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

scattering away in horror. Daine’s golden crown was lying under my feet. The Crown of the Mistress of the Wandering Succubate.

Chapter 20

THE CROWN of the Mistress of the Wandering Succubate was just next to me. Yet I wasn’t the only one to notice it. Several demonesses rushed toward it, madly screeching and trying to reach out for it with their clawed hands.

In one sweep, Aelmaris drew a circle around me, shearing through the air with a buzz. I felt a slight resistance and saw a cloud of ash. For each death, the system gave half of the experience to me, and half to the sword.

Souls eaten: +1! Souls eaten: +1! Souls eaten: +2!

 

Seeing that they were drawn to the crown like moths to a flame, I grabbed it and threw it into my inventory, followed by Daine’s terrifying scourge and an odd substance pulsing with crimson — Supreme Demon Blood. There was no time to read the description. Battle raged on around me.

Apparently, the succubi came in three types: those completely naked charmed players and dragged them away, the others — armed and wearing lacey armor — were pretty good at fighting, and the grey-skinned flying beasts functioned as tanks.

The fight was short, but furious. They still exceeded us in numbers, even demoralized by their mistress’ death. The Watchers, on the other hand, were well-prepared, each of them protected by a Mind Shield, and the raid confidently took down the demons with dedicated damage type. Eventually, the enemies started to retreat, escaping through some strange portal magic that involved creating mini-pentagrams. Were they returning to the Netherworld using something in the vein of Soul Stones?

I glanced at the stats of my sword. I had fed it pretty well. The XP bar passed over the center point, plus fifty-six absorbed souls. I was Hated by the Wandering Succubate and Hostile with the other Netherworld factions. Reputation decreased like greased lightning. They didn’t like me in the lower worlds anymore.

“Were you the one to kill Daine?” Olaf asked, coming up. “Did you loot her?”

“Holy shit!” he curtly commented on the loot as I showed it. “No, leave the crown. Give me the rest.”

Torturer, the Scourge of Succubus Queen was an orange legendary-grade weapon. It gave tremendous bonuses to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma, and enabled Laceration and Persistent Injuries. The only drawback was that it was restricted to the Mistress of the Wandering Succubate. It was also a personal item with a “true possession” flag. In other words, it could be wielded only by the crowned ruler of the Succubate. And the crown...

“We’ll discuss the crown in camp. Hide it and don’t show it to anyone,” Olaf said. “That would be better for everyone.”

Olaf: Good job, everyone! Pick up the loot and let’s get moving!

The hundred slain demons dropped lots of items, mostly rare. Two were even epic: some bracers and a thing resembling a chainmail bikini. A peculiar loot, but I had to admit it — the profits were nice, definitely worth the hard battle. Going by the raid leaders’ conversation, I concluded that the latest expedition to Helt Akor was the most profitable yet. But our goal wasn’t just money: the clan needed items to empower our warriors. We needed to keep moving and continue to farm.

* * *

 

Illith: They killed them!

 

Tao: Hehe. I knew that Daine would deliver.

 

Illith: No, the Watchers defeated the Succubate! And killed Daine, I think.

 

Tao: Impossible. How?

 

Illith: I didn’t get it. Very quickly. A one-shot, I think. When she was down, they mass resurrected.

 

Tao: Hmm... Say, have you seen a player with a blue sword?

 

* * *

 

We continued our way down. After the sudden attack of the Succubate, everyone was in a hurry to leave the open space of the staircase between Layers. Several times on our journey, we stumbled on openings leading into new instances and sent scouts inside, but the RL didn’t like their reports, so we moved on.

The light from the depths of the well grew brighter, and we felt a whiff of dry heat. Apparently, the bottom was covered in crimson black lava wreathed in a fiery aura. Dizzying spiral loops of the staircase finally led us down.

The raid was standing in front of a giant triangular arch. It was intricately carved: the rocks around the entrance were decorated with symbols that I couldn’t place.

Kann-Elo, the language of the Ancients. Requires “Kann-Elo Knowledge” to decrypt, the system helpfully told me. I wondered if we had anyone with that ability.

The tunnel we followed next was quite different from any I had seen before. Like the entrance, it was triangular in shape, while the walls were perfectly polished, without any traces of masonry, cracks, or ravages of time. Like the Kann-Elo characters, it projected expertise and oddness.

“Where are we going?” I asked Alex, who was walking by my side. “And who built it?”

“We’re looking for the Crossroads. It’s the island of stability. As for who built it...” Alex sighed, a dreamy expression on his face. “According to the lore, the web of Endless Paths was built by the Ancients with the help of zwergs. This network connected all worlds of Sphere when there weren’t any portals yet. Later, at the end of their war against the gods, they made the Paths unstable and ever-changing, so as to hide their sanctuaries. Legend says there used to be surviving Ancient strongholds, and it was the last line of defense...”

“So? What happened? Were the Ancients exterminated?” I asked hungrily.

“Jeez, Cat, just read the background lore, it’s free,” AlexOrder dismissed me. “Everything’s there. Oh, here’s the Crossroads.”

The Crossroads turned out to be a completely empty hall of colossal size leading into several other passages. It was shaped like a perfect half-circle and lit by yellow lights