THE FAMILIAR EMPTINESS. This time, I had enough points (260/280) to acquire new skills or improve an existing one, but I didn’t linger, and found myself in my personal room a second later.
Attention! The relationship with Earth’s gods has improved! The gods favor you!
Attention! You have demonstrated great results (3/7000)! Visit your patron’s temple to receive an additional reward!
Time remaining: 3 hours.
I assumed the number three was an indication of my place in some kind of virtual ranking. I had plenty of time, but I had no intention of entering the divine domains in the near future. I was happy to wait for this additional reward, since I had no illusions about the gods’ favor.
First of all, I rushed to the altar and placed my hand on it.
Would you like to transfer the System Points to the Minor Altar (Heresy of Cain)?
Yes/No
Enter number: 160/10,000 SP
I decided to shift most of the available points to the altar, leaving 100 points (100/280) for maneuvering. Confirm.
“Ugh...” No wonder I thought that I mightn’t like it. If absorption felt quite pleasant, then the reverse process produced a feeling of sucking emptiness, which turned into a dull pain. Well, I’ve had worse.
Attention! The process has been completed.
Another 840 points, and I’d have enough for a guaranteed resurrection. Could I also get them back?
Attention! Credentials confirmed! (Head of the Cult)
Would you like to absorb the System Points from the Minor Altar (Heresy of Cain)?
Yes/No
Unlike the Dungeon, the process went both ways here. It might be the same there, too. Perhaps even the True Heart didn’t give me the full rights. Perhaps they were reserved for the one who had created the system.
In any case, this solved several problems at once. The question was, how much access would the other cult members have, or even non-cult members? If goblins could deposit their points in the altar, my levelling up would get much easier. If they could also withdraw experience points, this would largely solve the problem of energy exchange, turning SP into a real currency. However, the description wasn’t detailed enough, so I would have to check all this in practice. Some other time...
Deactivate the combat form?
Yes/No
I threw the bag over my shoulder and ran to the portal. I could examine the loot a little later. I’d already spent enough time puzzling out the altar.
Time remaining: 2 hours, 57 minutes and 49 seconds.
It had been a tough battle, and I suspected that many would need my help, but a couple of minutes shouldn’t be critical. I tried not to wonder which team members might have died today.
* * *
“...going to die right now. Where’s the ambulance? What morgue? I’m telling you, she’s still alive...”
I regained my bearings almost immediately, and pushed away the paramedics, including my bodyguard. And saw Eva, covered in blood. Why had I been so sure that she wasn’t in any danger? She had been hastily bandaged, and her bloodstained clothes — including the Golden Monkey hide armor — lay off to the side. Together with an empty syringe from a painkiller.
“Hold her down, but keep out of my way.”
I should have been panicking, but I felt only a chilling sense of calm, and persistent déjà vu, because I’d been here before… The slave card? No, Eva was unconscious, so it wouldn’t work. I’d manage…
I placed my hand in the center of her chest, so the wave would spread out from there. Only a hundred units of energy, just to stabilize her. Healing. Now her head. I couldn’t see any injuries, but it was worth boosting the blood flow to the brain just in case. Healing… Her abdomen… Healing. There was a dagger in my hand, which I used to cut through some of the bandages, trying to discern the injuries under a layer of blood… I didn’t touch the tourniquet on her arm for now.
“The ambulance will be here in five minutes!” Oleg shouted. “Private Smirnov, head out onto the street and meet it. Quick!”
I acted almost automatically. It looked like she had run into an arachnoid, who first sliced open her arm, then her shoulder — probably with a spear — and finally struck her in the stomach. This was the most dangerous penetrating wound, likely inflicted by a spider paw. The spiders were monsters, so it was easier for them to absorb energy this way. This was bad.
“How long has she been here?”
I glanced at Oleg, who was holding a bloodied phone in his hand. Everything was splattered with blood. The hallway was crowded with soldiers, who didn’t dare to step inside the room.
“About fifteen minutes. As soon as the signal came, people were sent to the players’ location. A medic was supposed to be on duty here, but he had to leave…”
“Why?” The medical knowledge I’d obtained after the first mission gave me the confidence to identify the most critical areas. My hands changed position and sent waves of Healing to the liver, kidneys, and abdominal cavity. My fingers dived into the wound, found a vein, and again... Healing, Healing, Healing… I threw several crystals into my mouth at once and nearly choked, but this didn’t elicit any emotions and panic. Only the raven, sitting on top of the cabinet, croaked mournfully. Bri was sprawled along the ceiling, right above my head. The situation felt utterly surreal.
“Sergeant… Spartacus returned ten minutes earlier. He was in a very serious condition and needed urgent help, so...”
For a few seconds, I raged at the need to make a choice, but then realized that it was an illusion. Leonid didn’t have a return card, so he couldn’t have escaped from the mission. Unless the gods returned the seriously wounded, but judging by what I’d seen, only the corpses had disappeared. This might explain why there were so many serial killers in the world. Bodies with characteristic wounds regularly stumped police around the world, as they were often found in closed rooms, with no signs of a struggle. Healing.
The phone rang, and my bodyguard picked up the receiver.
“Yes, he’s here. Not injured. Affirmative,” Oleg replied. “Lieutenant Colonel Ilyin would like to know exactly what happened. You’re the first one so far who can tell us anything.”
“It was a big battle on the Outer Battlefield. Seven thousand players, about half of whom died. Many are injured, they should start arriving soon. Get the medical teams ready.”
Healing… Eva opened her eyes and gave me an unfocused look. Her wounds were too serious to heal all at once, and my treatment had suppressed the effect of the painkillers.
“Oleg, there’s a bag under the bed, on the right side. Bring it over here, please.” I stroked Eva’s hair. “Everything will be fine.”
“It won’t be.”
I leaned closer, trying to make out her words. “I ran away. The goddess is unhappy with me…”
Irritation flared up inside me — if the gods had any brains, they would have evacuated the wounded themselves. Why didn’t they do that, letting their followers die instead? Were they following some mysterious rules or did they simply not give a shit?
“What a bitch.”
“Don’t say that... You mustn’t...”
A bag was placed in front of me, and I hurriedly fished out the slave card. Now everything would be fine. Fifteen seconds later, with Eva already in stasis, medics burst into our apartment. The cavalry had arrived a little too late.
* * *
“I’m sorry we had to break down the door.” Oleg pulled out a pack. “Cigarette?”
I took it as we walked. I felt strangely calm, while also displaying all the signs of nervous overexertion. My hands were trembling slightly. “Thank you.”
I’d long since accepted that I might die. I had a plan to avoid this, so all I could do was work on its implementation. However, when I looked at my comrades, I sometimes caught myself considering their chances. Not even their chances of surviving, but of living long enough… A month? A year? Ten years? This applied to Eva, too. I knew that our relationship was unlikely to last long but, yet my carefully cultivated detachment turned out to be a lie.
“Light?”
“No, thanks,” my voice remained steady, unlike my fingers. “I don’t actually smoke.”
I tucked the cigarette behind my ear. I had tried smoking once as a child, yet had somehow resisted the habit, and had no desire to acquire it now.
“You can’t go in there,” the soldier blocking the way hurriedly stepped back. “My apologies, Captain. Come in...”
I walked over to the stretchers on the ground, and stared at the bodies covered with sheets. I flicked back the first sheet... Imp. Once a newbie, he’d already become a veteran of the department, and yet had perished… The second was Spartacus. As I thought, he’d been dead on arrival. The third one was Blacksmith. The doctors hadn’t reached us because they had tried to resuscitate the corpses and didn’t immediately believe that Eva had returned alive.
“They’re wearing System clothes. Have you checked their pockets? Did you find their bags and weapons?”
“No. Only their clothes.”
Had the gods fallen as low as looting? Or did they think they could inherit their followers’ belongings? Yet they had left the clothes on the deceased, for the sake of decency.
“Interesting…”
“Shall we head to the base?” Oleg came up to me. “One of the newcomers, Armet, has returned.”
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked. Frankly, I had little interest in the fate of the former politician. It was surprising he’d come back alive at all.
“He is wounded, but the doctors say he will pull through.”
“Then we stay here.” I nodded at the stretchers. “There are only three bodies, so we’ll wait for the others.”
I looked up. Despite the noise and the ambulances, most people were asleep, and the lights were on in only a few dozen windows. The stars twinkled above it all. It was beautiful, damn it. In the movies, characters always light up in such scenes, but I didn’t want to. When was the last time I’d gazed at the stars? Apart from when I was on the planet Sar, many years ago.
“I need to replenish my mana. Make sure I’m not disturbed.”
It was only yesterday that I thought we had reached a certain balance. Players were getting stronger thanks to the bags and cooperation with the authorities, and the mortality rate on missions had dropped sharply. The hunting area further enhanced the illusion of safety. We understood the rules of the game, so the tragedy of the first mission wouldn’t happen again... Bullets bouncing off monsters had shown me how wrong I was.
I pulled the unlit cigarette out from behind my ear and threw it in the bin, where the raven was perching. He was silent. Once I had calmed down a little, I sat down on the nearby bench, closed my eyes, and sunk into meditation. It was all I could do right now.
* * *
My help wasn’t needed after all, for the gods had rewarded the survivors by healing their wounds. However, players had to reach one of the temples first. Unlike the corpses, the gods obviously couldn’t transport the players directly, bypassing the personal room. Why? I had no idea. Only the priests received crumbs of information from the gods, and even fewer crumbs reached the general public.
However, players without a patron were faced with a choice — join one of the gods, or rely on their own health and human medicine. Rodyakha made his choice by becoming a follower of Odin. Khan hadn’t been seriously injured and preferred to keep his freedom. Quite possibly, this was done for career reasons. The government distrusted the gods, and even I couldn’t say whom the players would obey if there was ever a disagreement.
In this sense, my own position was unique and potentially highly favorable, although it did leave me vulnerable. If I decided to show my hand. I hadn’t initially considered this option at all, but the closer we drew to the final, the more sense it made to go all-in.
I had been wrong about one thing regarding the gods — although the players weren’t given much time, those who didn’t have any clothes and weapons had received them directly from their patrons. They didn’t even have to get dressed. They stepped into the portal and found themselves ready to go, with a weapon card in their hand. But this didn’t apply to the atheists, and didn’t negate the fact that the gods had robbed all the dead. And then gave their belongings to the survivors.
I could have probably joined the “party” if I had visited one of the temples.
* * *
...a meeting in Hong Kong in four days’ time. An International Players Guild will be formed, based on the Alliance.
I closed Qing Long’s letter and rubbed my eyes. It was already evening, but there had been another alarm at the base, so now we couldn’t leave its borders. Fortunately, I had my own office, so I could work in comfort.
The Chinese man hadn’t actually told me anything new. The meeting would take place under the auspices of the UN, and required the consent of Russia, which had veto power. On the other hand, the letter had been sent before the voting had even taken place.
“I hate all this...” my usual mantra had a calming effect.
I thought that the appearance of the temples on Earth might also be announced at the ceremony. Given the recently displayed abilities of the gods, my position as the only Healer could be over very soon. I couldn’t decide whether to be sad about this. I’d be kept busy anyway, and the Dungeon ensured my position.
I picked up my mug of already cold tea and took a sip, continuing to scroll through the threads on the official Alliance forum. The internet war had ended, and based on its results, the domain was under international jurisdiction. It was formally controlled by the eight of us. Possibly even nine. One couldn’t even land on this forum by accident, since it was a private website that wasn’t indexed by the search engines.
Nevertheless, although the forum had gone through a revival after the recent massacre, most nicknames appeared as offline. Some had simply logged out or gone about their business, but you could go to a person’s profile and check when they were last online.
We were using this to compile lists of the survivors and the dead. The latter mostly had “presumed” written next to their names, but several hundred deaths had been witnessed by others. All the Alliance leaders had survived, even the weakest of us — Saud, who was only a Level 6. Even Sulu, according to the Middle Eastern leader, was alive and relatively healthy. Few of the high-level fighters had died. For example, the Mexican didn’t appear online, even though he’d been put forward as my deputy in the fortress. It had been a joke, and yet. Inti had rotten luck... but Cleo had survived, and had written me a letter of thanks. Yuki and her brother had survived too, although I had bad news for Ryuu.
Tatra (Eighth Squad) has not returned from the last mission. There are no witnesses to confirm her death.
I thought Ryuu liked her. She was the last official loss among the department veterans, which had struck me hard. The Ice Queen hadn’t been very useful, but she had been the one to tell me about the hospital. And, had she lived long enough to visit the Dungeon, she could have become a strong mage. Although there was a chance she was still alive. We thought that those who had died in their personal room couldn’t return due to failing to reach one of the gates. Or those whose soul had returned to the phylactery, which meant they had a slim chance of resurrection. If the god considered it worth their while. The presence of a body made this process easier... But only Hera could give us a definite answer. It was better to ask for a favor in person, and we’d meet with her priestess soon. I’d have to write a death notification anyway.
“I regret to inform you that your daughter has gone missing while performing official duties...”
“I found out, I found out!” The raven flew through the office window. “It’s all right!”
“What exactly did you find out?”
“The generous wench survived. I found her! She even gave me a crystal!” The raven opened a claw, putting his booty on the table. “You have to act responsibly and make her your slave.”
“Shut up…”
“How can you be so cruel? Can’t you see that she loves you? And she loves me! What could be better than a female who creates crystals? Don’t you want to make a nest with her?”
“An anthill,” I let myself get distracted. “I already have a female.”
“You already have two, and three cards! You should acquire another one! I know humans like to have harems!”
“Not me,” I chuckled, casting a skeptical glance at the raven. “Anyway, I appreciate your desire to cheer me up, but stop fooling around. Especially as I’m not buying it... even for crystals.”
“Suit yourself,” the raven nodded. “But think on what I said. One doesn’t find a crystal mine every day, even in the Older Worlds.”
I only sighed. Ksenia “Diamond” had survived by using the available return card: she knew her limits, and used the card immediately and without the slightest hesitation. Consequently, she came back without a scratch on her. Nor could she provide any useful information on her return, because her patroness wasn’t just “displeased”, but “enraged”. Four hours of phantom pains, which no medications could help against.
Nata had hidden inside the slave card, which she kept it beside her even when she went to bed. Although they’d woken her up at the last possible moment, she’d had enough time to escape.
As for the newcomers... their losses were much greater, although lower than I had expected. Eight had died out of the twenty, and I could even guess the causes.
Mirage — his ability wasn’t strong enough, and he lacked a weapon skill. He didn’t stand a chance, and his body reappeared in the first few minutes of the battle. Woland — perhaps the sheng biao worked well against goblins, but spider chitin or monkey skins were difficult to pierce with such a weapon. He lasted only slightly longer. Orpheus returned separately from his head after ten minutes — alas, the rapier wasn’t a very sturdy weapon, and he had no one to sing for. The gray-haired Harrier had received an arrow in the eye, judging by his wound. He had simply been unlucky. Pyrrhus, whose actions and death had been witnessed by one of the Alliance players, was missing. Surprisingly, he hadn’t died at once, for his morning star worked well against spiders, but not against the yeti. Zan had also died in someone’s close embrace. They had broken all his bones, but finished him off almost at the very end… Apparently, one of our enemies had also been stalling for time.
Yet the incredibly irritating Kostyan had survived, somehow managing to get by with his knife. He’d even gone up a couple of levels. Truly, miracles did happen. I could only hope that, having looked death in the face, he would act more sensibly in the future.
Chemist had survived thanks to his ability. Despite his terrible injuries, he’d managed to wait until the end of the battle and crawl to the gate. He also reported that the gods didn’t move incapacitated players further, and even tried to protect them. Many survivors said that as soon as a monster appeared nearby, another player was immediately transferred after it. Come to think of it, that’s what had happened to Cleo...
Kasoy, Dark Steel and Shanks had also survived after an average of two to three fights and finishing off a corresponding number of enemies. For yesterday’s newbies, this was an impressive result. Krist had survived thanks to his ability to hide in the shadows, but he’d still brought down one spider.
Armet’s report was rather murky in comparison. He’d been lucky to land in the middle of a large skirmish, so he hung around the edges most of the time and finished off the wounded. The man didn’t even try to put himself in a good light. He returned after leveling up twice and with quite serious injuries. Yet he hadn’t visited the gods.
Only Luna and Irene had died out of the women. They were united by the fact that both had non-combat abilities and wielded sabers. Dragonfly, Saiko and Lesh were veterans, so their survival wasn’t surprising. Leeloo and the Red Queen had simply been lucky: it appeared that there were more players on our planet than required, so they hadn’t been sent on the mission at all. This was very fortunate, since neither would have survived such a battle.
The mood was... strange. While the newcomers were openly dejected and scared, the veterans appeared outwardly well, talking and joking with each other. But the psychologists’ reports showed that this calmness was nothing but a front… They urgently need skills like my Calculating Mind. The planned annihilation of the rats would solve this problem.
This fight had cost us a lot, but not as much as it could have. Most of the dead were newbies, so new “superheroes” would take their place in a week or two. Acceptable losses, no matter how cynical this sounded. But what was the point of it all? The very concept of missions had puzzled many until recently. The players weren’t strong enough to deal with the monsters without putting themselves at significant risk. Were the gods really so concerned about possible civilian casualties? Could they not control what was happening?
What would have happened if those monsters had reached the planet? Was the new divine protection so strong that our armies couldn’t defeat them? Or would they scatter, thus attracting new attacks? Alas, the gods didn’t share their strategic plans with their followers, even the most important ones.
* * *
I didn’t get around to inspecting the loot for quite a while. I was busy and not in the mood. It was stupid, but I felt like I’d be betraying the memory of the fallen if I was distracted by such things. Nevertheless, I couldn’t ignore the matter any longer.
I had killed ten enemies on the Outer Battlefield. Four Golden Monkeys, five Arachnoids and their Queen. I didn’t count the ogre, since I didn’t get anything for his freedom, whereas his death would have provided 600 experience points. Alright… let’s check the spear first. Identification.
The Soul-Piercing Spear of the Arachnoid Queen’s Killer (...)
Rank: E+.
Material: unknown metal, unknown wood, ancient ichor.
Length: 2.2 m.
Weight: 3 kg.
Description:
— System Weapon. Enables the owner to absorb 50% of the victim’s spirit and life force.
— Spiritual Damage. A being killed by this spear is unlikely to be resurrected.
— Instills subconscious fear in arachnoids of lower rank.
The name seemed rather vague this time, but the three dots suggested that it could be changed to something more digestible. Let’s rename it the Spider Spear. Confirm.
I planned to hand the chitin, skin and head of one of the spiders over to the scientists. In addition to the them turning these parts into something useful, I would also get some money for this. And, of course, I would get priority access to the crafted products.
According to the surviving veterans, monkey hide armor had served them well. Perhaps Eva had only survived because she had been wearing it, since she needed time to use the card. I should conduct an experiment with the jacket and the cards, since the department had enough of them now. Although things would get awkward if they all merged together…
I inspected the System weapons next, which lacked any special properties. Spear (x3), bow, quiver, and bags. None of these were worth much, although I could give the bow to one of my squad members. Unlike the bag I’d gotten from the first spider. Identification.
Insect-Carrying Bag
Rank: E.
Description:
— Allows one to carry small “insects” inside, temporarily putting them to sleep.
— Feed. Food can be thrown inside to keep the pets alive.
Slots: 9,473/10,000.
Control: 0%
Strictly speaking, spiders weren’t insects since they belonged to a separate order, but the System didn’t give a damn about this.
Attention! You have received an additional quest!
Type: Maintaining the natural balance.
Description:
Destroy the creatures that pose a danger to your ecosystem.
Reward:
Improved reputation with the Earth Gods.
Penalty for failure:
Variable.
Ten thousand creatures... with the potential to control them, but not this time, it seemed. I didn’t even need to do anything to complete this quest — I could simply keep the bag closed for a while, or throw it into the fire, but I wouldn’t destroy such an artifact.
To begin with, I touched the bag to release a single monster.
Venomous Spider. Level 0.
Red status. The spider immediately scuttled away, but it didn’t stand a chance. I struck with my spear, smearing it across the floor, and yet received no experience points. If the spider contained any vital energy, it clearly wasn’t enough. Judging by the fact that I had taken this bag from only one spider, and not the strongest one, I had to assume that the bags had been handed out at random. But if that arachnoid had reached our world, it could have simply let them all out at once. I don’t know how the presence of these spiders would have helped the invasion.
It would be a shame to destroy them, but I wouldn’t give them to the scientists. The spiders could easily escape, and I would then be responsible for the accident. No, worsening my relationship with the gods wasn’t in my interest… Although countermeasures would be useful.
There were nine cards. Four were empties, and three were skill cards: Archery (F), Spear Fighting (F), and Web Weaving (F). One had been dropped by the queen:
Spider Sense
Rank: E.
Type: can be activated.
Description:
— Allows one to sense spiders and identify their location within a significant radius.
— Uses a small amount of mana.
Saturation: 32/100.
It was quite a useless ability, unless I intended to finish off the scattered creatures. Even then, it would be easier to choose something more universal.
And finally, the last card, with the image of an arch.
Would you like to activate the Unknown Card?
Yes/No
Attention! To activate, you need to be in your personal room!
Of course, I wasn’t going to activate a pig in a poke. Now that it had materialized, it looked like a simple metal plate, without a red glow of any kind. Identification.
The Gate of an Unknown God
Rank: D.
Description:
— Creates a portal in your room, leading to the personal domain of an Unknown God.
In other words, it was an invitation to attend negotiations, but I saw no point in taking this step. I turned the card around in my hands, and it felt like it was burning my palm. I doubted this god was dumber than me, so I’d been given the card in case I didn’t reach a deal with his colleagues on Earth. Moreover, he seemed certain that we wouldn’t reach a deal.
Why couldn’t I see his name? Was he really called the Unknown God? Or was he hiding his details somehow?
* * *
The fact that I was being offered betrayal suggested that there were others. But who? Followers of the gods had an alibi — the lack of freedom was compensated by loyalty. They had no reason to betray their gods, and the control mechanisms were limited. One couldn’t take a phylactery from someone who had already given it away.
This left the atheists and those who had only recently acquired a patron. In our case: Khan, Rodyakha and Armet. However, I had known the first two for a while, they were acting as usual, and their reports didn’t arouse any suspicion.
“Have you come to visit the invalid?”
I placed the sack of oranges on the table. The politician smiled, but it was clear from his face that he had expected me much sooner. However, his wound hadn’t required immediate attention, so I had spent my mana on previously scheduled patients. He would be back on his feet in a couple of weeks, even without my input.
“I have some questions about your report. If I understand correctly, you were at the edge of a fight, but the monsters eventually won. How did you survive?”
“I ran far enough away that I was teleported to a different place.”
I nodded, activated Identification... and the result only strengthened my suspicions.
“I see that you now have Faith. Who is your patron?”
“You...” He twitched, but almost immediately pulled himself together. “It’s Quel...”
“Why didn’t you report this right away?”
“For the same reason that you haven’t named your patron.”
“I doubt it. When you went on the mission, you didn’t have the Faith parameter. If you had visited the temple after the battle, you wouldn’t have had to wait for me to examine your wounds.”
“I guess Quel thought I didn’t fight hard enough and decided to punish me.”
“Say his full name.”
“What?”
“His full name, without any abbreviations. Quet-zal-co-atl, right? Don’t lie to me…”
“Alright, alright. I pledged myself to Guan Yu. I discovered that he is the strongest of the Earth gods at the moment, but you know how people here feel about China. All the deforestation, the epidemics... coming from over there.”
“Bravo, spoken like a true politician. It won’t work. How about I answer for you? You couldn’t have survived that massacre. Someone else might have, but you didn’t stand a chance. However, you didn’t want to die, and you were offered a way out... to betray humanity.”
“This is utter nonsense.”
“Stop pressing that button, no one is coming. I took care of it in advance.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man’s voice changed subtly. “I’m innocent!”
I found myself wanting to nod. His last words were more convincing than all the previous arguments put together. The man said he was innocent...
“Why are you waving your hand around like a Jedi?”
“You know. I... Am... Innocent!”
The impact was a little stronger this time, but I was prepared. It was a dangerous ability, but the difference between us was too great.
“You know, if you hadn’t tried this little trick on me, my suspicions would have remained as suspicions.”
“It doesn’t prove anything.” He was a slippery one. “I just got scared.”
“Rightly so. You know what happens to traitors. They disappear… Simply and, most importantly, quietly.”
“That’s it, I confess! My patron is Hera!”
I wrinkled my nose. The effect was weak this time, so it was unclear what he had been trying to achieve. Was he trying to distract me?
“Listen, cowboy, stop messing about. The gods healed all their followers. There were no exceptions, I checked before coming here. The only way you missed out was if your Faith was coming from another source.”
“You... fine. Are we being recorded?”
I took my phone out of my pocket, and waved it in the air, but this calmed him down.
“So, no external recording, right? This is only between us two?”
“Right. You can get up and try to kill me.”
“Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” Armet leaned back against the pillows. “Fine, you’re right. But you’re also wrong. Our planet is insignificant when compared to everything else in the System. The god I spoke to had been human once. He doesn’t want to destroy Earth, he just wants a place in the pantheon. He is willing to give those who stand with him freedom, strength, and power. I’m sure he can buy your soul from whoever you serve. Or from his “colleagues”, if my suspicions are correct. Think about it, this is your chance to correct a mistake... Limitless possibilities! You can even become a priest!”
“Really?”
“Well, it’s unlikely, but it was enough for me that I survived. However, I have money. A lot of money. I could pay you a million dollars.”
Funny how people always offer to betray your country in a foreign currency. Why not offer the same amount in rubles? Fifty million sounds much more impressive.
“That’s a decent amount. What would I have to do?”
“Look the other way. Let me leave the base, and I’ll never return here.”
“It won’t work. But I have a counteroffer for you. I can kill you or…”
Would you like to offer the player Armet to become your slave?
Yes/No
“I’ll die. Moreover, I’ll lose my soul.”
“Either you become a slave, or you die anyway. Do you really think your god will resurrect you, even if your soul survives? Choose.”
“I see no choice.”
“Your god is far away. Perhaps this card can protect you from his wrath.”
“Are you going to attack a wounded man? I’m a citizen of this country.”
“So what?”
“If I’m guilty, the court will decide my punishment. If you kill me, you will turn from a hero into a murderer!”
“You’re right, I can’t kill you.” I pointedly stopped the recording and walked up to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. Healing. “Do you feel better? It won’t be for long. I’m going to leave this room, say goodbye to the doctors, and give this recording to the lieutenant colonel. This will be followed by a painful interrogation, during which you will certainly die… from cardiac arrest, perhaps?”
“I’ll tell them about your threats.”
“Go right ahead. The autopsy won’t show anything. And who said that I would be the one to kill you? Heaven sees everything. Especially if someone points out the sinner. They listen to my words at the top.”
I piously raised my eyes to the ceiling, where the ghost was floating, ready for action. This option was actually far from ideal, but going through official channels would be too difficult.
“You don’t frighten me.”
“I wasn’t planning to. Farewell.”
I turned towards the exit, but an alert caught up with me…
The player Armet has agreed to become your slave.
Not the best addition to my “harem”. The raven wouldn’t approve of my choice, of course.
“Are you judging me? Do you think I’m a traitor?”
“I don’t bother with such nonsense,” I said. “I’m only interested in information. Go on, spill. What was your assignment?”