AlterWorld

Effect: -30 pt. mana per second.

Some people grabbed me under my arms and dragged me up some stairs, panting and cursing the fucking rock. I noticed the gloom of an enormous dungeon and the iron bars that divided it into separate cages. Behind the bars, prisoners' faces showed in the crimson glow of an enormous crystal.

Any struggle was pointless in the grip of those thugs. Nor could I cast a spell on the go. I couldn't even try and smash my head on the stone steps as suicide wasn't part of the game. I tried to send a message to Dan, hoping that the welcome warning was BS. It wasn't. Contact the commandant to get clearance…

They pulled me out into a courtyard. Sunshine hit my eyes. I squinted, missing the exact moment when they pushed me out into an arena.

Welcome to a training fight at the Forest Castle Arena!

Laith, level 52, vs. Danathos, level 144

Fight mode: Combat realism, fight to death

Respawn location: arena

Grave location: graveyard

On guard! May the strongest one win!

Before I could raise my eyes, a powerful combo drove a sword up my ribs, sending me to the Rainbow Bridge.

A second later, I respawned. Hot sand was burning my feet. Again they grabbed me under my arms and pulled me ru

They rushed me into the dungeon under the influence of the strange crystal, dragged me into a cage and threw me onto the stones. A knee nailed me to the floor.

"Five minutes," a guard croaked. He spat on the tiles next to my face.

Stone chippings bit into my cheek. When I tried to move, I got a nice kick in the ribs. The other guard placed his dirty boot onto my head, pi

"Time," the hoarse guard snapped. "The cuffs!"

They jerked me to my feet. Shackles snapped shut on my wrists. A long chain dangled from them. The guards hooked the chain up to the ceiling. One of them struggled to turn the winch as the rusty mechanism pulled me up. Now I was hanging in the middle of the cage. Even if I had enough mana, I couldn't dream of casting anything in this position.

"He's done. Let's go back to the crystal. They're bringing another one soon."

The other guard wasn't in a hurry. "Wait up. You know me. I always finish with my signature punch."

He took a boxing stance and started jumping around me, pounding my ribs and liver with a rather decent punch sequence. My health shrunk somewhat, a wave of shallow pain ru

"Quit screwing your face," the boxer guffawed. "This is nothing compared to what our torturer has in store for you. With his experience and imagination…" He raised his voice, addressing the other prisoners. "Am I right, shitheads?"

The dungeon echoed with curses and groans. Someone wept.

"See?" he went on. "Everyone here knows Ivan the Terrible. They have respect for him. So will you. Just keep hanging here for a bit."

The two walked out of my cage and sat down on a bench not far from the wretched stone that took up most of the far wall. Not a wall, really, but rather a slab of rock exposing one side of an enormous crystal gleaming an ill-boding crimson. The Forest Cats must have come across the artifact while investigating or working the caves and had enough sense to buy the land and build the castle.

My inbox flashed. I opened it praying for a miracle and cavalry.

Hi Nec! So they got you too?

The sender was Cryl—the rogue I'd met on my first day and with whom I had then lost all contact. So he was here? I strained my eyes, sca

On the ceiling, Cryl prompted.

I raised my head and recoiled, swinging on my chains. My jailors glared my way.

Awful, eh? Cryl gave me a sad smile.

You could say that. The kid hung by the ceiling, his flesh pierced by a few dozen rusty hooks every which way. His rib, his elbow, his shoulder blade, his hand… Bastards. Just wait till I get to you.

"Are you crying? Don't," he wheezed. "Don't worry. I have a high pain threshold. I don't feel a thing… almost. The Cats aren't worried I'll go nuts so they hang me up here to instill a fear of God in the rest."

I hadn't even noticed I was all tearful. Not with fear—these were tears of sympathy, anger and helplessness. What kind of monster is man?

"It can't be," I managed.

"It can. I got perma-stuck three days after our gnoll adventure. My dad is a programmer. He writes virtual world stuff so he has this password-protected capsule with no time restrictions on it. I hacked his password—it was easy, he has the same one for everything. Mom and Dad left for the weekend, and all I wanted was to play a bit longer. But it got me perma-stuck…"

"How did you get here, then?"

"I was an idiot. I was sitting there by the Gnoll Hill wiping my tears and wondering what to do and how to log out. That bitch, she came over to me, like she wanted to help me. Fuck her… She said she'd help me contact my family. Then she said I could stay in the castle. I joined her group and we teleported here. They do the same to everyone. They take you to the arena first, then keep you in a cage for twenty-four hours to bring mana to zero and make sure you're hungry and thirsty. You won't die from that but you won't be able to regen. Then they show you around the castle pointing out the good conditions slaves live in. They suggest you make a bind point in a special dungeon room. If you say no, they'll take you on another tour, this time to the torture chamber. To meet Ivan the Terrible. He's an amazing man. He'll try to convince you to do as they say. He nearly always succeeds. Then they either leave you in the castle giving you twenty-hour-a-day crafting jobs. There's other work available, too. Some Cats like their beds warmed by young boys. Not just male Cats—there're some really sick females among them, too. They can use you as a target for archery practice… you'll have to catch their arrows with your own chest and fetch them back to the archers in your teeth. They've lost all perspective here. They're drunk with anarchy better than liquor…"

Blood pounded in my temples. My mind was clouded with hate and fear. There had to be a way out. It wasn't the first time I was walking a tightrope. I could do it.

"Relax," he said. "Try not to attract attention. You will regret it."

"I won't," I tried to pull myself together. "Any other options?"

"Not many. We have customers here every couple of days or so. From the Arabic cluster, I believe. Just yesterday we had three dudes from the African zone. They have a new fad going there, the all-Caucasian harems. They don't even care which race white girls play for. They just want a white soul behind all the menagerie. Those are all our options, I'm afraid. Some guys just disappear. The guards collect them and take them away… and they never come back."

I nearly howled with my own helplessness. "What about the Admins? Surely the Cats couldn't block the access to Technical Support and Administration?

Cryl gave a weak shake of his head. "You try. They're fucking imbeciles."