The Curse of Rion Castle (The Neuro Book #2) LitRPG Series Read online

  The Curse of Rion Castle

  a novel

  by Andrei Livadny

  The Neuro

  Book#2

  Magic Dome Books

  The Neuro

  Book # 2: The Curse of Rion Castle

  Copyright © Andrei Livadny 2017

  Cover Art © Vladimir Manyukhin 2017

  English translation copyright © Irene Woodhead, Neil P. Mayhew 2017

  Editor: Zach Lewis

  Published by Magic Dome Books, 2017

  All Rights Reserved

  ISBN: 978-80-88231-18-9

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is entirely a work of fiction. Any correlation with real people or events is coincidental.

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  ALSO BY ANDREI LIVADNY

  Phantom Server LitRPG Series:

  Edge of Reality (Phantom Server: Book #1)

  The Outlaw (Phantom Server: Book #2)

  Black Sun (Phantom Server: Book #3)

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  The Neuro LitRPG Series:

  The Crystal Sphere (The Neuro Book #1)

  The Curse of Rion Castle (The Neuro Book #2)

  Expansion: The History of the Galaxy (A Space Saga):

  Blind Punch (Expansion: The History of the Galaxy Book #1)

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Also by Andrei Livadny

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  A WARM STARRY night swept over the Toxic Moors.

  Mere minutes had elapsed since Christa and Enea had faced each other in combat.

  Reams of system messages flashed through my mental view,

  Congratulations! You've activated the castle's stationary teleport!

  Congratulations! You've activated the castle's safe respawn zone!

  Congratulations! You've claimed ownership of Rion Castle!

  You've received a new level!

  New quest alert: Purge

  Quest type: unique

  Before dawn breaks, you need to purge the donjon of the spawn of the Dark.

  Reward: By succeeding, you'll remove the ancient curse cast on the castle by enemy wizards. The castle control interface will be unblocked.

  Wisps of mist floated in the moonlight. The ancient citadel dominated the island, its three defense levels masterfully cut into the towering cliffs. Rion Castle had suffered a lot during the century-old siege. Its walls were breached, its gate towers lying in heaps of collapsed stonework.

  Time had completed what the enemy had begun. Autumnal storms had buried the inner yards in rotten leaves and broken tree branches which had eventually formed a fertile layer of top soil, offering root hold to thick woody vines which rambled up the castle walls, shrouding them in a green veil of oblivion.

  I stood in the yard, facing the donjon. From now on, this was our clan seat. The heart of Rion Castle was cut in three precipitous peaks fashioned into towers. Their walls were lined with small fortified platforms built at several levels. Arrow-slit defense galleries and the tall vaulting windows of inner halls adorned the towering structures.

  At a distance, strange calls echoed over the moors. Moonlight seeped over the ancient walls.

  Rusty door hinges creaked. Zander, the mercenaries' commander, walked over to me and looked up, following my gaze.

  "Alexatis, we're wasting our time," he said. "Don't you think we should be getting on with the purge? We only have seven hours left till sunrise. What are you waiting for?"

  "I can't find anything about this ancient curse," I admitted as I watched a ghost's translucent outline appear from a breach in the wall, heading for a window above. "It's not in the Wiki. Forums don't mention it, either."

  Shadows flashed past in the moonlight — probably a group of gargoyles moving from one defense platform to the next.

  "Level thirty," Zander commented before the wall-nesting beasts could disappear from sight.

  A weak light oozed through a row of arrowslits overhead. A few windows above them welled with a dull crimson glow.

  "If this is in the quest you and Enea received, then you should be able to do it," Zander said confid
ently. "The night won't be boring, that's for sure."

  He grinned in anticipation of combat. "Listen. You've got both the castle's stationary portal and its respawn point activated. I might bring in a few more men if you wish. Ten, maybe? What would you say to that?"

  As I pondered over the state of my bank account, the others joined us. All but Platinus, that is. Our alchemist had stayed inside the donjon, rummaging through the mostly broken artifacts which littered the floor of the main hall. The majority of them were utterly useless — but still he'd managed to locate a quite decent wizard's staff which he'd immediately gifted to Enea to replace the one she'd broken during her fight with Christa.

  Iskandar and Rodrigo, our two wizards, kept squinting curiously at the ancient item.

  "Mind if we take a look?" they finally asked her.

  "Sure," Enea replied matter-of-factly. She was still pale and tense from the recent combat. "I can't see its stats for some reason. Only question marks."

  "How strange," Rodrigo agreed. "Look at the stone, it's gone completely dull."

  "May I?" Iskandar took the staff from him but equally failed to bring it back to life. The weak spark which had initially glowed within the precious stone had already expired.

  Iskandar shrugged. "How are you supposed to activate it? You sure our levels are high enough to use it?"

  Togien shifted from one foot to the other, impatient. "Alexatis, what are we waiting for?"

  "I'm trying to work out how to remove the curse."

  "Don't overcomplicate things, man. The quest says we've got to purge the castle. And that's what we're gonna do! We'll mop the place up room by room. How difficult is that? We'll be done by the morning!"

  Enea walked over to me.

  The miniscule Alpha, her new Black Mantis pet, crawled out of her tresses and jumped over to her shoulder, then scurried down her arm until it reached her fingers. From there, he climbed onto the staff and scampered all the way to the top where he froze, studying the dead stone.

  Funny critter. He sat there for some time, meditating, then scampered back down the staff.

  "Alpha, you're hurting me!" Enea cried out. The little mantis had apparently pricked her fingertip.

  Why would he do that? Why would a pet deal damage to its owner?

  Blood from the wound trickled onto the staff which turned transparent, revealing what looked like a web of mummified blood vessels within. The bright drops of Enea's blood filtered inside and were immediately absorbed, filling and feeding the staff's shriveled capillaries.

  A light flashed within the stone. Slowly at first, it began to pulsate faster and faster as if Enea's blood had breathed life back into it.

  The Heart of a Hydra

  Item type: A magic staff

  Class: Relic

  -50% to the Mental Energy expenditure required to cast a spell.

  +10% to Physical Defense

  +10% to mental defense

  +10% to close-combat Damage

  Effect: Aura of a Predator. Slows down or repels all non-Elemental enemies.

  Restriction: only a rightful defender of Rion Castle

  "You're one lucky girl," Rodrigo said in amazement, studying the item's stats. "But why Elemental? Isn't the Founders' magic based on Chaos?"

  "You're the expert," Iskandar grinned sarcastically. "Enea, don't listen, he's just jealous. There's nothing we know for certain about the Founders or their magic, only rumors. No one has ever managed to study any of the ruins they left behind. In this respect, you and Alexatis have been really lucky."

  "He's right," Rodrigo nodded. "Can you even imagine all the secrets these walls might harbor? Or the power of a clan smart enough to uncover them? Even I — I did hear about the ancient blood magic, of course, but I had no idea some of its artifacts had actually survived..."

  "Right," Zander interrupted their discussion. 'Alexatis, what did you decide? Should I call in some reinforcements? Or do you think we can manage?"

  Mechanically I glanced at my interface clock.

  23.59.52

  He had a point. It was midnight and we hadn't even started.

  "Okay," I said. "We can use a few more men."

  * * *

  DARKNESS FELL when least expected.

  One moment the Moon illuminated the donjon; the heavy sounds of the hydras' footsteps wading through the quagmire traveled far in the crystalline air. Then all the arrowslits and windows spewed out a viscous black fog which enveloped everything around us, wiping out the stars and damping all the sounds.

  I stretched out my hand but couldn't see my own fingers.

  "What's going on?" Platinus' angry voice came from inside. "Who turned off the lights?"

  The earth shuddered underfoot.

  "Get away from me!" a weak flash of light came from inside the donjon as Platinus, scared out of his mind, hurled one of his vials at some attacking force. I heard an angry growl but couldn't see any details in the darkness that flooded the air.

  00.00

  This was midnight by the Crystal Sphere's in-game time!

  "Follow my voice!" Zander bellowed, failing to get to the teleport. "We need to stay close!"

  The darkness shifted, its intangible depths stirring. A heavy wingbeat hit me with a sudden gust of wind. Something huge rushed past overhead. I heard a thumping sound and a weak cry, followed by the screeching of claws tearing through armor.

  Togien. Warrior

  Current status: Awaiting respawn.

  Wheezing noises were followed by the rattling of swords. A yellowed shard of bone flew through the air, landing at my feet. The flash of a spell tore through the darkness.

  Platinus. Sorcerer

  Current status: Awaiting respawn.

  The ancient curse cast over Rion Castle is active from midnight till dawn. It increases all respawn times tenfold and casts a Degeneration debuff on all respawned creatures, both players and NPCs, detracting 5 pt. from all stats for the duration of 5 hrs. with the exception of the Cohort of the Fallen.

  * * *

  "THEY'RE everywhere!" Iskandar shouted.

  The viscous darkness stood between us. Even my Twilight Vision ability proved useless against it. The only way to find one's bearings was by focusing on the sounds — which too were spine-chilling. Masonry crumbling. Paving stones shifting with a screech.

  A pair of bony hands grabbed at my shins. I sliced through the shriveled flesh, wrestling free of their grasp.

  "Enea!" I shouted, leaping aside.

  For a brief moment, a Cleansing Aura cast by Zander illuminated the entire area. The darkness shrank back, revealing a hair-raising view. About a dozen high-level warriors in rusty armor had surrounded the mercs. Pierced by a spear, Virgil's avatar was slowly vanishing. Tylor had sunk to one knee, his shield split, his sword broken, his life bar rapidly fading. His tag was absolutely crowded with debuff icons.

  The earth shuddered again.

  A cloud of ash rose into the air. Its particles were rapidly fusing, forming yet another tall outline.

  A Fallen Legionnaire. Level 27

  A rush of horror ran over me. I hurried to cast a spell before the enemy could complete his reincarnation. A roaring column of fire scorched through the darkness, scattering the ashes in the air.

  I swung round. Behind me, Enea, Rodrigo and Iskandar were also surrounded. Still, the pulsating stone which topped the Staff of a Hydra prevented their enemies from getting too close. The staff's Aura of a Predator slowed the attackers' movements, saving the wizards from an imminent hand-to-hand.

  Virgil. Warrior

  Current status: Awaiting respawn

  Tylor. Warrior

  Current status: Awaiting respawn

  The light expired.

  Before the darkness could close over us, I grabbed a spear from the ground and hurled it at the nearest legionnaire in a desperate attempt to come to Zander's aid.

  He was still going strong. The blade of his longsword tirelessly drew new combos in the air. St
ill, the thickening gloom had already begun to consume the dying glitter of the moonsilver weapon.

  Rodrigo. Combat Wizard

  Current status: Awaiting respawn

  Iskandar. Combat Wizard

  Current status: Awaiting respawn

  Zander's icon in the group's interface flashed red.

  "Enea!" I shouted, trying to locate her in the pitch darkness. To no avail.

  "Alex, I'm here! Help!"

  A wall of fire rose to the sky, repelling the enemies' dark outlines.

  I darted toward her. One of the legionnaires had already raised his spear, about to bury it in Enea's chest. Sensing my approach, he began to turn to face me. Too late. My sword sliced through his crumbling armor, extracting a hoarse scream from him.

  Zander. Paladin

  Current status: Awaiting respawn

  This was a complete and utter wipeout.

  The heaps of wind-driven fallen leaves began to smolder. Enea and I stood back to back. The undead legionnaires — there were five of them left — surrounded us. Our chances were minimal. My heart raced. I struggled to breathe.

  The stench of death floated over the ground. To me, all this was perfectly real. The neuroimplant kept flooding my brain with the graphic images of our enemies' armor glinting in the dying flames, their visors oozing gloom. The dirt underfoot was mixed with fallen leaves and the shreds of burned flesh.