World of Karik: A Game of Villains 94 The Second Truth

"Why did you come back?" I decided to let things be and try to understand what was going on. Ten minutes passed, and all my preliminary guesses were slowly falling apart.

"Have you heard about "baitfish"? That's what they tried to do with you. As for me, my master said that I'd better hold back the Abyss in order to prevent more of its followers getting stronger." I started to understand what she was talking about.

"Dorea wanted me to lure someone into her trap?" Fox was already at level 60. Due to my leveled up stats, I thought that I was almost equal to her. However, I wondered if I could cope with her in a fight.

"You've always been a smart guy." This girl had become much more confident, and she even seemed to be flirting with me. "This lady has been sitting here for a long time. Unable to get out, she's waiting for someone strong enough to become her new servant. But who would take the bait, she wonders. So, she makes up different plans. She showed you the artifact and let you go. I assume that she pretended to be weak and trembling for her life?"

"She did." Her words were close to the truth and made more sense than the demoness's tale.

We got to the surface and managed to get out of the ruins.

"That's not a bad idea. If I hadn't known about it, I would've tried to get in and would've gotten caught in her clutches. She's clearly a high level opponent." Of course, damned thing's level 500. "Now, you should go home and try to forget about it. It's better for an ordinary person not to get involved in such things."

"I don't think that he can." Vlada was silently approaching us. The dawn's light revealed that she was surrounded by a dirty-brown aura. Damn, I was sure that the guards of the Forbidden City had dealt with her.

"Did you really think that some Shadows would be able to stop me and my level 2 Aura of the Abyss?" In the bleak atmosphere of the cave, I had heard something otherworldly in her voice; but now it was gone. She was the Vlada I used to talk to, and, at the same time, a terrible creature, surrounded by no less terrible ancient power.

"What's an Aura of the Abyss?" I decided to get as much information as I could, considering that no one was making any moves yet, despite all of the threats.

I really wanted to ask Lera what she had been doing this entire time and why she had decided to help me. Unfortunately, this wasn't the right time for that.

"You cannot see it," Fox smiled, standing close to me. Complacency, it sure loosens one's tongue. "The Abyss marks its followers. One performs a certain task, and its level increases; the higher the Mark's level, the more powerful the Aura. What a peculiar reward for one's loyalty."

The Mark of the Abyss

Level 2

Can be turned into an aura that increases all stats by 120% and can activate the abilities of the Abyss.

Until now, I could only see its bare description. However, additional information appeared after Fox's explanation. Apparently, the more I knew, the more I could see. Go figure. Some information could, however, still appear on its own. Nevertheless, only the one who collected and studied information about this world could develop this ability.

"Can you handle her?" Though I didn't want to hide behind the girl, I also couldn't rush forward, pretending to be a noble knight; especially in this situation.

"Until she gets the advanced Mark, she's no match for me," Fox sneered. Vlada's description got updated again.

The Mark of the Abyss

Level 2 (2/10)

If I understood it correctly, the ordinary Mark had ten levels. After that it somehow evolved into an advanced one. I wondered if my deception developed the same way.

"Watch out," I didn't know why Fox was on my side, but I decided to warn her. "She's not alone. There was another guy with her; Igor, the leader of another detachment that had joined us recently."

"I don't know anything about this Igor," she was still holding my hand. Her voice became tense. "I see another follower of the Abyss. Valentin Petrovich, I didn't expect you to go so far and become a worthy competitor, following such an unassuming path."

Trying to conceal my surprise, I turned to the lancer who was coming out of the forest. If Fox found him worthy, Petrovich must've had an advanced Mark. However, his description was empty. Either they were trying to mislead me, or my intelligence wasn't high enough to see it.
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"Hello, Lera. I see you also chose the path of the Abyss. Why are you trying to stop us then?" Damn, so many things were still being kept hidden from me. What's worse, next to me were now two people that were potentially stronger than me. This is really bad. I knew that I should be worried about this Abyss thing, but, in spite of everything, it was still difficult to take such an abstract thing seriously.

"We aren't alike," the girl got offended. Good. If the three of them join forces, my chances of getting out of this situation in one piece would be close to zero. "You have fully relied yourself on borrowed power, while I conquered this element... You can face me, but we will be at completely different levels soon."

"Who do you think you are?! You stupid girl!" Vlada burst into outright fury.

At that moment, the swordswoman's, until recently, pretty face got completely distorted. How quickly we change our mind about people! Things were so simple just a couple of weeks ago. Fox was a naive and arrogant girl, while Vlada was a wise leader of a large detachment. They seemed to have switched sides now.

Vlada understood that she was losing face. She got angrier.

Chapter end