Cyberserk

Chapter 30 - The Fairy City

"No desire to meet the King again?" Tom stopped at the exit of the throne room.

"I'd rather meet the new boss," laughed Dan. He disliked the dungeon atmosphere.

At the exit, the players saw some familiar information.

[Warning: Exit from the Byre location has been found. Type of location: Dungeon.

Do you wish to leave the Byre location? Yes/No.

Warning. You can leave the location until you have killed all monsters!]

"Yes. We wish to leave the location," the young man said loudly.

[Congratulations! You were the first to pass the location Byre. Type of location: Dungeon.

Analysis of the passing: monsters destroyed: 127/333. Bosses destroyed: 1/1.

Reward: 13700 experience points. Achievement: Dungeon Explorer. All damage increased by 10% on the monsters of the dungeons!]

Dan Raven could not enjoy his new reward. He froze stunned by the sight of the new location. The player found himself in a familiar clearing that was surrounded on both sides by the forest. Behind him were mountains with the entrance to the minotaur dungeon. On the right side was a wide river.

All these usual details of the local landscape were irrelevant before the main feature of this part of the world.

Under the bright rays of two suns above the crowns of low trees in the distance rose a mountain that amazed the gaze with its strange color. The entire surface of the mountain was covered with buildings! The distance to the city was far, but Dan could see several tall towers that stood out against the general background of the buildings.

"Tom I'm sure this isn't an earthly city," whispered Raven.

"I agree," confirmed the phantom. "There are no mountains so high near our city."

"I want to wash up," Dan said and walked toward the river. He was feeling energized. The game was rejoicing in new perspectives.

The man washed with clean water. The phantom bared his katana blade and looked intently in the direction of the forest. He had already spotted several new monsters that were settling on the large branches of the trees.

"Dan I don't like these strange squirrels. These squirrels are big as dogs," said Tom to his partner, who had finished washing his face and walked over to his friend.

"Dogs don't climb trees," objected Dan. "A big cat lynx climbs trees. Strangely, these monsters are called squirrels."

"Nothing strange," grumbled the clone. "It's a hint that the lynx of this world is bigger than bears. I guess the local bear is bigger than the elephant."

Dan frowned. A path led from the entrance to the dungeon toward the forest. He didn't want to face any enormous level 10 monsters. Even level 10 squirrels inspired fear. It wasn't pleasant to deal with an enemy who might suddenly leap at you from a tree.

"We should get bows," the clone whispered.

"We'll summon the hobbits. I want to treat the braves to a beer," said Dan. "They helped us defeat the King and deserve a reward."

"I think you need to level up. And increase your Speed by one point," the phantom added.

"To climb trees requires great dexterity. These squirrels must be very agile. I agree that we've come too far to have one miserable point in the Speed attribute," Dan agreed.

He quickly upgraded himself to level 9 and spent a point to increase Speed. Then Dan summoned the hobbits. The brave helpers were happy to get a jug of beer each before the battle with the Nimble Squirrels began.

[Nimble Squirrel (Animal).

Level 10.

This animal has long been a faithful servant of the forces of Evil. Nimble Squirrel is capable of launching a surprise attack from tree branches. In case of danger, Nimble Squirrel hides on top of a tree. She is capable of long-range attacks and has a supply of stones in her food storage]

"I suggest we head towards the city along the river. Every great city needs plenty of clean water for its inhabitants. There must be a small river running beside the city that flows into this wide stream. Water is a barrier and protection. We can have one side we don't have to fear attack from," Tom expressed his plan.

"Great plan," said Dan. He didn't want to walk through the woods on the trail and be attacked by sneaky squirrels.

The hobbits finished their beers and were ready to guard their master. The group walked cautiously along the riverbank. A few squirrels tried to be aggressive and threw stones at the players.

The fellows paid no attention to the damage. The armor defended well against low damage. Each stone did about 3 to 5 points of damage. Dan was restoring health with Healing. Tom also had time to heal himself.

After a few minutes of suffering from pesky attacks, the group switched to running.

The hobbits suffered little from the attacks of the nasty furry squirrels. These agile braves easily dodged most of the attacks. Occasionally a hobbit would manage to make a precise counter-strike on the run and brag loudly in front of everyone.

The group had been running for over an hour, and everyone managed to hate the nasty, cowardly creatures. The squirrels were in no hurry to approach and engage in a fair fight. Each squirrel had its habitat and did not leave its domain. Sometimes Dan would get tired and the group would stop. The man would hide behind the phantom's back. Dan bought Tom a big shield! For the first time, the friends could appreciate the usefulness of this part of the player's defense. Tom had the cover of the man and said that in some cases the shield could make life a good deal easier.

A huge mountain was approaching. The friends could perfectly distinguish several tall towers and large buildings of white stone on top of the mountain. Tom was silently reliving his new impressions. He was in no hurry to admire the unknown city. First, the phantom wanted to reach the city and find out information about the inhabitants of this place. This world rarely showed care and kindness to humans.

Soon the friends reached the river that flowed into the big stream. Tom was worried that they would have to swim through the water and risk being attacked by dangerous fish. But the friends saw a bridge and quickly ran toward it.

Each new place rushed to delight the players with its charming surprise!

Argh!

Out of the shadows beneath the bridge, a large dark figure jumped out. For the first moment, it seemed to Dan that a large boulder, covered with moss and grass, had rolled toward them.

[Troll (Creature).

Level 10.

The ugly creature was created by the evil archmages of Earth Magic. The troll wields the power of Earth Magic. The troll is capable of inflicting an attack with magic and is deft with a large club. You better fulfill the Troll's demand or he will turn you to stone and kill you. Then the troll will eat your flesh!]

"Why do they always scare me that the monster will eat my flesh? Does it matter to me what happens to my corpse after I die! Bastards. They made up completely insane monsters," Dan Raven was indignant.

Tom didn't have time to reply to his partner. A troll interfered with the conversation.

"I see four living and tasty pieces of meat. All pay me gold. Pay 4 gold coins and I'll let you walk across my bridge," the troll deftly intercepted his large club.

The club in the troll's clutches quickly flew from side to side. The friends realized that this was a very dangerous and experienced opponent. They both respected the curses of the school of Earth magic. The Slowing had an awful effect.

"Dear troll, we have no gold coins. We are common tourists. We have come to admire your bridge. Beautiful work! We will not go over it. We've looked and we're ready to go away," the phantom gave out his version to appease the dangerous monster.

"Argh? No gold? Then I'll take the meat," the troll pointed his club at Dan. "He smells good. His meat smells good. The others don't smell like meat. Hairy shorties smell like nasty beer!"

Dan realized there was no way around it without a fight.

"Hobbits! Fight!" Raven immediately cast a Piece of Ice spell to freeze the troll.

Tom didn't relax either. He was ready for battle from the first moment he saw the new monster. The samurai pounced on the troll and began striking with his katana and tanto. A loud clang resounded near the bridge. The troll wore no armor but his body was as strong as stone.

The troll had no hair on his head or body. He looked like a very ugly creature. But the troll's ugliness was not disgusting and vile. Something was amusing but frightening about the creature's ugliness. The words of the vicious creature spoke better than its appearance. It was a dangerous monster who fed on the meat of its victims!

The troll struck the samurai several times with his club and managed to knock the phantom to the ground. Then the creature attacked Dan. But at that moment the mastery of the brave hobbits had the decisive word!

Bam! Knock! Ooh.

The stone struck the creature's big sturdy forehead. The troll dropped his club and fell. His body immediately shattered into several pieces of stone. The hobbits exclaimed with delight and rushed to move the stones from place to place in search of trophies.

"I'm the best! I found a gold coin!"

"I'm the very best! I found two coins!"

"Gold coins? You found money?" Dan was surprised at the news.

"You see a huge city on a mountain in front of you. Large buildings and towers look like elaborate architecture. There are undoubtedly not only construction companies in this city, but also a financial system. I'm sure there's a bank and many other respectable places in this town," smiled Tom.

"The human speaks the truth! The most respectable inn is Snotty Mouse's establishment!"

The players and hobbits turned at the tone of a sonorous and squeaky voice.