Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series Read online

  “Tailyn, I’m waiting. Either give the crystal to the lix so he can teach Valia his language, or give it to me, so I can teach him ours. We just can’t keep going like this.”

  “Teach him… And Valia.” Tailyn pulled out two crystals, handed one to the lix, and gave the other to the herbalist, doing his best to avoid meeting the girl’s gaze as he did.

  “Good decision, my boy. Sometimes, you need to discuss things in public without anyone understanding. Lix, come here.”

  It took Valia a while to agree to go through with what was being proposed. And the problem wasn’t trusting the lix — that was fine. She knew learning the language meant breaking the law. And yes, she’d reconciled herself to the fact that Tailyn broke it since he was trying to keep them safe, but her… However, it was the idea of being able to communicate secretly that sold her on the idea. That was critical in the palace.

  The training process was simple. Valanil broke the crystal, and the lix glowed white for a moment.

  “The human language is unusual,” Ka-Do-Gir said so gutturally and clumsily that it was hard to understand him. “My mouth doesn’t make these sounds.”

  “You need time to adjust, but you’re doing fine already. Teach Valia.”

  The process repeated itself, only that time the girl lit up. When she thanked the lix in his rough tongue, she smiled. Having another skill was great. It was a status-booster.

  “Okay, let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier,” Valanil said as she pointed at the map still being projected out in front of the boy. “We need a way home.”

  “We can’t go through the mines. Bad place. Many lixes died there.” Ka-Do-Gir had found his stride with short phrases. “It’s always dark. Let’s go around. Here.”

  The lix pointed at the border lying between Tartila Mine and the Forest of Desire.

  “I have a question. Not about the way; about what happened. Why didn’t we talk about attacking the mages? Why did we risk it? Very stupid and thoughtless. That can’t happen.”

  Valanil had hoped against hope that her misstep would go unnoticed. It had been too long since she’d fought mages, and she’d leaned too heavily on her new outfit, her stiletto, Tailyn. Still, while it had been an error, they’d pulled it off.

  “My mistake,” she said in an attempt to cut off further discussion.

  “It could have cost lives,” the lix said insistently. “You’re in debt, adult mage. Not to me. To my master. His woman. How do you value your life?”

  “I was the one who killed the mages. Me, you idiot!” the woman exploded. “If it hadn’t been for me, they would have waited until the fire died away and killed us all. You owe me!”

  “You’re the commander. You made a mistake. And everyone had to work extra. I think it was a stupid attack. Not thought-out. That must be addressed. It could happen again. It’s important not to forget — you owe them, Valanil Revolt.”

  “Nobody asked you!” The lix’s calm demeanor and the direction he was taking the conversation infuriated Valanil. She’d made a mistake. And then she’d handed the girl that card, saying herself that there were no strings attached.

  “Tailyn, Valia, I recognize my debt to you and will repay it at the soonest possible opportunity,” she said, and the god, bastard that it was, lit her up with a glow that said it had heard her. Turning to the lix, the woman continued, hatred in her voice. “Are you happy? Can we now continue discussing how I’m going to save your worthless lives?”

  While there were no objections, there really wasn’t much to discuss. They had two options: go back or skirt the mine. And with too many enemies behind them, they decided to keep going forward, though the fact that it was midday meant the way out was closed.

  Everyone except Tailyn decided to get some rest. Finally, he had time to check out his new purchase. The alchemist workshop filled the area, and the boy rubbed his hands together — with Matilda bumping his recipes by ten and the workshop itself offering another point, he was going to walk away with some serious elixirs.

  But the boy wasn’t able to get right to work. The herbalist’s bag he’d picked off Keran’s body displayed its contents, and for a while Tailyn was lost to the world as he gazed at the shimmering flower. The amilio they’d found long before had never been used. In fact, the dead healer only kept expensive herbs in his bag: edelweiss, ice roses, and similar plants used to make rare and epic potions.

  Shaking his head to clear it, Tailyn thought to himself. What did he need? First of all, there was mana restoration, as he often found himself running short. And since all his cards were going to burn mana from then on, he needed to be able to top up his supply.

  You created Mana Restoration Potion (10).

  Mana -10 (887).

  Each flask offered thirty-three mana, which wasn’t bad. Having 330 ready for a rainy day was definitely going to be helpful.

  Tailyn didn’t bother with anything for his shield levels since thirty-six units was just a waste of time. He was going up against targets that did more damage by sneezing. On the other hand, he did splash for some attacking potions:

  You created Magic Enhancement Elixir (20).

  You created Alchemical Fire (10).

  You created Ice Explosion (10).

  You created Acid (10).

  Mana -50 (837).

  2763 coins remaining in your account.

  Tailyn had even had to duck into the store and pick up some sulfur, basilisk sweat, and salamander saliva, but he figured it was worth it. The magic boost was especially big — it offered +32, which was enough to turn the tide of a long battle. Figuring that Valanil was strong enough already, Tailyn decided to split the potions with Valia.

  After reappearing back in the regular world, Tailyn sighed in relief — nobody had noticed that he was gone. And since they still had another few hours left before they could leave, he made himself comfortable. But his gaze settled on the two scorched bodies. Valanil had been explicit about him staying away from them, though her reason was that their protection was at least ten, the same as Keran. Nobody’s regeneration would help them if they were dead.

  But he couldn’t get to sleep, his thoughts going back over and over again to the mages. They probably had a mission, hidden maps, even an explanation of what was on the other side of the door. Was it worth the risk? No, he wasn’t considering just running over and planting a hand on one of them. He had another fourteen crystals left, and using them for their intended purpose — boosting attributes — wasn’t such a bad idea. Was it worth it?

  Thirty minutes later, Tailyn decided it was. He couldn’t walk away from that kind of loot. Leaving two crystals just in case something came up later, he ducked into his settings and got to work. He was going to let the cards fall as they may.

  Marauder +10 (12).

  Glancing around furtively to make sure everyone was still asleep, Tailyn crawled over to the bodies. But the lix’s voice broke out as soon as he reached out.

  “Have you thought this through, little mage? Are you prepared for the risk?”

  “I have to do it! I won’t be able to forgive myself if I don’t. What do you think? I just got marauder up to level twelve.”

  “Your trainer mentioned level fifteen,” the lix replied gently. “But if you want my advice, do it. You can’t run from fate forever. Either you die, or you survive and learn something new. But either way, you’ll find peace.”

  The boy nodded appreciatively and felt better. The lix had found the right words. Indeed, touching the body was going to bring peace, and it didn’t matter what happened after that.

  “Tailyn, no!” Valanil yelled, but it was too late. The boy’s hand fell on the nearest body.

  Active Marauder attribute detected. Analyzing bodies…

  Active protection against marauders detected.

  Your attribute level: 12. Meney Ortis’ protection level: 10. Zagarad Val’s protection level: 10. Verification complete.

  ***

  Loot recei
ved:

  Location maps (233).

  Dean’s letter (mission description).

  Salamander Potion recipe.

  Basilisk Potion recipe.

  Lervan Potion recipe.

  Yeti Potion recipe.

  ***

  Marauder level insufficient to access personal inventory (required: 64).

  “What did I tell you?!” Valanil yanked Tailyn away from the mages and loomed over him. “You could’ve gotten us all killed!”

  “You can see the logs.” Suddenly, the peace hit Tailyn, and he stood up before continuing. “And that means you saw that I boosted my attribute, that I passed the verification, and that I got the maps for just about the entire empire. So what are you so mad about? Annoyed that you didn’t get the recipes? Or that I spent crystals without asking you first?”

  Valanil was taken aback, not expecting that kind of reaction. Tailyn should have been cowed into mumbling some nonsense or other rather than standing up and looking her in the eye. Was it a challenge? Regardless, as soon as she started bending over, Ka-Do-Gir growled softly. The instigator looked ready to lunge at her the moment she got any closer. And that meant she had to think. Backing off was an admission of defeat, something that would set a poor precedent. Getting aggressive was no guarantee of emerging victorious. Valia would also stand up for Tailyn judging by the unpleasant look in her eyes, and three against one… The odds weren’t great.

  “Read the letter,” Valanil said, taking a step back and admitting the boy’s right to leadership. Temporarily, of course. She was going to take back what was hers.

  To wrap things up after our meeting, I decided to get everything down in writing. You and Meney Ortis will head for the attached coordinates in the Gray Lands. Keep it quiet — nobody can know where the dean’s agents are going. And since teleports can be tracked, don’t take any with you. I’m giving you twenty years to figure out the code to the door. If anyone shows up and doesn’t know the password, kill them with no questions asked. No relief will be sent; take a month of vacation time each year. When you get the door open, you’ll earn fifty levels from me and the same from the System, just don’t go in or touch anything. Use a one-time amulet so I can head straight there. And again, keep this secret. The provost can’t learn that we found the door.

  Mission update: Ancient History. You learned one of the god’s names: the System.

  Judging by Valia’s and Valanil’s surprised faces, they’d gotten the update, too. Who would have thought the god had a name? It was incredible.

  “They’ve been here working for ten years, it turns out,” Valanil said. “It’s just a shame we weren’t able to get into their inventory — I’m sure there’s quite a bit in there. All year, just the two of them, and ten years like that… You could lose your mind… Either they were lovers, or I’m missing something. By the way, Tailyn, are you still wondering why we attacked? You can’t count on good will in this world. Strike first, tie them up, and then ask your questions. That’s the only way. Okay, let’s move out! There isn’t anything else for us to do here.”

  They had to leave the door the way it was, neither hiding it nor piling rocks up in front of it an option. And they walked out just on time — with about a hundred meters remaining until the end of the tunnel, the wall disappeared. A couple invigorated minutes later, they were enjoying freedom and the stars overhead.

  “Don’t turn off your hermetic seal,” Ka-Do-Gir said. “Lots of poisonous vapors.”

  It was true. The area around them was enshrouded in an unpleasant mist they couldn’t see on their scanner, though it showed up in lamplight. But as soon as Tailyn lit his lamp, a night beast’s howl rent the air. Some kind of many-legged creature up ahead of them began squelching loudly through the viscous goo. Quickly putting out the light, they waited for the creature to splash by not a few hundred meters away from them, out of range of their scanners but visible in the dull light of the stars. It was almost as big as the guard in the ancient city.

  “We have to go,” Ka-Do-Gir said as he looked down at the goo that began right at the cliff base. “The strange thing about the mine is that the night creatures aren’t as bad as the ones you see during the day. I’ll lead.”

  After jumping down noiselessly into the goo, the lix helped the rest down. Tailyn shivered when the slime hit his legs and smeared itself all over his outfit. Not only that, but something began prodding his leg, though it wasn’t able to do any damage.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Ka-Do-Gir said to the group when everybody looked down. “Those are Griala’s sprouts. It’s a terrifying beast, but it sleeps at night, so it isn’t dangerous right now.”

  “A plant monster?” Valia asked in shock. “How is that possible?”

  “Only the shaman knows, not me. I’m a warrior — my job is to kill. Let’s go!”

  The nighttime silence was broken by the sound of their feet squishing through the goo. No matter how quiet they tried to be, it just didn’t work, and they even had to freeze a few times when the sound attracted attention. Another time, they had to pull the lix out of a bog it had slipped into unwittingly. Tailyn’s trusty roped saved the day.

  As the sky began to lighten, the group found themselves on their last legs. The marsh had drained them physically and mentally. But just then, Ka-Do-Gir took a few more steps, looked around wearily, and perked up. Enormous trees loomed straight ahead.

  “The Forest of Desire! We’re here!”

  However, almost as if annoyed at the joyous exclamation, Tartila Mine chose that moment to remind them why the lixes thought it was such a dangerous place. The even space between the group and the forest began to bubble, and the depths of the marsh disgorged a monster that defied belief. Something like a long, fat worm, one end featured a hole lined with several rows of giant teeth. There were no eyes, limbs, or weaknesses to be seen. And all their perception gave them were the creature’s general parameters:

  Experiment 443 (monster). No class. No age. No level.

  Status change: combat.

  Chapter 12

  IF THERE WAS anything Valanil was afraid of, it was worms. Not snakes — the herbalist loved those adorable little treasures. But worms… The revolting rings, the skin, the slime oozing out of every pore… Although, she’d never realized until that moment that what she felt was fear, having always figured she just didn’t like the things. But when she saw the king of them all, she realized it was indeed fear. Animalistic, innate, out of control, and beyond her efforts to resist it. And what was the point of putting up a fight when the enemy was so terrifying and strong that it didn’t even have a level?

  The worm stopped growing, loomed over the area from the height of the temple, and began waving its toothy maw from side to side. That was apparently its face.

  “Valanil, what are we going to do?” Tailyn yelled, though the herbalist just ignored him. She was frozen stiff.

  “Don’t move,” the lix barked. “It can sense vibrations.”

  “Tailyn!” Valia screeched hysterically. Griala’s sprouts had come alive with the new day, and they were peeking out of the murky goo in an effort to wrap up and pierce clean through anything they came across. And the girl’s legs apparently looked the most delicious. Her shield level began dropping precipitously.

  With Valanil still in a stupor, Tailyn was left with no other choice but to take charge.

  “Valia, jungle call on my command — have the card ready and aim at the worm. Retreat to the rocks! Lix, grab Valanil. I’ll see what I can do about our green friends in the meantime.”

  Griala’s sprouts where everywhere in the goo. In some places, there were more of them; in others, there were fewer, but they were everywhere. Everywhere but the worm’s pool, of course. The creature hadn’t yet figured out where its prey had run off to, and its head was still waving back and forth. The sprouts were actually helping by muffling the sound of the group’s getaway. But that was enough waiting.

  Ka-Li.

  �
��Run!”

  Three waves of fire shot out of Tailyn’s helmet to create a semicircular carpet of fire, the boy just leaving the group a path out of the bog. While the cliffs were sheer, Tailyn had no doubt Ka-Do-Gir would be able to get at least a few meters up and help the rest of them. They had to get out of the goo. Speaking of which, why was the area called a mine? A swamp, sure, but a mine?

  Griala’s sprouts scooted back into the goo to get away from the raging fire, and that was when a furious howl broke out somewhere off in the distance. Judging by the volume, yet another giant creature was about to join the fray. And Ka-Do-Gir had said the sprouts were the monster… Meanwhile, the worm had figured out where the enemy had hidden. Right in the center of the swirling flames, the monstrous experiment paid them no mind, something white flying out of its mouth and landing right where Valanil had just been standing. Ka-Do-Gir had had time to grab the herbalist and dash over to the cliffs with her. The goo hissed and smoked — the spittle was highly concentrated acid. Long, thick tentacles suddenly popped out of the goo and began wriggling around in the acid, the plan apparently having been for it to dissolve its target into a juicy piece of meat, though the only outcome was the pleasant discovery that the tentacles were very much susceptible to fire. As they slipped through the flames, they sizzled and fell into the goo, kicking off yet another fight — Griala’s sprouts did battle with each other for every piece of flesh. The worm figured out that spitting and losing tentacles was pointless while the area was on fire, and that let Tailyn’s group get to the cliffs.