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

narrow windows with wooden folds were shut, and the room was dark. The massive door was closed from the outside. No problem; if the Magister was tracking me, he would soon get there.

I lit the candlesticks and sat down at the empty table. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a few message icons flicker, waiting to be opened. Here we go. I was absent for only a couple of days, and I already had to sort through the mail.

A few letters were advertisements, offering to sell me in-game gold or real money. Apparently, I had been added to someone’s mailing lists, having exposed my nickname somewhere. Maybe back when I had sold the previous batch. With a few clicks, I blacklisted the spammers.

The other letters were more interesting.

Balian the Raccoon informed me that the Watchers exam was to take place in...oh, two days!

Komtur and Olaf the Prophet had written almost identical messages, worrying that I had disappeared and asking me to contact them as soon as I could. Komtur was also implying that he would find me in real life. We won’t lose you, Cat.

Two more letters concerned trade issues — my auction bots had bought out all faction tokens at Eyre’s auction, and players were asking me to sell them a few to get a reward from Eyre Nation’s NPCs. Faction war rewards — weapons and armor sets — were only available in exchange for such tokens. The better the reward, the more tokens it required. For now, I didn’t reply. I would have to wait and see.

As I saw the author of the last message, my heart skipped a bit. It was Tao himself! He was succinct.

You have my stuff. How much?

 

And true, after our last battle at the gate of the Order’s stronghold, Tao had dropped a few nifty items which I hadn’t really studied back then, as my mind had been preoccupied with other things. Now I could finally examine them.

Ring of Nine Lives

 

Quality: epic.

 

Material: adamantine, ellurite.

 

Durability: 11/27. Weight: N/A.

 

Nine gem slots. Gems inlaid: 2/9

 

Inlaid: Small Healing Gem.

 

Inlaid: Small Healing Gem.

 

Attention: upon receiving a fatal hit, one of the inlaid gems is destroyed, fully healing the owner.

 

The cloak turned out to be legendary. Tao was probably at this wit’s end after losing that.

King Sildo’s Mantle

 

Quality: legendary.

 

Material: dragon skin.

 

Durability: 0/47. Weight: N/A.

 

+50 physical defense (back, shoulders)

 

+200 SP to Air Magic

 

+50% to Air Magic Resistance

 

Levitation: allows owner to fly up. Duration: 5 minutes/6 hours

 

Unseen Wings: the wearer obtains Fly ability.

 

Dragon Armor: being hit with normal weapons does not decrease the cloak’s durability.

 

Attention: unspent Levitation time is required to use Fly!

 

Requirements: 600 SP in Magic Craft, 300 SP in Air Magic.

 

The ring was pretty used-up. Could it be recharged? It seemed pretty awesome, something like an auto-healer that could save you if you lost all hit points. Now, I knew why Tao was so hard to kill. To check it out, I used Appraise, a new ability of my trader archetype. After a few agonizing seconds, the system determined its price: it ranged from twenty-five thousand to fifty thousand gold. Apparently, I hit the jackpot! That epic ring cost more than all of my stuff put together.

The cloak was broken, having zero durability after being hit with the Magister’s flaming weapon. Still, it was a legendary item. Legendaries were...I couldn’t even find words to describe their rarity.

Six affixes made them pretty much the coolest things to find in Sphere. People dreamed about them, chased after them; getting each legendary item was a story in itself.

Unfortunately, even a Free Merchant couldn’t properly appraise such an item. I had to use a special app that monitored prices at the Bazaar, the biggest Sphere marketplace. After determining it, I was lost in thought. A plan started to form in my mind, making me rub my hands in anticipation. Just you wait! Still, revenge is a dish best served cold. I forced myself to calm down. First, I needed to think it through.

I heard steps behind the door and clicking in the keyhole. The Magister walked into the room: tall, thin, looking ever more like a Roman patrician with his aquiline nose and the gray hair on his temples.

“So he comes in and sits down,” he chuckled. “And doesn’t say anything. Are you checking if I track you?”

“Something like that,” I replied. “So, you are tracking me.”

“Of course I do. What did you expect? You’re a big deal now, better get used to it.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You asked me to make a decision. I need to know what exactly do you want from me. What should I do? How am I important?”

The Magister lowered himself in the chair opposite me.

“Everything. You should do everything,” he chuckled once again. “Thing is, I’m stuck here, in this location. It’s designed in such a way that I’m the master here. I control everything — even the admins can’t intervene. As for why, it’s a long story. Just go with it.”

“So, you can’t leave?”

“Only in exceptional cases. As soon as I leave the Order, my Key will be localized, and a rat race will start. Unnecessary questions will be asked. This is why I need help, an assistant who will gather the rest of the Brothers together and find the Seven Keys.”

I nodded. It made sense.

“Do you know where to look for them?”

“If only things were that simple. No, Cat. The Seven Brothers protocol was incomplete. We didn’t have enough time to work out the communication. Originally, we intended for each of the Seven to know where their Key was being