug the Cartographer like an old friend! Damn… That was painful to watch. There’s no way my ribs would have withstood such a powerful embrace, but the traveling merchant didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t even stop smiling.

The Minotaur finally released his mighty grip, looked at the merchant anxiously. “Have you brought it?”

“Of course! Just as promised. Wine, tobacco, and…” the Cartographer cast a sidelong glance toward me, “and everything else you ordered.”

The Cartographer unloaded two huge crates from the dragon’s saddle, one of which rang with the clear sound of bottles. That must have been the wine. The second crate was extremely heavy. No way was there only tobacco inside. It must have contained whatever the merchant didn’t want to mention aloud. The Minotaur picked it up that second crate in the crook of his elbow and rushed back inside the castle with it.

“Let’s take a walk, Sergeant, just the two of us,” the Cartographer suggested in a conspiratorial tone, and I readily agreed.

We strolled through the central gates and walked away from the tall, part-collapsed walls. The conversation was chiefly about the fates of the inhabitants of Pan’s Landing, who the Cartographer knew, and about the war between human and sherkh. He considered the news of Eastern Garrison’s departure and the death of the only Beast Catcher in the New Pharaohs very important, and worthy of some valuable information in return.

Finally, the mysterious man turned around, considering us far enough away from the Southern Ruins, then brought up something else entirely:

“Tell me, Sergeant, are you not afraid of living in these old ruins?”

“Afraid? Do you mean the dark reputation of our man-eating minotaur host?” I said, taking a wild guess, but missing the mark. The man frowned unhappily and shook his head.

“I do not know of a single case of the Minotaur eating humans. Not reliable facts and eyewitness accounts, in any case. There are only unconfirmed rumors spread by cowardly people who fled as soon as they saw the gigantic monster. The Minotaur is the protector of these ancient ruins, and he has been gifted special strength and abilities. He defends his territory, of course, and he has killed many thieves who tried to break into it. Killed them violently and without mercy. But regardless, he does not consume human flesh. His girlfriend, however…”

The Minotaur had a girlfriend? A man-eating girlfriend?! But where was she hiding? I was struck dumb. The Cartographer, just like the Minotaur before him, raised his head and examined the dark cloud-strewn sky thoughtfully. Then he asked a strange question — did I know anything about lamias?

“Only a little,” I said, racking my brains to remember what little I could of the mythological creature. “They’re snake women, right? From Greek mythology, I think. Just like the Minotaur.”

“Greek mythology?” the Cartographer asked, as if the answer was unexpected and strange to him. “Forgive me, Sergeant. I am a veyer by race and am not familiar with the folklore of the old human world. I speak of creatures that exist and live in this world. Yes, lamias are rare, but they are perfectly real. The deadly serpentine creatures can sometimes be found in this area, mostly in the marshy forests on the banks of the great river. Lamias dislike heat and bright light, so they usually spend their time in their burrows and submerged caves. But on damp gray days like these, they hunt. They can even end up quite far away from their usual abode. Their queen took a liking to this old castle as her main hunting ground — there’s always been someone trying to hide here, or even make a home of the place. Once, around a year and a half ago, the lamia ran into a group of humans whose guild had lost a war against the New Pharaohs and disbanded. The leader of those humans was…”

“Zachary Horn?” I said, almost certain that my guess was right.

The Cartographer nodded.

“He was the only one to survive the encounter with the lamia. He lived only because he used a scroll to turn him into a minotaur, to make him a huge and mighty monster. He could have protected his friends and maybe even won the battle against the man-eating beast. But he didn’t. Instead, he fed all his companions to the lamia and promised to regularly catch more for her. He fell in love with the dread snake woman! And she answered in kind! Even when the transformation time ended and Zachary Horn turned back into a man, the lamia did not kill him. She just slithered back to her swamp.”

The Cartographer told me that this case of passionate, insane, bloody, but perfectly sincere love aroused the interest of those powers that host the GREAT GAME. Love, after all, is the most ambiguous and contradictory of all feelings. For the sake of love, humans — and veyers too, — will betray any friend, descend to any depths, do murder and worse. But does all that make love a dark feeling? Not at all! Love is beautiful! And the human who had fallen in love with an NPC monster was given the form of a minotaur permanently. From then on, he became the mighty Minotaur, the immortal guardian of these ruins, who punishes trespassers severely. And the Lamia, she who is queen of the snake people, sometimes visits him on overcast days like this. She drinks wine with the castle’s master, makes love to him, eats the human meat he has prepared for her, or even live prisoners whom the Minotaur lures into his lair as treats for his beloved.”

I stood silently, in shock from the Cartographer’s words. So that was why the Minotaur had lured us into his castle — he wanted to throw a tasty feast for his girlfriend! In the meantime, a branch cracked behind me. Someone had followed us secretly and listened in! I turned sharply, took out my axe. There was nobody in sight, but that meant nothing in a world where almost every other creature could turn invisible one way or another. I activated night vision. Oh, boy…

“She’s been following us for a while,” the Cartographer murmured, his voice perfectly calm. “Come into the light, girl!”

Five paces from us, Anita Ur Vaye appeared, now a level 48 Huntress. But it wasn’t the girl’s level that drew my eye — it was the babe wrapped up in a blanket in her arms.

Hope Bastet. Human. Female. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level zero Infant.

A minotaur. A man-eating lamia. A war between humans and sherkhs… It all seemed like nothing but background noise now, in comparison to our real problem. The sherkh girl from my League of Losers had kidnapped the Pharaoh’s child!

Chapter 32 [Kitten]

¡No pasarán! They Shall Not Pass!

“I THINK WE’RE OUT of it…” Varya suggested tentatively, wet through and up to her ears in mud, looking back at the swampy valley behind us, a green spread stretching out all the way to the horizon.

“Are we really finally out of it..? I can’t believe it…” the little Veterinarian said, taking the red kerchief off her head, pouring some water on it from her flask and wiping her raptorhound Laika’s face, especially her nostrils and eyes.

Avir the veyer, beating his wings heavily, dropped down exhausted to the ground next to the toothy maw of the megasaurus, who was lying down and breathing heavily. The winged boy answered barely audibly that he saw no pursuit, although he’d flown in a wide circle above the swamp at a great altitude. The aerial scout suggested that their pursuers had finally fallen behind, switching to a group of deserters they discovered trying to flee the Pharaoh’s army. Then Avir Tan-Hoshi groaned in pain, sat down and tried pull a bullet out of his heel with his fingers. The Veterinarian walked over and offered her help.

We’d all had a pretty rough time…

The passage through the marshy forest nearly ended in tragedy for our group. And it was nothing to do with the wild beasts that hide in their multitudes in the murky shallow waters and thick undergrowth. The predators feared Irosaurus Regina and didn’t want to go near her, but they hung around at a distance, waiting for us to make a mistake. Slowly, with weapons at the ready, we pushed through the thick undergrowth, pressed through marshes, swam across small streams, until we ran face-first into a hit squad led by Spike, one of the Pharaoh’s nobles. There were thirty of them, if not forty. We didn’t even have time to think about whether the humans were dangerous or not before they opened fire on our little group with their rifles.

A bullet pierced my right ear, and Irosaurus Regina took at least ten hits. It was a critical moment. But I had enough mana to paralyze the three most dangerous gunners, and Varya neutralized Spike with two shots from her rifle to the shoulder and neck. We got some distance between us, and then a breakneck chase through the swamp began. Our enemies were strong and numerous. There were skilled riders among them with high-level riding skills and the ability to read our trail. The punishers also had pack raptorhounds as mounts, which got good bonuses from the high number of creatures in the pack.

Slow, Infect, Paralyze, Soothe… I worked furiously to spread curses across our pursuers and top up my allies’ Stamina Points. When my strength was at an end and it seemed all hope was lost, my Shadow Hexxer reached level thirty-four. Then my ear healed up and my mana and Stamina Points recovered.

We managed to break away, although we were all exhausted. Laika the black raptorhound and Snowflake the orange-crested white rock lizard were now the same color — an even brownish-black from the moss and mud. Only little Julie’s eyes shone out from the crust of mud covering her. The Veterinarian was deathly tired, and had barely held herself in the saddle for the last hour. I was even afraid that the girl would lose consciousness and fall.

The bullet was already out when a big flock of spooked birds flying over the marshy undergrowth drew our attention.

“Damn…” followed by an unprintable word. For the first time, I learned that our well-bred and cultured Scout knew how to swear after all. “Spike’s people picked up our trail after all. They’re around three hundred yards away. Come on, into the hills!”

I looked over our little cohort sceptically. None of us had any strength left, and they’d quickly catch up to us on level ground. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help my friends either. I was exhausted. Until my Stamina Points returned, I wouldn’t be able to activate Soothe to help encourage my group members. On the other hand, I’d restored a little mana. I had twenty-five Magic Points out of a hundred and sixty-nine. Not enough for Paralyze, but enough for five Infects or eight Slows. I climbed onto Varya’s shoulder and tapped out a message with my paw.

“Go! I’ll hold them off!”

“You’re like brave Athos from The Three Musketeers!” the girl said, smiling happily. “Keeping the enemies back at any cost. No, Whiskers, we won’t abandon you. We leave together!”

“Trust me! ¡No pasarán! I think that’s what they said in your time.”

Varya tried to raise another objection, but I wasn’t listening anymore. I jumped down from her shoulder and headed off toward the bog behind us. Here on these almost bare hills with the extremely occasional flimsy bush and lone tree, it would be impossible to hide from pursuit, or escape it, and that meant the group was doomed. Someone had to hold the pursuers off, give the others time to reach safety. Why shouldn’t our Shadow Hexxer do it? And the place to do it was in the swamp, where there were hiding spots.

The big oafs didn’t stop me. They climbed into their saddles and hurried to get away from our dangerous pursuers.

“Find us at Hundred Skull City, Whiskers! We’ll wait for you there, little hero! And… thank you!” Varya shouted back to me, then turned the megasaurus away and kicked the huge reptile into motion.

I was left alone. No, I felt no fear at all; I had other things to worry about. My only thought was to win time for my friends, whatever the cost. How many enemies were left? The infantry were far behind, and some of the riders had switched to following the group of deserters. Two or three enemies would be fine — I could deal with that. But my sensitive ears soon told me that at least ten riders on raptorhounds still continued to chase the League of Losers. I crept up to the very edge of the swamp and, without entering the murky sucking slime, I hid in the thick bushes at the very edge of the water.

Mysticism skill increased to level thirty-four!

Nice, and just in time too! My maximum Magic Points went up to a hundred and seventy, but right then, my mana restoration speed was more important. Twenty-six… no, now twenty-seven Magic Points. Ugh, if only I had forty minutes to rest, I’d be back to my usual deadly self. Shame my pursuers didn’t plan on cutting me a break. The first enemies were already coming into my field of view. They were twenty yards away at the most.

The first was a tired, mud-spattered Tracker at level 46, riding a limping raptorhound. Right behind him came Spike, a bloody and dirty bandage on his right shoulder. His raptorhound was noticeably bigger than average and was sniffing, turning its head this way and that and noisily pulling air through its nostrils, trying to catch the runaways’ scent.

☠ Spike. Human. Male. Guild: The New Pharaohs. Level 61 Torturer.

☠ Devouress. Pack Raptorhound. Level 111 Female. Pack Alpha. Spike’s pet (17).

The other punishers rode behind him in a long chain of foes disappearing into the swamp mist. I looked at the number seventeen over the raptorhound’s head. Seventeen. That meant seventeen raptorhounds and the same number of riders. Too many for me alone. And the most dangerous of my enemies was Spike and his alpha mount. At some point, Devouress froze for a second, then turned her face precisely toward me and howled. No doubt remained — she’d found me! I had to act right away, and I got to work.

Infect on Devouress! Infect on Spike! I only had a little mana left, just enough to turn incorporeal and change my form. Transform into fish!

Transformation Magic skill increased to level nineteen!

Shapeshifter skill increased to level thirty-three!

And… drumroll… here’s something new!

Level one Swimming skill learned!

13 of 13 possible character skills at level 34 chosen.

No, this was no spontaneous decision. I’d been thinking for a while of how my kitten might escape enemy troops and high-level mages throwing fire spells. It made sense that water was a good place to escape fire in snake or fish form, but I was too slow, weak and vulnerable under the water. The Swimming skill meant spending less energy to move through the water, it meant speed, and importantly, the ability to not drown when my transformation time ended.

A quick little fish like an eel slid into the murky swamp water and worked its tail like a snake, quickly leaving the bank for the deep water and hiding among the reeds. Just try to find me now! My hearing was good under the water, but I still couldn’t make out words. All I knew was that my enemies were making a lot of fuss and noise in a crowd on the bank.

A minute later, I carefully stuck my nose out around twenty yards from where I’d gone down. The whole squad of the Pharaoh’s people were gathered around Spike, who was noisily throwing up on the bank. There was nothing they could do to help their leader; they just muttered useless advice and threats against whoever had done it. The humans aimed their shotguns and rifles at the thick bushes around, even wasted ammo on a few blind shots. I knew that none of them had seen the mage who attacked them, and Devouress couldn’t speak human, so she couldn’t explain that the squad’s attacker was a little kitten. All the better for me! I carefully edged closer, trying to move my tail and fin slowly and not disturb the water.

Swimming skill increased to level two!

Shapeshifter skill increased to level thirty-four!

Your character is now level thirty-five!

Reward: three skill points (total available: six) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-six).

I laughed happily, my fish mouth opening and closing silently. My transformation time was ending. I didn’t extend the spell, instead crawling out onto a spit of bog hidden amid the reeds. Now that my Magic Points and Stamina Points had fully recovered, I could fight for real!

Paralyze on that Healer. No need for him to help Spike with his healing potions. Then another Infect on the squad’s leader just to make sure he was out of action. Then a Slow on that Scout who was steering his mount toward the hills. Afraid not, boys. I’m not going to let you go that easily. My friends need time to get away, so I’m going to be terrorizing you guys with magic curses for a while! Oh, and… I almost forgot; didn’t I learn to talk to animals? Obeying my order, three pack raptorhounds left unsupervised, with Devouress at their head, suddenly sprang up and ran back into the depths of the bog. Have fun catching your escaped mounts, guys. That’ll keep you busy for half an hour at least!

* * *

I caught up to the exhausted Laika and Irosaurus Regina outside Hundred Skull City itself, having had a lot of fun playing with Spike’s punishers and completely derailing their plans. I didn’t kill any of my foes, but the upset stomachs, painful weakness and four paralyzеd bodies they had to carry certainly won’t have done them any favors, particularly with half their mounts gone. The hit squad didn’t even think about resuming their pursuit. All they wanted was to reach the nearest fortress before nightfall, ideally without running into any sherkh sabotage units.

In bug form, I landed on the megasaurus’s back with a light hum, then turned back into my usual fluffy ginger kitten self.

“Whiskers!” Varya picked me up right away and held me close. “I was so worried about you! Woah! Level thirty-six! It must have been a hard fight.”

“Wasn’t easy. But I did it and won you guys time,” I said, tapping the message out with my paws. “But I see you decided to stop for a rest and a bath instead of running for your lives. Looks like you even had time to make food.”

My nose had caught the scent of roast meat from Varya’s bag and her clothes were still damp from washing, and there was no sign of the former grime on the Scout’s skin. Laika and her rider had had time to clean off too.

“Don’t be angry, pussycat. Julie and I are girls after all, we have to look right. Anyway, we were so tired that we just couldn’t go any further. So we stopped on the shore of a little lake. Our meat was going bad too, we had to cook it right away. Oh, here’s some for you, by the way.”

I didn’t refuse. My empty stomach had been growling in hunger for some time. While I tore apart the chunks of meat greedily with my sharp teeth, my companion suddenly decided to get changed. Either she felt no shame getting naked in front of a cat or this was her special way of rewarding me for my bravery. The girl took her old service shirt out of her bag, along with a white blouse, scrubbed so many times it was nearly worn through. Then she took off her wet leather jacket and warm woven sweater along with her bra. A piece of meat fell from my open mouth.

“You don’t have to turn around,” the girl said, too late. She laughed wickedly, which confirmed my suspicion that she was putting on this rare show specially for me. “But… what’s that?!”

I turned sharply. Varya’s shout of surprise related to the sight that opened up from the crest of the hill, or more precisely, a column of thick smoke on the opposite bank of the river. Right where we’d hidden the Dreadnought in the thick reeds…

* * *

I mentally wrote the Philosopher off pretty quick, remembering that he was on his last life and had no battle skills whatsoever. If unknown aggressors had attacked the raft, there was little chance he survived. So I was amazed to see our Diogenes alive and well, sitting on the river bank surrounded by our creeping crocodiles. But there was something strange about him… An odd calm, a detachment from what was going on around him, and an usual title above his head.

Wise One.

Just ‘Wise One,’ no mention of a name or character level. Who knew that was an option? Or was he somehow hiding his game info? We all noticed this oddity, and immediately showered our wise companion in questions.

He smiled and started to tell us. That morning, he finally finished his epic labor — a list of all the most important laws, theorems, formulas and everything else he could remember in the last few days. And before he could even blot the ink on the final scroll, our familiar friend in the old-fashioned suit appeared next to him on the raft — the immortal and practically all-powerful gentleman whom our veyer called ‘vallar.’ He had an ‘offer that can’t be refused,’ and it came as a big surprise. It made the Philosopher think long and hard.

The vallar suggested that he take the scrolls, split them into separate fragments and spread them all across this huge planet, distribute them among the treasuries of hundreds of ancient ruined castles, pyramids and burial mounds. So that brave explorers could steadily find them over the coming centuries and assign them the greatest value, gathering the knowledge of a previous age piece by piece. He said that was the only way to guarantee that this priceless knowledge persist — only this way would subsequent generations treat it with the proper respect. Every page found, every formula and theorem would arouse the greatest interest and set the best minds of the planet to the task of puzzling it out. Otherwise the risk was too great that it would all be lost at once. Which, according to our all-knowing vallar, was due to happen in about twenty minutes, when the howitzers of the New Pharaohs wiped this independent squad of losers off the face of the earth. The vallar even pointed at a group of humans that had appeared on the opposite bank of the great river, with Lady Victoria, the Pharaoh’s wife, in command, gesticulating with fury.

The Philosopher himself was offered the role of immortal and incorporeal Wise One, who would meet explorers of ancient ruins and help them to understand the enormity of the treasury they had discovered. To ensure that poorly educated humans or members of other species didn’t use the scrolls to light fires or wipe their asses.

“Incorporeal?” Varya asked. That part seemed to catch her interest in particular for some reason.

In response, our companion laughed and asked the girl to extend her hand. The Scout’s wrist passed right through the Wise One’s body without the slightest resistance. The girl pulled her hand back sharply, her eyes wide with horror. No wonder — it really was a creepy sight.

“I could, of course, have tried to escape or use the information from the book of transformations left to me. The spells there are most interesting. Whiskers would like them. Only one page is missing, the page the cat needs most of all. The book is over there, by the way…” the Immortal Wise One pointed at a thick tattered tome lying on a stone, “but I couldn’t abandon my notes. So I agreed to the vallar’s offer. All I asked was that he save the valuable bean sprouts and give me some time to meet with you. Otherwise, friends, you would have had too many questions about what had happened.”

“That’s for sure,” little Julie said. “I still don’t really get it, even with your explanations. Without them, we’d have no idea.”

“Anyway, the plots of beans have been moved out to the world beyond the barrier. They’re here…”

The Wise One stretched out his incorporeal arm and touched Varya, and a small rolled-up scroll appeared in the girl’s palm.

“Take a quick look at it and remember it well! I can only create objects that last a short time!” he said. The Scout hurried to unroll the note.

I took a look at the pencil image too. A mountain with three peaks. Something like a temple or palace on its slope. It looked long abandoned. In the foreground were the plots of beans.

“The shoots recovered after the fire and started growing fast. I even had to tie them down as they raced for the sun,” the Wise One said. He pointed at the image. “Right there, next to the beans, there’s an old library. I can manifest myself there and keep an eye on them. Yes, my friends — after this conversation ends, I will disappear. After that, I will be able to move through the world instantaneously in the form of an incorporeal spirit, a ghost inhabiting old ruins, crypts and pyramids, wherever there are scrolls and books of knowledge. The gods of this world have their own sense of humor. All my life, I complained that day-to-day affairs kept me from reading. Now I’ll have all the time in the world to read… And I have been promised that I can appear in libraries and vaults of knowledge when they are built in this world. But now…”

Both girls burst into tears before he could finish, imagining that they were saying good-bye to Diogenes forever. The Wise One smiled beatifically and tried to calm them both down, told them that he would meet us all again and help us with advice.

“I wanted to suggest that you hurry back to the Southern Ruins. I know you’re exhausted, and the evening is already late. But the road is clear for now, and you have to take advantage. Hurry — Sergeant and the others may need your help. You see, according to ancient mythology, the Minotaur with whom our mutual friends are now housed is far from the only son of Zeus. He isn’t even the only half-man, half-beast among them. There is also the Lamia. She is half-woman, half-snake. Far more dangerous. Unlike all the other monsters of ancient mythology, none of the heroes ever killed the Lamia, but she slew countless humans. She is a very interesting character, who has persisted through millennia and been described in a multitude of religions in the old world. Her second name is Lilith, the first wife of Adam, before the Eve that everyone knows about. The church has tried to scour away the name Lilith, but it has still reached us through the ages as a symbol of terror and deadly danger in the night. And although things are somewhat different in the new world, and the Lamia here is more likely the Minotaur’s spouse than his sister, she is no less dangerous for that. Go, help your friends! Soon, I too will be able to appear in the Southern Ruins and help you in the battle against the legendary monsters!”

Chapter 33 [Sergeant]

Snap Goes The Mouse Trap

FIRST OF ALL I found out that Anita Ur Vaye never did manage to find out from the sherkhs of the Southern Garrison how to get low-level characters, in particular small children, through the energy barrier. Despite her failure to glean this knowledge, our long-eared companion had taken part in an attack on Lady Victoria Bastet’s mansion. While the other sherkhs fought the extremely strong and experienced guards, the Huntress crept into the high-level Courtesan’s palace and kidnapped the sleeping babe from the cradle. And she managed to leave quietly before the Pharaoh’s reinforcements arrived and the sherkh attackers choked on blood.

“You idiot!” I said, my fists clenching in rage. “What the hell were you thinking? Your orders were to gather information, and not act alone! I could have helped you later by talking to Victoria Bastet, discussing the child’s fate. I think she would have agreed to return the girl, and then all we would have to do is wait for the Philosopher and quietly go through the barrier. Now we have to start all over again — we have a child who we can’t take out of the sandbox. And by the way…” I got a bad feeling all of a sudden. “Did any of the humans see you?”

“Well…” The sherkh Scout hesitated before answering, dropped her gaze guiltily.

She didn’t have to say anything else, I already got the picture… The castle defenders did see the Huntress, and no doubt made special note of her, since Anita Ur Vaye was the only member of Eastern Garrison among all the attackers. Without a doubt, the Pharaoh’s wife had already been told. And Lady Victoria Bastet would easily remember that she had already seen this very sherkh girl in my company, when she came to the river bank in her carriage. The picture looked bleak. In fact, ‘bleak’ didn’t begin to cut it. This was a shitstorm, to put it mildly. Especially since Victoria Bastet knew just where to look for me and my League of Losers, since she was the one who sent us to the Southern Ruins to catch the minotaur.

“Idiot!” I said again, grinding my teeth. “You failed your mission and you put us all in critical danger! You’ll be severely punished for this! I don’t know how yet, but you’ll be sorry you ever set foot in the Pharaoh’s wife’s mansion…” I glared angrily at the long-eared Huntress. She nodded resignedly.

“I admit that I broke your orders, Sergeant. And I will accept the punishment for it. It will not happen again, I swear it! I am willing to carry out all your other orders to the letter, but I will not return my daughter to that terrible woman!”

With the tiny baby in her arms, Anita stubbornly held my gaze, her eyes set with determination. The eyes of an animal ready to protect her child at any cost. I broke first, looked away. What was I supposed to do with this mule-stubborn woman who had gotten it into her head that little Hope was her fate-gifted child? I sighed heavily. In calmer tones, I told the girl to go into the castle and ask the others to milk the Chimeric Cougar to feed the no doubt hungry baby girl. At the same time, I told her to prepare the others to leave the castle before the Pharaoh’s people got there. Time to gather our things and saddle up the mounts.

With the sherkh girl gone, I was left with the Cartographer, who had been listening closely to my conversation with Anita. The traveling merchant outright refused to help me with the child. He was a neutral character, he said; he couldn’t get involved in the conflicts of players. In addition, he knew the Pharaoh and Lady Victoria Bastet well. He traded with them regularly and valued their acquaintance. And that meant that he wouldn’t tell me a way to get little Hope through the barrier even for a good payment, although he wouldn’t deny that various methods did exist. The Cartographer also refused to help me with the Minotaur for exactly the same reasons.

“But I can buy that disobedient sherkh Huntress off you,” the traveling merchant offered. “I’m sure your people could use supplies for the road, magical trinkets and so on.”

Seeing my confusion and even disgust in response to that offer, the Cartographer just shrugged and added that the veyers and veichs both considered it perfectly natural to sell superfluous members of the tribe. And humans, too, in most guilds, were not shy of slavery — the New Pharaohs had even built a specialized slave market where player slaves of all races could be bought and sold. Including sherkhs, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to buy himself a cute long-eared babe if he wanted.

I’d seen that slave market with my own eyes. But all my upbringing, all my values screamed out against slave trading. Although… why not make as if I accept their rules and take advantage of the situation?

“I can’t sell the Huntress. She’s a free sherkh, she doesn’t belong to me. But I can sell the human baby Hope on the condition that you’ll take the girl out to the world beyond the sandbox,” I said, offering the Cartographer another deal. “I’d even pay you generously on the other side to buy the baby back. How about this Fiery Manticore Signet Ring? We’ll throw in some milk to keep the girl fed for a couple of days.”

“Ahem, no, I’m afraid not…” the traveling merchant said, shaking his head reproachfully. “You see, such an act cannot be called neutral. After that deal, I would lose the ability to pass through the barrier, which for me, as a merchant, is unacceptable. But I am willing to buy that interesting ring. For several magic scrolls, plus some valuable information. But again, not a way to get the child out of the sandbox.”

Now it was my turn to refuse. I needed the Fiery Manticore Signet Ring more than what he offered.

“As you say, Sergeant. My role is only to offer a profitable deal. Well, since I have nothing to offer you, then I have nothing more to do here and will fly away. But let me give you one piece of advice for free.” The Cartographer raised his head thoughtfully again, looked at the heavy clouds spreading across the sky. “If there was some doubt that the Lamia would return to the castle in the coming days, then it has vanished with the arrival of this child. The monster will come, perhaps even today. Nothing attracts those man-eating monsters like small children. And so I recommend that your little group change its deployment plans at once, before the Minotaur’s dangerous lover arrives. Although… if you’re very lucky, the Lamia might attack the soldiers sent from the New Pharaohs to hunt you down. I don’t know who will win that battle, but either way, you’ll have one less problem!”

I laughed bitterly — with my low Luck Modifier, I doubted I could rely on that outcome. Knowing my luck, the Lamia and Lady Victoria would put their heads and forces together to destroy my little group…

“One more thing…” the merchant said, halting in mid-turn back to the castle. “Your Fiery Manticore Signet Ring has given me an interesting idea. Yes, the Lamia is very strong, fast and resilient, but if you somehow manage to lure her into a trap and immobilize her, you can seal her into an item instead of killing her. The monster should want it herself, and any ring or necklace will do. You’ll also need a soul-imprisonment scroll, but I have those too, and for this purpose, I will give them to you at no cost. If this works out, Sergeant, you will gain a magical item with even more power than the Fiery Manticore Signet Ring! On our next meeting, I will exchange it for any item from my assortment!”

* * *

The members of the League of Losers met me by the arch of the main gates, where they had just used a block and tackle fashioned together from rope and wood to hang the first side of the heavy gates on its hinges. My friends were less than happy. They didn’t understand much of Anita’s complex explanation except that we had to drop everything and skip town right away, for some reason.

“We can’t do that, Sergeant!” our Mechanic complained, louder than the rest. “Firstly, you promised the Minotaur that we’d help in the castle. A leader has to keep his word. Secondly, I still haven’t leveled my skills up to twenty-five! And where else will there be a place as good as this for leveling up Mechanic skills?”

Before answering the questions streaming in from all sides, I had to pause a moment while the Cartographer’s mighty dragon took off and the flapping of its mighty wings drowned out all other sound. I waved good-bye to the traveling merchant. “Good luck!” I shouted.

“Until next time, Sergeant!” came an answering cry from above. “Don’t forget about the scroll and the ring!”

I sighed heavily and told my companions the news. That the castle’s master was spouse to the Lamia, who liked human meat best of all. And the Minotaur had the bad habit of feeding guests to her. And most importantly of all — Anita Ur Vaye now held the daughter of the Pharaoh’s wife, and the enraged mother was on her way here, no doubt at the head of a whole battalion of New Pharaohs.

Diplomacy skill increased to level six!

The Mechanic’s eyes widened. “That changes everything! We have to get out of the castle right now!” he said, forgetting all his complaints of a moment ago and ready to run wherever his feet led him.

I called over our sherkh prisoner Tamir Vai Ugashi and explained to him that he was free and could go wherever he chose. The Southern Garrison Tracker’s eyes widened, but he didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as he got his weapon back, he disappeared into stealth, and, judging by the rapidly retreating footfalls, he ran away as fast as he could.

Why did I do that? I had my reasons. There was no need for the sherkh to know which way we were headed. This prisoner’s vow not to flee didn’t prevent him from pointing out the way for his kin or revealing our position with loud noises, or doing a hundred other things that could lead to our capture. Of course, we could have tied and gagged him. But although it might seem strange and even paradoxical, a squad of sherkhs in the vicinity of the Southern Ruins might actually help us. We could get away from their invisible infantry at speed up on our mounts, whereas the people of the New Pharaohs, who moved on fast raptorhounds, would be harder to escape. But the more enemies that concentrated their forces around the Southern Ruins, the greater the chance that they would fight amongst themselves. The Lamia and the humans. The humans and the sherkhs. The sherkhs and the Lamia. What if it actually worked out?

Diplomacy skill increased to level seven!

The Engineer and the Mechanic ran off to saddle the animals, but Margarita didn’t go anywhere.

“I need to talk to you, Sergeant. Alone.”

I took the girl off to the side, and Lady Victoria’s former slave girl began her story. The longer she spoke, the higher my eyebrows went. The Pharaoh’s wife was… not human, but a cat?! And she desperately needed the baby Hope, who she’d kidnapped from us. That explained a lot. Now I regretted shouting at the sherkh Huntress — peace with the Pharaoh’s wife was never going to happen anyway. But maybe the life of a little princess, the official daughter of the Pharaoh and Lady Victoria Bastet, was a better fate for little Hope than a journey fraught with danger in the League of Losers?

And then… No, this was too much even for our Luck! A magical defensive dome suddenly descended over the castle, shimmering green as flashes of lightning danced across its surface.

“I get the impression that you were about to violate our agreement and leave my castle without permission!” the Minotaur shouted, his mighty roar booming across the courtyard, making me shiver. “You won’t get out now. You won’t be going anywhere until you’ve done everything you promised! Enough chatter! Back to work, slackers!”

The tone of the castle’s master had definitely changed for the worse. Until now, the Minotaur hadn’t allowed himself to be so rude to the workers he’d invited in. I suspected that it would only get worse from here. I didn’t know when the Minotaur would throw off his last semblance of decorum and attack us, but I could feel the moment coming.

Chapter 34 [Sergeant]

Preparation

THIS TIME, the Minotaur went back to the central hall after all, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The monstrous bull-man had decided not to attack us just yet. The atmosphere among my companions had dropped like a stone. As their leader, I had to wade in and lift their spirits right away. Sure, the Minotaur locked us in his castle. So what? We’re all alive and well, there are many of us, and we have all kinds of specialists. We have snares and traps, strong battle beasts, weapons, tools, materials. We’ll see who’s the victim here! It’s time we all remembered that this monster is the reason we came to the Southern Ruins! This is a time for action, not despair!

Diplomacy skill increased to level eight!

It worked, and I didn’t even need Whiskers around to soothe them. Their faces brightened and I heard no more cries along the lines of “AHHHH!!! We’re all going to die!” A second wind swept away their despair and doom, along with a renewed desire to survive and show the whole world that we could do it, even against all the odds. While keeping up appearances by continuing our work on the second half of the gate, we quietly discussed what we had to do.

The magic defenses prevented us from leaving this place. And that meant that our most important task was to find out how the defenses turned on and off. We had to find the lever or device that operated it, and that was probably in the chambers where the Minotaur spent most of his time. Perhaps even in the central hall where the horned beast slept. It went without saying that the castle’s master wouldn’t like us exploring those places, so this was a job for our stealther.

After that, we’d need to fashion a safe place in the castle where neither the Minotaur nor the Lamia could get in, a place to hide little Hope, and everyone else if things turned really bad. The second floor of the northern wing was the obvious choice — just remove the staircase leading up to it again and it would take special climbing gear to get up there! Up there were narrow arrowslit windows, and the stone walls were thick and strong. All we would have to do is block off the only entrance with a fence of strong logs and make ourselves some sharpened spears, and the Minotaur would never get in!

Everyone liked the idea, and it wouldn’t take long to execute, so I ordered the Mechanic and the Engineer to get started. In theory, we could outlast a siege up on the second floor. In practice, we’d run out of food and water fast. So I told Margarita to go and prepare some supplies on the second floor — move our things there, fill up all our available containers with well water and cook all the meat we had left. We were three days in, and some of the meat was already starting to spoil and stink. We had to get it cooked right away. I asked Margarita not to throw away the most rotten pieces, but to give them to me instead. The castle was home to countless rats. We’d chased them away and even tried hunting them, but now I had a better idea. I was a Beast Catcher, after all; I could tame the critters. A pack of saber-toothed rodents could make good reinforcements!

With a big bag of rotting meat and a bright flashlight in hand, I descended into the castle’s damp, half-ruined cellar. A few corridors led off into the darkness, but they were all covered over with stones or bars. No way through. Lighting my way with the flashlight, I walked into the central chamber. This must have once been a wine cellar and pantry, but all that remained of its former luxury was a few huge withered wine barrels and rusty hooks in the ceiling beams for hanging carcasses and other food.

There were, however, plenty of rats. Brown, gray, black… From the smallest level one rats to level 70+ graying veterans at least the size of a spaniel. Since the rats somehow didn’t count as pack animals even though they lived in huge families, I had no fear of them at all — my Beast Catcher class abilities kept me safe from their aggression.

The rats tamed very easily. No doubt that was from my Beast Catcher perks too. Just one small piece of stinking meat was usually enough, sometimes two. It was far harder to pick out the largest and highest-level rats from among the teeming motley mass out of which I was trying to make my army. When another rat grabbed the piece of meat I threw before the rat I wanted to tame, I ordered the pets I’d already tamed to kill the thief, to free up space for more valuable specimens.

My Beast Catcher still had a limited maximum number of pets, although it was pretty high. To be precise, I could keep control of forty-six pets at a time. My Beast Master skill decided the limit, and with that skill at level sixteen and the Beast Catcher class bonuses (+20 to Beast Master skill), the maximum number of pets my Sergeant had went up to exactly forty-six.

Taming skill increased to level sixty-five!

Beast Master skill increased to level seventeen!

Nice, now the limit it was forty-seven. Whiskers the cat, Marsh Mistress the cruel arachnoscorp, Atlas the giga-komodo, Darkness the chimeric cougar, and Katy and Tick-Tock, the two creeping crocodiles. I filled up all the other free slots with rats. But that wasn’t all! I put the fifteen free skill points I had into the Beast Master skill too, raising it to level thirty-two and my pet limit to sixty-two. Then I used ten Mutation Points to add the Large Pack Alpha mutation to the Beast Master skill, giving me half again as many pets. Ninety-three!

But I didn’t stop there — now I started giving pets to my allies. Unfortunately, I couldn’t gift pets to the members of our group that weren’t in the castle, but even without them, there were plenty of recipients. Ten tamed rats each to Engineer Max Dubovitsky, Huntress Anita Ur Vaye, Mechanic Edward Samarsky, Gunner Margarita Ovchinnikov and even little baby Hope without a class. The baby herself couldn’t make the conscious decision to accept the gift, but her designated ‘mother’ Anita Ur Vaye did it for her. And that made me think hard.

How were family ties formed in this world? All Julie and I did was start calling each other brother and sister and behaving accordingly, and the information was officially set in our profiles. I declared Shelly my soul mate, and matched my words with tenderness toward her, along with certain other actions, and then other players knew about our close relationship status right away. So maybe it was enough for a woman to fall in love with someone else’s abandoned baby girl and call that girl a daughter, and that meant the game’s algorithms treated her like the mother? I’d seen the joy on Hope’s face when her pointy-eared mother picked her up, fussed over her and fed her milk from a bottle. Maybe that meant the sherkh Huntress’s claim to motherhood of the human girl was fully justified?

Intellect increased to 12.

Wow… Until now, I’d only gained Strength, Agility and Physique. I’d thought that Intellect and Perception were just out of my wheelhouse, lost causes. But thinking about complex things like the nature of this world had leveled up even my character’s weak wit. And although I saw no visible changes or any new information on the world around me, I still felt encouraged. Not all was lost — I could level up even my worst stats! Now I had to figure out how to level up Perception, another of my Beast Catcher’s weaknesses.

I ran out of meat for taming, so I went to see Margarita for more, then I called Darkness down and ordered her to catch the neutral rats. Rats are cannibals by nature, so the unscrupulous rodents ate rat meat too.

Beast Master skill increased to level thirty-three!

Not bad, and perfect timing. I sat down on a rickety old chair and looked around at the ocean of life filling up the cellar. It had been a lot of work, but it was worth it! A hundred and thirty-nine tamed saber-toothed rats! A gray chattering cohort patiently awaiting its hour in the basement, ready to stream out at my first signal and sweep away the enemy with their numbers! I even started to feel a bit sorry for the Minotaur and his scaly girlfriend the Lamia. They wouldn’t know what hit them!

* * *

The barricade on the second floor was already practically ready. It wasn’t visible from the first floor, and the castle’s owner had no idea of our preparations yet. I even brought the Marsh Mistress up to the second floor and ordered the giant spider to weave a strong sticky web over the passageway in front of our wooden bars, leaving only a small crawlway for our group to pass through. The spiderweb worked both as extra protection and to hide our shelter from untimely detection. I gave the Engineer and the Mechanic a new job — to think about which traps we could use. If the massive horned beast stuck his nose in here, he’d find plenty of surprises!

In the meantime, it was getting dark. Fearsome stormclouds stretched across the whole sky again, although there was no rain. Our invisible Huntress came back downcast. She hadn’t found a device to switch off the magic defenses, although she’d searched the whole castle from the cellar to the tallest spire. According to the girl, the only place where such a device might be was in the big central hall. A huge natural boulder lay there by one of the walls, apparently hauled in from far away for some reason. No human or sherkh would be able to lift such a weighty stone alone. But the stone had often been moved aside — the many fresh scratches on the old darkened floor made that clear. It had to be one of the Minotaur’s secret hiding places.

On top of all that, Anita said she’d looked out from a watchtower and seen numerous humans in the castle’s vicinity. At least fifty, most with weapons and riding raptorhounds. The health-burning magical defenses kept them at a distance, and the strangers just circled the castle at from a long way out. The Huntress couldn’t read their character information so far away. But even without that, I felt pretty confident that I knew who they were here for.

Just as I finished talking to Anita, the Minotaur walked into the courtyard. He stank of wine and smoke, and the beast’s walk was far from steady.

“You’re taking too long with the gates! Slackers! Leave it, I have another job for you. I need a bed! I must have a bed in the great hall by nightfall!”

I promised the castle’s master that we’d get right to it. But the bed he wanted would be huge and very heavy. We wouldn’t be able to carry it through the corridors; we’d have to build it in the hall. And that meant saws rasping, hammers striking, builders talking… Could he stand the noise? Maybe it would be better to go for a walk for two or three hours while we completed his order? And by the way, there are some suspicious types hanging around outside the castle… Is that normal? Or would the Minotaur like to chase them away, to keep them out of his domain?

Diplomacy skill increased to level nine!

“Thieves again…” the Minotaur grumbled, finishing off his bottle of wine in a gulp and hefting his poleaxe onto his shoulder. “Well, that’s even better. I need humans…” he licked his lips, and I wondered again whether the Cartographer was wrong — maybe the Minotaur really did eat human meat. “I’ll take a stroll through the grounds, teach those troublemakers a lesson. You have three hours to build that bed. If you manage it, then I’ll lower the defenses and let you go in peace, as promised. You are a good man, Sergeant. Smart, useful. So do try to get it done. I don’t want to have to kill you. Or that curly-haired boy. He reminds me of a childhood friend who was just as much a good-for-nothing dumbass. All he has to do is draw some playing cards for me, then he can go wherever his heart desires.”

The Minotaur leaned down with a groan, pressed his broad palm down into the ash of our fire and the mud beneath it. Then he drew black stripes on his face and chest.

“Ever seen Commando, with Schwarzenegger?” he asked me. “That’s roughly what’s about to happen. Blood, guts, piles of corpses. Always the way… Ugh, I hate killing humans sober,” the half-bull beast took another bottle of wine out of the apparently bottomless pocket of his leather vest, pulled out the cork with his teeth and drained it in one long swig. “Well, I’m off to tidy up my kingdom. Remember, Sergeant, you have three hours! Unless you want to share their fate.”

* * *

Three hours in the absence of the castle’s lord. Plenty of time. We moved into the main hall, work tools in hand. The whole room was filled with garbage, empty bottles and ancient books, most in terrible condition. There really was a shed snakeskin on the floor. Judging by its size, the Lamia was just huge! My eye landed on the large box that the castle’s master had carried inside so carefully. I threw open the lid and scratched my head thoughtfully. Inside was a cradle, painstakingly carved out of light wood. That was a surprise. Did the Minotaur and the Lamia have a child together? Didn’t snakes lay eggs..? Come to think of it, I couldn’t imagine how two creatures so different could reproduce at all, let alone what their offspring might look like.

“There it is!” Anita said, pointing at the big boulder lying by the far wall. It certainly seemed pretty out of place here in the hall.

Using some wood we’d brought in as a lever, we raised and moved aside the massive stone.

ATTENTION! You found the second of the eight hidden areas in the game’s starter zone!

The rate at which you gain experience and skills has been tripled.

Duration: 48 hours.

Wow! There it was! In a shallow niche beneath the floor was a block of green stone with some strange symbols engraved on it. And the symbols glowed!

Your character does not have enough Intellect to identify this item.

Despite my recent intellectual progress, my Sergeant was apparently still too dumb. But it didn’t matter! I already knew we’d found exactly what we were looking for. Anyway, our Engineer had enough Intellect to confirm that the stone we’d found was indeed the mobile generator for the fortress’s defenses, and it was active. But it took a special key to enable or disable the magical artifact, a key that we didn’t have. No doubt the Minotaur kept it with him.

“Mobile defense generator?” the Mechanic asked, who had, incidentally, just hit level twenty-five. “Does that mean we can move it and deploy it somewhere else? Then we’ll have the same defenses wherever we build our house!”

“In theory, yeah,” Max said, “but damn, it’s heavy. Well over four hundred pounds. And…” He looked closer at the valuable object, tried to lift it up before letting go quickly. “Ouch! It’s freezing. So cold it burns your hand.” He showed everyone his palms, where white burn blisters were forming.

I asked them not to touch the generator for now and to put the boulder back. We couldn’t let the Minotaur know that we’d found his hiding place. It was time to get on with building the huge bed. After all, if there was a chance to solve things with the Minotaur peacefully, then why not use it? True, the Lamia was still a problem. She might want to dine on all the strangers in the castle as soon as she got here. But if the Minotaur could hold back his girlfriend’s bloodthirsty impulses, then maybe things would go fine.

“Sergeant, a moment…” Max led me off to the side and started whispering to me once we were out of earshot. “I have a great idea for where we can put our traps and loop snares. On that huge bed! I can make it so that the planks move aside under the Minotaur’s weight and cause metal cables to snap down on his arms and legs, binding him where he lies. We can put some mantraps beneath the bed too, to clamp down on his limbs, just to make sure. We’ll build them as strong as possible so that even that mighty beast won’t be able to get out of it or break it. Three hours should be more than enough to make the bed and traps. We’ll probably have time to spare. Then we take the key from the helpless Minotaur, deactivate the defenses and escape the castle!”

Eh… I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the Engineer was suggesting a good way to get out of the tough situation we’d gotten into. On the other, despite all his ferocity and obvious danger, the Minotaur hadn’t done anything bad to us yet. Treating him that way would be traitorous.

“Here’s what we do…” I said, making my decision. “Set up the traps. But make it so that the system doesn’t activate from the monster’s weight, but from some lever or button instead. That way we give the Minotaur a chance to fulfill his promise and let us go peacefully. If he keeps his word, then we leave, and we take those ancient books as our promised reward. If the Minotaur betrays us, then we’ll hide in our shelter. He won’t be able to kill us, and sooner or later he’ll go back to his lair. And we have an invisible girl in our team who can creep in here at the right moment and press the lever!”

Chapter 35 [Kitten]

League of Losers

WE DIDN’T RUN into any human or sherkh squads on the way back, but the road itself through the marshy forest and along the great river was exhausting. Especially since the creeping crocodiles were with us now, and Tick-Tock and Katy could move quickly only along the river. In the swamps and overgrown forests, they slowed down the rest of us. After struggling a while with the armored reptiles as they slowly crawled through the woods, we decided to split up. The little Veterinarian would lead the creeping crocodiles along the river, her pet Snowflake proudly riding on her shoulder, whistling into her ear. The winged veyer served as an aerial scout for the group while it was on water, finding the right flows between the labyrinth of islands.

Julie ordered her raptorhound to follow Irosaurus Regina — it would be safe near such a huge reptile; none of the local monsters dared tangle with the deadly megasaurus now that she was at level twenty-seven. I rode on the megasaurus’s back alongside Varya. We had plenty of time to talk, and I’d asked the girl to hold the book of transformation spells open in front of her as we rode. And even in the darkness, when the human girl couldn’t see much, I still peered at the pages covered with strange text. Admittedly, I didn’t understand much at all. There wasn’t a single familiar symbol, and only the illustrations of animals helped me figure out what the spells were for.

I really hoped to level up my now badly needed Translator skill. But my studies remained extremely slow. I was still tempted to spend my Mutation Points on a way to speed up my understanding of the text, but I resisted the urge. My Translator skill was currently at level forty, and counting the nine free skill points I’d saved, I had potentially almost reached level fifty in the skill. Just one level stood between me and my sacred goal. Having that skill at level fifty would let me take the Modified Vocal Chords mutation, and that would cost a whole twenty Mutation Points.

The trouble was that the Bookworm skill was leveling up instead of Translator. Not a bad thing, of course, just not what I was hoping would happen. I even started to suspect that my character would level up again before the Translator skill went up by even a point. But neither happened during our journey. We reached the Southern Ruins by midnight, where we reunited with Julie and the creeping crocodiles. The soaking wet girl climbed onto the bank and shivered in the cold like an autumn leaf. The water in the river was freezing. We needed to make sure our little Veterinarian didn’t catch a cold. But starting a fire might draw attention.

“The green light is over the castle,” Varya warned us. “How will we get inside? The defenses will kill us before we reach the walls.”

But the Philosopher helped us out. Or the Wise One, as he was now known. Our friend appeared at our mooring and waved us to follow him.

“Leave the animals.”

Along the way, the incorporeal Wise One explained:

“I can’t be away from the books in the old ruins for long, so let’s hurry back. There’s an old underground passageway nearby that we can use to enter the castle unnoticed. Hurry! Your friends are in a rough spot right now. They might need your help. Just try not to make any noise. The Minotaur is blind drunk and no threat for now, but the Lamia is awake and full of strength, and she is particularly dangerous at night. Make haste, and try not to attract her attention! There are also many enemies nearby apart from the castle’s owners. Sherkhs, humans and some other strange creatures that crawled out to eat the dead on the battlefield.”

“There was a fight here?” Varya asked in a whisper. Our acquaintance nodded.

“And quite the fight it was! First, one of the Pharaoh’s squads of raptorhound-mounted cavalry detected a large group of sherkhs and a bloody battle ensued. Then, when dusk fell, the Minotaur emerged from the castle and crushed the camp of the survivors, killing many and dragging a few prisoners back with him. Then the Lamia made a pass through the battlefield, finishing off the wounded where they lay. Now carrion-eaters of all kinds are feasting, including some species of ghoul.”

We stopped by a large stone with a narrow and dark crawlway beneath it. The Wise One went down first and lit a dim lantern.

“Follow me. But in the name of all the gods, don’t make any noise!”

An old underground passageway, its darkened stones overgrown with slimy lichen and mushrooms. The big oafs squelched through mud as they walked. Suddenly, we found a rusty iron gate blocking our path.

“I can handle this!” our Thief promised, and true to his word, a minute later he had the gate’s lock open.

We walked into a large room full of old barrels and stopped in surprise. We had good reason — the whole room was filled with huge, horrifying rats! There must have been at least a hundred.

“I see our Beast Catcher has gone mad…” Varya the Scout said, trying to hide her confusion and fear behind laughter.

It was true — all the rats were tamed! Sergeant owned most of them, although I also saw pets belonging to Anita Ur Vaye, Max Dubovitsky and the other members of the League of Losers. By then, I’d finally gotten my bearings and I wasn’t surprised when the incorporeal Wise One led us further through the cellar — I remembered there was a way up to the castle’s first floor there.

“I’m going to put out the light. Be as quiet as you can!” the ghost said. He walked through the rows of saber-toothed rodents and we had to follow after him.

My eyes helped me to find my way in the dark, but the humans and the veyer had a tough time of it. Julie covered her mouth with both her hands, shaking and fighting the desire to scream in terror. The saber-toothed rats parted and sniffed at us with interest, but showed no aggression. A minute later, we found ourselves in the first-floor hallway. We heard the Minotaur’s drunken cries from toward the great hall, along with terrified screams of pain as if someone was being tortured or eaten alive. They may well have been.

Radar Ear skill increased to level thirty-four!

Fortunately, we were headed in the other direction. We crept through the corridor and stopped beneath the hole disappearing upward where the stairs to the second floor should be.

“This way!” the Wise One pointed upwards. “I’ll tell Sergeant and the others to let you through.”

Truly, a minute later we saw flashes of torchlight above, and then a pole with steps hammered into it was lowered to us, allowing my companions to climb up. Wow! At the top was the thickest barricade I’d ever seen, bristling with sharpened stakes and covered in a thick layer of sticky webbing. Julie couldn’t contain her emotions and tears. She rushed to embrace Sergeant as he came to meet us with axe and torch in hand. Varya wasn’t far behind her.

“It’s alright, calm down, everything is fine,” my master said, a little taken aback by this outpouring of emotion from his companions. “We’re safe here. The Lamia tried to get in a few times, through the second-floor windows, and even tossed a harpoon at me from the first floor,” the Beast Catcher pointed at a yard-long throwing spear stuck in the wall nearby, tipped with serrated bone, “but she took a shotgun shell to the face and crawled away to complain to her boyfriend. The Wise One told us you were coming, but we weren’t expecting you until morning. Now that you’re here, let’s decide what we’re going to do next!”

* * *

The stories from Sergeant and the other group members quickly explained the situation for me. All the work ordered by the castle’s master had been done, and the Minotaur had previously promised to let Sergeant and the rest of his group go. Only the defensive field was still active. The castle’s master was in no hurry to switch it off, and whether the horned monster would keep his promise was an open question. In addition, the Lamia had arrived at the castle, and she had given no guarantees of safety. On the contrary, she’d already tried several times to break into the bastion of the League of Losers here in the castle’s northern wing. On top of that, the Minotaur and the Lamia had brought in living prisoners, who they kept bound in the central hall and seemed to be executing. One had certainly already been executed — the Minotaur’s giant and insatiable partner had swallowed him alive. According to the Engineer, the unlucky man’s screams echoed through the castle corridors. It would take a long time to forget that horror.

Sergeant’s attempt to talk ended fruitlessly — the Minotaur refused to speak to the human, and the Beast Catcher himself barely made it away from the gigantic, hungry and deadly snake woman. And the Minotaur didn’t even try to stop his spouse when she attacked the negotiator. My master showed us his bone armor. The shoulder piece bore clear signs of the Lamia’s sharp teeth, along with scorch marks as if from some strong acid.

“A little venom got on my skin,” Sergeant added, grimacing with unpleasant memories. “Still burns a little, but our Engineer and Mechanic helped neutralize the venom.”

“You have an antivenom to Lamia bites?” the Veterinarian asked with interest. The strong young man suddenly frowned and blushed.

“Well, we have one antidote left. Our last one. We decided to save it and make do with a more traditional remedy…”

The Wise One interjected at this point, explaining that, on his recommendation, they had used an ‘alkaline liquid’ to neutralize the poison. He didn’t specify which, but my sharp cat’s nose told me the full story. Sergeant’s armor stank of urine.

At that moment, our conversation was interrupted by a barely audible rustle from the other side of the wall, and the big oafs carefully approached the arrowslits, looking tensely out into the darkness. Something fast and bright flashed by the narrow window, but I couldn’t make out what it was. Margarita reacted faster than me, firing her elephant gun. The boom of the rifle shot in the small room nearly deafened me! Oh, my sensitive ears…

“Did you hit?” Edward asked, but his girlfriend just shook her head.

“Missed again. That Lamia is too damn fast. She’s gotten more careful since she ate lead that time by the barricade.”

Little Hope woke up from the loud noise. Anita hurried to soothe her. Sergeant shuddered.

“The Lamia hears the child and goes insane trying to reach her,” he said. “This night creature won’t leave us be. We have to do something about her.”

“Let’s wait until morning,” careful Edward suggested. “The Lamia doesn’t like sunlight and will crawl back to her bog. And we can handle the Minotaur alone, you know how.”

But the group leader objected; there were still stormclouds in the sky, and tomorrow promised to be overcast too. He could never forgive himself if we didn’t at least try to save the unfortunate prisoners.

“We’ve already seen that the respawn point is in the castle courtyard. That boy the Lamia ate revived there and got captured again. The monsters were waiting for him. So the bloodbath won’t stop until the prisoners lose all their lives. We’re their only hope of rescue. And I say we go and stop this mad slaughter! Who’s with me?”

I looked over the other members of the League of Losers. All were silent, hesitating to support Sergeant. Finally, Varya stepped forward:

“I’m with you, Sergeant! I was taught to fight against evil and stand up for the downtrodden. This is a time to stand up.”

Right after his daughter’s choice, the Engineer stepped forward. He said nothing, just reloaded his rifle. I announced my choice too, by jumping onto Sergeant’s shoulder.

“And I’m with you too, brother!” the little Veterinarian girl said, running over to hug Sergeant. He stroked his sister’s hair gently.

The sherkh Huntress adjusted her crossbow and throwing knives. “No, Julie, you have to stay here with my daughter. I’ll go into battle in your place!”

The next to step forward was the veyer, Avir Tan-Hoshi. He too said nothing, just stood alongside those willing to fight. Edward the Mechanic whispered something into Margarita’s ear, but she answered him with a slap in the face.

“No, I’m going with them! You can stay here in safety with the children, coward!”

“I’m not a coward!” Edward said hotly, offended. “I’m going to go, I was just saying you should stay here and not risk your life. Because I care about you, Margo! I know this isn’t the best time to say it, but… I love you! Will you marry me?”

That was sudden… The girl blushed, dropped her gaze to the floor and announced that she wasn’t ready to answer yet. She suggested they return to the subject after the battle against the pair of dangerous monsters.

* * *

We didn’t even need the signal from the invisible Huntress sent ahead to know that it was time to begin. The Minotaur’s deafening roar as the bed folded up beneath him and the powerful mantraps snapped shut on his arms and legs was probably audible even at the mountain pass, near thirty miles from the Southern Ruins.

“It’s time! Follow me!” Sergeant kicked the Marsh Mistress into motion at the head of our troop. “Rats, advance! Distract the Lamia! Don’t let her free the Minotaur!”

It was epic! A living, roiling carpet streamed through the corridor toward the great hall. The humans tried to keep up — every second counted. If the Lamia freed her spouse, then the whole plan would fail, and we’d have to fight against both enraged legendary monsters at once without much hope of victory.

I didn’t waste any time either. Sitting on Varya the Scout’s shoulder as she ran, I cast Stoneskin on my allies, prioritizing Sergeant and the Marsh Mistress, who would be our tanks in the coming battle, taking the bulk of the terrible Lamia’s damage on themselves.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty-eight!

And now that I’d reinforced all my main allies’ armor — Transform into Beetle! That form made my spells more powerful. Then into stealth!

We reached the central hall. The Minotaur, trapped and wrapped in metal cables, hadn’t stopped roaring even for a second, and it sounded louder than a ship’s horn. All the same, I sighed in relief — the horned beast was still bound to the enormous bed and couldn’t free himself on his own, no matter how hard he fought. Next to the gigantic bed was a puddle of blood, and in it was scattered a mess of empty wine bottles, handmade playing cards, scraps of clothing and human bones… I nearly threw up.

Three prisoners scared near to death hung on the wall by the lit hearth, hanging from hooks overhead by their bound hands. Two injured men, one of them a sherkh. And a middle-aged woman with dark hair, her clothes torn to shreds. There was no fourth, although I’d heard there were four prisoners. The bones on the floor must have belonged to that unlucky one. The smell of burnt hair and scorched meat radiating from the hearth brought me even closer to throwing up once I realized what it was that the castle’s masters were cooking.

But where was the Lamia? For a moment, I feared that one of the man-eating monsters had slipped from our grasp, but then I saw the live carpet seething in a heap in the far corner of the hall. There she was, under attack from a hundred rats! Curse Magic! Paralyze on the Lamia!

Invalid target for this spell.

Surprise, surprise. Then Weaken on her instead! And another Weaken! Slow! Slow! Slow!

Either my magic was doing nothing or the monster was too strong; the rats suddenly flew through the air from a sweep of her long serpentine tail. No further than an arm’s length away from me and Varya as we stood in stealth, a glistening white snake body shot by toward the opposite corner of the great hall.

☠ Lamia. Queen of the Snake People. Legendary Monster.

Another ‘legendary,’ as if the Minotaur wasn’t bad enough… She was a huge and fairly fat snake, light in color, her long scaled body growing into a woman’s torso raised above the floor, with a human set of arms and a head covered in wild silver hair. Her maw — to call that terrible orifice a ‘mouth’ was too generous — was filled with teeth and marred with blood. The monster’s eyes gleamed scarlet and her face was twisted with rage.

I kept sending curses at the Lamia, although I could already tell that my actions were having very little effect. Rifle shots weren’t doing much good either — the bullets rarely hit the lightning-fast monster, and even then they didn’t always pierce her hard scales. Sweeping away the rats with her tail again as they caught back up to her, the Lamia sped back to the opposite side of the hall. Strange… Nothing was stopping the dread man-eater from running out into the corridor and then the castle yard to save her skin, but for some reason, the Lamia took the fight in the hall. Either she was completely sure of her ability to win or something kept her here in battle.

How could we stop her? Now Darkness appeared from a shadowy corner, attacking the Lamia with all her claws and teeth, but took a venomous bite and was forced to retreat. The Chimeric Cougar whined, took a few uncertain steps and fell, her paws curling inward. Then the Lamia shot toward Margarita as she reloaded her elephant gun, but I confused the monster’s plans by firing my flamethrower at her — Combined Fire and Air.

Elemental Magic skill increased to level twenty-nine!

Conjurer skill increased to level fourteen!

Shame the Lamia didn’t catch fire — the flames on her skin quickly went out. But then I fell out of stealth, and so did Varya for some reason. The Scout screamed in fear when the monster turned to her and flew at us like a whirlwind.

“Not on my watch!” Sergeant shouted, jumping in at the last second to cover us from the deadly attack, the Marsh Mistress landing heavily in the Lamia’s path.

For the next few seconds, the giant spider fought with the weaving monster, biting and striking with her spidery legs, and getting the same back. The armor created by the Engineer and Mechanic flew off her in shards, caving under the force of the mighty snake’s tail and powerful clawed hands. But the Lamia took damage too. For the first time, I heard her emit a scream of pain, then she quickly tore herself from the spider’s grip and surged to the side. The Wise One appeared in her path, and she wasted precious seconds in fruitless attempts to deal damage to the incorporeal ghost.

I spent all my mana on Slows and Weakens. I don’t know how much it helped, but the beast didn’t seem quite so fast now. It was getting harder for her to evade the pack of rats chasing her around the hall. And the Lamia’s health began to fall, too. I saw blood flowing from numerous wounds on her body. And a crossbow bolt was stuck into the monster’s neck almost up to the feathers, clearly causing her pain. The Thief and Huntress managed to land another couple of shots in her tail. From what I knew, Anita Ur Vaye and Avir Tan-Hoshi had dipped their bolts in a substance that burns Stamina Points, so the Lamia’s strength should steadily be fading. There was no doubt — we were gradually winning. But why was she not running? Why continue to fight a hopeless battle?

“Hey you, Lamia! Over here!” Many turned to the Mechanic’s cry, including me.

Edward stood with a lit torch in one hand and something else in the other, hidden behind his back. He was standing by a cradle, leaning down and looking at something inside. A cradle? Where had that come from? Before I even had time to consider that question, the Minotaur’s blood-curdling scream rang through the hall: “NOOOOOOOO!!!” The Lamia covered the distance to the Mechanic in a split second and sank her venom-filled teeth into the human’s shoulder!

He reeled, but then suddenly pulled his hidden hand from behind his back and struck the Lamia. Then Edward’s legs failed and he fell, a smile of satisfaction on his face. He can’t have just hit her with a bare hand — I clearly heard the sound of metal. Ah, there it is! Edward’s wrist gleamed with a locked metal bracelet, its chain leading to the Lamia’s arm with another bracelet sealed around it! Our Mechanic had bound himself to the monster, depriving the Lamia of the incredible speed she was using against us. Edward’s move came as a surprise to me. It was a kind of self-sacrifice for the good of the group. The Lamia was far larger and heavier than him, but even so, it drained her to drag a human body around.

Soon enough, the Marsh Mistress caught up to the newly slowed Lamia again, wrapping all eight of her legs around the snake’s body and delivering bite after bite, spraying venom into the wounds. Sergeant hit the giant beast with his heavy club a few times too, knocking the enemy’s final Stamina Points away with his Stern Mentor. And… it worked! The Lamia fell unconscious!

Curse Magic skill increased to level eighty-three!

Shapeshifter skill increased to level thirty-seven!

Your character is now level thirty-seven!

Reward: three skill points (total available: twelve) and one mutation point (total available: twenty-eight).

“No! We need her alive!” the Beast Catcher shouted, chasing the rats away and watching while the Marsh Mistress quickly rolled the snake up in a cocoon of webbing. Then he sat down exhausted on the floor and sent for his sister, so the Veterinarian could see if Darkness and Edward could be saved.

* * *

Only eighteen remained from the huge pack of rats. And Edward had gone to the respawn point too. Margarita cried rivers over his body and blamed herself for not saying ‘yes’ to the boy’s proposal, promising to correct that error as soon as Edward revived. But the Chimeric Cougar survived at least, saved by our little Veterinarian, who used her last dose of the antidote Sergeant had brought from the old world.

Now there was the question of what to do with the man-eating monsters. Most of the League of Losers were in favor of killing the dangerous creatures. But Sergeant was in no hurry to do anything irreversible. He span some magic scroll in his hands, looking first at the Minotaur, then at the Lamia. Then he took the sherkh Huntress aside, whispered to the pointy-eared girl for a long time while she calmed down a crying Hope in her arms. He gave Anita the scroll and pointed at a simple silver ring on her hand. The babe in her ‘mother’s’ arms suddenly shone with multicolored sparks and… disappeared!

“Heh. The Cartographer won’t be pleased… But now we’re ready to go out into the world beyond!” Sergeant declared, but the Wise One asked him not to hurry, and to first go to the cradle.

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity either. I jumped up onto my master’s shoulder — I wanted to find out what the offspring of the Minotaur and the Lamia looked like. Wow… It wasn’t just one child inside, but three. They had long tails covered in snake scales, but were still reminiscent of human children, although with sharp horns on their little heads.

Apollyon Horn. Level 0 Demon.

Abaddon Horn. Level 0 Demon.

Veronica Horn. Level 0 Demoness.

The still bound Minotaur kept a close watch on the humans, eyes wide. “Sergeant, I beg mercy!” he said. “Not for myself. I have done many horrible things and I deserve no quarter. And not even for my beloved. But I beg you, have mercy on my children! Take everything I have, but don’t hurt my babies!”

“Don’t listen to him!” our Wise One said with unusual seriousness. “They may be small now, but they’re demons, enemies of the human race. You must kill them while you have the chance! Later may be too late.”

The other members of our group approached the cradle and voiced a whole range of differing opinions. The Beast Catcher said nothing for almost a minute. Then he declared that he wouldn’t let anyone kill the children. The silence that resulted from these words was broken by a slow clap. The group turned slowly. The clapper, standing in the center of the hall, was a familiar gentleman in an old-fashioned suit.

“Bravo, Sergeant! Yet another of your decisions upon which the future of this world depends. Only this time, even I couldn’t intervene and influence your choice, as other PLAYERS did not approve. Congratulations. Another new race has just come into being in this world, the sixth, now. I’ve always had a soft spot for demons, and I am very pleased that they will again appear in this Great Game. I will take the babes to keep them safe and raise them in a secure location. Their parents will come with me too. Do not fear; they will never again harm humankind.”

“A sixth race?” the Wise One asked, bright-eyed.

“Yes. Humans, veichs, veyers and sherkhs are still arriving in this world. A mighty player on another continent has already recreated a race of intelligent dragons. And now Sergeant has released demons upon the world, for which I am extremely grateful to him. Here is the key you need,” the vallar said, offering a gleaming emerald rod to Sergeant. “The most valuable books in this castle are already under cover in the courtyard by your beast of burden. And as a reward from me personally, everyone present in this room, even the bound prisoners, will get the Demon Creator achievement and three points to Fame. They will also join the guild known as League of Losers, which they cannot leave until the end of their days. Plus two free character stat points, why not? They’ll help you survive. And that will be handy,” he cocked his head, “because I’m afraid there will be a great many people wanting to kill you!”

End of Book Two

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Video Game Plotline Tester (The Dark Herbalist Book #1)

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About the Author

MICHAEL ATAMANOV was born in 1975 in Grozny, Chechnia. He excelled at school, winning numerous national science and writing competitions. Having graduated with honors, he entered Moscow University to study material engineering. Soon, however, he had no home to return to: their house was destroyed during the first Chechen campaign. Michael’s family fled the war, taking shelter with some relatives in Stavropol Territory in the South of Russia.

Having graduated from the University, Michael was forced to accept whatever work was available. He moonlighted in chemical labs, loaded trucks, translated technical articles, worked as a software installer and scene shifter for local artists and events. At the same time he never stopped writing, even when squatting in some seedy Moscow hostels. Writing became an urgent need for Michael. He submitted articles to science publications, penned news fillers for a variety of web sites and completed a plethora of technical and copywriting gigs.

Then one day unexpectedly for himself he started writing fairy tales and science fiction novels. For several years, his audience consisted of only one person: Michael’s elder son. Then, at the end of 2014 he decided to upload one of his manuscripts to a free online writers resource. Readers liked it and demanded a sequel. Michael uploaded another book, and yet another, his audience growing as did his list. It was his readers who helped Michael hone his writing style. He finally had the breakthrough he deserved when the Moscow-based EKSMO - the biggest publishing house in Europe - offered him a contract for his first and consequent books.

Michael is now the author of three bestselling LitRPG series: Perimeter Defense, The Dark Herbalist and Reality Benders which are already considered the classics of LitRPG.