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 manager 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 manager 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:

“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 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 beginning to stink.

“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. The rays were drawn in by unknown magic 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 big 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.