Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book IV Read online

  ***

  Will had been buried by an avalanche of difficult choices. The first was about Hade, who was strolling around staring at the alchemy queens’ work and almost climbing onto the tables to get a look, curiosity written all over her pretty face. Looking at it, he just couldn’t bring himself to take the next step.

  ***

  Bonus Fragment: Cry-Baby

  “Hey! Who ever thought that my formidable lady could cry?” Lifting her chin up, Daltaro smiled and kissed her on the lips.

  “Oh,” Will intervened. “Looks like you broke her again. She’s shedding tears.” He and Daltaro moved their fists toward each other – their usual way of showing affection.

  “You of all people!” Rinnah screamed, shoving the archer away.

  “Easy, cry-baby.” Will lifted his hands jokingly. “Don’t drown us, please.”

  “I… I hate you!” She was gasping for air and had a feeling that her momentary weakness was about to turn into a barrage of taunting remarks that she would have to endure for eternity. So, she punched Daltaro in his solar plexus. When he doubled over, she squinted at the rogue. “Your last words, kitty?”

  “Eh?”

  “Wrong answer.”

  Bang!

  Chapter 242. Her Will

  A fter a period of long reflection, Raven decided to ask one question. “Salemary. Come here, please.” Leaning on the armrest and scratching his temple, he stared into the space, his mind still wandering in search of a solution.

  “Your Majesty?” The witch had been standing by his side for one minute already, waiting for him to stop brooding and notice her – and this wait would have lasted much longer if she hadn’t dared to get his attention. “Have you made up your mind?”

  “Ah, yes.” Distracted from his contemplation of the void, Will stood up and started walking slowly toward the window, silently inviting the witch to follow him. “For a start, I’d like to know if there is any chance of increasing Hade’s chances of accepting the new power.”

  “Yes, of course. We’ve considered this option, but… I’m afraid it’s too late. We have no idea if we would be able to find the herb we need on this floor. If you don’t mind sending someone to look for it and waiting, we’d be able to give you a better answer.”

  “So, this plant can be found on the third floor?” Raven specified.

  “Yes,” Salemary confirmed. “But, as I’ve told you, it’s too late. As far as I can see, you no longer have access to our past home, do you?”

  “No. But my contacts do. Just tell me which plant it is and where it can be found, and I will bring it.”

  “Wow.” Arching her brows and clapping her hands, the witch continued, “Certainly. This changes everything. Please forgive me, I forgot that you are a messenger. And please, tell your people the plant’s name is karukoru. It’s a lichen found in the caves with special… Oh. I’d better write the instructions.” Bowing, she was about to leave for her desk when Will stopped her.

  “Please, tell me again, what’s its name?” He struggled to believe a coincidence like this was possible.

  “Karukoru.” Noticing his stunned eyes, the witch inquired, “Oh, I see you already know of it?”

  “I do. I’ll get it. How much will it improve my pet’s chances?”

  “By fifteen to twenty percent, to be honest. I must say, a lot of her success depends on herself. If she gives up, no magic will be able to save her from the elemental forces ripping her body to pieces. There will be no chance of resurrection.”

  “Good. Thank you. I’ll be back soon. Use this time to prepare.”

  ***

  The moss he had once obtained for the dryads’ rite wasn’t difficult to find, particularly as he had Ukumi as his guide. After parting with the happy little dryad, who asked him to come and summon her more often, he went back to the lab.

  “Is this enough?” he asked, dumping about five pounds of the herb onto the table.

  “Oh, Your Majesty, that’s more than enough.” The witch examined the rare ingredient with awe. “We can’t increase the chance of success by adding more karukoru, but still, many thanks for bringing that much. We can use it for many other potions and recipes.” Beckoning two other witches over, Salemary gave them their orders and turned back to the king. “Have you sorted it out with your pet?”

  “Give me a minute or two.” He slowly walked out into the small garden where the witches were growing all their herbs and, after sitting down on the ground, watched Hade sniff at each plant and either grimace or roll her eyes in delight.

  Will knew how much he could gain by leveling her up, but still, she was just a child. Having evolved that rapidly, she had had no time to grow up.

  Shit. Looks like I’ve got over-attached to her. Or I’m too scared of repeating my past mistakes. Closing his eyes, he remembered the day when his mistake as a negotiator had cost a young female hostage’s life.

  He saw no other choice. The Box of Wishes could probably do the job, but he needed it for a different experiment. It was his nuclear briefcase that he was saving for a real disaster.

  Two minutes passed. Five. Ten. But he still couldn’t bring himself to do that to Hade. He could no longer see her as she had run far ahead into the garden. Then, a message popped up. Out of habit, he opened it straight away. After reading the first line, he sprung to his feet and sprinted back into the lab. What the hell?

  Do you want to initiate a new development branch for Hades?

  Chance of success: 42%

  If the initiation fails, your pet will die. You will not be able to resurrect it.

  Accept: Yes/No?

  Due to his character’s well-developed speed, he reached the lab in virtually no time at all – to see Hade holding one witch by the throat demanding to be injected with the potion.

  How could she do that? Without even asking me? Wondering how this was possible, Raven shook his head at Salemary who was holding a corked vial, and gestured to Hade to let go of the witch. “Come here.”

  “But, master! I just can’t stand aside when I see you suffering. Is it about me? I know it is. So, I must solve it.” Hade bent her neck unnaturally. A dog’s head showed up from her shoulder, dripping saliva as it stared at its female hostage, as though it were about to bite her head off.

  Will had no idea Hade could transform her body partially.

  “I just want to help. Please, please, please let me do it!” Holding the young alchemy queen in the air, Hade stared at him with begging eyes.

  “Leave her. And come here.”

  Hesitating for a while, Hade still couldn’t disobey her master. She let go of the witch and instantly transformed back to her fully human appearance.

  “Please.” She approached him and looked up at him with determined eyes. “Please let me make this choice, master.”

  Attention! Due to Human Essence and emotional attachment to you as the master, your pet has acquired a new attribute: Will.

  WILL

  Description: This trait is possessed by every sapient creature. It makes them pursue their goals.

  Consequences: Your pet’s future depends on the extent of your permissiveness. She might die if you let her chase what is beyond her reach, or she might develop into the most powerful pet. It is up to you.

  Attention! Hades wants to be initiated.

  Allow her to do so? Yes/No

  The unanswered message asking whether he wanted to initiate a new development branch was deleted automatically and replaced by this one, which conveyed a slightly different message.

  Hade stared at him, not knowing what she had just acquired and waited for his answer.

  “O… okay.” Putting both hands on her shoulders, Will looked into her eyes. “I believe that you can do it but stay focused in the process. Do not relax.” Hesitating for a moment, he added, “Please.”

  She nodded seriously, as though she could sense the effort this response was taking him. “I will do it, master.”

  The witches
were all watching this scene, having abandoned their own business. Once Will had given his consent, they started to prepare the experiment. They gave Hade the potion that would increase her chances to drink, before stripping her naked and putting her down on the table. Waiting for the subject to nod, Salemary looked up at the king and, getting his nod as the final confirmation, came up to the table to pour the liquid from her bottle over the girl’s body.

  Raven watched the solution flash with fire, or with bolts of lightning, when it touched Hade’s skin and absorbed slowly into her face, breasts, stomach, and limbs.

  Once the liquid had been used up, the main stage of the initiation process began.

  Her body started to shiver: just a little at first, but soon it was tossing and thrashing so hard that the force of the impact was about to break the table. The pet’s eyes rolled up into her head as her body started to transform, the dog heads flashing out and disappearing again, her arms turning to clawed paws. The witches recoiled out of fear of getting injured.

  She gave a loud howl as her whole body convulsed in agonizing pain. Her jaws burst with the growl and belched a stream of lava, which melted everything it touched.

  The witches had run away long ago to watch from the distance. Will was the only one standing next to Hade, pressing her body to the floor (the table had been reduced to splinters by the full weight of her animal body). Even though he was taking more and more damage from the splashing lava, he stayed there holding the girl and stifled a scream of pain.

  “Hold on! Don’t give up!” he begged her, reminding her to focus on the task.

  Another head – and a flash of lightning struck the room from inside the animal body. Having no control over the elemental powers being installed in her body, Hade was exhausting her strength.

  Crying and yelping loudly from the excruciating pain, she lay in a spot of soot, her body arching and thrashing on the floor, rocking from side to side. Her screams turned to growls and howls and back to screams. Face to jaws, jaws to face. Hands to paws. All these transformations flashed before Will’s eyes, gaining speed, as her body either burned alive or was reduced to ashes by strokes of lightning. Will gulping down several health potions. He had poured a few into Hade’s jaws to keep both of them from dying.

  The initiation went on and on. Ten minutes had passed already. Will started to suspect there was a problem when it was suddenly all over. A pillar of lightning soared from the girl’s chest. It broke through the ceiling and exploded in the sky over the mansion like a firework. Hade’s body instantly went limp; she was unconscious. Will received a message:

  Congratulations! A new development branch has been initiated:

  Warden of Thunder.

  Please open the branch to learn the skills.

  Covering his surviving assistant’s body, Will breathed with relief and laughed, his tension subsiding slowly. He hadn’t been that scared for anyone in a long time. Without standing up, he summoned the pet development menu.

  Dance of Fiery Lightning. Thunderbolt. Flash of Fire. Lava Rain. These were just a few of the breathtaking skills Hade could now learn. The requirements were hard to meet, but feasible.

  Glancing at the girl’s exhausted, bloodied body, Will beckoned to Salemary. “Wash her. I will take her away for some rest.”

  “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I… I must ask. This girl… did she get anything worthy? An ordeal like that should be rewarded, I believe.”

  It wasn’t surprising that she had asked this question. Witches were renowned for their studious curiosity.

  Looking at Hade’s pacified face, Raven stood up and replied, smiling, “She can now become one of the strongest creatures in this world. And I will do all I can to help her.”

  He turned around and withdrew another health potion, before heading for the recreation area to wait for his assistant to be washed and dressed. One difficult decision was already behind him.

  The second round of the tournament was coming up, and once he had won that, he could proceed with his favorite task in this game: looting and killing. Or killing and looting. The order didn’t really matter.

  I’m coming, Holies.

  From the author

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  Books to read:

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