The Gene of the Ancients (Rogue Merchant Book #2): LitRPG Series Page 32

  She pointed at the demonic body at my feet.

  The contract tab in my interface received an ornate signature and the pentagram seal of the Wandering Succubate. According to the terms, I was to return to them Daine’s crown and scourge, while they had to:

  1. Instead of the crown, provide a legendary item with equivalent stats that could also be used by a player character.

  2. Instead of the scourge, provide a legendary item with equivalent stats that could also be used by a player character.

  3. Find and kill the PROJECT HELL rogue spying on us.

  4. After the end of the contract, do not harm me or the members of my clan, directly or indirectly, and leave the location upon my first request.

  I had composed the terms together with Olaf, quickly and with no time to go through the details. Based on the unexpected change in the demoness’ demeanor, I realized that we had made a misstep. Mara was smiling, content. So what was the catch?

  I reached out to Harv’s body. The loot had three items: a purple axe, a crimson drop of a Supreme Demon’s blood — smaller than Daine’s — and a legendary headgear, Prince Consort’s Tiara. I read the stats and swore in anger.

  “A consort? What the hell?”

  “It’s your contract, darling! You’ve written it yourself — an item with equivalent stats. I didn’t really like Harv much. Hope you’ll be a good replacement for him!”

  And she giggled again. I really didn’t like that laughter.

  Prince Consort’s Tiara

  Quality: legendary. Material: gold, demonite, ellurite. Personal.

  Increases resistance to all types of magical and elemental damage by +10%.

  The Prince of Demons: increases your reputation with demonic factions to Respect.

  Supreme Summoning: allows to summon the Mistress of the Wandering Succubate once in 72 hours.

  The Consort: allows the Mistress of the Wandering Succubate to summon you once in 72 hours.

  Grand Summoning: allows to summon the Wandering Succubate from the Netherworld once in 720 hours.

  Slots: 1 (empty)

  Requirements: male.

  True owner: undefined

  Attention: upon being picked up, automatically fills the headgear slot.

  What a drag. Mara’s joy made sense: the tiara was personal and would get bound to me as soon as I picked it up from the body. Refusing it meant reneging on the agreement, and taking it would doom me to constant dates with succubi who, I was sure, wouldn’t leave me alone. So what was I to do?

  I didn’t have a choice. I had to take it. My only hope was that the agreement didn’t specify that I was obliged to equip and use the item. I wondered if Mara would be able to summon me if I wasn’t wearing the tiara? But in any case, we had brought upon ourselves a world of trouble.

  “I love our contract so much, darling, that I will even give you items instead of one for the second clause,” Mara sang in a syrupy voice. “They’re useless without each other anyway! Here, take it.”

  She pulled out two black iron bracelets shaped like coiled snakes and carelessly threw them at my feet. Orange legendary affix flashed before my eyes. Another catch? It didn’t look like that.

  Black Mamba

  Quality: legendary. Material: demonite, black iron, ellurite.

  Increases physical defense by 50 (hands)

  Increases elemental resistance by 10%

  +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity

  +50 unarmed damage (crushing)

  Black Mamba Venom: 50% chance to poison the enemy in an unarmed battle (1-30 damage/5 seconds)

  Slot: 1 (Royal Emerald)

  If used as a pair:

  Demonic Might: bestows Demonic Might on the owner (10 minutes/12 hours)

  +150 SP to Unarmed Combat

  Requirement: female

  “The third clause is simple,” Mara continued speaking in an angel-like voice. “Shall we just kill him, or can we torture him first?”

  “Torture would be better.”

  “As you wish, darling. Entertainment’s so rare these days! And I like you more and more,” the demoness said, mockingly making eyes at me. “I can’t wait for our date!”

  Obeying her unspoken command, the swarm of succubi circling above us took off and started searching for Illith, taking pains to keep away from the Ziggurat. Neither I nor the Watchers’ leadership had any doubt that the PROJECT’s spy followed in our footsteps, gathering information and passing it to Tao. Those “eyes” had to be gouged out; they had seen too much as it was.

  “And while we’re searching, fulfill your part of the agreement!” the succubi said, abruptly changing her tone. “The crown and the Torturer!”

  * * *

  Illith: Tao, come in.

  Tao: Go ahead. What have you got for me, my valiant Mata Hari?

  Illith: Finally! Were you sleeping or what?

  Tao: Working. Is it something important?

  Illith: Have a look yourself. I’ve sent you a whole gallery — screenshots, videos.

  Tao: One second...Holy freaking shit! A Ziggurat? A Colossus? What’s that wall of ice there, can you get closer?

  Illith: I can, but it’s dangerous. The Succubate got here again.

  Tao: They’ve come to avenge Daine. Are they fighting?

  Illith: I don’t think so. They’re talking about something.

  Tao: Interesting... Illith, go check the wall, come closer. Do you know what that is?

  Illith: It’s not ice, more like crystal. There’s a building inside, sealed like a fly in amber. I can’t see it well, everything’s muddled.

  Tao: Turn on the video, broadcast it via the Courier. Closer. That’s enough. Hot damn!

  Illith: What?

  Tao: Nothing. What’s that sound there?

  Illith: The succubi are flapping their wings. They’re searching for something.

  * * *

  I didn’t have any problems during my second visit to the Ziggurat. The Ancients’ guardians still didn’t react to me in any way, and I grew bolder, almost running along my old route and carefully removing the crown from the head of the Colossus. In truth, at first I had wanted to pitch the Succubate against the guardians of the Ziggurat and together with the Watchers, finish the winners off, but the demoness didn’t fall for such a primitive trick. However, the game wasn’t over yet.

  Upon seeing the crown in my hands, Mara reached out for it greedily, but I feigned surprise — where’s the spy? The succubus snickered and stepped aside, revealing a gruesome sight.

  The captured Illith was crucified on a wooden T-shaped cross, at least a dozen half-naked giggling succubi giddily lashing their victim with barbed whips. He was surrounded with a rainbow glow signifying the use of a Soul Stone, but each new blow dealt by the laughing demons immediately extinguished it.

  “Your friend is trying to escape, but he cannot!” Mara explained, grinning. “We know all of your tricks!”

  I realized that they were interrupting the three-second casting of the Stone, preventing the PROJECT spy from teleporting to his home spot. How cunning! The NPCs in this game really were too smart if they could devise such elaborate ways of torturing players. Illith had only one way to escape — logging off. It would mean an easy death.

  As if having read my thoughts, the HELL warrior weakly raised his head, surveying us with his bloodshot eyes, as if recording the events. He whispered something under his breath and suddenly grew limp in the ropes, making his tormentors groan in disappointment.

  “He left the body and whisked his mind away, cowardly worm!” Mara commented. “And we’ve just started our fun! But we’ll still find a way to hold his soul...”

  A curved knife appeared in the hands of one of the demonesses — or was it her elongated claw? Illith’s lifeless body twitched, and his health bar that already was in the red zone finally went out.

  “We’ve fulfilled all of our terms!” Mara snapped. “Give us the crown!”

  With her barbed tail, she impatientl
y ripped the crown and Daine’s scourge from my hands. Having obtained her prize, Mara laid the crown on her head, a blissful smile on her face. Bathed in a glow, the demoness seemingly grew in size, looming over us, the shadows of her outspread wings covering everything around her. The smaller succubi hurriedly descended, kneeling or prostrating themselves before their new lawful mistress.

  Quietly, I watched Mara’s triumphant expression turn from glee to confusion and finally, to bitter hate. Just in case, I put my hand on the grip of Aelmaris. We were bound by an agreement, but what if...

  Having returned to her previous size, the new mistress sharply spun around. Her fingers were twitching at the gem slot in the golden band of the crown where a scarlet octagonal ruby used to be.

  “Where? Where is it? Where is the Transformation Gem?!”

  * * *

  The evening of the previous day, the Watchers’ camp

  Khaman was sitting by the entrance to the mobile tent, leisurely drawing a flint stone over the blade of his favorite weapon, a two-handed espadon. He amicably nodded at me when I sat next to his campfire.

  “Hi, Cat. Have a drink with me.”

  He passed me a wineskin that was already far from full. I took a sip of a flavorful wine, recognizing the taste of the Order’s Crimson. It was pretty good.

  “Hey, Khaman. I’ve heard rumors you’re leveling up Jewelry.”

  “That’s right. I’m a rank seven jeweler,” the veteran told me with a measure of pride. “Just a little bit left until rank eight.”

  “How is your Gem Insertion?”

  “It’s a skill from the same branch. What about it?” Khaman grew alarmed.

  “Could you remove a gem from an item?”

  “Depends on the item and the gem. I need to take a look at it, the chance is not one-hundred percent.”

  I handed the Watcher the Succubate’s crown.

  “A Transformation Gem?” Khaman gasped as soon as he recognized the huge shining gem in the center of the band. “From a faction crown? That’s a hell of a task. Are you sure?”

  “So can you do it or not?”

  “I can. The chance is seventy-eight percent,” the jeweler said, concentrating on the socket and feeling it with his sensitive fingers. “I even have a toolkit on me. I’d even wager to say I’d love to try. The only way to get skill points at rank seven is working with epic items, and it’s a real live legendary, enough to reach rank eight... But it’s your choice — one chance out of five that the gem will break.”

  It didn’t take long for me to decide.

  * * *

  “A gem? Which gem? We only talked about the crown, darling,” I retorted lazily. “You got the crown, the contract’s fulfilled. Let’s say our goodbyes.”

  Mara delivered an animalistic roar, baring her fangs and hissing like a giant cat. The resemblance was further augmented by her protracted claws and barbed tail, furiously beating at her slender hips.

  “You wretched worm! You (censored), how dare you!” A stream of profanities poured out from her mouth. I had no idea that local NPCs could swear so profusely. I even picked up a few choice words.

  “All right, that’s enough. You’re starting to repeat yourself,” I interrupted her verbal diarrhea. “All terms of the agreement were fulfilled on both of the parties’ behalf. Once again, let us say goodbye.”

  “We’ll meet soon, and you’ll know what pain feels like!” Mara said through her gritted teeth. “Just. Three. Days.”

  “I’ll be holding my breath,” I snickered in return. “And now, scram!”

  They couldn’t defy the terms of our contract. Glaring at me, the new Mistress of the Succubate disappeared in a small pentagram that flashed beneath her feet. The rest of the demons followed suit, giggling, shrieking, and screaming as they vanished.

  I breathed out. So to draw up my balance sheet, I was down two useless legendaries and up three, one of them extremely dangerous for its owner. Plus, I obtained a Transformation Gem and one more sample of Supreme Demon Blood. All in all, it didn’t seem like a bad bargain.

  Interlude. The Goddess

  THE ALTAR was cold and silent. Yet another magic stone that Tao dropped on its surface rolled down with a thud and stopped next to the rest of them. It didn’t disappear, didn’t vanish into thin air. The offering was not accepted. The goddess wasn’t answering. She didn’t want to talk to him. Had she grown cold to him because of how long the invasion of Eyre was taking?

  Tao didn’t know that. He wasn’t a disciple or a priest of Ananizarte, and his reputation with the goddess and the House of Darkness had been earned in the way that he preferred to forget. Having lost hope to draw her attention with gifts, Tao pulled out a jade figurine of his “pet” and squeezed it in his fist, rousing it to life.

  Ramin, the Harbinger of Darkness, appeared by his side, as nonchalant as ever, clad in armor of blue steel with the emblem of a five-pointed crown.

  “My lord,” he said with a short bow.

  “Ramin, the goddess doesn’t accept my offerings!” Tao said instead of a greeting. “What should I do? I have important information for her!”

  The Harbinger of Darkness glanced at the altar and the magic gems scattered on it. An almost imperceptible smile crept over his lips and disappeared in his short greying beard.

  “She might be busy, or in a bad mood,” Ramin replied. “It’s dangerous to insist, my lord.”

  Tao stared at him, unblinking.

  “There is a way, my lord,” the knight said with his head bent. “She will be angry, but you will draw her attention. Blood.”

  “Blood?” Tao couldn’t believe his ears. “A sacrifice? But it will desecrate the altar!”

  “No. Your blood. You are anointed.”

  Thick drops quivered as they trickled down the tattooed arm of the PROJECT leader painted with carmine snakes, falling down on the black obsidian, merging into rivulets as they reached the ridged symbol of the Lady engraved on the stone. Tao waited, ignoring pain and the bleeding debuff. He watched the altar.

  When blood filled the image of the five-pointed crown, the crimson drops sizzled, disappearing from the obsidian surface. A magical glow covered the altar plate, and Tao was hit with a powerful aura of presence.

  “HOW DARE YOU!”

  The booming voice was coming from everywhere at once, inflicting Tao with Wrath, a debuff that decreased his stats by three quarters.

  “I have...important information!” Tao groaned. “Hear me out!”

  The darkness swirled, and he found himself in an empty dark hall next to a pool, stars reflected in its black water. Ananizarte appeared next to him. A silver bracer flashed in her hand, and Tao felt the overwhelming cold of an invisible blade touch his throat.

  “I would have turned you inside out with the Eye,” the goddess said with an icy tone, “looked within and put you back again. Fortunately for you, you’re a player.”

  “Hear me out...we found...” Tao croaked, afraid to move, his neck caught in her chilling grip.

  “Don’t talk,” Ananizarte stopped him. “Show.”

  She pointed at the pool. Tao lowered his hand in the black water. It burned him like liquid fire. Ripples passed over the surface, and the stars vanished.

  “Think!” the goddess commanded. “And the Herald will show it.”

  Tao focused, closing his eyes. Images rippled over the water, first murky, then growing bright.

  A huge cave, translucent pillars of edra, blue-green ellurite lazily flowing through them. A black hexagonal Ziggurat serving as a throne for a colossal statue. A wall made of ice-like substance, the front of a building bleeding through it. A big group of players studying it.

  “Aha!” Ananizarte puffed out, striking at the water. “The grey swindler! Tao. It’s very dangerous. You must destroy them.”

  “Impossible! They’re deep in Helt Akor!” Tao quickly argued.

  “The Grand Temple of Shadows,” the goddess said, as if speaking to herself. “He’s foun
d it, and he has someone capable of destroying the Ancients’ seals. If it’s done, the Grey One will once again rise in power. They must be stopped. At once.”

  Chapter 23

  “WELL, I KNEW that you’d be of use to us here,” Komtur said as he patted me on the shoulder. “You did great with them.”