After a short shriek of pain, a silence fell in the cave.
Tailyn saw the messages the god was sending him even through tightly closed eyelids.
You killed Elass Jing, a level 4 human.
Note! KORT-II marked for disposal.
KORT-II ray pistol removed from circulation.
***
Compensation received for lost item: you can begin the initiation and receive the attendant specialty.
Analyzing human Tailyn Vlashich and his belongings.
3 alchemical scrolls detected.
Generating class…
***
Your new class: Alchemist.
Attendant specialty unlocked: Alchemy.
Tailyn’s body bent over double in excruciating pain. He wanted to howl, only he couldn’t breathe, and the yell stuck somewhere in his throat. As his mouth foamed, his eyes opened wide and threatened to pop right out of their sockets, only for darkness to finally fall an eternity later and bring relief. Still, Tailyn’s body continued to convulse as he went through the initiation. The boy was becoming a full-fledged member of the world he lived in.
A world the game had arrived in several millennia before.
Chapter 2
TAILYN’S CONSCIOUSNESS returned slowly, easing its way back like a frozen piece of toffee from Master Glion’s shop. Peeling his eyes open, the boy looked up to see the rough stone wall the ancients had built. His head was heavy. The thoughts running through it were heavier still. Tailyn knew he was supposed to do something, supposed to decide something, but his brain was in no mood to recall what that was.
Pulling himself up into a crouch, the boy stared in confusion at the dark skin. It looked odd and unnatural in that wilderness of stone and sand. But a few moments later, his consciousness kicked in, and he realized it was the stranger’s cloak.
It all suddenly came crashing down on Tailyn. Wherever the strength came from, he found it and dove back into his little recess. Everything was right there. He remembered how the monster had killed Dort before trying to hunt him down, too. But the god had somehow decided that he, Tailyn, was the stronger in their uneven fight, even giving him a reward. It was impossible. He, a ten-year-old boy, shouldn’t have been able to take down the enormous bull and its magic rope.
Speaking of which, the whip was right there next to the skin. Tailyn shrank back from it instinctively only to accidentally trip over the ancients’ device. It squeaked strangely. Then, a heavy, tired voice began speaking, interrupting itself with fits of coughing.
May seventh, two thousand thirty-five. This is Lieutenant Lavr Nalin, unit three. The beasts got to me, though I was able to fight them off. I’m in a metro tunnel. No coins, no regeneration. The wound is deep; I can’t stop the bleeding. This looks like the end… The commander’s mission was executed successfully—the containers are well-hidden. The White Order won’t be able to get to them. The coordinates are in the control room farther down the tunnel. But be careful—I left some surprises along the way. Don’t trigger any of the traps. Earth will be ours. Over and out…
***
New mission: Look for Coordinates. Description: head farther into the tunnel and find the coordinates of the hiding spot Lavr Nalin was talking about. Just be careful, as there’s probably someone living in the tunnel. Note! This is a secret mission, so you can’t tell anyone about it.
Tailyn found himself shaking still harder, no matter how impossible that had seemed just a minute before. Only that time, it wasn’t fear; he was shaking from excitement. A mission from the god, the kind you got level promotions for. Nobody he told was going to … Suddenly, the boy stopped—he couldn’t tell anyone. The god tracked everyone carefully, and if it said he shouldn’t tell, then he wasn’t supposed to tell. Almost as if reading his mind, the strange device disappeared without a trace.
His nerve returning, Tailyn bent over the stranger’s dead body. It was true—he’d never seen the face in town before. Definitely an outsider. The boy had heard on many an occasion about how valiant warriors stripped the bodies of their vanquished foes, so he knew exactly what to do. As he pulled the cloak back so he could rip it off the stranger, Tailyn caught a glimpse of the many pockets and froze. That was presumably what Master Isor and his son had been looking for. He pulled a small pouch out of one of the pockets, and that was when a message popped up in front of him:
Designer’s Arcane Dust. Description: ingredient used to create Arcane Ink.
Tailyn looked over the packets and couldn’t figure out what they were good for. Even pulling one of them open to see what was inside, he stared in confusion at the green powder. What was so valuable about it? The name was funny, too—arcane ink. Perhaps, he could give it to Master Isor? The powder wasn’t anything he needed, so that seemed like a good idea. His guardian would definitely know what to do with it.
Pulling off the cloak, Tailyn accidentally brushed a hand against the man’s body and froze. He’d never seen a message like that one.
Would you like to search Elass Jing’s body?
Nobody had ever told him anything about that, not even kind Mistress Valanil. But what did the search entail? Without taking long to think about it, Tailyn hit the green square.
Loot received.
Rough Waterproof Bison Cloak (1). Description: an ordinary item that protects the wearer from bad weather and the hot sun. Shield level +20.
Rough Leather Boots (1). Description: an ordinary item that protects the wearer’s feet. Shield level +5.
Designer’s Arcane Dust (79). Description: ingredient used to create Arcane Ink.
Crystal (5). Description: none.
Bloodthirsty Whip. Description: enchanted ordinary weapon, dangerous in agile hands. Attributes: physical attack +100, Bloodletting ability. Required skills: Whip, Agility.
Poisoned Knife. Description: enchanted ordinary weapon, dangerous in agile hands. Attributes: physical attack +50, Poison ability. Required skills: Melee Weapons, Agility.
***
Gold received: +22.
The cloak and all the packets of powder disappeared. Tailyn stared, dumfounded, at the almost naked body, not really sure what had just happened. Where was everything? Where had it gone?
But everything made sense as soon as he pulled up his status table. His heart began beating in double time when he saw the twenty-two gold in his account—he was fabulously wealthy. Noticing a new icon next to the status button, Tailyn remembered the virtual inventory he’d picked up and tapped it. That opened a familiar field with cells that now held the items he’d just received. Only they were all in miniature. And they weren’t alone. His inventory also held three small scrolls, one of which was sparkling green. They hadn’t been in the list of loot, which meant the scrolls had already been in his inventory. Were they a gift from the ancient one? Could he have been an alchemist, as well?