City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

involuntary groan escaped my lips as bones rearranged, fractured sections sliding around and reforming. I coughed up blood and curled up as the pain of the healing spell ran through me, finally coming to a shuddering halt as it finished, and I could draw in a full breath again.

“Jax!” Oracle wept, throwing her tiny arms around my neck and hugging me. I let my head fall to the floor and I stroked her back, my fingers gently caressing the skin between her wings as I caught my breath. “I almost lost you, you idiot!” she raged, wiping her tears away and glaring at me.

“Yeah, I know, felt that one,” I admitted, gingerly rubbing my side.

“Two of the Legionnaires died…” she whispered, and I closed my eyes against the lump that filled my throat.

“Help me up,” I said quietly, reaching out a hand and feeling the flexible and insanely strong fingers of the nearest Golem pull me to my feet with delicate precision.

I looked up at it, recognizing the same three-faced, four armed and three legged ‘Servitor’ class that I’d found at Waystation Four. The damn thing looked like it had been transported here and hidden, as it was identical in every way.

I looked at the other three Golems, which were all War Golems; both a relief and a shame, I knew at once.

“Can that prick still countermand my orders?” I asked Oracle, and she nodded.

“You’ve got one of the commander’s insignia. If he’s wearing the other, which he was when I last saw him, his authority is the same as yours now. You say go, and he says stop, and they’ll listen to whoever speaks.”

“Right. Go help our people, Oracle. We can’t afford to waste this, not after the cost we’ve paid.” I turned and began inspecting the room. “Send Bane to me, though, please.”

“I will. You be careful, okay?” She sniffed, wiping her cheeks before flying back upstairs.

“You called?” Bane said a minute or so later. He was limping but appeared okay otherwise, and I nodded to him.

“Are you okay?” I asked, and he shrugged dismissively.

“Nothing a large drink and a good night’s sleep won’t help. I’m okay,” he assured me.

“As soon as Oracle’s done healing people, I’ll… wait…” I said as a thought occurred to me. I turned to face the Servitor and spoke to it clearly. “Where is the control room?” It lifted one arm and pointed at the back wall, which seemed solid.

“Hidden room again, gotcha. Go get me a couple of mana potions, okay?” I requested, and it flowed away, heading down the corridor. The weirdness of the three heads and the fact that it didn’t need to turn around to move away made me pause before gesturing to Bane.

“Come on then, mate, Let’s find the room.” It took a few minutes, but as the Golem returned, two mana potions held carefully in each of its four hands, eight in all, Bane and I found the release. It was hidden in a pattern in the wall again, this time in a frieze of a battle. Both of us reached for the gemstone bas-relief on the chest of a giant Golem at the same time.

I grinned at him as we both paused, seeing the other had spotted it at the same time. Bane moved back slightly, politely gesturing for me to go ahead, and I reached out, pressing it inward.

At first, it resisted, the buildup of hundreds of years of dust clogging the mechanism, but as I increased the pressure, it slowly sank into the wall, a grating feeling suddenly giving way with a solid clank, followed by the wall shifting slightly as dust and debris rained down.

I grinned at him, ordering the Servitor to put the mana potions on the desk and to come open the door.

I sorted through the potions, finding that the Golem had chosen two weak, two average, two potent and finally two grand potions, obviously unsure as to which I wanted. I nodded as I looked them over, glad it had brought them at all, and chugged the two weak ones first, followed by an average. The boost in my mana and subsequent drop let me know Oracle still needed more, so I downed the last average one and summoned a fountain of water for Bane, holding it long enough for him to refresh himself. as I entered the control room.

It was a small room, maybe four meters on a side, square, and dominated by the control chair and table. The large panel was similar in design to the one I’d found at Waystation Four and it had clearly never been found by the residents, judging by the skeleton that was slumped in the chair. Rotten armor, disintegrating clothes, and rusted gear were scattered around it, having fallen with their owner in death.

I looked the corpse over quickly, not wanting to be disrespectful, but I needed to find out what the hell I was dealing with. Thankfully, this guy had been dead long enough that it went from grave robbing to archeology.

I bowed my head to him in respect, recognizing that he’d died at his post while doing what he could to protect the building. Judging from his gear, he’d been a Legionnaire, but I still had to move him, lifting his desiccated corpse and depositing it on the floor before sitting in the seat and reaching out to the control center.

Unlike the other times I’d interacted with these artifacts, this one was active and fully powered. A display appeared, opening in my mind in the same way the notifications usually did.

I skimmed the page, noting the options it offered, and I couldn’t help but grin.

Congratulations, Lord Jax of Dravith!

You have accessed the section control center for Himnel Golem Maintenance Facility Three. Do you wish to assume direct control of this facility?

Yes/No

I paused for a second, thinking about the possible alerts that would spread, but it was too late to leave it now. I’d lost two legionnaires to capture the facility