Player Reached the Top. LitRPG series. Book I Page 31
“I must think about this. This isn't killing a sacrifice. In and out, blood pours down. I’ve got to consider all the pros and cons.”
“I'll give you the count of five, otherwise I’ll turn around and head home, and you wait for another guy as kind and generous as me.”
“Kind?! Generous?! Ugh!” Lamia choked on her demonstrative hypocrisy.
“Five, three, one …”
“Stop! How are you counting? Could it be that...?”
“In the country where I was born, people have always counted this way. But your time's up. So?”
The priestess seethed with anger. She needed only a small spark to kill, including Raven.
“Four skill books and an item. It’s all I can give!” She hissed at the greedy being.
“Ummm… okay, instead of one skill, I’ll take three items.”
“I’ll pluck you in a minute!” Lamia cried so loudly that if Granis did not calm all who stood outside, the crowd of soldiers would rush into the temple.
All the city’s inhabitants turned around and looked at the temple, hearing her scream. Children stopped playing and ran terrified to their homes.
…
“You are the first player in history to pay for sacrifice in the ritual due to your persistence and business acumen.
Awarded the title ‘Expensive death’
+ 5 Luck.”
“You receive a unique skill due to your trade before death:
‘Life for rent’
Rank: Unique.
Passive skill: Apprentice.
Description: When you sustain fatal puncture wounds, your health bar will automatically refill up to 20%.
Action: Once within 10 minutes.”
“Skill Book ‘Double jump’
Rank: Unique
Active skill: Apprentice.
Description: After the first jump, allows creating air support for the second jump. Allows changing the direction directly in air.
Energy required: 30
Cooldown: 15 seconds.”.
“Skill Book ‘Air knife.’
Rank: Unique.
Active skill: Apprentice.
Description: Allows the creation of a throwing knife from thin air.
Attack: 156-230.
Throw radius: 12 meters.
Energy required: 60.
Cooldown: 70 seconds.”
“Skill Book ‘Warrior Spirit.’
Rank: unique.
Passive skill: Apprentice.
Description: Your stamina increases by 10% of your health during a fight.
Activation: Automatically.”
“Skill Book ‘Through a wall.’
Rank: Unique.
Active skill: Apprentice.
Description: Allows passing through firm obstacles.
Duration: 10 seconds.
Required: 5 Influence points.
Cooldown: 4 hours”.
Chapter 86. To deceive a deceiver
They settled for two, not three items, because the priestess did not intend to throw away her treasures.
Having received skills, Will noticed how Lamia whispered something, blew in her palm, and flung a red powder. The altar plates began to slide apart, creating an opening to a marble staircase leading down.
It was time to choose items. Following the priestess, he knew he was going to receive the maximum benefit for the loss of his levels. Having reached the doors, Lamia stopped, turned, and asked Raven to wait.
“I must withdraw protective magic, or you will be incinerated. You probably think I’ve made it specially for you.”
“I have an overactive imagination,” he replied. “I’ll wait here.”
…
The treasury was spacious and dark. The only concentrated light came in the form of columns which fell on each item, similar to night exhibition in the greatest museums. But only…
Will walked around the treasury several times, taking note of several good things. But 40 level items sharply contrasted with 50 level ones, and that bugged him. Raven felt as if all this was all a masquerade, that the truth had been hidden.
The priestess saw Raven study her illusions, smiling. Of course, she did not show him the true shape of her treasures. He wouldn’t know that all here was merely glitz, underneath which truly unusual things were concealed.
This idea came across her mind while they descended. She asked him to wait and applied a special spell “substitution” of the master rank. It allowed changing an item’s essence for several hours. Having chosen the most expensive and valuable items, she changed their data. And those that were not as good as her main collection were allocated to the background.
She had learned this spell from a previous sacrifices in exchange for his freedom. The cunning smuggler had known what to offer for his life. The priestess did not know when she would needed something similar, but Lamia was sincerely glad to have such a spell.
Lamia stood, leaning her elbows on one of doors, and gazed at the impudent rogue. She watched his roaming eyes and gloomy face and smiled mischievously smiled to herself. “Do you really think I’ll allow you to take my best items, milksop?! Now it’s my turn to mock you. Ha-ha-ha.” She watched as Will stopped before an unremarkable dagger.
“He can't have understood. It’s impossible …” Her heart raced, worrying that he could have realized the truth.
The dagger was displayed on a small rack, as well as other weapons. Dummies put out to look upon and admire. The bluish light that shone from above increased their grandeur.
“Mm …” Raven examined the dagger, which was 50 level. So were some of the other weapons allocated here. His intuition needled him again that nothing was ever so simple. For a hidden storage vault, and especially one containing diamond rank weapons and items, the dagger’s stats were too… ordinary.
“Tell me, beautiful hostess of the treasury, can I can apply the warming spell? I’m freezing here. I’m wondering why you aren’t cold in such a revealing dress yet. Is it because the blood of the serpent is in your veins too?
Without waiting for a reply, he switched his attention onto another item, throwing off her pace. The rogue chatted about features of the human body, which seemed too whimsical considering the environment. She met his nonchalance with the look of disgust he deserved.
“Is all this inspection really necessary? Just choose, and let’s go.”
“I’m enjoying your collection. I’m dying soon, so why not to admire the beautiful maiden in her fine environment?” Raven smiled, his eyes traveling over the treasury.
“Pfft. Go flatter someone else, greedy cur. You’ll be warm enough when we start our ritual.”
“Yes, yes, by all means. ‘Sphere of revelation’!” The wave ran along the hall and the magic disappeared from the items, revealing the real treasures for his eyes to look upon.
“What?” Lamia jumped from the door, rushing to the next item, a two-handled sword. Her eyes widened. “You’ve deceived me! How dare you?”
“Do you really want to discuss it?” The rogue blinked the eyes. “You’ve tried to deceive me since we first met. Are you Saint Priestess or a black marketeer?”
“Keep a check on your tongue!” The offended girl hissed, and then continued sniffing. “If you had not decided to rob me, I would not have taken this step.”
Will rubbed his temple and sighed, recalling their conversation word for word, pointing out where she had been mistaken and how many times. Lamia did not like to have her nose grinded by her words. She let out a scream, slamming her fist into the door.
“Two items! If you dare take more, I will kill you until your last breath, Messenger or not!”
“You’d better have a look,” Raven yelled back.
“I do not want to recover my mind and soul after some impudent young man has taken away my precious items, which I have been collecting for several centuries.” Her voice had taken on a hysterical tone.
“Eh, women…” Turning he head, the rogue
smiled. “Well, let’s start...”
“Heart Dagger.”
Rank: Diamond.
Requirements: Level 105+
Description: An item of the set 1/2. One of two daggers created for murder from one blow.
This has been created for murder right in the heart, breaking through any armor, both physical, and magic.
Characteristics:
+ 645-780 damage,
+ 46% Ignoring of physical and magic armor in attack.
+ 12% Chance to paralyze the target during 2 seconds.
Force of attack increases by 250% if a blow gets into the heart of a living being.
Class requirements: Rogue, Thief, Hunter.
Features. It is impossible to lose or steal. Its stats can be improved with a suitable drawing and the master.”
This was much better than what he had seen before breaking the spell. The description and characteristics were totally different. However, despite his best efforts, he was not able to find the second dagger from the set.
“To find both of them in one place was impossible,” he told himself. But what he saw next alleviated his suffering.
“‘Dark Hero’s Jacket’
Rank: Diamond.
Requirements: Level 120+
Description: This jacket consists of dark energy that allows the owner to disappear from view, standing in a small piece of shade. It belonged to one senior adherent of the Shadows Order.
Characteristics:
Defense: 650.
+ 130 Stamina.
+ 45 Agility
+ 40% Critical blow from back.
+ 1 rank to ‘Invisibility’ skill.”
Looking at such impressive characteristics, Raven’s mind flew away to heaven, his soul ran on the fictional clouds, cheerfully laughing. He smiled broadly. If someone had seen him, they would think they were looking at a clown.
“Well, it’s high time to die … Five levels, blimey.”
Time would show whether his sacrifice was worth the trouble, or if he was cruelly mistaken.
Chapter 87. The legendary secrete boss
“You have died, being the sacrifice of the Lamia-priestess's ritual.
- 5 levels;
You are under influence: ‘Weakness’; all your stats are lowered by 80%;
Regeneration: - 50%;
You are under influence ‘Grief’:
Your desire to battle - 0
All your attacks cause 50% less damage.
For seven hours, the number of your acquired experience will be reduced by 80%;
You cannot accept tasks.”
“Awarded the title: ‘Blood, as valuable as diamond’
Description: Your sacrifice and torments allow you to sell the blood as an incredibly rare reagent. The alchemists and some beings using blood will offer you a very good transaction. But someone can begin on you hunting because of it …
+ 5 Stamina;
+ 11% Regeneration speed during fight.”
“Holy Crap! …” Will appeared near the savepoint, groaning. “Fucking priestess!"
During the ritual, she had pinned him to the altar with her tail. Her face was near Raven’s when he saw a mischievous smile of this bitch. At first, the rogue become agitated that she deceived him, and he lost more than five levels, but a second later he understood why she was smiling so.
Her sharp teeth bit into his neck, and his body became paralyzed. The system message informed about his twenty-minutes debuff. As it turned out, there was a powerful immobilizing poison in Lamia’s canines.
Raven thought first of how long he would take getting revenge on her, in case the priestess deceived him. As a result, he had been suffering from the pain one of soldiers had casually mentioned. The rogue wished him to burn in their local hell, if that one existed.
Once again, Will noticed his unhealthy tendency to hurt himself, accepting test after test. Did he really suffer only for the sake of future money? Or was something else the cause? Will could not figure out what it meant, but he knew that it displeased him.
The priestess was still near the altar. Raven’s savepoint was near the temple doors, and his emergence drew her attention.
“It’s interesting…” Lamia's tongue flicked over her lips, and she approached the rogue. Her figure loomed over him, pressing with her imperious aura. “You look so wea-eak …” she said in a drawling manner, again licking her lips.
“Right you are! If you want to use it, I’d advise against it.” His face was stone, and the voice was obviously threatening. Of course, he could do nothing, and the young man knew it. But he was not afraid to let her know that she did not have to threaten him.
“Now I see that prophecies did not lie. You are actually immortal. But temptation to drink your blood again is so overwhelming…”
“Damned title!” The rogue muttered, then moved the priestess aside and asked, “You have not touched my remains?”
“They are on the altar. Raven, will you agree to participate in the ritual again?”
“Only if you have something priceless. Have you got anything?” He answered, scooping up and storing the things which dropped from his remains.
“I have …” the young girl whispered, “But for it, I’ll drink you twice.”
“Do… you want to siphon ten levels from me?” Will could hardly answer. “You're offering yourself up as a slave, aren’t you? I won't accept anything less.”
“I am the Great Priestess of Paley, the Seventh Daughter of the Progenitress of my people! Watch your mouth, stranger!” Shadows played down on her face, and Lamia sharply struck the ground near the rogue with her tail.
Her hit came so fast that only the shiver of the temple helped Raven understand that it even took place. He examined the point of impact, but saw no crack in the stone. How solid the temple was. Will decided not to push the Priestess over the edge, so he apologized and continued their conversation.
“What would you offer me for such a sacrifice?” No unique skills, diamond rank items, or weapons would entice him to lose several weeks of hard work. He did not to spend ten hours killing mobs again. Though he would kill them quicker with Daltaro’s help, Raven did not wish to fall fifteen levels.
“I will impart some knowledge which has been handed down from priestess to priestess since the division of the world.”
“Get to the point.”
“In this world there is a hole which appears as if it was burned directly in the earth. It is located in a secret cave which is hidden so well that merely to find will be difficult. The first Progenitress, who traveled all over the world, discovered it by accident when a hurricane struck and she had to take shelter in this cave. Having miraculously survived, she discovered this deep hole which had cut through the mountain, becoming a chasm. Only a madman would choose to go down…”
“Why would I be interested in a hole?” the rogue asked, wondering what the point of her story was.
“You haven't heard the end, yet. She stayed there, for research, and heard some lingering groans that chilled her soul. The voice was the echo of a being that had gone to ground there. It made our great Progenitress feel the basest form of terror, for she was not be able to recover until two days later. Just imagine what you would receive after learning the secret of this chasm.
“The Progenitress returned from this high mountain after three months. She said that if anyone could learn the truth, it would be the Messengers of the Gods. The prophecy about you appeared right after the Great Division. Whose prophecy it was is unknown, but the rumors have been passed from generation to generation. And here you are. One of many, revived and full of energy. The price of our secret, which will allow you to become the greatest in the future, isn’t so high, is it?”
“Warning! You have been given a clue to...”
Lamia’s history was stunning. Imagining a locked monster and whether it was still caged gave Raven the creeps all the way down to the small of the back. The legendary secret boss? If he killed it
, it would open up improbable opportunities for him. But to give up ten levels just for information about the place…
“I could obtain this information only because of this new title … but it is incredibly expensive. And considering the local Floor is intended for higher level players, it would a great tragedy to lose even 40% XP. I’ve risked losing my five levels for the sake of undoubtedly brilliant unique skills and the jacket with the dagger of diamond rank. But even now, I’m still considering whether I did the right thing.”
His mental battle weighed heavy on his mind. The chance to be strong and to gradually increase the gap between himself and the others, or to climb to the top in the future and to become the richest player. What to do?
“What do you say, stranger?” The priestess exhorted him. “Until the end of time, which is favorable for the ritual strengthening, you have slightly less than an hour. Think quick, think!”
“Keep silent, Paley the Seventh! This isn't a naive priestess you’re trying to deceive!” This took Lamia down a peg. “R-ragkh! Devil take it! When will the next day like this occur?”
“In three years.”
“Well, who would doubt…”
“Your answer?”