The Gene of the Ancients (Rogue Merchant Book #2): LitRPG Series by Roman Prokofiev (top books to read TXT) 📕

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The meeting with Tao took place in the evening, at the Fairs, on neutral territory in the temple of Eless. It guaranteed safety for both of us. Drawing weapons inside the shrine of a deity of light in a kingdom meant suicide. The leader of HELL was waiting next to the altar, his arms folded across his chest. He was wearing a cloak of disguise similar to mine. That was odd. He wasn’t red and had blue karma; why take such precautions?

“Ohayou!” I greeted the Japanese. Traditions and upbringing couldn’t be destroyed by any game. In response, Tao gave a polite nod and a slight smile. His expression seemed familiar, as if I had seen it before.

“It’s konbanwa, not ohayou,” he said, correcting me. “It’s evening, and ohayou is used for morning.”

We measured each other with stares. Finally, the PROJECT leader grinned and praised me.

“You’ve picked the right place for us to meet. Eless and my mistress don’t really like each other. It’s a bad place for me.”

His mistress? PROJECT HELL worked for the House of Darkness, a mighty faction headed by the goddess Ananizarte, I remembered. Had he meant her?

“Your mistress doesn’t like almost everyone.” I tested the waters.

“True. And grey swindlers are her sworn enemies, too.” Tao looked right at me with his single eye, smiling.

Had he meant Tormis? But how could he know I was talking to him? Or was it just wordplay?

“You have many faces and hands, HotCat, and each time, they’re new. Will you tell me how you manage it?”

“I won’t. Let’s get to business.”

“As you wish. Have you brought my cloak?”

“I’m not an idiot to carry legendaries in my inventory,” I replied. “You’ll get your cloak at the auction. Here, take the contract. It’s in your name, one gold coin — sorry, I couldn’t set the price lower. The ring was delivered to you as an advance payment.”

Tao nodded thoughtfully and said,

“An odd thing happened to the ring. Was it your job?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re good at pretending,” Tao said, making a compliment. “The ring got stolen in a crowd next to the tavern where I was supposed to meet your newbie. I can’t shake the feeling that the thief was tipped. It went too smooth.”

“Really?” I feigned confusion. “My condolences. There’s no end to strange things.”

“What do you mean?”

“When your legendaries appeared inside the Watchers’ warehouse, someone posted them online. I got a message from some shop, they tried to buy them for real money. They were very persistent and offered a good price. It might be their handiwork while they’re exploring Sphere’s market. Take a look, maybe your ring’s there?”

“What shop?” Tao asked sharply.

Selling in-game items for real money was the domain of the administration’s premium shop. Yes, you could deposit and withdraw your funds by purchasing in-game gold, but buying items from third-party sellers was forbidden by the User Agreement. It was unregulated turnover, and things like that were strictly punished. There were all sorts of horrible rumors about it on the official forums. Supposedly, the administration used exceedingly rough methods and used their real-life influence when punishing private sellers who tried to compete with the Golden Hamster.

“Let me have a look...” I delved into my bookmarks and with a certain fiendish delight sent Tao a link to the COSMOGOLD page. My ploy was about to cause my former associate a lot of trouble. I never forget my debts. After betraying me and giving my address to Goggy, Old Nicky deserved a payback.

“I hope you’ll play smart and pretend to be a buyer,” I said. “You must realize they won’t put such an item on sale openly.”

“We’ll sort it out,” Tao cut me off. “Now, about your sword. You promised information.”

“Yes, I remember. Here’s a screenshot.”

Tao spent a few seconds studying the picture I sent him that showed the item with eight question marks instead of properties and then abruptly turned to face me.

“Are you taking me for a fool?”

“If you don’t believe me, let’s form a party, and you’ll take a look at my equipment yourself.” I threw up my hands. “That’s what it looks like.”

I immediately got an invitation to join a group. The PROJECT leader didn’t take my word for it.

“You’re trying to trick me,” Tao surmised after checking my equipment. “This item is disguised. It looks like that for anyone except the true owner. It’s an exceedingly rare item feature usually encountered in divine sets.”

“Well, if you’re so smart, you must understand that information like that cannot be given for free,” I said through my teeth, trying to keep a calm facade and not quite succeeding. The damned Japanese couldn’t be conned like Snow.

Tao’s hand fell on the clawed hilt of his black sword. I remembered its deadly power. That demonic blade was a match for Aelmaris, but I had no chances fighting a warrior such as the leader of HELL. Still, I tellingly let the tips of my fingers touch the silver cross-guard.

“I would have cut you in half for playing me,” Tao said slowly. “You got lucky. You picked the right place for the meeting.”

“I don’t understand your problem. I gave you the ring, the cloak, and free information as a bonus, just as agreed,” I said, shrugging. “Everything on top of that costs extra.”

“All right. What exactly do you need for a screenshot of the sword with open affixes?” With an effort of will, Tao got his act together, and his expression became once again impenetrable, while his hand slipped away from the hilt.

I smiled. He really needed that information, and I had an inkling why. It meant that the game would go on.

“Well, two things. The first is simple. You’ve