Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3), John Gold [free e books to read online .TXT] 📗

in the material world. It’s tied to believers and their souls such that when they lose their physical body, they’re sent to the world of the dead. That means that I need divine energy to activate the key. I think I get it. I’m not sure if this is what the creators of the key had in mind, but I can try to make a tattoo of Sefirot on my body. The kill will be used to make the ink, at least, if it dissolves in blood. Maybe, I just need to stick it in the right place in the seal.

Okay, so where am I supposed to get divine energy? Although… I have divine energy! On the outside, it’s converted to mana, but I usually feel it as a tingling throughout my whole body.

There are two big “ifs” in my theory: using the key and activating it. Screw it! Most importantly, I now know how to describe the relationship between Da’at and the rest of the main Sefirot seal. That’s enough to finish the job.

As I’m drawing out the rest of the elements, I realize why I went to Hell and Leon became a god way back when. They used the same seal, just without the key. All you need is divine energy to open the interworldly portal, with the victim in the area of Da’at responsible for Hell, and the person into whom the bit of divine energy enters becomes a god. Essentially, they lose their physical shell, after which an unbreakable connection to the astral is formed. That’s what sends the soul to the Gray Lands. Suddenly, I have an idea for how to get my terrible revenge, and I know how to make it happen. I’m a walking altar!

The finished drawing is so complex that I have to transfer it over onto an entire roll of paper. The scroll I come up with is enormous, and I destroy everything else I have for the seal. The lab itself gets closed up.

By the evening, we’re stopping by the Sural administrative building for a visit. At least, the second floor, which is where Bor’s shop is. The tattoo artist doesn’t recognize my name, though he certainly recognizes his handiwork.

“Ha! And I thought you were rotting in some jail. Even the gods came looking for you five years ago—everyone wanted to know why you came to see me.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Like I said then, the only reason I’m alive is because I know how to hold my tongue. But forget me—you didn’t stop by to ask questions. Do you have another challenge for my skills and mastery?”

“I’m assuming your skill is up to 1000, and your mastery has grown significantly.”

Bor closes the door and hangs up the closed sign. He can’t wait to hear what I have for him.

“Let’s see it! What do you need me to do this time? Don’t worry, there are a dozen amulets hanging around protecting us from eavesdroppers and seeker spirits. Everything you say will remain between us.”

I drop the meter-long scroll with the world’s most complex seal on the desk.

“I certainly do have another challenge for you, Bor. How much is it going to run me?”

Dear Sagie. To make sure I don’t traumatize your psyche, I’m just going to say that the sum was astronomical to the point that I had to kick a yelling Femida out of the room. I was prepared to pay any price for my ticket to the Gray Lands. And I don’t regret that decision in the least.

I spend sixteen hours every day for the next week in the tattoo artist’s shop. All the little tattoos that have served me well over the past eight years are moved from my back to other parts of my body, and the enormous, complicated seal is tattooed there, covering everything from my neck to my tailbone. From a distance, it looks something like an egg with a triple shell and a jumbled mess inside. After I give the money to Bor, he gives some serious thought to retirement. It would be enough to last him the rest of his life.

I’m glad I had the chance to visit his shop. And it isn’t just that the bonuses from the tattoos increase with his skill. I’m able to pick up a boost to two new attributes, as all of strength, agility, and intellect jump 34%. Sefirot gives me 10%, while the other twenty-four tattoos give me 1% each.

The whole time I was lounging around in Bor’s shop, Femida was hunting at the bottom of the sea. She uses any available minute to make up the difference between our levels and earn money. And I can’t help but respect her for that.

Over the next month, we’re able to earn more money for the ingredients we harvest from the trees at the center of the desert. The flowers, which grow in a world of 25 million damage split into two types, are a huge hit. Femida bumps the price up by 30%, and our customers still can’t get enough. It’s a good thing they don’t know who they’re actually working with. The outfits from the clinic are still doing a good job hiding our names.

We grow one more tree at the top of Erumanti, a volcano. Once our resistance to fire is up to 100%, we head back to the center of the desert to max out our resistance to mental damage. That all takes us about two weeks. The remaining three are spent at the bottom of an enormous underground gorge, where we boost our resistance to cold and electricity. It’s purported to be a great fishing spot in the Far North. And that turns out to be true—Femida goes around collecting the dead fish after each lightning strike. I follow her around and fire electric charges at her. The whole thing happens two kilometers