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

few enemies. Milisandra could only use her strongest pet by healing herself at the same time. Its health was five times her own.

“Ah, I’ve missed you, boys.” The PKers didn’t respond to the threat in time, an oversight they paid for dearly. Milisandra threw herself at the two waiting by the sign, while LJ attacked the third one. He had already crept up behind the girl’s back.

Millie’s hip burst open to release a snake, the same one that had crushed the bones of the rapist the last time. It dropped into a puddle before slithering off toward one of their assailants, and the crow went after the second one. Their enemies no longer had the element of surprise on their side.

At the same time, LJ swung his foot as hard as he could at the spot where his invisible opponent was hiding. The kick was aimed at the marauder’s shin, though the latter was able to parry the blow with his dagger and even graze LJ. His invisibility disappeared, and the next four strikes, all aimed at vital spots, killed him. The cat took three wounds, none of them serious.

Millie needed more time, and LJ saw yet another of her pets: an enormous cat. It was as dark as darkness itself. It was three meters tall, and bloody saliva dripped from its mouth. One of the marauders had been able to kill the snake, but he was chased down and gnawed to death in a matter of seconds.

Where do they all fit inside her?!

The familiar, intoxicating feeling of battle rushed over LJ…the power, the rewards, the mastery wielded by strong opponents. Tears welled up in his eyes, he felt the urge to kill, he wanted to outdo himself, and sadness descended on his soul… Everything happened together. He felt no pity for his assailant, though he did feel like he’d forgotten something incredible important. The emptiness inside was overwhelming. But the harder he tried to remember, the more intense the pain became, and voices even started shouting in his ear. Rage and the desire to kill was all they talked about. Only LJ was the one crying and suffering.

Milisandra hugged the tearful cat until he calmed down. LJ felt completely alone in the world, with just the girl who had adopted him. Everything around him was a little less mean when she was there.

As soon as LJ had relaxed, they kept going. They had a couple hours of running to go before they got to the city. It was a usual forest, and there weren’t many carts or other players out in the rain. Fall was encroaching—everyone wore light clothing and felt the warm breeze. There were lots of herbs going around, so LJ picked and ate them immediately. The fact that the internal interface highlighted them, he figured, meant that they were useful. Millie was much slower than him, so he had plenty of time to collect them.

Millie had a home in Vilarin, in the empire of Darin. They needed to spend some time relaxing, so they decided to stop at a tavern in the Kurg slums.

The city was located at the confluence of two rivers, which had carved a space out of the cliff. Forming the border between the lands of the trolls and the orcs, there were also goblins living in the mountains. The city grew quickly, player levels also grew, and that meant more demand for the valuable resources mined nearby. The slums Millie and her cat stopped at had previously been a village for workers until the city swallowed it up. The subsequent layer of city fortifications was built around it.

The tavern opened up on a vacant lot right at the edge of the slums. That was where they were building the wall to delineate the border between the city and the troll lands. The only thing in the vacant lot was a small sapling that managed to grow right in the center, and it was what gave the field its name: Lone Tree Field.

Milisandra paid for two rooms for a week and headed out into the city, asking LJ to wait for her there. LJ didn’t want to sleep in his room—the cramped quarters and closed door made him nervous. With that in mind, he went down to wait for Millie at the bar.

As he sat there, he kept a close eye on the tavern owner as well as its patrons.

It was a two-story building. On the first floor were the service rooms, while the second was for guests. And it was just your average tavern…if you didn’t count the owner. His agility and the precise way he moved unwittingly drew attention. As he helped the cook prepare meat, the appetizing smell wafted through the room and elicited a stomach rumble. LJ pulled out a fish he had with him and ate it. The owner threw a quick glance at the shining creature before stepping toward the utility room without saying a word.

Evening had fallen, and workers started filling the tavern to wet their whistles after a tough day. It got noisy, the bar was crowded, and it smelled of beer and roasted meat.

Milisandra still had not returned when it got dark. LJ continued waiting at the bar, in no need of sleep and with enough fish to last him a couple of weeks. Midnight was rolling around when everyone started to leave. A couple of newcomers showed up to join the people staying there. The whole room was cleaned, the dishes were cleared away, and the dishwasher got to work in the kitchen after accepting a quest to take care of the job in exchange for a night’s room and board. The owner was a fan—one more room was filled, and he didn’t have to deal with the dishes.

“My good man,” he said to LJ, “you can head up to your room. Everybody’s going to bed,