Chapter 8
INVULNERABLE AND HARMLESS
Once, when I was a child, my father taught me how to skip flat stones across the surface of the water. You take the flattest stone you can find and throw it with all your might, parallel to the water's surface. The stone hits the water with its flat side, bounces off, and flies over the water again. A moment later, it repeats. Each time, the bounces become more frequent and shorter, until the stone loses its speed and sinks. My father could throw a stone very far. I could never beat him at this, even though I practiced at night while we fished and lived in a tent for a whole week on the bank of the Bow River in Canada. Here in Aramia, there was a similar river, and sitting on the bank far beyond the city wall, I began to hurl stones across its surface. Maybe it was out of anger, or maybe I just wanted to relieve some tension this way. How could I have deceived myself like that! In the novel, this queen is described as a cunning and domineering person. How could I have overlooked that? Why did I believe in her sincerity? I was angry at everyone. And most of all, at myself. My father tried to teach me everything, including human psychology; because of this, he even believed I was internally much older than my peers. He said I talked and reasoned almost like a thirty-year-old. But I still acted so foolishly with this queen! They took Kunisada's book from me; I didn't have time to finish it. And the manga I read a long time ago was, first of all, not as detailed. Secondly, I don't remember all of it... What should I do? Just give up and ask the system to return me to Earth? But what about the penicillin? The two years of progress that Octagon promised? And what about the locals? They'll all be killed. Even if they are game dolls, still. Maybe I don't feel sorry for that psycho queen, but there are plenty of ordinary residents and secondary characters here. Hundreds of thousands of self-aware characters. A hundred lifetimes wouldn't be enough to know them all and participate in all the side stories. That billionaire who once sponsored this virtual world project really wanted to create and experience a fantasy world. He didn't skimp, fulfilling his childhood dream while losing a large part of his fortune. But the most surprising and incomprehensible thing in all of this now is—why create something with such meticulous care that is destined to be destroyed in an apocalyptic scenario? As a game, this is acceptable. Every two virtual months, the server would reboot the destroyed world of Aramia. All the NPCs would come back to life again. Even though they experience a real death. It's unclear, though, if they actually died—these sentient NPCs. After all, new copies are rebooted from a clean slate. But here, in a physically manifested world, there will be no reboot. They will all die and disappear. Forever! The Red Giants will rule everything here. As the sole masters of an entire continent. Will they leave anyone alive, as slaves and servants? Or are they programmed to destroy everyone? It's unknown. Why didn't these strange aliens just give them all a little house and a quiet, safe life? What kind of crazy idea is it to leave everything as it is!? And Octagon's explanations were strange. He claimed that all the sentient NPCs were asked if they wanted to leave things as they were before this world was brought into reality... How could they agree to such a risk? Or are they counting on defeating the giants?
What should I do?
What should I do?
What am I supposed to do?
The angrier I got, the farther the stones flew. The last one almost reached the high opposite bank, though it was quite a distance away.
"Hey, you! Stop that, you'll hurt someone!"
The shout came from the opposite bank. On the high, steep bank on the other side, running parallel to the river's current, was the main royal road. I lifted my gaze, clouded with anger, and saw a party of adventurers. As usual, a standard party consisting of a swordsman (the one who shouted at me to stop), a healer, a female mage, and a spearman. Kunisada hadn't invented anything new in his novel in that regard. True, in his story, there was no focus on this. It was just a familiar LitRPG environment somewhere in the background of the main action. Adventurers, monsters, dungeons with treasure. A guild. All of this is mentioned in passing, with one exception. And it begins right...
I need that damn book! And they took it from me again! I didn't have time to read it because of that damn royal troop inspection and the endless meetings. For a while, I thought hard as the adventurers moved away on their path on the other side. A silver-haired albino girl in a ridiculous mage's hat and elegant blue boots that matched her eyes smiled shyly and apologetically. The spearman whispered something to her, and her face expressed astonishment. And then I realized I was an idiot. Once again. How could I have missed this! I am a citizen of the Galactic Union, for now! Don't I have access to printed publications of any format and year of issue?
"Timm Thaler, go to hell!" I blurted out the stupid system access password almost automatically, one I should have changed long ago.
"You! Go to hell yourself!"
The last shout came from the spearman, to whom the wind had accidentally carried my words. I ignored him, because the world around me suddenly froze, waiting for the system to fulfill or reject my request.
"Your request, Mr. Timm Thaler?" the system's voice responded immediately, in the same pleasant female tone.
"Do you have access to a library?" I asked the system.
"Yes, Mr. Timm Thaler. What book would you like to order?"
"The light novel by Hideo Kunisada, 'Aramia: The Land of Fallen Heroes.'"
"Which edition?"
Wow! They can provide me with any edition! How did I not think of this before? And why did Octagon even give me that book? I could have just asked the system!
"The very first one! The original first edition in English."
"What type of media do you prefer?"
"A regular printed paper book, please."
Literally a couple of seconds later, a small whirlwind spun at arm's length in front of me, and from its center, a softcover booklet fell out. I barely managed to catch it, still not ready for such a quick system response. Involuntarily excited, I immediately opened the book and read the back of the first page.
Aramia: The Land of Fallen Heroes
Hideo Kunisada
Translated by Emiko Sato
Published by
Kuroki Publishing 1-5-7 Shinjuku,
Shinjuku City Tokyo 160-0022,
Japan, 04.02.2033
There was no doubt. This was it, the coveted first edition in English. So rare. Banned on Earth for reasons completely incomprehensible to me.
"Wow! Thank you!" I said to the system.
Okay, I'm on the fifth chapter! One day and one night have passed since the murder of the blacksmith's son in the princess's room... So... There it is!
Despite the main storyline, the tragic novel about Aramia has many sub-stories. With secondary characters. They are united by only one thing—a sad ending! The apocalypse is not presented in the book all at once. It builds up as it approaches the final point. A series of misfortunes for different characters, with increasingly worse endings each time. Until the climax. The first has already happened to the unlucky blacksmith in love with the princess, and the second is about to happen now, and it will happen to... I raised my gaze towards the departing party of adventurers.
The swordsman's name is Leonidas. The mage girl is Elayna, the healer is Guwain, and the spearman is Stratos. And they will all die. And this is how it happened, or rather, will happen:
I flipped the pages to the sixth chapter and immersed myself in reading, forgetting everything around me for a time:
THE LAND OF THE FALLEN HEROESBLIND JEALOUSY
Her name was Elayna, and she was the foremost beauty in the capital. Neither the elven beauties with their marble skin and emerald eyes, nor the beauties from among the beastmen, nor the renowned noble ladies of the gentry could compare to her appearance. Long silver hair plaited with a wide golden ribbon, blue eyes—not light blue, but a deep, dark blue that struck with its unknown depth, drawing the beholder in like a whirlpool. A tall and stately figure, perfect posture. Perhaps some beauties might have slightly surpassed her with their dazzling facial features, and others with their feminine charms, but none could look as classy and stylish as Elayna. She simply had a taste for choosing the perfect clothes and hairstyle for herself. To wear boots that perfectly suited her bare legs. And not only that! The secret of her charm was even broader. It lay in her walk, in the slightest movement she made with the grace of a panther. A simple gesture of greeting was an epitaph of style. And a simple tilt of her head and an innocently questioning expression during a conversation—it slayed the entire male half of Aramia. It would seem that with such beauty, Elayna—a simple girl from a remote village—could have married any rich and famous nobleman in the capital, perhaps even a minister or a duke. However—no. Elayna was not interested in the prospect of becoming the wife of an influential and wealthy man. Her lifelong dream was to become an adventurer. She grew up on books about great adventurers, and their adventures were her childhood dreams, forever imprinted on her girlish heart. Having learned the basics of magic from the village witch, she moved to the capital at the age of 16. While ordinary people arriving in the capital without money or connections would have faced a heap of problems, for Elayna, everything came with surprising ease. Her stylish beauty and charming smile opened all doors for her. She even traveled for free in the carriage of a rich merchant passing by their village who had stopped to feed his horses. The balding merchant pestered her the whole way, but she endured it and smiled. Upon arrival, the innkeeper let her rent a room on credit. "No problem, mistress!" The baker treated her to sweet buns with raisins and tea on the house, simply after seeing her glance towards his establishment as she passed by. Luck continued to favor her. The Adventurers' Guild immediately gave her a novice adventurer's card, on credit of course, if you don't count the cost of one smile... Absolutely all the male adventurers in the guild at that moment immediately began to approach her one by one and invite her to their party. And two even asked her out for a serious relationship. But Elayna, despite her appearance, was no naive fool; she didn't say yes and didn't refuse completely, saying with a smile that she would think about it. She was waiting for a special party, the very best, the fame of which had even reached her remote village—the party of Leonidas and Stratos, with the romantic name "Blades of Twilight." That day, Elayna was lying in wait for their party, regularly visiting the guild, where generous admirers rushed to treat her to all sorts of dishes from the restaurant for special guild members. Finally, the hour came, and the "Blades of Twilight" party entered the guild, and Elayna's calculation proved exactly right. The captain of the Blades noticed her and immediately fell for her. As did the spearman, Stratos. The second man in the party. The third was a female mage and beastwoman, Taitia, experienced and strong in both magic and magical healing, who had saved the lives of both Leonidas and Stratos more than once. However, neither Leonidas nor Stratos blinked an eye as they got rid of her, inviting Elayna to the party. And they did it in an extremely vile way, telling Taitia that she wasn't good enough at magic and needed the support of another mage. Enraged, Taitia left the group, calling Leonidas and Stratos dogs unable to control what was below their belts. Since Elayna couldn't heal, and wasn't a particularly strong mage, they took a separate healer into the party named Guwain. 33 years old (an old man by their standards). Apparently, behind this choice was a secret desire not to take on a rival in matters of the heart, given such an age difference. Of course, they didn't voice this outwardly, telling everyone that Guwain was simply the best healer worthy of their party. And Taitia was just a selfish person with a rude character. And anyway, it was time to move on. Many were outraged by this behavior. Especially the female part of the adventurers, but the outward procedures were followed. People in the Adventurers' Guild are free to come together and part at any time. Elayna enjoyed the company of her new friends.
Thus began her career as an adventurer and the secret rivalry of her party members for her attention. At first, it wasn't expressed in open rivalry, and despite everything, Leonidas and Stratos were close friends. The evening Leonidas suggested Taitia leave the group if she didn't agree to accepting another mage and she left, Stratos rushed after her to apologize. And even after that, he reproached Leonidas several times. Quite weakly, though. Nevertheless, Stratos was more humane. But be that as it may, Elayna's beauty gradually drove them both mad. Love is the most selfish human emotion. Everyone wants everything, and only for themselves! Therefore, Leonidas tried to show off in front of Elayna as much as possible! He rushed forward, risking being killed each time and each time emerging victorious under Elayna's admiring gaze. Stratos kept up. Leonidas, of course, was annoyed by the rival who was stealing some of Elayna's attention. He wanted her to look only at his actions. He completely stopped playing the role of captain, and Stratos also stopped obeying him. Only Guwain, who surprisingly showed composure and seemed immune to Elayna's charms, miraculously continued to hold their team, which was falling apart, together, being a kind of mediator between the two heroes who had gone mad with love. Having ceased to be a team, they risked their lives many times. Only the high-level stats that Leonidas and Stratos possessed, and Guwain's healing magic, honed to perfection, saved them from a reckless death. But this couldn't go on for long. Sooner or later, their rivalry had to reach its peak. The peak of madness. They made a bet that they could reach the tenth level alone and defeat the boss. Elayna was already beginning to understand that something was not right. Despite her young age and admiration for her older comrades, she began to realize that what was happening was not quite what she expected from party friends in her adventurer dreams. She intervened in the argument and stopped the wild, reckless idea of storming the tenth level alone. However, for the madmen, this only served as a catalyst for a new idea of rivalry.
On the fateful day of their last foray into the dungeon, both Stratos and Leonidas arrived at the meeting place unusually early. Usually, by long-standing tradition, parties would arrange to meet before setting out at the statue of the maiden Lam-Nana—the patroness of adventurers—in the back courtyard of the guild, where the training hall and field were located. For good luck, one had to touch the fingertips of her outstretched hand. From countless touches, the fingertips of Lam-Nana gleamed with a polished bronze-yellow shine, unlike the rest of the statue, which had darkened with time and dampness. Stratos arrived a little earlier. Dressed in blue armor with a helmet similar to a hoplite's, decorated with an ostrich feather and a scarlet cloak. It was his finest attire, which he usually wore only at festivals and royal receptions in honor of adventurers. Leonidas did practically the same, with silver armor and a golden crest on his open helmet. As people who had known and been friends for a long time, they acted very similarly, but they themselves did not realize how much alike they had become. Leonidas considered Stratos's magnificent attire another personal challenge; he contemptuously looked over his rival's outfit and, gracefully touching the Goddess's finger, retreated to a corner of the courtyard. There, crossing his arms over his chest, he began to wait for the other party members. Stratos shrugged and, leaning on his spear in a deceptively relaxed pose, also froze in anticipation. At some point during this tense wait, the thought occurred to them almost simultaneously that everything could end right here. Why even bother dragging themselves to this damn dungeon? There was enough space right here. The entrance to the training hall was open, and there were no people there yet. Why not? Almost simultaneously, they turned to each other, having read this thought on their rival's face, and nodded to each other.
But the duel in the training hall was not destined to happen. The back door of the guild building opened, and Guwain and Elayna joined them. The rivals instantly transformed, as if a minute ago there hadn't been this ominous anticipation, ready to inevitably end in tragedy. Their faces brightened. Guwain cheerfully looked them over, automatically touching the goddess's fingers as he passed.
"Hey, guys! You're early today. Usually, we're the ones waiting for you."
"Woke up early," Stratos grumbled in reply. "And anyway, it's none of your business."
"Alright, alright," Guwain raised his hands in a conciliatory and apologetic gesture. "How about today? Shall we take the wagon or go on foot?"
"On foot," Leonidas loudly intervened. "We'll warm up at the same time. We'll go through Tavna today. I don't want to take so long to get to the North Mountain. We'll lose two days."
"So, along the river on the lesser royal road," Guwain concluded with a nod. "I haven't been to Tavna with you guys yet. Or did you say through Tavna?"
Tavna was the name of a small dungeon about five or six miles from the city walls. It was considered an easy dungeon and was often used by novices to raise their stats. Tavna had five levels and one secret that only Leonidas's group knew about. If you completed Tavna in record time, a portal would open at the end of the fifth level to teleport to the "North Mountain," the largest, not fully explored, and most dangerous dungeon in the kingdom. After Stratos accidentally discovered this secret, they swore they would not reveal it. But today, both Stratos and Leonidas were ready to sacrifice this secret to the others, just to end their rivalry for the lady's heart sooner.
"Yes, through Tavna. You'll see when we get there..."
The morning sun had barely touched the horizon with its warm rays when the party left the eastern city gates and moved along the lesser royal road along the river. At this early hour, there was almost no traffic on the road. Shopkeepers with goods from the surrounding farms usually appeared only closer to noon, so they met practically no one except for some bored village youth throwing flat stones across the smooth surface of the river that flowed through the city. The youth, with a somewhat lost expression, was picking the flattest pebbles from the shore and fiercely throwing them across the water's surface, trying to launch them as far as possible.
"That idiot is going to hurt someone! Farmers will be delivering goods by boat on the river soon," Guwain remarked. Leonidas, who had been walking with his gaze lowered in thought, started and followed the direction Guwain was looking, then shouted in a stern voice:
"Hey, you! Stop that, you'll hurt someone!"
"Who's that?" Elayna asked, who was also glad for any distraction from the somber mood of her party. She wasn't smiling at all today, as she usually did.
"I think I've seen him," Stratos remarked thoughtfully.
"Where?"
"Ah, I remember. A notice with his mug was posted in the guild yesterday. Something like 'don't help this man, he's a public enemy of Her Majesty.'"
"And what is a 'public enemy'?" Elayna asked with naive simplicity in her voice.
"Most likely some favorite of the queen, another one of her lovers who has fallen out of favor," Guwain replied without turning around, in the authoritative voice of an "elder."
"For what?" Elayna asked, feigning horror.
"You go to hell yourself!" Stratos suddenly shouted at the country bumpkin, apparently having heard something. Of all the party, he had the hearing skill maxed out.
Then he leaned towards Elayna and added in a low voice:
"The brute! A hundred percent he was cheating on her with pretty maids. Looks like they caught him in the act and threw him out on the street one moonlit night."
"Horrible," Elayna said with feigned astonishment, looking at the former "queen's lover" with some curiosity and even interest. "He's so ugly. How could Her Majesty fall for someone like that?"
"The heart wants what it wants!" Stratos spread his hands authoritatively. And then, for some reason, he became flustered by his own words...
"TIMM THALER, GO TO HELL! TIMM THALER, GO TO HELL!"
"Your request, Timm Thaler?"
I took the deepest breath I could. This was some kind of nonsense! I couldn't be in this book! This galactic, bitchy system was messing with me!
"Why am I in this book?"
"Please clarify your question, citizen Timm Thaler."
The bitch! She's playing dumb! Damned system!
"I'll clarify. Why am I, throwing stones, in this book written 200 years ago, when this party of morons was passing by?! Is that clearer?"
The system didn't answer instantly, as it usually did. There was a five-second pause.
"You requested the original edition."
"Yes!!! I requested the original edition from two hundred years ago!"
There was another short pause, again unusual for the superintelligence hiding behind that sweet female voice.
"I am very sorry, Mr. Thaler, this is just a misunderstanding. As a citizen of the Galactic Union, you are entitled to real-time information updates."
I didn't understand what she meant by "real-time updates." Could this thing be changing the content of the volume depending on what happens in this reality?
"Are you changing the content of this book depending on the real situation? Is that right?"
"That is correct."
"Why? I didn't ask for that."
"According to the information security protection protocols for a citizen of the Galactic Union, the real-time assistance option is enabled by default. The subsystem deemed it would be useful to you. Would you like to disable it?"
"Yes... Wait! Don't disable it!"
I was processing the new information at a frantic pace. Why should I complain about this? It's like a divine power to know what's happening! And what will happ— Stop!
"System?"
"Yes, Mr. Thaler?"
"The updates happen in real time? Correct?"
"Yes."
"What about the future? Can I read ahead and find out what will happen?"
"No, your access level to the 'Firsts' system is limited to the present only. I'm very sorry."
I see! So Octagon, who probably has such access, knows what will happen next? Funny, if he wants, he can read the same book and know what will happen to me. Or rather, he already knows exactly how this will end. And about me landing naked on the table back then too... that bastard!
"The updates in the book happen as the situation develops? Do I understand correctly?" I asked a clarifying question.
"That is correct."
"Will I be able to catch up with them before they pass through Tavna?"
"I'm sorry, access to future information is restricted for ordinary citizens."
Right, no cheating.
I looked after the long-gone party of adventurers. A lot of time had passed while I was reading and thinking about the situation. But if I run, I might be able to catch them. And I'm a pretty good runner. A very good one, in fact. Tucking the book under my arm, I rushed towards the city. The absence of a nearby bridge played a stupid trick on me. I had to go back to the city and exit from the other side. That would take almost twenty minutes. Halfway to the city, I realized I had made another mistake. Why do I even need a bridge? I can't drown! And swimming a hundred meters in cold water is still faster than running an extra two or three miles. I just subconsciously don't want to get wet. It's very unpleasant to run in wet clothes.
Without thinking, I undressed, leaving on my shorts and T-shirt, stuffed the volume into my hat, pulled it on tight, and entered the cold water, hoping the system wouldn't let me die of pneumonia if it came to that, since there are no antibiotics here either...