Shadow Seer (Rogue Merchant Book #3): LitRPG Series by Roman Prokofiev (english reading book TXT) 📗

six silent giants with oversized muscles in their arms and bodies handled the heaviest and dirtiest work on the vessel. As far as I understood, this fascinating submarine could run both on the golems’ muscle power and the odd furnace engine with a fire elemental connected to the mage reactor. Thrainul preferred to use the Clay People to save on the precious ellurite fuel.

Three hours after we had set sail, we saw a crimson haze on the horizon, as if from a giant fire, and the smell of burning hung in the air. We were approaching the Ironguard, the largest port in the Hole and the only town connected to other worlds. That’s where the Abyss portal that I had unsuccessfully tried to storm led. Ironguard was populated by tieflings and demons and sometimes visited by players—mostly Pandorum toadies and stray tourists. Thrainul was going to fetch the people from the latter group—two “madmen,” as he called them, who had paid him a generous sum for a voyage through the Hole’s underwater ocean.

I wasn’t going to tell these accidental companions my history with Pandorum. In Sphere, everyone was willing to double-cross each other; backstabbing was par for the course. That’s why I cited circumstances and logged off for a while. When I returned, we were already boldly sailing away from the haze and the sharp metal spires of Ironguard’s harbor.

When I came out on deck, I saw two new passengers. The players, a man and a woman, were talking to Thrainul, who was standing at the steering wheel. When I came closer, I was relieved to notice their blue positive karma. The woman, a tall brunette in a blue cloak, gave me her hand. Her handshake was firm, like a man’s.

“Nice to meet you, HotCat! I am Fayana Fly.”

The tags above her and her companion’s nicknames informed me of their clan: Pioneers.

Chapter 9

PIONEERS!

I knew that name. The clan of explorers and mapmakers, they strove to become the first to visit the uncharted places of Sphere, compile maps without gaps, catalog new NPC factions, and add nameless monsters to the bestiary. They loved the romance of the frontier. I had long since bookmarked their website and community and often looked through their news, videos, and reports, all of which were full of interesting information. While planning the blockade of the Northerners’ carebears, I had used their exploratory insights.

“I know of you. I’ve heard a lot,” I said, grinning as gallantly as I could. “I’m your constant reader and watcher.”

Fayana’s hand lingered in mine, and she gave me a warm smile in return. She was quite attractive, especially if you liked tall brunettes with a firm chin and the eyes of an iron lady. Next to her companion nicknamed Bonus, Fayana was clearly the leader.

“We’re on an exploratory mission,” she said. “Charting this world and recording a video of its inhabitants, filling out the list of monsters... We don’t have much data, and we want to get a full picture. What about you?”

“I’m here on business, trying to reach the Isle of Madness,” I told her the truth.

“The Isle of Madness? What kind of place is that?” Fayana asked, surprised.

“A myth told by captains in the Hole,” Bonus said, stroking his mussy blond hair. “It’s not on any map!”

“Like hell it’s a myth!” Thrainul boomed into his beard. “It’s not on any map, true, but I know several captains who landed there. Or, rather, I used to...”

“What do you mean, you used to? Where can we find them?” I asked. The zwerg’s words changed everything. If someone had already reached the Isle, I needed to find them and figure out how to get there.

“Where can you find them? There!” The captain pointed at the black water overboard, smirking. “That’s where they are now.”

“Hey, you, get away from the broadside, stop staring at the water! Get to work!” he yelled at two bored sailors and turned back to us. “You are passengers, but I suggest you stay on your guard, too. The sea here is alive and full of nasty things. Got it?”

“Got it,” Fayana replied, not blinking. “How about our pawns, Captain? Will they fit in here?”

“I don’t care in the least. Let them out if you want,” Thrainul said, waving. “But know that any scars they get here will last forever. You’ve heard about that, right? So if you’re willing to risk your NPCs’ pretty faces, you’re welcome.”

“Then it’s not worth it,” the Pioneer said, her expression turning harsh. “What’s your route, Captain?”

“At the moment, we’re destined for the Rat Isles. It’s too dangerous to moor there, so we’ll just pass them by. The next waypoint is the Stone Forest. We’ll come ashore and visit the local cradle of filth. Then we’ll skirt Mildew, the Eye, visit the Crown of Ice, drop HotCat off at Scale, and finish our trip on the Dusty Shore. All the sights of the Hole at your disposal.”

“Didn’t you agree to let us hunt the local deepwater monsters? The elite ones. They’re barely researched,” Bonus spoke up.

“You’ll get your chance. I’ve yet to voyage without a hunt like this,” Thrainul grumbled. “One thing you’ll never lack for are those beasts, I promise.”

“What about that...Isle of Madness? Can’t we go there, too? It sounds interesting.”

“NO!” Thrainul let out a banshee-like wail.

* * *

What an odd world. The sea was ink black, green haze swirling above it, while shadows flickered inside the pitch darkness. I noticed something strange—despite the perpetual gloom, day and night still existed. At day, the sea seemed to glow, and we sailed in the midst of a translucent greenish fog. When Thrainul deigned to turn on the artifact-level searchlight on the bow of the ship, it illuminated the area well ahead of us. At night, however, the darkness seemed impenetrable.

The Rat Isles loomed in