Rdrag and Mercyaa saw the figure of Hebanyac appear in the smoke, waving his arms in all directions.

“Please tell me, Lord, that he hasn’t done something wrong,” said the deputy.

“Run! Run!” shouted the military commander, and flew past them like the wind. “There are dozens of creepy monsters out there!”

“We can’t back out now! Motherfucker, stop, dammit! Okay. You protect me. Rdrag, you go to the front. My rifle will cover your rear.”

The healer used ‘Massive Patronage’, then placed two light seals - which looked like pentagrams - on the floor in front of the tunnel and ordered everyone to stand back. The first dark creature flew out of the fog, and it raced so fast that the traps did not have time to activate. Rdrag summoned three spheres of light and blinded the enemy. Then ran up close to it and used the paralyzing ‘Poena’ spell. Mercyaa took aim and fired his Simonov rifle. The bullet squealed into its skull and lodged in its forehead.

Hebanyac opened his mouth and grabbed his helmet with his hands around his ears. The surprise paralyzed Rdrag. Then the deputy cursed, but he could not hear himself over the squeak in his ears. The dark creature tossed the healer aside and pulled the bullet out of its skull and squealed. Mercyaa lowered his weapon and backed away. The military commander picked up the Scar-L with the silencer and fired all the bullets from the magazine. The monster collapsed to the ground. Rdrag seized the moment and finished it with a kick.

A fresh wave of dark creatures descended upon them from the impenetrable smoke a minute later. This time, the seals on the floor activated. The first released the chains that bound the monsters’ limbs. The second shot out five dozen light spears from the ground, their blades plunging into the limbs and skulls of the enemy. In an instance, the experience bar increased by 15% in a second. Rdrag used the seals again, but the monsters adapted and moved behind the military commander and the deputy. Hebanyac became intangible and jumped a few yards away. It trapped Mercyaa, grabbed by the arms and legs, and nearly quartered, but the protection spell saved his life and threw the monsters back.

Rdrag summoned a ghostly sword in one hand, a ghostly hammer in the other, and spun in a dance of battle. His hearing had not fully recovered, but if, he thought, he moved fast enough, the monsters could not approach him. The healer took the lives of five enemies before they retreated to a safe distance and began firing blobs of dark energy. The phantom weapon disintegrated on first contact with the enemy attack, but the ‘Patronage’ spell protected the body.

Hebanyac ran up to Mercyaa, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and threw him back, then pulled out two extended combat knives, twirled them like revolvers, and used a ‘teleportation’ spell. He switched places with Rdrag and, once in the battle’s thick, used the ‘Illusion’ spell and let all the long-range attacks pass through him, and as soon as the ‘Furious Rhythm’ activated, he was at the monsters’ skulls in a flash and chopped them in two halves.

As soon as the cooldown of ‘Massive Patronage’ ended, the healer used the spell again and then checked his mana reserves: 57%.

“Hebanyac!” he shouted. “Stand back!”

The military commander did a double somersault upward, shattering two skulls along the way, touched the ceiling with his feet, pushed off, and jumped to his comrades. Mercyaa stood off to the side, and in a barely audible voice said: “Magic is IMBA.” More and more monsters were coming out of the tunnel.

“There’s no end to them,” Hebanyac said.

Rdrag put his hands in a lock. Waves of light swirled around his body, and he cast the incantation ‘Subversio tenebrarum’. Light came out of his palms, dispelling the darkness. The tunnel became blindingly bright. When the effect of the spell ended, not a single monster was left inside, only bones.

“I wasn’t aware that you knew how to use such powerful spells,” said a surprised Hebanyac.

“Everyone should have a trump card up...”

No sooner had Rdrag replied when they heard footsteps coming from the tunnel, so powerful and heavy that the ground shook in time with the stomping.

“What was it you said about having a trump card up your sleeve?” Hebanyac asked.

“I said everyone should have one,” Mercyaa answered.

All three of them, tense and frightened, staggered back. Six shadows came running out of the darkness, bouncing from above and below, silver curved knives shining in their hands, followed by a six-foot-tall creature, his body covered in huge armor, at least two inches thick at first glance, and a hammer in the boss’s hand. He roared and ran, started sprinting.

“Run,” Mercyaa said in a low voice, and then shouted, “run!”

They rushed without a backward glance toward the exit. Rdrag placed several seals on the ground. The shadows bounced back into the smoke, and the monster boss strode through, taking no damage.

“Can you do again what you did before?” Hebanyac asked. “Get rid of the minions. We can’t take out that many opponents.”

“Simple as fucking drinking! Strong skills have a cooldown, and my mana has a limit.”

Rdrag stopped and used the ‘pierce’ spell in a spin. The first light sphere shot out in a straight line at insane speed, smashing into the boss and bouncing to the side, and exploded. Everyone froze. The armored monster stretched its right leg forward, bent its left knee, put the hammer on its shoulder, and made a dash. The healer barely dodged the blow, and the military commander and the deputy moved at a safe distance.

The shadows descended upon them with a series of surprise attacks. Hebanyac drew his crooked knives and repulsed all the attacks. Mercyaa saw two shadows block their escape route. They arced closer and closer to him. The others hung like bats on the ceiling. The deputy drew his rifle and took aim and fired. Everyone cringed at the intense sound and echo. The bullet flew past. Mercyaa frowned and prepared to fire again, but no sooner had he realized what was going on than he saw a huge hammer over his head and then a notification saying, “You are dead. Disconnecting from the server.”

Rdrag watched in a stupor as the monster boss dragged its enormous weapon back toward him on chains, leaving only a pool of blood and ash in Mercyaa’s place. The healer cursed at the top of his lungs and summoned three spheres, using ‘Kyrie Eleison’ to repel the barrage of flying knives and the enormous hammer. He used ‘Christe Eleison’ and ‘Transformation into Light’ almost at the same moment. The shadows dodged the erratically flying spheres at insane speed and jumped behind the boss, who turned in their direction.

“Uh-oh!” shouted Hebanyac. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!”

“Energy blast!” shouted Rdrag in a battle frenzy and flew up to the boss and for ten seconds he stabbed him in the back by the hundreds, then he jumped back and used the “Energy Riot”.

The magical wave surged forward, hurtling through the air. The six-foot armored foe roared and turned and threw its hammer to the ground and released a water ball from its right hand, which turned into a mirror. It absorbed the “Energy Riot”, and a second later it flew back and annihilated the healer, followed by the military commander.

The monster boss turned and ran after the shadows toward the section with the obsidian pillars.

***

Illyseh and Ronnie returned to the crossroads. The self-deploying scanner finished its work and displayed an additional part of the dungeon on the map.

“Do you have a lot of C4?” Ronnie asked.

“I’ve got a couple, plus one booby trap.”

“I suggest we put one at the end of each explored zone. If someone explodes, we’ll know about it.”

“We’ll know by the PK debuff.”

“AI.”

“At your service.”

“If I set a monster trap, and a player gets caught in it, do I get a PK debuff for unintentional murder?”

“No.”

Ronnie told Illyseh about it, and they set the first trap and returned to the main road, and headed on. The road wriggled, playing with their nerves. It was like a vengeful goddess telling them: “Keep your eyes open! I’ll catch you when you don’t expect it!” There were more and more holes, but a closer look revealed that they were all little nooks for harmless monsters that peacefully slept in them.

This time it was Ronnie who spoke first, looking at his palm:

“I wonder what he left me.”

“I guess it’s like the amulet. You’ll find out when the time comes.”

“Why did you choose diplomatic victory?” he asked after a moment of silence.

Illyseh smiled and answered:

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Because I want to test my strength. In reality, I held the highest office in the government for a long time, until I retired five years ago. And one question kept haunting me: was it luck that got me to the top, or my own skills, knowledge, and character? More than once, I have met people who have complained to me about their unfair treatment, that they deserved a better life, and so on. The more I listened to them, the more I wondered if fate was assigning our roles in this world.”

He snapped his fingers and continued:

“I needed to test my theory, to prove my superiority. ‘Guns and Magic’ is a great help to me in this. Basically, this game is an imitation of life. We can be anything, can’t we? And we all start from scratch. The odds are even. From the very first level, I met Yleen, Gra, his wife, and Ghoton. We traveled together, but once we learned what armor was given to the officers, lords, and military commanders, we decided to play politicians, and here I am again in a supreme position for a few months. During this time, I have discovered such areas as Healing and Light Magic. I taught several players what I know myself and in doing so, I am still developing my skills to this day. No one had done it before me.”

“So, it wasn’t fate, after all?”

“I don’t know. I never found an answer that satisfied me. Maybe my destiny was just to hold a prominent position. After all, I might have met thieves, magicians, and architects, but I met people with similar views and aspirations.”

Illyseh’s AI informed him of Mercyaa’s and Rdrag’s deaths, and that Hebanyac had left the game. He relayed the word to Yleen, who replied that he, too, had received the notification as soon as he did, but had received no information, screenshots, or anything else.

Top Secret be damned, I’m sure it’s Nika’s doing.

I don’t see any players with PK debuffs around here.

Neither do I. Maybe they activated the obsidian pillars and pitted the dark creatures on them?

It could very well be. Only you forget, our guys aren’t wimps. Anyway, we’ll know what happened in twenty-four hours, when Mercyaa gets back in the game and releases the video and the information, or maybe earlier, when Hebanyac gets back.

Okay. Judging by the size of the dungeon, we’ll be wandering around for a long time.

“Why did you stop?” Ronnie asked.

Illyseh looked up at him angrily.

“Nika and her men annihilated my successor and Yleen’s deputy. The military commander went offline, but he’s still alive.”

“They could have faced the dark creatures and lost. You can’t fool the system.”

“I can tell that you’ve never worked as a politician.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that in all times, no matter how laws restricted our freedom, people learned how to play the system and achieve their goals.”

“I guess people like that don’t live long.”

“They live longer than anybody else, with a cigar in their mouth and a whiskey in their hand. Hell, it makes me sick when I think of Top Secret winning. Aren’t you scared?”

“Fear is an illness that leads to death. I don’t suffer from such a disease.”

Forty minutes later, Ronnie and Illyseh entered a gigantic cave. There they saw majestic five-yard natural columns made of stone resembling the trunks of ancient oaks. Purple crystals glowed at their foot. At the opposite end was a tall gate with stairs leading up to it, as if it was the way to a king’s throne. Through a wide opening in the ceiling, a few stray rays of sunlight warmed their bodies, as natural and warm as a blanket, under which you want to snuggle up and sleep until dawn. A small haze floated throughout the cave, and light blue magical currents reminiscent of cosmic nebulae spiraled along the walls.

“It’s 7:13 p.m.,” Ronnie said. “As far as I remember, it’s dusk by this time.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” answered Illyseh.

“Can you fly up and see what’s up there?”

The healer hesitated, put his fist under his chin, and mumbled.

“I’m afraid it might get me killed. We’ll save it for later.”

“I’m starting to not like that phrase anymore.”

They gathered some crystals and headed forward, walking along the walls, keeping to the darkness. There was intolerable dampness inside, mold, and moss everywhere you looked. Both of them were stinking.

“Shouldn’t we check every nook and corner in this place?”

“What for?”

“Because we’re on a scouting mission.”

“Such a mission implies finding the path of least resistance.”

The closer Illyseh and Ronnie got to the gate, the more the light on the ceiling faded. Unknown magic drew in the rays into the doors, and the outlines of a dark pattern appeared there. Only slightly lighter, Ronnie thought. They reached the halfway point, whispering to one another and trying to understand what was going on.

“Look,” he said and poked his finger up.

Illyseh lifted his head, and in the opening, from which a few minutes ago the light was streaming, a dark starry sky was now visible. It, like a huge pond in a spring flood, burst out of its banks and spilled over the entire space of the ceiling, filling it with its cosmic waters and dark, mysterious magic. The crowns and bases of the stone oaks rained small grains of sand, white and bright. Streaks of green lit up the walls, as if during the northern lights.

They kept moving, heads spinning and not believing their eyes. When they got closer to the gate, they saw the picture. In the center was a naked girl with white eyes without pupils. Above her head hovered two strange creatures. The one on the left had six wings, one enormous eye instead of a body, staring ahead. The one on the right had wheels full of eyes instead of arms, legs, and body. Behind the girl’s back, fire blazed, from which a creature with four faces rose: a humanoid, a lion, a calf, and an eagle. Its body, studded with wings, the legs straight, gleaming like shiny copper. The wall in the background consisted entirely of long bones, staring up into the sky, where a skull looked out at the world instead of the sun. On its top, instead of horns, its arms were open to the side, turned palms up, and on them sat metal birds. The entire picture was painted in black, swampy colors.

“Creepy,” said Illyseh.

The picture flickered. Ronnie jumped back and cursed and shouted in a whisper:

“It’s fucking alive!”

Illyseh put protection on both of them and then summoned three spheres of light. Ronnie took the Barrett in his hands and prepared to fight. If I shoot her in the head as soon as she comes out, we have a chance. The pad of his index finger rested on the trigger, both eyes open, watching what was going to happen.

The girl stood across from them, her unemotional, blank gaze never leaving Ronnie. Her hands were cold and beautiful, her body thin but powerful, and her fingers as if she had toiled and fought tirelessly, like a warrior. Her sight was frightening but commanding respect. They stood across from each other, studying each other’s behavior. She reached out, flexed her hand, and stopped her elbow against her solar plexus. Streams accumulated in her open palm, crystals. A snap of her fingers. A darkness blacker than black enveloped the room. Even the spheres of light could not resist such power and went out. Illyseh and Ronnie discerned a circular platform beneath their feet. It glowed with an otherworldly blue fire and rose at tremendous speed. Both of them could barely hold on. The pressure was terrible.

“AI.”

There was no response.

“AI!”

Nothing.

The platform stopped. Their bodies went limp. Their consciousness left them, leaving their souls to wander in the abysses of emptiness. Yet it lasted only for a moment until the strange thud of a tambourine brought them back to life. Ronnie felt a chill against his right cheek and strong wind. He opened his eyes and saw Illyseh. Both rose to their feet and froze.

“God almighty!” they said in unison.

They found themselves in a new and uncharted location on a bridge about half a mile long, with a cliff behind them. Ahead of them was a soaring castle, gray and unsightly, reflecting the melancholic atmosphere of the place. A place that could hardly be distinguished from a chiseled copper engraving. The size was staggering. “Malbork is a mere bedbug by comparison,” Illyseh said.

Hundreds of pointed tracery towers connected by flying buttresses filled their view. On the faceted pyramidal tops sat dozens of wyverns with black-red skin and glowing golden eyes. Another dozen circled along with dark gray tornadoes. On the domed roofs trembled red flags with a black pattern that could barely be seen from afar. Above, below, and to the sides, thick clouds floated through which the sunlight tried to seep. Along their borders flowed water rings filled with white crystals. Their bases were connected to the north and south. “They look like the ones we saw in the temple,” Illyseh said. Ronnie agreed and walked over to the cliff and looked down. He could see nothing. The incredible noise drowned out the speech. They could barely hear each other, even when shouting at each other.

There was no point in standing there, so they headed across the bridge, toward the castle, skirting the boulders that had broken away from the walls. Above and below them, a flock of wyverns flew by, making eager squeals and roars. A dragon with red-black spiked scales, four wings, and an inconceivable size landed on the roof of the castle. It stretched its serpentine neck and let out flames as strong as if a volcano had erupted, then flapped its wings and disappeared into an impenetrable gray veil of depressing clouds.

At the gate of the castle, they saw a girl. She was sitting on a chair like a lifeless statue, her head drooping to the side, leaning against the cold stone gate like a pillow. Most of the skin on her face resembled the stone scales of a dragon, but the rest was white, perfect, and smooth. Ronnie looked at her through the eyepiece of the scope and saw magical black bars thrust into her back.

“Whatever happens next, please don’t shoot first, okay?” shouted Illyseh in his ear.

Ronnie put the Barrett on the safety for show.

When they were within ten yards of the girl, they saw her face twitch and her dead eyes come back to life.

“Wait,” he said slower than usual, and blocked the way with his hand. “Let’s see what happens next.”

She struggled to rise from her chair. Her legs seemed thin and frail, her arms pale and weak.

“Is that the same girl as in the picture?” asked Ronnie.

“If only on her worst days.”

The black bars on her back came to life and stretched out. Some of them turned into wings, and some stabbed into her eyes and neck. She sighed in relief, and then uttered: “Astnogrivshen tofrog, nshotre os mo’os lason.” Her voice, clear and distinct, echoed throughout the surroundings.

Ronnie and Illyseh stood waiting. She turned toward them and her feet came off the surface of the bridge, while the wind intensified. The girl swung her hand and black rods burst from her eyes and shackled both guests. The healer felt as if all of his power, both magical and physical, had gone at once. He closed his eyes and tried to summon the orbs. Nothing happened. He tried to check the amount of mana through the HUD. Nothing showed.

“I understand nothing,” he said.

“Tsehe ge do?” she asked, and froze.

“What does she want from us?” Ronnie asked and fidgeted. “How hard can it be for these fucking developers to make everything in one language?”

“We don’t understand you!” shouted Illyseh, with little hope of being heard or understood.

She flew up to them and said: “Nosfestor mo’taka. Mo’os br da al,” and touched the healer’s forehead with fingers as cold as steel. Then she flew up to the sniper and her palm gently travelled from his cheek to his chest. She sighed and returned to the gate. Many wyverns descended on the merlons of the bridge walls, flapping their wings, and froze. The whirlwinds stopped, and the winds calmed. The girl spoke again, but this time Ronnie and Illyseh could understand her speech:

“I am Airemilme. Keeper of the amulet and first ruler of the kingdom of Orodril,” she summoned a chest with a gesture and opened it, and first took out the black cuisses and greaves and put them on, then repeated the process with the gauntlets and continued. “No one has been here for centuries. My consciousness has already begun to decay. Soon, all knowledge will go into oblivion.” She pulled out a pair of blades. “In my lifetime I knew no defeat, and it was not my rule to spare anyone.”

Airemilme pulled a helmet out of the chest, a helmet full of spikes, needles, and rods, with small slits for her eyes. She put it on, and a purple stream of blood ran down her neck and chest. The black bar restraining Ronnie came back to her and jabbed into her back. She wriggled and sighed and said:

“Keeper, you have laid upon yourself the burden of my people and are not afraid to come here, for you believe you are the true one.”

Ronnie looked at Illyseh and grimaced.

“Bosses in games are always hard to understand. Just kill her.”

“Okay,” Ronnie replied, and he took off the safety and turned toward the target and spread his legs shoulder-width apart and took aim and fired.