Myths and Gargoyles by Jamie Hawke (interesting books to read in english txt) 📕

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Headquarters,” Elisa replied, the first of the others to wake. “What evil group is going to check somewhere like this for a Myth hideout?”

I shrugged, figuring the same could’ve been true of a billion types of places, but whatever. A Chinese restaurant, for example, would’ve been my first choice, because then you get to smell that delicious scent of kung pao or orange chicken all day. Apparently, I was hungry. The thought of pizza hadn’t left my mind yet either.

Soon we were all up and making our way in. At first, the interior looked as I expected—a real sanitation plant. Then a shimmer rippled past my eyes as we stepped further inside, as if I’d walked through a waterfall but not felt anything. Then I saw what was really there behind the illusion—there were all manner of Myths at work. Some were practicing experimental technology on magical items, I supposed, others were at desks conducting research. Or, as Red explained to me while glancing toward the upper floors, gathering intelligence. They weren’t joking around about this being a war.

Mowgli, the tall man I recognized from the fight at the airport but hadn’t had a chance to meet properly yet, approached. He now wore a suit. His hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he had a friendly grin on his face.

“You’re impressing the team, Protector,” he said, and took me in a strong embrace. “Welcome to the battle for humanity’s survival.”

“It’s er, good to be here.” I almost felt like I’d just arrived at my first day in a corporate job. He must’ve noticed, because he led us to what he called a “think room” full of couches, snacks, and a fridge full of beers. There was also a machine in the corner that reminded me of a virtual reality rig, complete with headset. When we’d settled down he noticed me glancing over at it.

“You’ll get a chance, you know.” He nodded toward the machine.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s part of why we wanted you to come by. To test your abilities, see how the prana and Ichor have settled in, if your body’s adapting and all that. Can I check the markings?”

“Markings?” It took me a second to realize he was referring to what I thought of as the tattoos on my chest. I opened my shirt to show him. To my surprise, they’d changed! Not in any way I could understand, but the patterns had moved about, new symbols showing.

“I see,” he said, and nodded to indicate that I could button my shirt again. “You’ve chosen the warrior class, and have the shield. Smart.”

“You can see that in the… markings?”

He nodded. “That and more.”

“Level?” he asked, turning to Red.

“Two,” I answered. “I selected warrior with the first, then chose the shield skill.”

He looked back at me, impressed. “Not a bad choice for your build. You’ll get there.”

“Are you a warrior?” I asked, fully aware of how badass he was, and buff. The guy’s arms were as thick as my legs.

“Druid,” he said. “Technically—with my connection to nature and all.”

“Ah,” I said, but was puzzled and he saw it.

“My form of the class relates to animals, more than trees and all that. I can speak with them, call upon them for help. Stuff like that. But enough about me, let’s get you in that simulator and see how your body’s coping.”

I admit, I was a bit nervous. It wasn’t about two ladies and impressing them anymore, but a group of their bureaucracy, you could say, actually putting me to the test. Red stood by, watching with a confident look, like she knew I couldn’t do wrong here. Pucky’s expression was more of hopeful support, while Elisa was watching with curiosity.

The assistants finally had me all strapped in, and then Mowgli held the facemask and asked, “Ready?” I nodded, and watched as he put the mask on and a whole world appeared around me. “Let it calibrate to the space between your eyes, your breathing patterns and all that, and… Never mind, it says it’s calibrated. Good, fast. Now, just move, see how it feels.”

It was like I was simply in this world, the machine letting me walk and jump on an exact ratio to real life. I was sitting on a hillside with leaves rustling in nearby trees. All around as far as the eye could see were more hills, more trees, and the occasional lake with sunlight glimmering on the water. It felt so real, minus the breeze that hit the leaves.

One thing was for sure—if I was going to be their Protector, I was damn sure going to require one of these in my house to catch up on the latest Call of Duty. Then again, with all the real fighting going on in life lately, I kind of wondered if I’d give a damn about games like I used to. Maybe instead I’d crave the mundane and get into reality shows or something. Ugh, even the thought made me shudder.

“Now what?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” Mowgli replied.

I turned, looking around, and then suddenly felt like I’d been yanked backwards. Scrambling to break free from a strong grip, I managed to catch a glimpse of a tall ogre, thick tusks sticking out from the bottom of his mouth. What the hell was this? I was supposed to fight this thing?

One more twist and I broke free, only to see his massive, green foot coming to stomp on my face. I thrust my arms up blow for blow, caught his foot, and tried twisting it to throw him off balance. Didn’t work. He was too strong, and instead I had to dive sideways as the foot kept coming and made a dent in the ground.

“Good,” Mowgli said, his voice coming from the ogre. “Now don’t worry, this isn’t as much a test of your fighting skills as your body’s ability, so… I’m going to simulate upping your levels. Now,