City of the Dead Page 13

  Tailyn even stopped breathing as he listened to Ka-Do-Gir tell him off. Nobody had ever been that hard on him, not even Master Forian. And the worst part was that it was an adversary rather than another human. Master Isor, his aide, and everyone else in the city had never given the boy the time of day so long as he stayed out of their way.

  Instead of replying, Tailyn looked down at his wave of fire card and pulled up the card saturation skill. It didn’t turn out to be nearly as difficult as he’d been expecting—a small field with a recess and all his cards popped up in front of him. His electric strike was fully charged and therefore grayed out, unavailable for that particular purpose. On the other hand, his wave of fire and shield enhancement were blinking to grab his attention. The recess in the field was card-shaped, so Tailyn mentally dragged his wave of fire over to it. That worked—a few new buttons popped up. The good part was that there were explanations everywhere, too. In one field, you selected how many charges you wanted to add to the card, making your choice using what the help tip called a “slider.” It went from one to thirty charges. That made it easy to avoid making mistakes, and Tailyn worked the slider around, checking to see how much mana the different options were going to run him. Completely recharging the card meant handing over 300 mana. Finally, the boy had figured out what mana was for—mages were nothing without it.

  Pushing the slider all the way to the top, Tailyn tried to hit the charge button, only it didn’t work.

  You can’t charge cards during combat.

  The icon with the crossed swords was still blinking red—the black creatures hadn’t forgotten about the fugitives.

  “We need to get to the control room,” Tailyn said. “I’ll… I’ll try… No, I won’t try! I’m going to grow up. We’ll be partners!”

  Ka-Do-Gir appreciated the boy’s attitude. He’d already realized that humans grew up much slower than lixes, and he was looking at nothing more than a child if still a powerful one. That explained it all—the poor preparation, burning the ladder, the erratic behavior. Ka-Do-Gir hadn’t even expected his little speech to get a reaction, but he was made of flesh and bone, too. He’d felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins and gone off on the kid.

  They could only crawl through the tunnel on all fours, so Tailyn led the way. The lix followed him. A couple minutes later, the boy froze—there was a long snake on the wall right in front of him. It was just hanging there, however, not making any move to attack. But even as Tailyn began to panic, he remembered his promise, kept a grip on his emotions, and noticed that the snake was motionless. The lix gave him a push from behind. He made a few movements forward, but the snake did nothing. And once he was just an arm’s length away, Tailyn couldn’t help reaching out and touching the creature, at which point something crunched. The whole thing collapsed in a pile of dust. What he’d thought was a snake had actually been some kind of ancient device time hadn’t been kind to.

  Half an hour later, they finally got to the illuminated area. There was no hatch like the one they’d climbed through, just a thick window that let them see into the tunnel below them. Tailyn gulped—there was no sense even trying to count the black creatures. With the crossed swords still blinking red, the boy focused on them and gasped in surprise.

  Current status: combat.

  You cannot modify your active deck.

  Opponents remaining: 933.

  Almost a thousand monsters. Tailyn shared the terrible news with the lix, though a smile lit up the latter’s face.

  “If there are that many of them, they have to have something to eat and drink. There’s food, water, and air here. And where do they get all of it from? Yes, the location apparently isn’t closed! It had to be connected to the surface, and we’re going to find a way out. Keep crawling, little mage. We need to find the control room and figure out what secret the ancient was talking about.”

  Chapter 9

  Status change: combat complete.

  THAT POSITIVE MESSAGE popped up in front of Tailyn half an hour later. Not only did crawling around on all fours turn out to be incredibly awkward, the arm the lix had popped back into place ached constantly. All the boy wanted to do was stop, curl up in a ball, and forget the world around him, only his energetic partner kept pushing him forward. They’d passed windows down into the lighted tunnel a few times—the black monsters were still down there. And that made the message all the more unexpected.

  After explaining to the lix why he was stopping, Tailyn pulled up his card saturation yet again. That time, it went off without a hitch. As soon as he tapped the button, his wave of fire went back over to join his other two cards and grayed out. Only his shield enhancement continued blinking, though Tailyn wasn’t about to spend the rest of his mana on it.

  Wave of Fire-I recharged. Charges remaining: 50 of 50.

  You spent 300 mana. Restoration speed: 1 mana per hour.

  Tailyn sighed. He was going to need almost thirty days to get all his mana back. If the god was kind enough to give him another crystal, he knew exactly what he was going to be spending it on—mysticism.

  Suddenly, the ceiling opened up, which let Tailyn stand and stretch his cramping back. Crawling around was exhausting. The dim light filtering in through the distant window let him look around, and he found they’d reached a niche with a passageway heading down below. The only problem was that it was closed off. A massive cover blocked their way, and when the lix tried to lift it by the handle, the handle just came right off. Time had not been kind to the piece of metal.

  But there was something new about that niche: it also had a second passageway leading off to the side. The long dead snakes turned sharply and headed off along it, actually leading in from both sides of the tunnel. Even though Tailyn was tired of knocking them off, he really had to go to work there in the new tunnel.

  “Is that the control room?” the lix asked reasonably, though Tailyn just shrugged.

  “I didn’t get any notifications. Let’s go see.”

  “It’s going to be hard to get in there,” the lix replied as he looked over at the side tunnel. But the boy wasn’t listening to him, busy as he was crawling forward and clearing a path. The long snakes disintegrated into dust, giving them much more space.

  “Okay, little mage, let’s see,” Ka-Do-Gir muttered as he headed in after his partner. He didn’t like how the new passageway was heading off to the side. His nose told him there wasn’t any fresh air there, and that meant they weren’t going to be getting out that way. And what was the sense in wasting time? But the human was moving constantly ahead, and the lix didn’t want to lose his partner.

  “What?” No more than a minute later, the lix bumped into the boy. The latter had stopped too suddenly. No light was getting in, so they were crawling in complete darkness.

  “There’s a hole here,” came the answer. “It’s really wide, too wide for me to reach the other side. Here, can you light this torch?”

  The lix complied with a quick flash of his claws, and the space around them lit up. The many cobwebs in the area instantly flared up to illuminate the path forward—the tunnel was about to hit a dead end. There was no way onward.

  And then, there was the hole. An enormous boulder had ripped through the ceiling and floor to block off the tunnel below them—immediately on the other side of it, the lower tunnel stopped at what looked like a time-worn door. One panel was missing; the other was just barely hanging on. There was also no light despite the fact that Tailyn could see a number of lamps below them. Apparently, the ancients’ magic didn’t work there. A thick layer of dust told them none of the black monsters ever made it that far, so they didn’t have to worry about a surprise attack.

  “Lower me down,” Tailyn said, holding a hand out to the lix. He could have jumped down onto the boulder, only it would still have been a long way down to the ground. Ka-Do-Gir helped the boy down before jumping himself, kicking up a wave of dust as he did. For his part, Tailyn sneezed, held the torch up high to see better,
and froze. Right on the other side of where the door had once been, there was a pile of monsters blanketed with dust. The passage of time hadn’t touched them—even from a distance, the boy could see the fangs, their rough skin, and their sharp claws. But his crossed swords stayed gray, so Tailyn was able to keep his wits about him and avoid screaming in horror. He even took a step forward, watching carefully to make sure none of the beasts moved. The whole scene looked peaceful and quiet.

  Ka-Do-Gir had also noticed the strange pile. The lix immediately estimated there were at least thirty of them, and they weren’t moving, giving no signs of life. They didn’t even smell. The lix sniffed a few times, but either the dust was blocking his olfactory sense, or the pile wasn’t giving off anything. The little mage headed gingerly toward the door, and Ka-Do-Gir had no option but to follow him. He couldn’t show the human that he, a squad commander, was scared.

  “Hey, they look like you,” Tailyn said suddenly. He’d made it all the way over to the monsters and was even brushing the dust off one of them. The millennia hadn’t faded the colors in the least—the monsters looked like they were sleeping, definitely not dead. But when Ka-Do-Gir placed a paw on one of them, expecting to feel a heartbeat, he was disappointed. They were dead. The boy had been right, too. The monsters had six limbs, fangs, and powerful, flexible bodies. And it was all rough, almost as though cut out with a dull chisel, but the resemblance to Ka-Do-Gir was undeniable.

  “Are these the monsters?” Tailyn asked. “Your forefathers?”

  That was what the god had been waiting for, and it immediately popped up a message.

  You found the final resting place of 34 inferior and 2 superior monsters. Give their bodies to the ashes to earn a reward.

  ***

  Mission update: Ancient History. You found out that there were different kinds of monsters: inferior and superior. The way the monsters look has been recorded in the Creatures section of your journal (you will receive access to your journal once you complete your initiation).

  A wave of excitement ran through Ka-Do-Gir’s body—nobody from his tribe, not even his shaman, knew what their predecessors looked like. All they’d been able to do was come up with fairy tales about enormous bodies, fantastic intellects, and other-worldly strength. But the truth turned out to be much simpler. Their ancestors didn’t much differ from them. The lix pulled up the creatures section in his journal and looked over the three-dimensional depictions of the monsters, happy he’d have something to shut the talkers up with. Nobody from his tribe, or really, none of the green lixes at all, would have any reason to doubt him. He had the proof.

  “What does it mean to give their bodies to the ashes?” Tailyn asked. To his embarrassment, he hadn’t heard that expression before.

  “We’re supposed to burn them,” Ka-Do-Gir explained as he looked around. The millennia had destroyed everything flammable, so getting the reward wasn’t going to be easy. There were no windows or other doors in the small space, and the things the mage called snakes hung from the ceiling just short of reaching a run-down device. While most of it was gathering dust on the ground, some of it still stood tall, a monument to the majesty of the ancients. Ka-Do-Gir took a few steps to the side and called Tailyn over—there was another body on the other side of the device.

  Only that one was human.

  Ka-Do-Gir took the torch from the boy and stood up on his hind legs, holding the light up to illuminate the whole room. The human was lying against a wall with eyes fixed on the door. The armor he was wearing had turned a dirty green color from age, there was a ray pistol in one of his hands, and the other held something neither Tailyn nor Ka-Do-Gir had ever seen before. It was some kind of clear container with a liquid inside and a needle on one end. The needle was halfway into the dead man’s leg, and judging by the position of his hand, he had been trying to push on the other end. But it hadn’t worked.

  You found the body of an ancient. Give his body to the ashes to earn a reward.

  “You humans didn’t change as much as we lixes did,” Ka-Do-Gir said with surprise. The man lying there didn’t differ in the least from those he’d killed or been forced to run away from. Even his partner, with a couple more decades under his belt, would have looked similar to the ancient. As the lix bent over to brush the dust off the armor, the god decided to give them their loot.

  You found the final resting place of level 32 human Kili Argal.

  Dividing loot…

  Ka-Do-Gir receives ray pistol KORT-II.

  Ka-Do-Gir receives attribute syringe.

  Tailyn Vlashich receives BRO-II armor suit.

  Tailyn Vlashich receives Last Statement recording.

  Tailyn stared in shock at the perfectly clean metal shell that appeared in his hands. However, as soon as it did appear, it began to change, losing its luster and turning into a mess of cloth, leather belts, and pockets. The end result looked nothing like what the ancient had been wearing.

  Analyzing human Tailyn Vlashich and his belongings.

  Modifying BRO-II armor suit.

  BRO-II armor suit changed to OGM-II outfit.

  ***

  Loot received

  OGM-II outfit. Description: rare item. Outdoor garb for mages that lets them survive the hardships of life outside their tower. Adjustable slots and pockets can change their size depending on the height of the wearer. Waterproof boots. Can regenerate when less than 30% of the surface area is damaged. Does not include OHM (outdoor headgear for mages). Shield level: +50 * (level + Enhancement); mana level: +50 * (level + Enhancement); magic attack: +5 * (level + Enhancement); Mysticism +1.

  Tailyn could barely breathe as he read the god’s message. It was so incredible, so impossible that he wanted to jump and shout for joy like a child. And that was exactly what stopped him—he’d promised the lix that he would grow up. Doing his best to get a grip on his inner jubilation, he therefore just held his breath, turning his attention to the audio button. Yes, right, the last statement. What could that ancient have wanted to pass on to his descendants?

  Tapping the icon, Tailyn heard a low, heavy voice that coughed practically after every other word.

  They’re not getting in. The power plant is well shielded, and the cell towers don’t reach down here. Come on, keep coming, you bastards. It’s going to be a warm welcome… That’s ten, but I need more. I want all of them. Every last one in the metro… The syringe isn’t going in. That’s no good. I don’t have regeneration, and the store isn’t working even though I have coins. Can’t buy anything. My pistol…useless. The shield isn’t just killing the monsters; it’s killing me, too. But whatever, that’s fine. Twenty. Hey! I’m over here! Come on, you bowlegged bastards! Another few…

  ***

  Mission update: Ancient History. You found out that the ancients and the monsters they found couldn’t survive without access to cell towers, whatever those are. The ancients also had access to a store, a personal connection to the god similar to the one you can find in any temple. And they didn’t pay with gold, instead using something called coins.

  Tailyn had so much information to process that he completely forgot about his partner. The lix was standing a little way off experiencing mixed emotions—the ray pistol the god had given him had turned into a fairly convenient set of steel claws that boosted his physical attack and strength by one. Also, the physical attack bonus was expandable depending on his level. With a weapon like that, the lix was comfortable going up against even the black level fifteen creatures. But what had Ka-Do-Gir confused was the attribute syringe, the god’s second gift. It had also modified, turning into a blue crystal. Just like the one he’d used to teach Tailyn linguistics, it could teach him something, and their shaman would have traded an amplifier, a gift from the god that leveled you up, for it. One crystal—one level. Unlike humans, lixes didn’t have to pay a tax on their existence. Ka-Do-Gir was therefore trying to figure out what he wanted more, a parameter boost right then or a level-up bonus when he got back. Leveli
ng-up would also have let him boost one of his attributes, but the complicating factor was the steel claws and the fact that the damage they did depended on his level. Faced with two good choices, the lix couldn’t make up his mind. But as he glanced over at the boy, he suddenly realized that he was going to ask him. The mage, after all, had been the one to insist they check the side tunnel and drop down into the room. It was his decision to make.

  “Mage, I need your advice.”

  Tailyn heard the mage out, his eyes fixed wistfully on the crystal. But while he wanted one, too, he recognized that the OGM-II he still hadn’t made up his mind to slip on was also incredibly valuable. And just when the boy was about to tell the lix to wait until he could meet with the shaman and level-up, he remembered his own outfit’s description. It had more than just the level.

  “Go with the attribute, but ask the god to unlock enhancement for you. Check out what it does…”