The Hunter’s Code: Book 4: A Portal Progression Fantasy Series

By Oleg Sapphire

Family manor – check!
First Family Sword – present!
Pets – a whole menagerie!
Enemies – more and more!
Friends – some, thank the Code!
Money – oops... I need more gold!
And a Family Guard! And a housekeeper! And a gardener, and... Hey, wasn’t this world supposed to be my vacation!?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magic Dome Books
• Release date: May 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9788076935594

Book preview

Yuri Vinokuroff & Oleg Sapphire

The Hunter’s Code

Book 4

A Portal Progression Fantasy Series

Published by Magic Dome Books

The Hunter’s Code

Book # 4

Copyright © Yuri Vinokuroff, Oleg Sapphire 2024

Cover Art © Vladimir Manyukhin

English translation copyright © Alix Merlin Williamson 2024

Published by Magic Dome Books, 2024

All Rights Reserved

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 Shop 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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Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

About The Authors

Chapter 1

Dolgorukov Family Manor

Somewhere in the Urals

HEY, SIS! In his usual ‘informal’ manner, Sergei Dolgorukov knocked, but then walked right in without waiting for an answer, inviting a sniff of annoyance from Maria.

Come on, Serge, when are you going to stop barging in on me like that? What if I were getting changed right now?

Ha, changed! The elder brother laughed. I changed your diapers. Wouldn’t be anything I haven’t seen before.

But I’m not a kid now. Maria tried to look serious, but in the end cracked a smile.

Dolgorukov rolled his eyes. Oh, sis, I’m begging you!

Maria grinned. She loved her older brother. Just like she loved all her brothers, and her parents too. Their family was very strong. Sergei, head of the Family Security Service and Family Guard, was kind and happy only to his own. His enemies had plenty of reason to fear his young, currently smiling face.

Sergei dropped down onto the couch where Maria sat with her notebook, hugged her round the shoulders and then kissed her on the cheek.

What are you doing?

Oh, father asked me to deal with the powder factory. They’re having some sort of trouble there — threatening to form a union. I might have to fly out there personally.

How is it that out of four brothers and one sister, the smartest turned out to be the little girl? Sergei laughed.

Because men... Maria smiled meaningfully, then smiled even wider and just said: Well, you know what I’m going to say.

Yes, I’m afraid I do. All men are fools. If you find a man smarter than you, you’ll marry him as fast as you can. When was it you first told me that? When you were five, I think?

And I still stand by it. What did you want, anyway?

Why do I have to want something? Maybe I just came to surprise my sister.

Oh, Sergei. Maria sighed. Don’t make me think even less of men. I can see in your eyes that there’s more to it than that.

Fine. A little birdie whispered to me that Baron Galaxius, who we know well, has regained ownership of his manor.

Maria frowned, but still broke off from her work to pay full attention to what her brother was saying. Well, I know that, you told me already.

Well, the thing is, the local bandits decided to try and take his manor away, and sent a suicide squad there, around a hundred men.

Has Galaxius had time to form a guard yet? Maria shut her notebook with a loud snap and looked at her brother with a worried frown.

Nope. Imagine it — the madman met them alone.

And then? Maria breathed.

Then nothing. Androsov and his guard galloped up and put the moronic attackers down. I suspect that was the intention — to lure them all in and then attack them from behind. Sergei scratched his beard thoughtfully.

For some reason, I’m not so sure about that.

About what?

That it was planned.

Well, what might the plan have been, then?

Maria smiled slightly. Well, maybe Galaxius intended to take them all down on his own.

Sergei looked at her carefully.

Are you being serious right now?

Dolgorukova shrugged, smiling at some thoughts of her own, then muttered:

Well, all’s well that ends well, anyway. She opened her notebook screen again. Sorry, but I need to work. Either way, well done Androsov! I’ll have to thank him somehow.

That’s very easy to do, as it happens. I think you’ll have the chance very soon. Sergei laughed, earning a look of confusion from his sister.

Why might that be?

Well, Androsov the younger suddenly decided to marry off his sister Katya to Galaxius. I think there’ll be a wedding soon. And I’m sure we’ll be invited. You can express your gratitude there.

At that, the notebook slammed shut so hard that broken glass from the screen flew in all directions.

What the hell, sis?! Sergei looked down in shock.

Noth-ing! Maria murmured slowly and thoughtfully. You know, I really think that factory in Irkutsk is going to need me there to bust that union. I think I’ll head out there today. What time is it? She looked at the clock. Oh, yeah, definitely. She joined her hands in a pleading gesture. Serge, please call your soldiers. Have them spare me a plane.

Sergei frowned, crossed his arms and sighed.

I love you, Maria. But do you think the Imperial Air Force has nothing better to do than fly your priceless backside around?

Oh, ple-e-ease... Maria begged, looking pleadingly into her brother’s eyes.

Sergei smiled. Of course he’d do as she asked. He never could deny his little sister anything, and neither could any of the other men of their family.

Only... She would certainly get to the factory, and solve all the issues there. Sergei started to feverishly remember who he had among his guardsmen in Irkutsk at that moment. After all, once done at the factory, his little sister would surely pay a courtesy visit to Galaxius, and that young man was a magnet for chaos.

He stepped out, found the entry in his contacts for ‘Androsov Security Chief,’ and called the number.

Igor Vasilyevich? Greetings! Dolgorukov here. Would you be so kind as to tell me...

* * *

Androsov seemed a little offended when I refused to let him visit my mansion. I muttered that it was a mess, that there was no point going just yet. Andy didn’t seem to believe me, and he wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t about to tell him about the crazed and wild honey badger who might eat our noble Healer in a fit of battle rage. So I made up some story and promised that he could come visit later, as soon as the place was ready. I wasn’t too eager to see the shit-eating grin on his highborn face anyway. He could go f... take care of himself!

I sat down on the steps and just stared into space for a while, processing recent events. Marry Androsov’s sister?! Seriously!? I’d never seen her before in my life! What if she was ugly? Or worse — stupid? Whatever, I’d figure it out eventually, but for now I didn’t even want to think about it. Ugh, Androsov... That bastard!

Anyway, I sat and waited for Wolf. Squinting against the surprisingly warm autumn sun, enjoying life. Then a nose suddenly prodded me. I turned and saw the honey badger looking with interest into my eyes.

Listen here, you psycho, I said to him. Come on, bind your soul to me. It’s time.

I took out a knife, cut my palm and reached my bleeding hand towards the creature. The beast sniffed it carefully, snorted, turned its ass to me, scraped its back paws on the ground a couple of times, then proudly stalked back to its lair.

Annoying little bastard... I scratched my head.

What was I supposed to do now? I had a whole manor now. Trouble was, nobody could go inside but me. Although I did have some kind of plan.

Here I saw Wolf driving toward me fast down the road overgrown with the decades. He jumped out from behind the wheel sharply, and from the passenger side, to my surprise, watchman Petrovich stepped out smiling.

I brought the old man along to lend a hand. You did say we can count on him. We talked on the way over. Petrovich really knows his guns.

Well, if Wolf said Petrovich knew his guns, that meant Petrovich was a top expert no worse than Wolf himself, since Potapov was usually only scornful of anything else.

Guess you must have seen service somewhere. I smiled.

Once upon a time, Petrovich said, chuckling into his beard. Before I became a Slayer, I had occasion to fight.

I moved my gaze to Wolf. He nodded silently, confirming the old man’s words.

Alright. As for why I called you here... You drove past some cars. And, well — all those cars are ours.

Wolf’s ears immediately pricked up. Including the Dogfish? he asked.

Like I said — all of them.

Hell yes! Potapov pumped his fist. We can take it fishing with us.

Fishing? I frowned.

Well, it’s a BRDM — an amphibious vehicle. It has a water-jet engine.

No way! I really was surprised; I still didn’t know much about the vehicles in this world.

Seriously. Wolf laughed. This is great news, actually. Considering we’re right on the shore of Lake Baikal and there are all those beasts in the northern section, I was worried we’d have to buy an armored power boat.

I looked at the angular armored car parked in the distance. That hunk of metal could float?

Well, we’ll buy a boat later. I scratched my head. That thing doesn’t look too... uh... seaworthy.

Nonsense, Commander. She’s an old car, but in good condition from what I can see, and reliable.

Alright, I said, clapping my hands. Enough talking. Let’s collect the spoils.

Are the trucks ours too? Wolf called out to my back.

Damn it, Wolf! I told you, all of them!

Just asking. The bald man smiled again and jumped behind the wheel.

Sometimes I thought new loot sped his recovery on far more than food and Androsov’s manipulations. I thought Hunters were the biggest hoarders, but Potapov would give them a run for their money.

Petrovich! I shouted to the old man. Do you have food in that guardhouse of yours?

Sure do, Your Lordship! A full fridge and a gas oven.

You and Wolf have a bite to eat, then leave the keys under the doormat. I might be staying in it for a couple of days.

Should I come back? Potapov asked, on guard.

No. I have some personal matters to attend to here.

I didn’t want to get anyone else involved, so it took the three of us almost a whole day to reap the whole harvest of weaponry and clear away the bodies. We loaded the corpses into one of the trucks, and I told Wolf to leave it somewhere close to King. Firstly, I wasn’t about to host those bastards on my land, or rather under it. And secondly, I was sending a message.

A quick inventory by Wolf and Petrovich showed that apart from the Swallow — whose name was written right on the hull, — there were no decent cars. The ordinary passenger cars were garbage, bullet-riddled and dented after years of use in drive-by shootings by gang thugs. We took those cars to a parking lot in Galaxiton for a rainy day.

At my suggestion to call Arkhip and take all the weapons and equipment there, Potapov shot me a look of amazement and disgust, and said he had to sort through it all first. I suspected that for all the time I’d be busy sorting out the manor, Potapov and Petrovich would be stuck sorting through loot.

After my provident guests left, I got started on my plan. The plan being to make that bastard honey badger obey me. The carrot hadn’t worked, so now for the stick — time to take advantage of all his rage and hatred.

It had been almost two days. I sat on a folding chair that I’d borrowed from Petrovich. Caramel lay spread out beside me. Even Shnoop was curled up under the chair, sitting in the shadows and watching the show with interest. I had been badgering that little bastard for almost two whole days now, with only short breaks for sleep.

What hadn’t I summoned already?! There had been flying beasts, sprinting ones, biting ones... A whole menagerie, in other words. My imagination was exhausted. My summoned beasts crossed the boundary and entered into combat with the honey badger, retreating and luring it outside. The honey badger screeched in rage, but didn’t step across the boundary. Seemed his nerves were stronger than I suspected. Although the last creature I summoned, a gigantic dung beetle, did manage to slightly strain the ghostly guard’s nerves. As it flew above the steps, buzzing loudly, the honey badger jumped up to grab it by a leg, and the beetle just took a dump right on his head. The beast spat in fury and screamed at the beetle. He reached it in the end, and crushed it in a second. But now, it seemed, his nerves were at breaking point.

I finished eating the sausage sandwich I’d found in Petrovich’s fridge, shook the crumbs from my hands and summoned a Davossian Toad. The toad was around the size of a large dog, and it spat a weak, but very sticky and stinky liquid. It could spit far and true at spots that its long tongue couldn’t reach, to later eat its paralyzed prey after a short wait. It could also leap far and high.

To achieve the desired effect, I summoned another one too. And now the two toads started jumping this way and that way, spitting on the furious honey badger as it darted back and forth, screeching and barking.

He’s going to have a heart attack at this rate, I commentated to my two pets, who watched the show with interest.

Shhhurre, let hhim! Shnoop hissed unhappily, still remembering his own fight with the hellish creature.

I don’t think he’ll go down that easily, Caramel’s voice said in my head.

So funny, I said, and burst out laughing as the toads synchronized.

The honey badger opened his mouth to grab one by the leg, and the other spat at him at that very moment.

The stench from the spit was horrible, of course. The honey badger’s smooth fur stuck together with it. I could only imagine how badly he stank. I sent a mental order to the toads to hop a little closer to me. They jumped across the invisible boundary and sat down just two yards away, occasionally sending globs of spit flying toward the furious honey badger. The customer seemed ready.

I stood up from my chair, walked up to the honey badger and crouched down beside it.

Those critters are so gross, I said to him unhurriedly. And so smelly. I wrinkled my nose. Let me tell you, you smell worse than a latrine right now. And this slime doesn’t just wash off.

The honey badger screamed and jumped up and down on the spot in rage. I got the feeling it was thinking about biting me in revenge. But I guess it wasn’t allowed.

You know, they can keep going like that forever. I nodded back at the toads. And imagine if a few more of them show up. And start hopping all over the house, filling your ‘burrow’ with spit. It’ll smell like this around the clock.

The honey badger’s wail held all the grief and longing of a warrior thwarted from destroying his foe.

But I have an idea! I turned to the honey badger. It looked up at me with its little eyes. Enough of the fighting. I’m a Galaxius, you know that. There are no other Galaxiuses around. Even if there are any left anywhere else in this world, believe me, I’m your best option. You’ll have friends. I nodded at the frowning Caramel, and at Shnoop sitting with his arms crossed like a kid having a tantrum. You even have things in common. Caramel hates squirrels. You already hate toads, you could move on to squirrels. And Shnoop doesn’t give a damn which of you has to carry stuff for us. So come on, join us, it’ll be fun!

I cut my hand again, and reached it out towards him. The honey badger looked at me and then at my pets, shot a glance of displeasure at the toads. Then he walked up and licked up blood from my palm. I was ready, and caught his soul at the moment of the ritual, binding it firmly to myself. The taming worked. I sighed. I had worried we might not get there. There was always the option of forcing him to obey, but that could be psychologically dangerous, both to the pet and to me. I really didn’t want that!

I smiled happily when the sharp claws carefully scratched at my leg. The honey badger looked up at me as if to say: well, what now?

Now go and eat those green critters, I said with a nod.

The honey badger carefully reached a paw over the last step, then another. He dropped his fat ass down into the grass, and in two bounds he gobbled up first one, then the second frog. Strutting proudly, he sauntered unhurriedly back into his home.

Hey, hello! You don’t have to hang around in there anymore, you know. You can go where you like!

The honey badger froze as it walked, a paw raised in the air. Turning around, it looked at me and walked back down, then suddenly started rolling in the grass like a happy animal.

That’s all well and good, I said, scratching my head, but you still stink like crazy. We’re going to have to give you a bath. I doubt the plumbing still works in there. But the well should still be fine, right?

I looked at my big new house. Now it was more or less safe to receive visitors. And how best to start settling into any new place? That’s right! With a spring cleaning!

Only... I still had business back in Irkutsk — I had promised to close a Rift for Khrulyov. King was still alive too, that asshole! I needed a guard here. God only knew where the family swords were... And... And there were a hell of a lot of ‘ands.’ Da-a-amn! I raised my eyes to the sky.

Hello, Higher Powers?! You really call THIS a vacation for a life well lived?!

Chapter 2

Southern shore of Lake Baikal

Around sixty-five miles from Irkutsk

ANDROSOV RETURNED TO IRKUTSK with mixed feelings. Firstly, he had come close to violating his father’s unconditional trust in him. Deciding, on his own initiative, to marry his sister off to Galaxius? Sure, he was a reliable friend and all. But apart from that, there were also other aristocrats in this world who would look upon the alliance of one of the strongest princely families of the Empire and a provincial baron like... Point is, they’d ask questions, many questions. And one of them would be — are the Androsovs weak, that they couldn’t find a better prospect for their daughter?

On top of that, Katya didn’t even know about it yet... and she wasn’t someone to cross. Andrei knew he’d get it in the neck worse from her than from their parents. Katya had trouble with men, owing to her particular... Well, no need to go into all of that just yet!

There was just nothing else Androsov could have done. That wasn’t taking into account the fact that even now Galaxius protected him with his own breast, or rather his entire family, in abstract terms. After all, the Androsov family, if it went to war with the Verbitsky clan, would likely win. Sure, it would invite a couple of extra problems, but it wouldn’t be the first time for that, would it? But Alex had proved himself again, just like he had that time in the Rift.

Andrei frowned, remembering one of their very first Rifts, a so-called practice raid. He and Alex, still green recruits, had been lagging behind the main group. The raid group stretched out and the senior Slayer ran forward, toward the main danger. But poor rookie Andrei got lost, and the beast that found him was one he would remember for the rest of his life. Andrei would never admit it to anyone, but at that moment he was scared stiff as he saw the massive creature bearing down on him. He wanted to cover his eyes with his hands, but couldn’t even make his fingers twitch. All he could do was stand and watch, stunned, as death bore down on him.

But at the final moment, his friend Alexander darted in, moving so fast he was a blur. He’d noticed his friend was missing and gone back to look for him. One hit from the young baron took down the beast, which was three times his weight. As he remembered now, Galaxius had gone on to use a cheap dagger to open the creature’s skull and pull a white jelly from its lifeless corpse, hefting it in his hand with a wide smile. Andrei ‘unfroze’ then, and was amazed at his colleague once again. To him, it was all like some fun game. He remembered how Alex had walked up to him then, threw an arm over his shoulders and said simply:

Come on, Andrei, move out. Then he gave him a strange sort of look. And... It happens to all of us. All that matters is that your temporary freeze doesn’t become a bad habit. He laughed his sonorous, infectious laugh and gave Androsov a slight shove, speeding him on in the right direction.

And he never brought up the incident ever again. Even though saving the life of the heir to the Androsov line was worth a hell of a lot. And, most surprisingly of all, now that he knew Galaxius a little better, he knew for sure — the man just never thought about it again. From anyone else, it might be fair to expect them to wait for their moment to demand a favor in return. But Alex had just forgotten the event, plain and simple. For him it was as routine as cleaning his teeth.

Androsov grinned widely. He’d talk to his father, and work things out with Katya too. And Galaxius... It was a good thing he had a man like Alexander among his friends!

* * *

In the morning, to my surprise, the Swallow drove up to the front and screeched to a stop, and Wolf stuck his head out of the hatch, smiling.

Getting used to the new gear? I asked.

The old specops man nodded. Yeah. I wanted to ride it around a little to make sure it doesn’t let us down in battle. But looks like it’s in great shape. It’ll do us just fine! I’ll hand it over to Semyonich at the Center. He hesitated. That is, if you don’t mind. There are some upgrades I want him to make.

For how many millions of rubles? I smiled.

At that, Wolf immediately protested:

Don’t worry, it’ll be pennies!

I sighed.

Pennies, sure.

Hey, Wolf! a muffled voice said from inside the BRDM. Wanna help a lady out?

Oops! Wolf said, and jumped out to open the side hatch.

Anna climbed out looking less than happy.

It might be a great fighting machine, but it’s damn uncomfortable inside. The girl grimaced and stuck her tongue out at Wolf, to which he just shrugged and grinned at her.

Then she cast her piercing eyes cross the old manor building. She turned her head a couple of times, looking at the outbuildings, then wrinkled her little nose.

This place needs so much work..!

Right, I said. First we need to call a cleaning service. Let them give it a thorough scrub.

A cleaning service? Anna frowned.

Yeah, what’s the problem?

"You have the entire town of Galaxiton. Half the people there are currently unemployed. And you