World of Karik: A Game of Villains 99 As Equal

"You know, sometimes it's easier to kill a man than to answer his awkward questions." Black whips, like those that she had used against Petrovich, wrapped around Fox. Would she seriously kill me to keep her secret?

I took a couple of steps back and summoned my scythe, getting ready to defend myself.

"Hey, he still has to deliver my message, so be careful!" Baldy said, continuing to poke what a Cadaver was until recently.

"Or what?" she turned to him; the dark whips doubled in size.

"Do you wanna lose a body part, too?" Baldy asked, voice as cold as it was when he talked to me earlier.

A glob of dark matter appeared over his hand. Darkness wrapped itself around his body, creating a cloak. Unlike Fox's, which was translucent, this one was tangible. Watching the grass bend under his weight, I missed the moment when four bone plates appeared on Baldy's face, sliding toward each other and fusing into a mask.

"Fully unlocked," Fox breathed out and made her weapon disappear. Whatever that stuff was, the girl was so impressed that she didn't think about showing off anymore.

It must be that Mask thing they mentioned a couple of times before. Fox was still trying to unlock it, while Baldy had already developed it. Hmm… I had also received a message about the possibility of getting that thing. Apparently it was the best tool for becoming stronger.

"You'll be punished for your insolent behavior." Igor made his Mask disappear and went back to butchering the corpses. "Cat, you asked why she helped you?"

"No!" Fox yelped but didn't dare do anything.

"You know," Baldy continued, completely ignoring her, "many girls who have joined the Abyss become Witches. That's how they're called here. Every Witch is usually followed by her Dark Knight. You still haven't guessed?"

"No," I shook my head just in case. I'd prefer he told me everything than to rely on vague assumptions.

"Seriously?" Apparently, Baldy considered his hints sufficient; he remained focused on the Cadavers.

I pulled out a vial of Purified Cordyceps Tincture and took a sip. Having increased my intelligence up to 135 points, I looked closely at my stats.

Curse of the Dark Knight

Gives you the mark of the Dark Knight, binding you to the Witch that cursed you.

In order to break the curse, any form of aggression toward her is required within 24 hours.

She almost made a slave of me. Maybe I was exaggerating, but "binding" couldn't mean anything good. My strange attitude toward Lera finally made sense. I called her by her real name again. I used to always call her Fox, even in my mind.

"You bitch!" I stared at the girl, checking whether or not verbal aggression was enough to break the curse. It wasn't.

Okay, let's try something harsher then.

"Look!" I pointed behind the two. "Is that Polina Lyutova?"

My improvisation skills were quite poor, but they both looked at where I pointed. I immediately plunged my scythe into the ground to simulate a blow and activated Stone Spikes. Despite the distraction, Fox noticed me and jumped aside. She would've avoided it had I used an ordinary attack. However, I had used magic. Stone Spikes appeared right under her feet and immediately crumbled, not breaking through her defense and dealing no damage.

Curse of the Dark Knight has been broken.

Immunity to the Curse of the Dark Knight has been developed.

"How did you know?" Fox didn't seem offended by my attack, but her eyes revealed her disappointment.
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"What an interesting potion. Did it help you figure out the Curse?" Baldy approached me, snatched the improvised cane flask, and thoroughly examined my alchemical achievement. "It looks like a weak version of the Cognition Potion, but I don't sense any rare ingredients. Quite an unusual recipe... Where did you get that?"

Hah, two birds with one stone. I got rid of the Curse and made him share his secrets. If one wanted to acquire something, one had to act immediately as there may not be another chance. Following this rule worked out yet again.

"I carried out some experiments in my spare time. This is the result of a couple of successful ones. I can sell you the recipe." I imagined what I could demand from Baldy in return. This guy definitely had something valuable to pay with.

"Do you have a Recipe?" He stared at me. Something told me that he was asking for more than a hastily scribbled recipe on a sticky note.

"Just telling it won't be enough?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"If it was that simple, anyone rich enough could become an alchemist simply by mixing ingredients together," Baldy sighed sadly. "You should've known that by now. You used a valuable scroll; but even after that, not every attempt to make a potion was a successful one. Without it, you would've had zero chances of success."

Don't say anything. I couldn't let him know that it worked a little differently with me since my alchemy and intelligence bonus was much more significant than I had assumed.

"However, I'll take this," Baldy stated after a short pause. Just as I was about to demand the payment, he gave me a small, thick bag with something squishy inside. "The Liver and the Lymph of a Chaos Cadaver. Although these aren't the most valuable ingredients, they're quite rare. So, it's an equal exchange. If you manage to improve this Potion, find me, and I'll gladly trade it for something else."

Baldy's attitude toward me had clearly changed. Apparently, the Cognition Potion was indeed a valuable thing. However, I couldn't understand why the Cadaver's entrails were so precious. These monsters could simply be bred like cows or sheep. Release them from a cell, then kill them and wait for them to respawn. Kill them again and collect the ingredients. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if it worked only with those who had been defeated in a fair fight. What little I had managed to gather about the local "laws" made it clear that they didn't encourage peaceful development of any paths of power.

"Do you have any more?" Five minutes ago, Fox intended to turn me into her devoted Dark Knight; she was now acting as if nothing had happened. Anyway, being offended by such a thing would be dumb.

"I do. But it'll cost you double."

Lera had changed indeed. Showing no emotions, she simply nodded. This world was cruel, but if you managed to prove that you are a player and not a pawn, people would have a different attitude toward you.

"Here you go." she threw me a small, but thick, book in a steel cover. I had unlocked new spells with such books before. Maybe this was another one of those. "It allows you to unlock the Mask. I'm sure that it's definitely worth much more than those Chaosites' miserable entrails. However, the fact that someone like you will never use it isn't my problem. Now, the Potion! Or are you taking back the deal?"

I couldn't believe my luck. Women's vengeance and changeable character should be blessed as well as my ability not to let emotions control my actions.

"Here you go." I threw her my last flask with the Cordyceps.

"It also increases magic defense. Not bad." Saying this, Fox waved her hand and disappeared in the woods without saying a word.

"I almost forgot to tell you." Seeing that I was about to leave too, Baldy decided to share some last minute information. "In order to cast the Curse of the Dark Knight, a Witch must have a strong, so to say, physiological interest in her victim."

He laughed out loud and turned away from me, continuing to chop up the body that lay in front of him. Honestly, I was glad that Fox was no longer here. I would've probably become her enemy, and not a friend otherwise.

The sun was rising higher and higher behind me as I made my way back to the camp. I wondered if I would be welcome there. How are we supposed to live together after tonight's events? I didn't dare go along the main road, so I made a detour and moved through the woods, thinking about my home, if I could call that place so. Since the place was surrounded by stakes and walls, the only way in was through the main gates. However, I didn't want the guards to see me too early.

My secrecy paid off pretty quickly. While sneaking around, I came across Innokenty and Major who were on patrol. However, instead of observing the surroundings, they were talking to each other.

"Maybe we should leave?" Major said, clenching his fists.

"Why? After killing the blacksmith and the Dark one, we have two votes at the Council. Petrovich has four," Innokenty, who was sitting next to the Major, pat his friend on the shoulder. "As far as I understand, Cat took down the old man and his girl, so he's got two votes, too."

Now it was clear who was in charge of this couple.

"It's not that bad then," Major brightened up. "We can easily silence those with potentially harmful ideas. In addition, we'll be able to help both fractions, so that'll work in our favor. And since we don't care who'll run the camp in the end, we'll be able to take bribes from each party."

"You see, there's nothing to worry about," Innokenty smiled. "We'll always find somewhere to settle afterward due to our advanced Marks."

They behaved like ordinary people. It was hard to guess that they were slaves of Chaos. After I had seen him spy on me, I believed that the destruction of Innokenty's tombstone was a result of some kind of a mental breakdown that came about due to psychological changes that occurred after he had accepted the unusual Mark. After all, its name spoke for itself. Now I was pretty sure that this was all a part of some great plan that helped them improve their Marks so quickly. These guys weren't as simple as they might've seemed. I should keep a close eye on them; not because of their great power, but in order to avoid being drawn into their intrigues.

There was also Petrovich, the other sneaky man. Not to mention Vlada, who had been his accomplice from the very beginning. Not to mention our strange blacksmith, who was either the lancer's ally or was doing business with the old Chaosite, Semin. The latter was an anomaly of his own. Furthermore, there was someone called the Dark one. The others might have had their own secrets too.

How could I live with these people?

However, the one who had to deceive others in order to survive deserved to call such a place their home.

Once I reached the road, I went out of hiding and slowly walked toward the gates, noticing people's gazes. I felt the adrenaline rush through my blood. Suddenly, I desired to do something foolish and childish; maybe for the last time. I definitely wouldn't have such an opportunity later.

"I'm back!" My voice echoed loudly throughout the neighborhood, startling a flock of green-winged birds. It seemed that no one had screamed like that in this world for a long time. Not in pain or in fear, but without any reason, just because they wanted to scream.

End of Book 1,

Thank you for reading!

Good news, everyone,

The book 1 will be coming on Amazon on September 2. It's already available for pre-order so I'll be very grateful for your support. The Kindle version will include more editorial love and I'm pretty sure will be a more enjoyable experience. It will also include some cool arts and about 10 limited chapters with POVs of Baldy, Fox, Valentin Petrovich, and Innokenty.

You probably have already revealed all the secrets and mysteries of this world, but if you want to know a bit more than Vasily, you'll find these little stories very interesting.

Book 2 is also available for pre-order. Your support will help us a lot with translating the second book, the third and the next ones.

As for publishing here the chapters of Book 2, I plan to start on September 4. Sorry for a delay, but my editor went on vacation.

I'm also considering an option to enroll this book in Kindle unlimited. It means that I'll have to delete most of this story from this site. But whatever I decide, it will be available here for the next ten days, that's for sure.

Please consider telling about this book to your friends (or maybe even buy it for them).

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