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

We eventually passed a single large building on the edge of the district that was visibly protected by armed guards, including a trio of wolves that looked of similar design to my own Fenris automaton. Aside from the glares the guards gave us, nobody else showed us any interest. Clearly, as much as certain members of the mob all around us would like to try something, they weren’t going to attempt it with so many of our weapons openly on display.

It wasn’t until we crossed a wide street and moved into the next district that things changed for the worse, though.

The buildings along the path we followed all had their own guards outside, and these guards wore masks. They sported long, pointed beaks, wide wolfish grins, and horned visages that stared at us as we passed. They weren’t scary, not at first, but the further we went, the more cloying the smoke around us became.

I eventually opened my mouth and deliberately drew it in, tasting it, and got a notification almost immediately.

You have been infected with: Weak Hallucinogenic Stamina Poison!

You feel lethargic, confused, agreeable, and relaxed. You will continue to lose one point of stamina per second for the duration of this effect.

Warning! This effect stacks. As your exposure to this compound grows, so will your stamina drain.

Time remaining: 7 seconds... 6 sec… 8 seconds… 7 seconds… 

I spat the taste out and glared around at the group that surrounded us. I caught them grinning at each other… but making no aggressive moves.

“There’s a poison in the air…” I growled, my naginata flaring to life and the rest of my core group moving closer, hands on their weapons. Noticeably, neither the Legion nor the locals seemed upset; they just looked at me, confused.

“It’s not a poison…” Hector drawled, rolling his eyes as he continued to stomp on through the smoke. “It’s the Cloudring, what did you expect?”  He shook his head, muttering about ‘idiot outsiders’ and went on.

“Jax, it’s okay. It’s just the way it is here… I should have warned you; sorry.” Yen said, moving to my side.

“What the hell is it?” I growled, but I started walking again, with my people following closely around me. Oracle shifted in my pocket, and I swallowed hard, well aware of the slit in that the pocket that allowed easy access to Mr. Happy… and I sent her a quick mental communication.

“Behave!”

“Would you?”

“I… well… at least don’t play those games now! I need to concentrate!”

“Then concentrate.”

I swallowed hard and forced myself to ignore Oracle’s movements, sighing in mixed relief and disappointment when she settled back down and relaxed.

“I can read your mind a bit, remember…?”

“BEHAVE!”

Thankfully, she just sent the mental equivalent of a chuckle, while I tried to think calming thoughts, and to concentrate on anything but the tiny, sexually curious woman that was hiding in my pants.

I shook myself and listened to Yen’s explanation of the Cloudring.

“It’s a drug that they pump into the air here to make people happier, more relaxed, and more willing to spend their coin. The nobles like it, because it means more taxes for them, and the Cloudring makes a fortune, as their own workers build up immunity before they’re allowed to interact with people. Everyone knows they do it, but nobody cares. The mob went through the south side of the district, and the clouds were turned off there, keeping them angry and aggressive.”

“So whoever controls the Cloudring is involved in the rioting as well,” I muttered, and she shrugged.

“Maybe, maybe not. If they were offered money to shut off the clouds in a single area for a few hours, the local shop owners and bosses wouldn’t hesitate.”

“Is it just me, or is every fucker corrupt here?” I muttered, shaking my head.

“When everyone else is taking a backhander, and you don’t, it only makes you poor.” She replied philosophically. “It’s one of the reasons we never relax unless we’re in the Enclave. Our Oaths mean most of it can’t happen with us, anyway. However, after we all got ‘tarred and feathered’ due to the Legion General’s corruption years back, nobody wants to risk it now. We live in a city that hates us. Who else can we trust, if not each other? Everyone needs somewhere safe.”

“Yeah, well, I’m gonna have to see if there’s anything I can do about this,” I said, leaving her clearly confused.

“Oracle, stop thinking about my dick and concentrate.”

“I am concentrating!”

“Yeah… on my dick… anyway, I need your help. This smoke, the drug they’re putting in the air, it’s going to leave us at a hell of a disadvantage in here…”

“I know; I’m thinking about it. Problem is, our mana is just too low, and even if we were at full, we could only do something for so long.”

“I know, but how about we come up with a spell first, then we can worry about the cost?”

“What do you want it to do?”

“Well, we need two spells really… one that’s a simple one to clear away the smoke and give everyone a light heal, maybe? Then I’ve been thinking we need a more powerful one to heal our people in a fight, like the way that Cleansing Fire heals me and damages others. Maybe an AOE healing spell, but one that just targets our people?”

“That’s going to be insanely difficult, you know. Think about it. We need a spell that checks on people and decides if they are with or against you? That alone is a pain to create, and we couldn’t do it with just the spell knowledge you have. We’d need more; we’d definitely need a specialist healer to help us create something like that!”

“Well, okay... how about the smoke? How about a spell to clear that away and heal its effects on us for now? Maybe tie it to a position? Make it spread out like five meters from a fixed point?”

“Easier if we tie it to you, make you the focal point… maybe