Limitless, John Gold [best novels of all time .TXT] 📗

an entire network of mind mages to look for Sagie both in our world and the Inferno. Not a single clue as to his whereabouts has been found in either place.”

“Judging by the payments I’m getting every month, Leon still thinks you’re the key to keeping me in my cage.”

Femida smiles.

“I think he’s figured it out or at least suspects. How are things with you? It’s been more than nine months, and you still haven’t really told me anything.”

I pause for a second before replying. There are some fears I’ve been keeping to myself, and now is the time to bring them out into the open.

“I’m afraid of losing my humanity in this thing I’m going through. A little while ago, I came across a copy of Rachel and killed her almost a hundred times. First, it was the location affecting me, then I killed her to work on my resistance to rage. After that, I practiced not feeling emotion or worry. But the problem is that I’ve almost forgotten how to enjoy life, how to love, laugh, enjoy good food and company. Losing your emotions is terrifying. Just imagine not being able to love Ekron or enjoy the kisses and time you share with her.  Imagine that you forget what it’s like to love your parents, how much you enjoy the presents you get from them, how you wait for your mom to come home from work so you can tell her about your day. Imagine a world where you don’t feel any emotion. Fem, I’m scared… What kind of person am I going to be after the Gray Lands?”

We sit there quietly, drinking our fragrant tea. The balcony on the second floor offers a great view of the children frolicking in the pool. It’s a sunny day, they’re laughing and shouting, and the breeze is warm.

Femida relaxes a little.

“From what you’re saying, the trial intensifies your emotions. The farther you go, the harder it is. I think that means that the trial is more about controlling them than suppressing them. And you’re doing a good job.”

“I appreciate you saying that. It means a lot.” The girl grunts and smiles. “How are you and Ekron doing?”

“Roni handed supervision of the demonologists over to Anri Diuval.”

“And he agreed? He’s a life mage down to his very bones! What kind of damn demonologist instructor could he be?”

“Yes, he agreed. He said that he wanted to enjoy life after meeting with you, and that this would give him the chance to see the world and resurrect the Demonologist Order. You can pat yourself on the back for that one.” The girl lowered her voice, trying to make it sound more masculine. “Tell him that debts should always be repaid.”

“Idiot! He should be out having fun, and you made him take the job. Ah, screw it, and don’t change the subject. I asked how you’re doing.”

“So-so. We cleaned out three dwarf banks, a bunch of stores, and two imperial treasuries.”

“Busy bees!”

“After that, we decided to check in on a storehouse belonging to one of the top clans, though some god showed up and sent us back to the respawn. Then, two liberation campaigns freed the cities we robbed, and they pinned the blame on us. About 60% of the continent is free. We’re always fighting, since the gods and kings have money and rewards out on our heads, so we moved to a deserted area in the Inferno.”

After Femida leaves, I go back to studying my books on malefism. To unlock the skill, I need to perform a few curse rituals. That’s what you do when you don’t have a teacher, and it means I’ll be able to pick up the skill and have a decent chance at beating Talamei.

I’m back to the thousands of victims I curse in all kinds of terrible ways. Dozens of them lie on the ground, unable to get up after I robbed them of 99% of their strength. They can’t take their equipment off, and its weight is more than they can carry.

Going from victim to victim, I cast all kinds of different curses: blindness, near-deafness, dumbness, loss of 99% of their survivability, loss of control of their limbs, and diseases. Happily, they don’t suffer. They just lie there dying quietly on the ground.

The books on malefism reveal two interesting things. First, all accursed places have a constant debuff that can’t be removed, taking effect until such time as the player leaves the place. The renegade mage describes it as an effect on the victim’s mental body via the astral. The only way to protect yourself is to use magic shields that cut you off from the astral, with just one class in the world capable of casting them—paladins. I leave saints out of the question, as they get their set of skills and spells from their divinity.

The potential to curse gods in these places intrigues me. The fact that the source of their strength is in the astral and their mind is in the body of their avatar means that casting a bubble like that would be akin to cutting off their own head.

The second interesting thing is that accursed places appear where mass murder and blood rituals have taken place. That’s huge! To create accursed places with permanent debuffs, you need items that emanate the magic of death, and I just happen to know where to find all kinds of extremely powerful items like that.

Heading down into the mine, I can feel the darkness tenderly caressing my body. It’s trying to suck the life force out of me; I just laugh.

Damage received: 22700000 (ignored: 25000000)

36873/36873

What a rush! I’m gripped by the kind of excitement pioneers feel when they make their first discovery. The clingy arms of fear try to wrap themselves around my consciousness, a soft voice whispers terror into my ears, and a cold breath coming from behind me paints horrifying pictures. Screw you all! I’m not the person I used to be! It’ll