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THEY CALLED THE PERESVET an “ATV”, an abbreviation for all-terrain vehicle. One might think such a vehicle could thus drive anywhere, on- or off-road. But either this ATV was not up to snuff, or the name is deceptive, because we spent more of the next few hours stuck dead in the mud than going anywhere.
The metal mesh tires, which had amazed me so much when I first encountered the ATV and did have the distinct advantage of never popping, showed their true colors in the thick sticky mud. And they were not all rosy. Each of the eight wheels would fill with a ton of black swamp muck, which then had to be meticulously cleaned out of thick wire mesh. It just seemed impossible. My impression of the engineers who invented the wheels shifted from general admiration to something more exclamatory with a couple four-letter words.
If not for the centaurs, goat-like satyrs, and muscle-bound minotaurs helping us along, we never would have made it even a quarter mile. But even with NPC’s eagerly helping to drag our ATV out of each and every mud patch, it was rough going. I didn’t know what the nodes to the south of the Centaur Plateau were officially named, but I marked them on my map as “Mud, no roads,” “Definitely don’t try to drive here,” and “Total shit!!!” Meanwhile, I calculated that one minotaur could lift seven to nine hundred pounds, because it took twenty of these powerful giants to lift our Peresvet and drag it to firmer ground.
In the morning, I warned the centaur mare that our mission was purely peaceful, and that we were not going to war with the southern men. Phylira wanted the same outcome, but still was going to get more clans together to show them the full power of the Antiquity Faction. And seemingly, the mare managed. In the depths of the forest, I could see more and more columns of dryads, satyrs and other classical mobs joining us.
Nevertheless, I only managed to appreciate the full scale of Phylira’s army in the evening, when we left the swampy tropical forest to an open area and, with the help of the satyrs, started washing off the Peresvet in a shallow stream. Our vehicle looked more like a huge ball of mud than an ATV by then. Anyhow, by then I could see hundreds and even thousands of members of the Antiquity faction flowing through the hilly valley. I simply lost the gift of speech when seeing the huge warband. I estimated their number at around eight or nine thousand.
Eagle Eye skill increased to level fifty-nine!
Cartography skill increased to level fifty-two!
You have reached level sixty!
You have received three skill points! (total points accumulated: six)
My Scanning, Eagle Eye and Cartography skills had been growing periodically all day. Even Astrolinguistics went up by one and, finally, it was enough for a level-up. But I was in no rush to distribute the free points. I had more urgent matters to attend to.
Nine thousand warriors! It seemed even the NPC’s should have been losing their minds over such a grandiose spectacle. The chiefs, after all, could just take their power, say to hell with negotiating, and decide to solve the issue by force. That could not be allowed!
I looked around and saw Phylira in the distance on the top of a hill. Leaving Kisly to watch over the satyrs fervently cleaning our ATV, I called the nearest centaur over and, not asking permission, jumped on his back. Tini followed me immediately. The large centaur male first was taken aback at our impudence and started to buck, but he quickly settled down and made peace with it.
Successful Authority check.
Authority increased to 24!
“To Phylira!” I shouted, pointing at the elder mare, who was conversing with the other chiefs on a hill, and the Centaur understood.
After a three-minute gallop, I jumped off next to the chiefs of the Antiquity Faction. Four Centaurs, a huge scarred one-horned Minotaur and two Dryads, whose nakedness was almost totally uncovered. Hrmph... Phylira with her level-121 was the youngest of all the chiefs. None of the others were below one hundred fifty. Despite the modest level of my Gnat in comparison, they all bowed to me, and I replied with an identical gesture of politeness and respect. Tini had opted to hide his information, so the chiefs also bowed to him. After all, who could say how powerful this weird alien was?
“I see that you’ve brought sufficient forces not just to convince the people to the south, but to blow their fortress to pebbles!” I said, making a wide arc with my hand over the many thousands of mythical warriors.
Phylira was the only chief who understood my language, so she had to serve as translator.
“Exactly right,” agreed a huge red-maned Centaur, a level-160 Patriarch. “You are observant and wise, Gerd Gnat. The council of chiefs has changed its mind about conducting negotiations with the human trespassers. Why bother, if we can teach them their lesson once and for all!”
So, I wasn’t wrong. Hmm... This wasn’t shaping up the way I wanted. But what to do? Trying to convince the warlike NPC chiefs was utterly useless, I could sense that. It would just make me look bad and lose my unique position as a human the centaur leaders and other mobs could talk to. No, this would turn me into someone they wouldn’t even let speak. But I also could not allow this massive horde to wipe out several nodes of one of my world’s factions, thus weakening the overall position of my Earth.
“Here’s what I think...” I started carefully choosing my words, “just killing these border-hoppers is not punishment enough. After all, they’ll respawn in a quarter hour without losing anything and will rejoin the battle. And that battle will kill your friends and relatives once and for all. The humans won’t even know what happened, and they definitely will not realize it was a punishment for trespassing. That’ll just make them think... excuse me for being direct... that Centaurs and Minotaurs are too dumb to negotiate.”
“And what do you suggest, Gerd Gnat?” Phylira asked, translating the whinny of a fierce Minotaur, clearly offended at my words, but still understanding that they were sincere.
“I suggest we take your whole army to show them the crushing might of the Antiquity Faction, surround the unfinished fortress and its garrison, but not attack. Before you strike, let me and my group communicate your faction’s fair demands. My guess is that they will leave your territory and establish a clear boundary, which they will respect and observe from then on. Also, we could have them hand over the fort to your faction in perfect condition. But if the Centaurs and Minotaurs don’t want a fortress, I say let it become a free market where you can all sell your goods to these people and buy what you need from them — hopped grain wine, weapons, unrusting metal, beautiful fabrics and light airy dresses...”
I saw the Dryads begin to smile and wink at one another. The Centaurs were also seemingly not opposed, but the Minotaurs were frowning. I had to hurriedly make some changes:
“Also, this might intrigue you, oh powerful chief of the Minotaurs. People can heal wounds and even grow new horns to replace those lost in battle. As a sign of your victory, I would demand a new horn and lots of strong drink for your army. After all, you brought thousands of warriors through dense forests and stagnant bogs to get here! But if they are unreasonable and refuse, you can grind them all to dust, capture this and the neighboring fortress, then decorate the new border with stakes topped by their foolish heads!”
Psionic skill increased to level thirty-three!
Fame increased to 49.
Authority increased to 25!
The Minotaur finally nodded in agreement, the council of chiefs ended quite abruptly, and Phylira voiced their decision:
“Alright, try, Gerd Gnat! A new horn, a clear border and at least thirty barrels of beer are our minimum demands.”
* * *
WE RETURNED to H3 lands long after midnight and, just after reaching the first green zone in the Yellow Mountains fort, we hurried to exit the game. We were rushing because we’d been hearing an urgent announcement for the last few hours. The faction was holding an emergency meeting, and everyone was required to attend, except those guarding the borders and working at crucial production facilities. Gerd Tamara even called me personally a few times. First, she contacted me to tell me about a meeting for directors and advanced players that was supposed to precede the big meeting. Then she asked me to confirm something Ivan Lozovsky said, that I had voted for him as leader.
We were extremely late for the big meeting, at least three hours. But it wasn’t over yet, so we tried to join and hear what leadership had to tell the players. Still up on the fourteenth floor of my corncob, I noticed a big group of people next to the athletics fields and saw that lighting under the Dome was still in daytime mode. Next, chasing after each other, Anya, Imran and I ran down the spiral staircase and tried to sneak unnoticed into the huge audience. Unfortunately though, we were spotted. As soon as I got near the crowd, a few voices trumpeted out: “Hey, Gnat’s here!” And they demanded I come up on the stage.
And come on stage I did. As they looked for a microphone for me, I whispered to Tamara:
“So, what did you talk about at the directors’ council? And what have you been discussing here?”
The serious dark-haired girl whispered back without turning her head:
“The Dark Faction tied up Tyulenev and dropped him off at the border. He’s in prison now. Lozovsky became a Gerd, and he also was elected faction head almost unanimously, only one opposed. The Dark Faction base in the Poppy Fields has been destroyed, the harpies did a real number on it. But five hours later, the Dark Faction came back with a little response. Hundreds of forest spirits and kikimoras draped in explosives tried to blow up our base in Karelia. The Second Legion was almost completely laid out. No more than ten soldiers survived. But, by some miracle, we held out and made minced meat of those NPC’s. But now, the fort and half the buildings don’t have walls. Then, an hour later, a second attack wave arrived, including flying harpies. But we were ready and the two Priests and I managed to remove the control charm from them, so all the mobs dropped their suicide vests and dispersed.”
I had to admit that had me very on guard. By hiring the NPC harpies, we’d accidentally opened a Pandora’s box. And our enemies were fast learners, who quickly took that painful lesson to heart. From now on, we faced both the threat of direct conflict with the Dark Faction and the risk of random NPC raids, both by hired agents and mind-controlled beasts...
“And now...” not hiding her exhaustion or annoyance, the yawning Tamara led her hand over the audience, which was humming in dismay. “The new leader Lozovsky has decided to prove himself a man of democracy and discuss the Dark Faction’s offers. To my eye, that was a big error... We haven’t yet come to a consensus and, right before you showed up, we nearly voted to capitulate and accept an offer of vassalization. We’ve been chewing the fat and pontificating for three hours now, but we still haven’t made any real decisions. And the funniest thing is that there is no way back now. Lozovsky assured us he came ready for dialog and would listen to every opinion. Now, we’re seeing where that gets us.”
“I see. And why was I dragged up on stage?”
The dark-haired girl shot me a tortured smile, giving a clear demonstration that she was still working on her facial expressions, though she was getting better:
“You know, it’s the same old song... I was hoping they wouldn’t be mad at you anymore. And that was basically true, but as of today their hostility is back out in the open. They’re really raging, demanding the leadership explain why they keep indulging you and what makes you so different from everyone else. They’re also asking about the captive Princess, the alien merchants, your Miyelonian companions, and the investigators, who many players seem to think you brought down here. Also, instead of working a normal shift on the Antique Beach today, you drove off somewhere else, which didn’t go unnoticed and upset a couple players... This is gonna be hard for you, Gnat. Get ready, they’re really upset. I can support you if it gets too crazy, though!”
Tamara fell sharply silent, because they found another microphone, and Aleksandr Antipov handed it to me with the words:
“Well, who better to explain Gnat’s gameplay than the man himself? Come on, Gnat. Don’t be shy! Tell our players what you’ve been up to!”
As soon as I took the microphone, the crowd started humming in dismay, demonstrating a clearly negative opinion of me. I could hear many hard-hitting invectives. They were demanding I explain myself and damn-near apologize. Did they seriously think I would do that?! Naive! Well, you wanted a memorable explanation, here you go! I smiled predatorily and raised the microphone:
“Many of our players enjoy discussing strategy and politics with an expert eye, especially those with a clouded impression of the true state of affairs. But very few truly understand my role in the faction. And it’s no wonder! Such lofty matters as conversing with the leaders of great alien races and obtaining new technologies for humanity are not for those of limited intellect! Yes, you heard me right! My main mission is to get as many starship designs as possible at any cost, along with specimens of high-tech apparel and weaponry. It is not the simplest mission, let me tell you, and there are no easy formulas or rules to guide me. But still, I’m plugging away and I have been quite successful! The designs I already provided have advanced science by decades and brought humanity that much closer to interstellar flight!”
In short, I dumped a stream of inflammatory declarations on the audience. Not expecting such an aggressive charge, the crowd fell silent, listening attentively but not yet having determined how to react. I decided to build on that momentum:
“The leadership thinks Prospector Gnat is unique, and that no one could duplicate my successes. But maybe our directors are wrong. Maybe someone out there could replace me. Who of you could conduct negotiations with an incarnation of the Miyelonian Great First Female, a creature who can easily read thoughts? And could anyone here obtain information for the impatient and bloodthirsty Kung Waid Shishish, the great Geckho military leader and sovereign of our home planet? Or maybe one of you thinks they could survive on a space station teeming with bloodthirsty pirates... Anybody?”
The response was a strained silence, no one in the audience could gather the courage to make such an audacious claim. Good, I could take a breather and fortify before moving on to more pressing and obvious issues. But then, I saw that I was congratulating myself too soon. A lone cry tore out of the crowd:
“If I could study the language of these aliens, I could try too! And maybe I would do just as well as Gnat!”
I instantly picked out the loudmouth from the crowd. So, who do we have here? I easily read his thoughts and even gathered some superficial background information, then prepared a striking reply:
“Well, Viktor Viktorovich Samokhin, born 1980 in the city of Tula, a five-month veteran of the game who plays a level-54 Agrarian, what’s stopping you from taking Astrolinguistics and spending at least an hour a day practicing Geckho with Kosta Dykhsh?”
The crowd gave a predictable gasp, some even stumbled back. A few players crossed themselves in fear. Tamara whispered:
“Kirill, have you lost your mind? Why did you reveal your secret?!”
But I did not think it was a mistake. In fact, now was the best opportunity. I not only had the chance, I needed to loudly announce my psionic abilities. That would not only prove my uniqueness, but also show the audience that they could no longer hide their contact with the enemy:
“Yes! That is another aspect that makes me different from the rest. It is one reason the leadership gives me so many special missions. My character has taken and leveled the Psionic skill. And now both in the game and real life, I can root out traitors in our ranks, along with those who have fallen under mental control of Dark Faction mages, and those with the stamp of their magical charms.”
“And do many of us carry that ‘stamp?’” Aleksandr Antipov immediately shot out, and I assured the agent that there were plenty.
“For example, Gleb Vorshinsky, an Engineer at the Prometheus. Or Lefty, our best Mechanic,” I said, pointing at the slobby dude in the first row, who looked identical to his game avatar. “Lefty is an honest player and doesn’t even suspect that, while he was a prisoner of the Dark Faction, their mages altered his thinking. Now without knowing it, Lefty carries their magic stamp, spreading distemper, decadence, despondency and a stubborn belief that defeat is inevitable.”
Lefty, having unexpectedly become the center of attention, froze in fear. A tall bearded man in a turban came through from the back rows and, with a brief glance at the terrified young man, confirmed:
“This man carries the stamp of magical abomination! Fortunately, it is not difficult to remove. I, the Paladin Gerd Tamara, and our other Priest can all undo the Dark Faction’s evil magic.”
Just after the audience’s shock passed, and the agitated hullaballoo settled, I continued my speech:
“Another facet of my work is obtaining space currency and purchasing goods of extraterrestrial design. After all, you all most likely heard about our faction’s recent big success. We managed to sell some platinum for three million crystals and, with that money, we obtained goods and weapons. If anyone here doubts my honesty or thinks that even one crystal was lost to my sticky fingers, let them review the purchase list and compare it with prices in the Geckho space port.”
No one dared doubt my honesty, so I held a short pause for order, and moved on to the most difficult part of the tale:
“Now, I strongly suspect you all know this trade was not exactly problem-free. At the very last minute, the Dark Faction attacked us, which is what brought the investigators under the Dome. They are here to determine where and when the leak took place. But still, the main thing is that we managed to fight them off and keep all our things. Plus, all they got for their efforts were some counterfeit crystals, which our negotiator Ivan Lozovsky was holding as bait.” I pointed to the new faction head and he gave a slight bow, as if confirming my words and accepting that story as official, for the simple players at least. “What’s more, our enemy didn’t realize they were fake, and got hit with a very severe penalty from the Geckho after trying to buy items with them in the space port. Yesterday morning, Dark Faction leader Leng Thumor-Anhu La-Fin couldn’t even hold back his admiration and congratulated us on the operation, which he said was ‘very painful’ to his faction.”
I heard laughter from the crowd for the first time, along with shouts of approval and even the odd fit of applause. So, I decided not to change topic and build on the effect by speaking about our aggressive neighbors:
“You really can’t envy the Dark Faction now! In the last few days, their position has just gotten harder and harder. They couldn’t stop us from building a base in Karelia, lost their unfinished base in the Poppy Fields, and angered the Geckho. Then, they failed to intercept our Miyelonian weaponry, some of which can destroy their huge armored tanks! So now, those formerly invulnerable instruments of destruction are nothing more than big lumbering death traps!”
Another volley of elated cries rang out, then confident applause, but I stopped them with a gesture and moved on to the story of my recent journey with the Centaurs:
“And I come bearing even more unpleasant news for our enemies. I know a few people here have asked where Gerd Gnat ran off to today instead of patrolling the Antique Beach. Well, the time has come for you all to know. Today, we signed a military alliance with the Antiquity Faction. Six hundred high-level Centaurs and Minotaurs will be joining us in battle against the Dark Faction. What’s more, our NPC neighbors are giving us the Centaur Plateau node and will even help us build a fort there. But that isn’t all! Tomorrow... or more like this evening, three hundred fully equipped and heavily armed soldiers from the H6 Faction will be arriving to our dock via Geckho ferry. That’s right, friends, I found the Germans. They agreed to aid us against the Dark Faction on the condition that we help them win a heated war with the underwater NPC Naiads.”
My announcement caused a storm of jubilation! They were overjoyed that we had allies and were celebrating as if the war with the darksiders was already won. I understood that this was not even remotely true, but it was still a significant improvement. And so, I figured it was the right time to tell them the slipperiest part of the story:
“And we made another blow to the Dark Faction when we captured the noble Princess Minn-O La-Fin. She is being held in our prison now. This isn’t the first time Leng Thumor-Anhu La-Fin’s beloved granddaughter has fallen into our hands, and every time I was somehow involved. As such, according to the Dark Faction’s laws and traditions, the noble lady has become my wayedda to avoid shame. Now, wayedda translates from their language as ‘lawful plunder.’ That means that she will not be ransomed, and that the Princess will be released from prison to become my loyal companion. Minn-O is no longer our enemy, although we also cannot demand that she reveal secrets about her homeworld. As a confirmation of the seriousness of this event, the Dark Faction Leng has agreed to our demand and returned the traitor Tyulenev!”
What a harsh and vindictive people I come from! The return of the filthy traitor was celebrated with more vigor than our new alliance. The howls and shouts of joy were deafening. And mixed into all that noise, some of my allies were suggesting ways of torturing Tyulenev that I would not have had either the imagination or the cruelty to come up with.
But not everyone was happy. Gerd Tamara walked off stage showing no emotion, unhurried and with dignity. After she made it away from the crowd, she hid behind some bushes, buried her face in her hands and began to weep. Seemingly, the girl didn’t like the news that I would now have the princess for a constant companion.
But there were no questions remaining, so I considered the speech over and followed Gerd Tamara off the stage, ceding the floor. I wanted to catch up to Tamara and explain, but Gerd Lozovsky intercepted me. Not hiding his tense joy, the new faction leader asked me to tell him the details of my negotiations with the Centaurs and the story of meeting the Germans. So I did:
“Everything was simple with the Centaurs. Phylira is much smarter than the other chiefs and negotiating with her is a delight. She was afraid of a serious conflict with humanity, because she understands that a big war would end with the defeat and death of her faction. What’s more, those NPC’s really couldn’t care less about fortresses and fortifications on their lands if we just let them live in peace. The Centaurs aren’t much interested in lifeless rocky hills. For them, the only thing of value in that node is the freshwater spring, the only one in the area. As long as we let the Centaurs collect water there and freely move about the Centaur Plateau, Phylira sees no obstacle to us building a fort. The Antiquity Faction is also willing to trade with us. They can provide lumber, clay, fruit and pearls. The Centaurs and Dryads are even willing to work for us directly as long as we give fair pay.”
“Now that is what I like to hear!” the new faction leader shot out. “We could use help everywhere, not only in that node. By the way, I’ll put Gerd Radugin in charge of developing the Centaur Plateau. He’s a talented manager and after all that confusion, he is desperate to prove his worth. Radugin was already considering expansion to the south. He has all the calculations and maps ready.”
I shrugged carelessly. Radugin was fine. I had no unkind feelings toward the former faction leader and understood that he had just burned out trying to shoulder too many burdens.
“But if...” here I lowered my voice to a whisper and made sure no one was listening, “we help Matriarch Phylira eliminate the other chiefs, we can have all six nodes of the Antiquity Faction under the same conditions. Phylira herself offered that arrangement, and I promised to think it over. The Centauress refuses to kill her competitors personally, but she would be favorably inclined to our Assassins doing so. The six nodes are not the most inhabitable, mostly just swampy forest, but the new forts would increase our faction’s maximum population.”
Lozovsky promised to seriously think over the issue, then asked me to return to my meeting with the Germany faction. Here I allowed myself to laugh:
“Oh you should have seen the show we put on! Just imagine the scene: we blew our horns and a huge army poured out from three sides onto a plain where the H6 Faction was building a fort. It was glorious: the Minotaurs, Satyrs and Dryads running, the Centaurs leaping. Their thousands of hooves shook the earth. Dust rose like a pillar. And at the head of this flood, our armored vehicle drives out with the Russian tricolor blowing in the wind! Riding atop the Peresvet, we had a commando group of twenty almost totally nude Dryad Archers over level one hundred. And the fatal beauties were accompanied by our Space Commando Eduard Boyko in his giant exoskeleton armor. It was such a surreal picture I couldn’t believe I was really there. It made such an impression on the fort defenders that, even when we entered their building, they didn’t fire a single shot!”
“I’m not surprised!” Lozovsky laughed. “I can’t imagine how I would behave in a situation like that. But what came next?”
“Well, of course it was all solved quickly, even though only San-Sanych knew German. He used to buy second-hand cars from Germany, so he had a passing knowledge. They agreed not to shoot and called someone from their leadership. A half hour later, H6 Diplomat Gerhard Stern came out and immediately grasped the scale of the problem. The Germans are fast thinkers though, so they ordered fifty barrels of beer rolled out for their ‘dear NPC guests.’ After that, the Centaurs’ and Minotaurs’ hostility blew away like the wind. The rest of the negotiations took place in a different node next to a Geckho cargo port. I asked for that because I saw our suzerains’ ferry coming into dock. It made a big impression on them, seeing the Geckho crew and their captain recognize me and greet me warmly. The furballs remembered me as the one who stopped their ferry from capsizing. The Germans were watching with eyes wide in astonishment. My Authority immediately took off to unimaginable heights! Of course, after that, they agreed to all my suggestions pretty quick.”
* * *
I WAS AWOKEN by a cautious but insistent knock on the door. I stood up, trying not to awaken Anya as she slept soundly. I had a hard time finding my pants and shirt. After I finally did, I went to open up. It was Tamara. I found it strange to see her in a dressing gown.
“Kirill, I was asked to come wake you up. You are urgently needed in the game.”
“But I only got four hours’ sleep... less actually,” I said, looking unwittingly at the bedroom door. “What’s going on?”
“A Shiamiru-class Geckho starship has just landed in the very center of our capital fortress. Captain Uraz Tukhsh demands to see you. He insists that he has already contracted with you for one more prospecting expedition.”
Crap... I didn’t even know if that should make me happy or mad. On the one hand, I could expect adventures, new knowledge and unique discoveries. But on the other, tomorrow was the decisive battle with the Dark Faction, and missing that would be swinish behavior bordering on desertion. What was more, my “travelling mistress” was currently in prison (and most likely not in the game, so impossible to find), and my Miyelonian companions were also probably inactive. I really didn’t want to leave anyone behind. Furthermore, I hadn’t picked up my bracelet from Lefty yet, and lots of other issues were also still unresolved.
“I wanted you to be at my birthday party tomorrow. We’re planning to celebrate it right after the big battle. But I guess it wasn’t in the cards,” Tamara chuckled glumly. “ I was really hoping you’d give me a gift, and one for a girl not a soldier...”
Tamara was transparently hinting at the rocket set I had brought her from the space station. Seemingly, she didn’t like it very much. I had to improvise:
“I’ll do my best to be at your party in the real world, but I cannot promise. And I have a gift for you not only as a Paladin, but as a pretty girl. It isn’t totally finished yet, though. I need time.”
Anya walked up wrapped in a blanket, looking out of it. She’d woken up despite my best efforts and wanted to figure out why I was up so early. I noticed that Anya was looking confident and acting like she owned the place. She even dared express dismay to the fearsome Tamara. The Leader of the Second Legion didn’t let it go unanswered though, and asked me with unhidden scorn:
“So, haven’t you explained to your lover what a wayedda is yet?”
I just shook my head in the negative, not wanting to get into it. Instead, I thanked Tamara for telling me about the starship, apologized for my likely absence from her birthday party the next day and closed the door right in her astonished face.
“You have five minutes to get ready to enter the game,” I announced to Anya. “We logged off in the Yellow Mountains fort, and we need to get to the capital node as fast as possible. Do you have the phone number for Imran’s room? Great, call him, and have him come too! I’ll go look for Eduard’s number.”
“Hey, what’s happening?” Anya didn’t understand. “And why the rush?”
“A Geckho starship has come to pick me up. And if Captain Uraz Tukhsh has come this far just for me, he must really need Gnat. I’ll see if I can get him to take some friends along.”
Anya was naked and decisively threw off the blanket, sat on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest with an unhappy look.
“I’m not going anywhere! There’s a very important battle tomorrow, and the survival of our faction depends on it! How will I look my friends in the eye if we lose and I wasn’t there?!”
“We won’t lose, especially with almost one thousand extra soldiers,” I assured the stubborn medic. “What’s more... I have an idea for how to force the Dark Faction Leng to delay the attack.”
“No, Gnat. I’m not coming this time!” the blonde balked. “Helping you against the Dark Faction is one thing. That was right. But heading off into space instead of helping our faction... that goes too far! So no! No! And no again!”
“You know best. I hope you don’t end up regretting your choice!”
I flew out into the corridor and hurried down to the first floor. I asked the sleepy doorwoman Yana to find Eduard and Imran, and tell them both to immediately enter the game, then ran off to corncob fifteen.
* * *
FROM THE DISTANCE, I noticed that the Shiamiru had undergone some significant changes. The rear cargo hold was gone. Instead, there was an extra energy shield module. There were also two long cannons in the front and some strange reflectors on its short wings. Had the captain grown disenchanted with mineral extraction and decided to try his hand a pirate?
“Gnat!” A heavily armed figure in a military spacesuit ran at me. They looked short for a Geckho, which was what tipped me off. It was Uline Tar!
The Trader was overwhelmed with emotion and embraced me tightly, lifted me up and spun me around.
“We were so worried about you! I’m so glad you managed to escape those nasty Miyelonians. Oh!”
Only here did Uline notice Tini coming out of the Peresvet after me, and Ayni standing nearby. She held her gaze on the lady cat and probably noticed she was a Translator, because she started looking embarrassed and set me down. Sure, it was awkward, but I tried to distract the Geckho woman, asking what fates had brought them here and wanting to know what had happened to our once peaceful shuttle.
“Well, there’s a war on! The Geckho have joined the fight against the Meleyephatians. Our new leader Kung Waid Shishish is rallying combat starships. Our poor bastard of a captain spent the last of his funds refitting the old Shiamiru for combat, hoping to finally achieve glory. But we ran into a problem. The crew split as soon as they heard what was happening, because no one wants to go to war with a chronic loser. And the remaining crew, including me, constantly reminded Uraz Tukhsh that luck was with us only when Gnat was. Seemingly, the captain believed that and ordered us to immediately fly off to get you, especially given that we already contracted you for one more expedition.”
“I agreed to a voyage to the asteroid belt to extract minerals, not to fly half way across the galaxy and fight in some war!” I tried to object, to which Uline Tar mentioned that my contract had no limitations of that sort, and that any judge would find in favor of Uraz Tukhsh.
“But you can try and change the conditions of your contract for the better,” she whispered. “If you don’t push it too far, Uraz Tukhsh will probably agree.”
“Then tell the captain my conditions: the two Miyelonians are coming with me, and it’s not up for discussion. They are my companions and I won’t go anywhere without them because doing so would violate the norms and laws of their race. I also want to take two human soldiers with me. A Gladiator and a Space Commando. They are my team as a Gerd. Also...” I took a deep sigh, “my travelling mistress is coming.”
Authority increased to 28!
I had already managed to speak with Imran and Eduard, so I knew they would join “Team Gnat” and come with me. I hadn’t yet spoken with Minn-O, but I also was counting on her assent. Technically, given her position as a “travelling mistress,” she would have no choice but to accompany her “strong warrior.”
Uline walked away and came on board the ship. She was away for quite some time I even started to worry, but then the Trader came out, nearly jumping for joy:
“The captain agreed! Uraz Tukhsh was actually glad because the humans can fill out our crew. He’s ready to take off immediately!”
“Uh, no. I’m not ready yet... This is all too sudden. I need at least one ummi to get everyone together.”
Strangely, Uraz Tukhsh also agreed to that. The Shiamiru turned off its thrusters and lowered its ground supports, settling in for a long stay. The Geckho crew, initially nervous to see people surrounding their starship and pointing their weapons at anyone who came close, gradually calmed down. Some of them even risked eating a meal in the human canteen, although I later heard they found our cuisine bland.
The Starship Pilot also emerged. At first, I didn’t recognize the huge figure wearing a glimmering armored spacesuit. But it was Dmitry Zheltov, clearly wearing refit Geckho armor. I embraced my friend warmly and he, slightly embarrassed, commented on his new appearance:
“Look at me now. I’ve been taken on as main pilot. I got a crew-member identity card and all the documents that go with it. And with my first bonus, I bought myself this armor suit at the Oku-III station. I gave all the rest of the money I earned to the faction just now, and that was practically three thousand Geckho crystals!”
My comrade’s face was beaming with well-deserved pride because he was bringing the faction a real boon, both new knowledge about the game Universe, and desperately needed space currency. Dmitry didn’t hide anything about his plans, either:
“A war has started, so I am leveling skills and preparing to take the official Geckho space-fleet pilot exams. Uraz Tukhsh trusts me completely, and now he just sits in the copilot’s seat, very rarely telling me the meaning of unfamiliar terms. Overall, both the captain and the whole crew are glad to see you back, though. They consider you a lucky charm!”
I noticed someone behind me, and Dmitry waved his hand in greeting, hurriedly bid me farewell and rushed over to Lydia Vertyachikh, who was waiting for him. I glanced at their warm embrace and passionate kisses, mentally wished my friends happiness, then headed off to talk with the prison guards about Minn-O.
Sure, my companions were important to me, but they weren’t the main reason I wanted the Shiamiru to wait around. Finally though, that had also come around. Lefty walked up to me with clear respect and, dramatically different from his earlier behavior, handed me the bracelet:
“I removed the racial requirement. Now the bracelet will work for a human. What’s more, I managed to improve it and add something. Now, the shields recharge faster and have higher capacity.”
I thanked the craftsman and studied the new properties of the Relict artifact:
Small Control Bracelet (Listener armor suit accessory)
+25% armor suit forcefield capacity.
+13% forcefield restore rate.
+1 controllable drone.
Statistic requirements: Intelligence 26, Perception 26.
Skill requirements: Electronics 40, Machine Control 11.
My character met all the requirements, so I immediately placed the bracelet in the arm slot of my suit. But I was not expecting what came next. A small wave of unfamiliar symbols ran before my eyes. There were many, many thousands of incomprehensible lines. Finally, the semitransparent bluish pall faded, and one column turned brighter and was translated to Russian:
“Listener, awaiting command.”
I had long suspected that my suit contained much more complex functionality than forcefield capacity and radiation resistance and I now had clear confirmation of that. I didn’t understand what kind of command it wanted, though, or how I could issue it. How could I answer, or at least get rid of these words, which were taking up room on the internal side of my helmet visor? Mentally? By moving my pupils? Voice?
As I stood and figured out my suit, Minn-O was brought to me under guard, and the proud Princess walked up the gangway before all my other companions. After her, Imran entered the Shiamiru. But Space Commando Eduard had problems. In his huge exoskeleton armor, he couldn’t fit through the door, so he had to remove the armor and change back into street clothes. Vasha Tushihh lifted the heavy armor with the loader claw and put it into a special niche in the back of the shuttle, hermetically sealing it with an armored cap.
The Miyelonians also entered, and I asked Ayni, who was walking forward with only a tiny backpack, where her heavy container of equipment for the special mission was. We had room, if she wanted to bring it. The orange cat looked embarrassed, then slightly afraid and whispered something like: “Gnat, the less you know, the better you’ll sleep. Believe me, you should forget about that.”
Anyhow, we were about to take off. I was the last thing they were waiting for. And I was just standing there, unable to get the bothersome text out of my field of view. I even tried to remove the bracelet, but it seemed glued to my armored sleeve and refused to go anywhere. But what to do? I couldn’t let these illuminated words keep blocking half my view, otherwise I might miss something. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it or respond. I verbally issued commands, shook my head, spun my pupils and tried to command mentally when suddenly:
“Decision accepted”
ATTENTION!!! Your class will be changed to Listener.
10... 9... 8...
End of Book Two
Gnat’s adventures continue in
Game Changer (Reality Benders Book #3) LitRPG series
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[1] THE MODERN-DAY SUCCESSOR to the KGB.
[2] Translator’s note: the Russian equivalent of Fort Knox
[3]Valeri-Urla is a character from Michael Atamanov's novel Quarantine Planet
[4]Denni Marko is a character from Michael Atamanov's novel Quarantine Planet
