The Gene of the Ancients (Rogue Merchant Book #2): LitRPG Series by Roman Prokofiev (ebook reader for comics .TXT) 📗

can refuse. It’s your right. If you have a hundred souls, the contract is fulfilled. We’ll call upon Pandorum — they’re rushing us.”

* * *

 

The outpost burned like a giant bonfire, casting a huge pillar of black smoke into the sky. We left it behind and flew off on the backs of our birdies, fresh wind blowing in our faces. When the smoke turned into a trickle on the horizon, we landed on the bald top of a huge green mountain.

Olaf produced an odd item from his pocket. It looked like a horn twisted in a spiral, its bronze surface covered with an elaborate engraving. He gave it to me, and I felt its weight in my hand.

Small Signal Horn

 

Quality: rare.

 

Material: bronze, ellurite, silverite.

 

Durability: 14/30.

 

Upon activation, creates a long-lasting sound that travels through air. The source of the sound acts as a beacon to create a portal from another dimension.

 

Attention: can only be used outside!

 

“How should I activate it?”

“Just blow hard enough.” Olaf smirked. “But first, fly up. Take my roc, then let it go. And don’t forget to return it to clan warehouse later.”

“Won’t you go with me?”

“Me? To the Pandas? Of course not,” he replied, and I noticed a shadow of fear on Olaf’s face.

I blew the horn when the silhouettes of the Watchers on the ground grew minuscule, and the system helpfully informed me that going higher was dangerous. Nothing happened at all, but the thick sharp sound emitted by the horn hung in the air. A minute passed, then another.

A massive bubble of folded space surrounded by a rainbow glow swelled up so abruptly that it was scary. Right next to me, the monstrous body of the juggernaut came out of an astral portal. The huge demonic skull on the keel advanced at me, malevolent flames burning inside its eye sockets. Lightning bolts passed through its sails, woven from the mist itself, and the cannon muzzles looked at me from the deck. A few birdies accompanied the ship, but next to it, black protodragons seemed no bigger than insects.

I felt myself shiver. The very appearance of Pandorum’s vessel inspired fear. Yet somebody was waving at me from the bow. Get down here.

* * *

 

The soccer field-sized deck of the ship had only a few people. It made sense; early morning wasn’t exactly the favorite time of most Russia-based players to log in. They kept lazing around, throwing me odd looks, and exchanging jokes. Somebody yelled just behind me, “Scouts, goddammit, hang on! We’re raising a Dome!”

Blue glow enveloped the juggernaut, encasing the ship in a protective sphere of the same nature as domes of stationary outposts. The way back was blocked now; nobody could enter or leave.

The Pandas, or, rather, the members of Steel Guard, their Russian-speaking branch, turned out to be uniformly red-colored thugs with karma in the lowest margins. Judging by their crimson nicknames, NPC guards of any kingdom would kill them dead in an instant. Reaching such a level required thousands of murders and other crimes. Still, Pandas seemed to wear their PK status as pride and treated players with blue or green karma with barely hidden disdain.

A tall girl came up to me. She wore a tight, form-fitting armor that shined with magic and had a long katana grip sticking out above her shoulder. Her green eye looked at me with mockery and scorn, while the other one was hidden under a rebellious strand of white hair.

“It’s this way,” she said, pushing me toward a big square structure near the stern. “Jerkhan’s waiting.”

An ogre was standing next to a wheel, shaped to resemble the steering mechanism of an ancient sailboat. He was three heads taller than me; his black pauldrons and breastplate were bedecked in demonic skulls. I immediately recognized him: it was the same commander who was executing prisoners back in the marketplace in Eyre. Jerkhan.

“Oh, fresh meat!” he greeted me. “Do you have the Soul Eater with you?”

“Yes. But I don’t know how to release souls.”

“Ha! So your losers haven’t even taught you how to do that? Do you even know how to use it?”

“I could demonstrate it on you!” Blood surged to my face, and I shoved the blue blade right under his nose. I was already on edge after squabbling with Olaf, and now these arrogant mercenaries? Those needed to be brought down a peg right off the bat, or they’d be all over me.

The tip of Aelmaris, glowing red hot, was almost touching Jerkhan’s face, but the ogre didn’t even blink.

“Hey, guys, calm down!” he said, reining in the other players who immediately surrounded us. How had they managed that? Weren’t we alone on the bridge?

“Jerry, it’s the dude who killed a few of our guys in Eyre, before the rollback,” somebody in the back said softly. “What’s he — “

“Quiet! I swear by blood and steel!” Jerkhan roared, examining me carefully. “That was fast! Maybe you do have some warrior’s blood, after all.”

Your reputation with Pandorum Alliance increased to Ally.

 

“It’s temporary, just in case they kill you accidentally,” he explained and turned around, focusing on controlling the juggernaut. The engines bellowed, and a stiff gust of wind tousled my hair. The spectral sails bagged out. Iridescent light shined around us, indicating that we passed through the portal once again. To avoid looking like a fool, I stopped asking questions, like where we were headed and why, and simply sheathed my sword and started waiting.

The juggernaut dropped into a reddish void. That literally was a void, no land, no sky, no stars — we were in a hollow space full of weird pink clouds that resembled a foggy dredge. I couldn’t make out the source of light, it seemed to come out of everywhere.