Готовый перевод Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 25

Chapter 25

Level twenty-five. I admittedly expected to be allowed to choose another additional class, since I wasn't exactly a normal Hero, but I had to roll my lip back. They weren't going to give me any new goodies, even though I wanted them badly. On the other hand, I'm satisfied even with what I have now. The main thing is to make good use of the gifts originally issued to me, and then I can think about new things.

If I survive.

You could say that I passed a very important milestone in my life's journey. Especially when you think of the level I was reaching by my pure characteristics. Five stat points, three skill points, and a complete emptiness in reserve. Today I gave it exactly one hundred percent, I could barely crawl home. And only then do I allow myself to pass out for twelve long hours. No dreaming, no work - just rest.

But I woke up with a fresh head, a vicious appetite, and a thirst for action, provoked by the newly operational pain in the ass. And there were gloomy thoughts that it would soon be time to stop saving money. And maybe right now, not anytime soon. Free points were good, but not enough to risk my skin. I need more mobility, more firepower, and more control overshadows.

And that means that I have to spend at least a couple of points, otherwise it's not saving anymore, it's stupidity. I'm going to spend it on the shadow class, though I shouldn't forget about dreamwalking, either. But I'm happy with dreaming and alchemy at the existing levels, while I need shadow combat power like I need air. The skill upgrade alone certainly helps, especially with clairvoyance, which, lately, has even begun to partially seep through the blockade put on by an unknown creature, but not enough for my peace of mind.

So I have no choice but to moderate my appetites and accept the need to spend a lot on my reinforcement. For the strength to confront the unknown nastiness will be needed soon enough. I will preach sobriety and abstinence if that thing is below a legendary grade! Anyway, it's time to open the coffers! For such a creature, even the toad doesn't choke me anymore... Okay, I'm lying. It's choked me a lot, to the point of tears, but it's time to fight this hoarding heroically.

"Status."

Name: Constantine
Race: Human
Level: 25

Titles: Hero; Silent Assassin; Night Master, Thunderstruck; The Legend Seer; The Legend Killer; Withstood; Sighted Mentor; A Persistent Guy; Those who've seen a lot; Soul of a Mocker; Marathoner; Invisible Mentor

Characteristics Points: 15
Class Points: 14

Characteristics (standard):
Strength: 70
Dexterity: 115
Endurance: 75
Perception: 96
Concentration: 100
Energy: 114

Characteristics (class):
Shadow: 67
Dreams: 48
Inspiration: 24

Class: Lord of Shadows
Rank: 2
Basic characteristics: shadows, dexterity, perception.

Abilities:
Shadow Control: 5/5
Allows you to masterfully control shadows in your field of vision, giving them full physical embodiment; shadows can freely take solid form and are suitable for creating obstacles and barriers; the range, speed, control, and stretching of shadows is greatly increased; shadow density is greatly increased; shadows can inflict energy damage and impose effects that reduce target characteristics; wounds from shadows are worse; with maximum tension and concentration of the shadow on a certain area, you can turn the shadow into a door to another plane; increases the Shadow's characteristic by +5.

Shadow Sense: 5/5
Allows you to sense all shadows within a large radius; allows you to clearly sense shadow movement and affiliation; allows you to control shadows freely even outside your direct line of sight; allows you to sense invisible persons touching shadows; allows you to see and hear through shadows; shadows within your perception zone are easier to submit to your will; shadows can point out targets you highlight or dangerous to you; if you wish, you can hear voices of shadow inhabitants distantly and vaguely; increases the Shadow characteristic by +5; increases the perception characteristic by +5.

Steps of the shadows: 5/7

Allows the user to step into a shadow and go directly to the shadow plane at will, with the possibility of staying there for a certain amount of time, depending on the user's reserve and the actions they take; allows the user to select a shadow for back passage directly while applying the skill; the distance of movement is limited by the user's reserve, but the effort and concentration are quite tolerable; in combat, this skill is extremely effective, especially for ambushes and surprise attacks; while in the other plane, the user's body gets the ability to pass through unenchanted obstacles; allows the body to merge with the Shadow, developing great speed of movement; allows to accumulate shadow energy right in the moment of step; limited levitation is available when in the other plane.

Stealing of the shadow: 1/7

Allows, with a significant waste of reserve, to take someone else's shadow, thereby taking the form of the stolen one; with high concentration allows you to pass off someone else's shadow as your own, deceiving weak status assessment abilities; with a sudden movement the stolen shadow might unfold; with excessive use of shadow manipulation the shadow might unfold; under the influence of enemy skills the shadow is likely to unfold.

Summon of the shadow: 0/7
[undisclosed]

Bonuses:
Shadowborn: stealth skills grow five times faster; in case of danger, shadows will shelter you as their brethren.
Dexterous: Dexterity grows faster.
Shadow Seer: This allows you to apply a special type of vision that allows you to superimpose the shadow plan on reality; allows you to see through disguises, obscurations, and illusions; the power of the gaze depends on characteristics and class ability development.
Blood of Shadows: Other blood flows in your veins, giving you a piece of its power; increases the characteristic of Shadow by +5, making it easier to communicate and negotiate with the inhabitants of Shadow.
[undisclosed]

Class: Master of Dreams and Reflections
Rank: 1
Basic characteristics: dreams, concentration, perception

Abilities:
Create a dream: 3/5

Allows you to control the dream you are in by influencing the passage of time; allows you to directly control the situations and plot of the dream; allows you to create scenarios for individual dreams; allows you to understand what scenes will resonate most with the dreamer; allows you, with effort, to create complex dream scenarios; allows you to better control the matter of dreams and to confront others' dreams even when other entities oppose them.

Send a dream: 4/5

Allows you to instantly immerse yourself in a dream, as well as clearly understand the boundaries of reality and sleep; allows you to easily enter the dream of an intelligent being located near you, if it itself is asleep; allows you to collect information from other people's dreams; allows you to learn the nature and thoughts of sleeping beings; allows you to easily intercept control over another's a dream and hold the sleeper in the dream world, not allowing him to awaken; It allows artfully influencing the subconscious mind of a sleeper by inserting the necessary ideas and behavioral matrices; it allows creating shared dreams for several sleepers; it allows leaving anchors in others' dreams, which can be used to find the marked person, provided that he is asleep, even at considerable distances.

[undisclosed]

Bonuses:
Dreamer: social and magic skills associated with the class grow five times faster; no one has power over your dreams but yourself.
Undeterred: the concentration grows faster.
[undisclosed]

Class: Mystic Alchemist
Rank: 1
Basic characteristics: inspiration, perception, energy

Abilities:
Creating a compound: 3/5

Allows you to create very complex alchemical compounds from available reagents, instinctively understanding the creation process; allows you to adjust the desired result and understand what purpose a certain reagent is suitable for; allows you to work with the aggregate state of the resulting mixtures; with luck and effort, you can create exotic mixtures that can cause complex and long-lasting status effects.

Reagent breakdown: 3/5

Allows easy extraction of essences from alchemical reagents; difficulty depends on the rank of the reagent, its quantity, characteristics, and skills of the user; allows to hold collected essences and limited manipulation; compositions created from pure essences are guaranteed to get higher quality; compositions created with essences have a slight chance to get a higher grade or additional effects (the effect depends on the quality of reagents).

[undisclosed]

Bonuses:
Understanding of the essence: the ability to see and, with reservations, understand magic in things and reagents; all craft skills related to alchemy grow five times faster.
Attentive: perception grows faster.
[undisclosed]

Special:
Limit of Excellence (from the title ‘Hero’): raises the maximum limit of natural characteristic growth to 50 (Now: 60), accelerates trainability, and increases the amount of experience gained.
Hero's Will: Thought-affecting skills ranked below your class have no effect.
Hero's Gaze: allows you to see a certain amount of information about others; depending on your level.
Mythic: Limit of characteristic development raised by 10 (Now: 60), allows you to choose three classes at once.
Silence in the hall (rare; from the title ‘Silent Assassin’): an active skill that completely mutes sounds in a small area. Duration and area of effect depend on the user’s level and energy value.
Night Master (rare): You have, voluntarily or involuntarily, met the standard for the title of a professional assassin. Proving that you have this title will get you a job in any shadow guild. If you don't get slaughtered just in case. Effect: +5 to dexterity; +2 to all characteristics except class.
Improved coordination (common): improves coordination and fine motor skills.
Improved hearing (common): Improves hearing, allows you to distinguish previously inaudible whispers and rustles, makes it easier to distinguish the sources of sounds and identify them.
Increase energy quality (common): makes your energy more saturated and denser, thus increasing the power of your charms and reducing the cost of creation.
Thunderstruck (rare): You received a charge of many millions of volts on your head, but managed to survive such a gift. You have to be pretty stupid to be struck by lightning, but you also have endurance. Effect: +5 endurance.
The Legend Seer: The Skin-Taker, or, as the local tribes call him, Sa'Shai Garhmnul, very rarely shows his face, and even more rarely leaves those who see him alive. In any case, you were among those who survived the encounter. Luck or stupidity, we can't let something like that go unrewarded. Bonus: +5 to all stats except class stats.
The Legend Killer: To become a Legend, the Skin Taker lived a long life and shattered countless lives of strangers. But all his power didn't help him when he met you. Luck and stupidity, we'll say, but we'll give you a reward nonetheless. After all, it's not every day someone proves that even Legends sometimes die. Bonus (halved): +5 to all characteristics except class, +1 free ability point.
Bone strengthening (common): makes bones stronger and more resistant, allowing you to better tolerate stress.
Combat Concentration (common): makes it easier to stay focused on something during combat or other active actions; pain and injury have a reduced chance of interrupting caste.

Perfect Coordination (common): gives perfect coordination and fine motor skills; allows full control over your body; slightly reduces the effects of stun and trauma; makes it harder to use lie detection and cold-reading skills on you
Withstood: You stood alone, or in a very small squad, against an enemy outnumbering you in numbers and levels, bringing death to all life. We have no idea if you have brains or where they are located, but we give you a reward just in case. Bonus: +5 to Endurance and Dexterity.
Sighted Mentor: It's hard to keep the line between helping wimps gain combat experience and not letting them die in the process. Not everyone has the patience and skill to do this, but you do. Bonus: +5 to Perception.
Active enhancement (common): allows you to increase your strength by a quarter once every three hours, for forty minutes (depends on magic stats), after which it rolls back, reducing your strength by half, for an hour.
Magic thickening (rare): increases the effect of spells and slightly increases the reserve; significantly reduces the cost of creating spells and increases protection against negative magical effects and curses.
A Persistent Guy (epic): you haven't wasted a single point by reaching your full potential, only to then start investing in it. Foolishness or farsightedness? We don't know, but we're rewarding you just in case. Bonus: +5 to all characteristics, except class characteristics.
Those who've seen a lot (legend): Most mortals live and die without ever meeting a Legend. Some are unlucky enough to meet one, and then their lives are cut short. Few could boast of what they had seen. But you defied the laws of statistics and common sense. You managed to meet three legendary monsters in less than a month and survive each of those encounters! Your fearless folly is rewarded! Bonus: +5 to all stats except class stats, +1 free ability point.
Soul of a Mocker (unic): You are one of the few who is accustomed to looking for someone else's pain points and hitting them as hard as you can with gusto. For justice, for your own convictions, or just for fun, you've come a long way from being a scavenger afraid to face your victims, capable only of insult, to a true maestro, capable even of gracefully dipping your opponent's face in the dirt. Bonus: you intuitively sense a way to poke fun at your interlocutor, whether with harmless irony or extreme sarcasm.

Marathoner (rare): You have endured a long battle against a difficult opponent. You were tired, exhausted, depleted of reserves, but continued to fight stubbornly, refusing to acknowledge your weakness. Such tenacity and fortitude are worthy of reward. Bonus: +5 to endurance.

Shadow Lucky (epic): You, showing incomparable dementia, took a step too far, falling completely into the Shadow without being prepared for it. Despite your slim chance of survival, you managed to get out the way you came in. Moreover, despite your underdeveloped ability, you were not torn to pieces on the way back! The odds of survival were one in a thousand, but Fate keeps fools away! We'll just be silent, refrain from commenting, and reward you. Bonus: +1 bonus point to Shadowsteps ability.

Shadow Awakening (epic): gives a permanent effect that simplifies shadow control by a certain amount, depending on the level and value of the Shadow trait. May have other effects when interacting with shadows.

Natural Control (rare): allows you to perceive your magical energy as another part of your body, making it easier to work with any energy manipulation and class abilities.

Invisible Mentor (epic): it's hard to keep the line between helping weaklings gain combat experience and not letting them die in the process. It's even harder to do it in such a way that the victory remains entirely in their hands and without the risk. Such a task is possible only to true geniuses of pedagogy, well, and just lucky fools. In any case, get the bonus. Bonus: +10 to the perception.

Skills:
Provocation: 47 (master)
Running: 20 (journeyman)
Stealth: 62 (great master)
Swimming: 5 (apprentice)
Alchemy: 50 (great master)
Herbalism: 31 (master)
Gathering: 25 (journeyman)
Fishing: 14 (journeyman)
Spear Mastery: 3 (apprentice)
Infiltration: 33 (master)
Danger sense: 56 (great master)
Deathstroke: 48 (master)
Dagger Mastery: 52 (great master)
Hand-to-hand combat: 18 (journeyman)
Energy Flow Management: 46 (master)
Two-Handed Combat: 34 (master)
Throwing Weapon: 15 (journeyman)
Clairvoyance: 39 (master)
Disarming traps: 24 (journeyman)
Pickpocketing: 13 (journeyman)
Trap Making: 11 (journeyman)
Poisoner: 6 apprentice)
Essentialism: 16 (journeyman)

I had grown and matured quite a bit - the wall of text made my eyes glaze over as if I had been drinking too much. Alas, the super-fast development of the early days in the new world is finished. The easiest levels were already taken, and further development would not be easier. I can only be very strong in comparison to the average inhabitants of Alurei because even a single cultist was able to offer me quite significant resistance. If there were a dozen girls like that out there, and at most I could quickly and heroically squeal and run away.

Yes, I'm well aware that my build is far more suited to instant killing and speeding off into the sunset, but it's frustrating to feel like I'm not the biggest OP in this sandbox. What would happen if I met another Legend? And I might, because the thing behind the cult wouldn't go away. It's a great time to think with my head, which doesn't want to be shoved into a noose because its bearer is thinking with his ass.

The first thing I did was throw in all the available points in the energy. All fifteen of them, yes. As much as I wanted to get my perception up to a hundred, or my dexterity up, I knew a simple truth: I had enough speed right now. I might not be the "fastest blade in the world," but the combination of the shadow sphere and the ability to step into the Shadow entirely at any moment allowed me to dodge even the fastest blow with assurance. Much faster than myself. Just as long as I have time to spot my opponent.

But the lack of magical powers could kill me with a much higher guarantee. Yesterday I was able to hold a call on snot and sheer stubbornness. I'd love to upgrade my concentration as well (which would help me hold it in place), but there's no sense and no available stats to waste. A hundred and twenty-nine energy is a lot by local standards, especially when you consider the class stats as well. But it wouldn't be enough to fight a supposedly legendary beast that's nesting in the Kraj.

And don't tell me that I don't have to fight this filth personally! I'm not going to stick my nose in it anyway. It's just that I have this suspicion, based on an empirical analysis of my life path under the Alurej sky, that if some particularly dangerous thing appears somewhere in the same area as me, I'm guaranteed to have to deal with it closely.

As a matter of fact, right now my accumulated treasure (fourteen points!) is enough to almost completely fill the second rank of the shadow class. I'm not even considering upgrading my alchemist and dreamwalker abilities, because I need my strike power and survivability. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I managed to keep myself from putting in all the points I had (fourteen, Carl!) with a cry of "burn it all". First of all, because I don't see how stealing a shadow can help in combat.

Almost sobbing in pain, ripping my soul out of me, with the scream of a schoolboy who has had his console taken away from him, I put three points in the pre-selected abilities at once.

Steps of the shadows: 7/7

Allows the user to step into a shadow and go straight to the shadow plan, with the possibility to stay there for a long time, depending on the user's reserve and the actions he takes; allows him to choose a shadow for back passage right in the process of applying the skill; the distance of movement is limited only by the user's reserve, and the cost of strength and concentration is low; extremely effective for use in combat; while on another plane, the user's body can pass through unenchanted and insufficiently enchanted obstacles; allows the body to merge with the Shadow, developing tremendous speed of movement;

/allows accumulating shadow energy right in the moment of step; levitation is available when on another plane; allows, under certain conditions, to get to deeper layers of Shadow; allows a limited impact on the material world without falling back into reality; allows to move instantly within perception; increases Shadow characteristic by +10; increases Dexterity characteristic by +10.

If there was any greed that plagued me, after reading the changed description of the ability, it can go fuck itself! Let's read the last three paragraphs of the description together, just to better understand my emotions at this point.

Let's skip the pluses to the stats - it's very good, just fine, but compared to the rest it looks like just a nice bonus. Like a free keychain when you buy a sports car. I'm always getting more shadows and Dexterity... Dexterity is great, yeah. But, once again, not on top of the other two points.

The ability to move instantly within perception range.

I read it again.

Instantly

Within fucking range of perception!

You don't need to be reminded that the range of my perception is a fucking kilometer and a half in either direction. Or rather, a thousand six hundred meters, but that's nothing. The shadow sphere appeared to interact perfectly with the final shadow-step amplification as if these abilities were made for each other. But why "as if"? Clearly, a prearranged bonus for the young Lord of Shadows.

It was as natural to take advantage of the instant transfer as it was to breathe; all I had to do was want to. It was a little like being pulled through a narrow tube. I stepped into the Shadow, took on a ghostly form, and then I was shot out of a cannon and found myself at the point I wanted.

The point, by the way, must be chosen in advance, even before entering another plan, otherwise, it will not work. And it didn't work, either, to make a wish and then just use this tow truck at any moment. Only instantaneous action, only hardcore! A means of emergency escape, or vice versa, a way to quickly get into protected territory, but not a combat skill.

It's too unpleasant to shift, making me feel like a meat jelly rather than a proud Isekai. In combat, I'd rather use standard steps that don't require so much effort and expense.

I have a suspicion that the principle of this ability is to literally sew two separate shadows together, and then drag me through the opening. According to my intuitive understanding of my own actions, that's exactly what it is. It's pretty funny, considering that the steps worked the same way at the very first rank of the ability. Then I had to walk through the shadows, too, without getting into the Shadow, because I didn't have enough talent for a full-scale transference to another dimension.

Then I learned how to get past that stage, going into the Shadow all at once, and then coming out of it without much loss, except for the reserve of magical energy. And now, it turns out, I'm back to square one. Only this time I don't need to see the shadows being sewn, just know that they are there. And the speed of activation, like the speed of movement, has increased by several levels.

Usefull?

Of course!

But that's not what pleased me, not at all. What frustrated me about the shadow steps was the need to fall back into reality every time I tried to change something in that reality. To strike a blow, to steal a purse, even to move a petal that had fallen from a tree - if you wanted to do that, you had to come back to reality. Now the rules have changed!

I could literally take money out of other people's pockets without even gaining materiality (tested on random passersby; all the money went back into the owners' wallets)

I could play poltergeist, scaring the superstitious citizens with suddenly moving pieces of furniture. I especially liked the face of the little kid who had been sent to the orchard to pick a basket of apples. He turned his back for a few seconds and the basket was full. How funny he was looking around!

But, most importantly, I could strike living objects while remaining in the Shadow! It would eat up a huge amount of reserve, but there were plenty of nice things for living and breathing opponents, too. To begin with, as long as I was immaterial, even a blow with my bare hand would be fatal to a human. The occasional bandit from the local gangsters beating up his colleague from the non-local gangsters wouldn't let me lie. I just poked him in the chest with my open palm, causing him to grab his heart and fall.

Personally, I felt like I stuck a limb into something unbearably hot and at the same time... pleasant at the same time. There was even a trickle of power, replenishing my reserve, and the dead man himself was rapidly turning gray. I think if I hadn't taken my grip out of him, he would have dried up like a mummy! But even so, he died of cardiac arrest. And something tells me his heart was frozen through.

Further experiments were performed on rats, which reduced the efficiency a little but added to the headache of straining my clairvoyance too much. According to the findings, any touch of the Shadow was toxic and dangerous to living things. A mere attack by a materialized shadow also cast a nasty curse, but in this case, it was a much stronger one. A single poke was enough to kill an unfortunate animal. The dagger killed with a guarantee, even if it didn't cause any material damage.

The deaths of those I had killed while in ghostly form did restore me, little by little. But in order not to waste my strength and go to the positive, it was necessary not to torture the rats, but to kill people. Although the mere possibility of outnumbering a small army without going into my native reality is worth a lot.

I didn't fail!

The two points I invested paid off many times over. Now I really do have a chance of standing up to the strongest cultists as well as escaping from them. I didn't care about the clairvoyance that didn't work. With that kind of maneuverability and speed, I don't really need it. I mean, I need it, but if anything happens, its absence is not guaranteed to be fatal.

You ask me where I put the third invested point? I'll tell you the answer! I put it into the only remaining skill that was still on the infamous zero.

Summon of the shadow: 1/7

Allows you to summon and impose your will on a lower Shadow; to subdue and control the Shadow, the powers of the summoner are spent; the summoned Shadow cannot linger in reality without a feed from the summoner.

To be honest, it was very scary - I remember my horror and hopelessness when the Shadow dwellers came to my discovery, eating the legendary monster alive in front of my eyes. And somehow I don't feel much inclination to repeat this wonderful experience. But it's necessary to develop all the skills, and not to use what you have invested so much labor (points) would be epic folly. And I will not go to the next rank if I can not close all the skills.

I found the time and the place to practice my new ability after all. There was no problem with time - I was smart enough to start my operation to kill the poor widow on the weekend. And the place was surprisingly good and had been for a long time. The latrine! Not only were the shadows thicker there because of the corpses fed to the other realm, but if I shit myself, I wouldn't have to run far.

The summons of the shadow felt... strange. Like trying to pull a thread through a needle's eye, only the thread is alive and resisting, and the needle is yourself. The Shadow's strange feelings become your own, and your minds clash with each other in a struggle for control.

That's where it let me go a little bit.

Don't get me wrong - if the entities that ate the Skin Taker were scary, cold as the Arctic, and evil as the embodiment of universal evil, then the inferior Shadow... It was as if you were holding an evil Chihuahua in your hands. Yes, she is evil, she has teeth, and she can bite. But you should not expect any serious threat from this little yapping dog. At most, it will shit out of fear and fierce hatred.

The moment the skill was activated, it was as if I reached out to the cluster of "toilet shadows" with a harness woven from the purest night, with which I grasped the small entity and lifted it to my reality.

A shadow hovered in front of my face. It looked like a three-dimensional, pardon the pun, shadow that had taken the shape of a strange cloud. I could see no eyes or mouth or limbs on its body, but somehow I could easily feel its gaze. She hated me, but she was also terribly afraid. Fear, hatred, and hunger - it seemed to consist of these substances.

It was too weak to hunt. It couldn't even think of pushing its power between the layers of reality, draining any of its inhabitants. All the creature had to do was sit in dark corners day after day, absorbing the power of the Shadow, and occasionally munching on its weaker inhabitants. A plankton collector.

But it could look and listen, discern and hide. Oh, yes, hiding was the best thing it could do! I have no idea about the stealth skills of this particular creature, but even a very good sensor would find it almost impossible to spot it. And certainly not if it was watching from its home dwelling.

You guessed right - I can really see through its eyes. Or rather, I can make the creature convey what I see, thanks to the abilities I got from the Shadowblood. My mind reflexively adapted to the way Shadows perceived me, allowing me to do quite a lot. I'm sure that my quick victory and total subjugation of the Shadow, as well as the rather modest fee for being in reality, are also a consequence of the class perk.

To be honest, I sincerely doubt the usefulness of my new subordinate. I can sense better than a spy, and it would be almost useless in combat. I mean, it would eat a citizen or a guard, and it would be hard to kill it, especially at night and without magic. But it's cheaper, faster, and easier to do the work yourself. With shadows or knives, but by yourself. Plus, if I act on my own, I won't need to waste my energy and concentration on maintaining the Shadow.

In the long run, especially at peak levels, this talent will be very dangerous and cool. But then I wouldn't have to work with lowly beasts that resemble angry dogs, but with wolves who are so eager to tear the throat out of a negligent summoner who believes in his power. In general, I am not yet ready for such a feat. And for my present purposes, I can get enough of the strength I've already gained from maximum teleportation.

I got a great sword and shield (if a quick escape can be considered a shield), with which I can not fear for my life. Now I could be really sure that I could get away from trouble easily. So it was time to go back to the young inquisitor's slightly modified plan of action.

I glance out the window - it's still quite a long time until sundown. It's a good time to take a short walk around town, munch on some pastries, and get away from my three-week marathon in practical cultology. Otherwise, I am not sure of myself.

If you don't go into the bad neighborhoods, the Kraj is quite a beautiful place. The lively, cheerful, and colorful city begged us to dance and sing, laughing carelessly despite adversity. Another carnival - in honor of the city's founding, by the way - showed the city in an exceptionally good light.

No debt pits, no gang warfare, no crippled hunters dying on the pavement, no beggars who couldn't even leave the place they hated because the creatures were waiting behind the wall - just fun and dancing. It made me want to believe it, even though clairvoyance and the sphere of shadows had fed me a good deal of the shadow side of local life. But today I didn't want to think about blood and victims, about black filth and the unfortunates distorted by it, about corrupt guards and ruthless killers in official's cloaks.

I wanted to forget about this nightmare.

Forget at least for couple ours.

I ate a fine boar rib (the boar itself was roasted on a spit in the middle of the street), threw a full silver coin to a street dancer (she was good as hell!), let a street fortune taller read my hand, and smacked her accomplice who wanted to pick my pockets, even bought pies, just as I had wanted. They were all top-notch - hot, cherry, and there were plenty of them, too.
T.N.

It was as I was finishing my third treat, trying not to burn myself or get red juice all over my face, that I noticed a rather amusing situation - a fight. Not just any fight, but a sublime fight between two groups of street artists. As I understood it, they were some kind of magicians and dancers. The dancers had better props and beautiful costumes with carnival masks, but the magicians had higher levels and stronger fists. So the dancers, to be honest, were a bit fucked up.

The clairvoyant immediately kick in, even without a headache, making it clear that both squads of valiant fighters had paid for their performance in this area (quite good, I should note, for the wide-area with a lot of people), and the guards had taken money from all at once. Either on purpose or in a hurry did not agree, but the result can be seen in the broken faces of the warriors of creativity. I can even guess who provided the guards with so much work that they forgot about even one of their favorite sources of income for the lower ranks.

I didn't want it, I swear!

Anyway, if they wanted to provide people with a spectacle, they did a great job! Even to my inexperienced eye, the crowd just loved it. Far more thrilled than either company could have been, even if it had been their last performance. Honestly, you'd better give them a business idea, because they're even getting coin tossed at them. Encourage them, so to speak. Like, the winner gets everything, and the loser just gets a gash in his smile.

I like this kind of theater more!

I caught the mask that flew out of the cascade of fluttering limbs rather easily. It wasn't in my face, even if it was close enough. To be honest, I was going to throw it away, but something about it kept me going.

A simple mask, made of something resembling porcelain, only less valuable. It was smooth and pleasant to the touch, and it pleased the eye with some ineffable intertwining of colors that must have made up the face of the evil sorcerer. It was painted worse than it was made. There was even paint on the fingers... No, it was the blood of the previous owner.

With some difficulty I interrupted my clairvoyance, already intent on telling me the life story of all those who held the mask in their hands, I put it under my cloak and went home. I might not need it, but, for one thing, it's not my place to turn down a freebie, and, for another, I think I know what might be useful to me.

The way home is twenty minutes.

Lab warm-up is ten minutes.

It takes five minutes to find the right container.

Creating a cleansing compound is a couple of seconds.

And so - I have a perfectly shaped mask depicting a white, bone-like emptiness. It's like ghost watching - beautiful, gothic, and frightening. I'm sure if someone saw a ghost like that at night, he'd have to change his pants just like that. And I'd be happy to provide that.

The next thing was to reinforce it, and with my skills, it is not difficult to create a compound that turns ceramics into something very durable, a kind of substitute for a helmet. Then I was carried away by a wave of inspiration, and I put aside the fortifying solution and created a softener, which I used to treat the mask, sealing all the openings for the eyes and mouth.

I spent some irrecoverable (but not particularly valuable) reagents from the days of swamp wanderings to make the inside of the mask completely transparent. Judging by my alchemical flair, this compound was used to create armored glasses of super-strength and enchanted ceramics. Such armored windows, opaque from the street, were used by many aristocrats, eager to watch the dawn but unwilling to stick their heads under the arrows of assassins. It worked for my mask, too.

The reinforcing potion had to be poured out because it did not interact well with the mirror compound. Instead, I had to do a little work with reagent cleavage and even essentialism to make the material a little porous, so that it would let air in. Even more time was spent on cosmetic caulking of the porous area, only to have it look no different from the rest of the mask.

I lit the lamp, for the sun was slowly setting.

Finally created a strengthener that didn't react with the other compounds (I had to use a whole handful of Bigfoot wool). It worked just fine, but with the side effects of making the mask sticky and stark. Made the heroic decision to create a varnish coat that would let air in and not deprive me of the ability to breathe in this mask.

The first three attempts were unsuccessful (one came out with permanent color-changing hairspray!). The fourth was successful, but my inertia led me to the fifth. I noticed that I was a little slow, so I couldn't control my reaction, and the fifth potion burst the test tube, cutting my hand at the same time.

Fucking hell!

The first injury while working with alchemy, and for such a stupid reason!

I pressed on the wound and put a bandage on it. I could have healed it with a potion, but right now it was more important to finish the mask that had taken so much of my energy, nerves, and blood (the latter literally).

I look at the snow-white mask.

On the slashed hand.

On the mask.

On the hand.

I smiled my most contented smile and ran my bloody finger across the surface, leaving an uneven and sloppy trail. Even a drop of blood fell by, but it's more ambient that way.

I quickly rewound my hand and just as quickly coated the mask with a layer of water-repellent varnish, then took it in my grasps and looked at my first attempt at working in the genre of alchemical artifacting with a kind of satisfaction. It turned out pretty good, especially for a beginner.

It's a nice mask.

Perfect for throwing a fun night out on the town.

The last ray of sunlight fades outside the window, leaving the Kraj in the grip of darkness - both moons will be obscured by clouds tonight. The mask in my hands, the daggers on my belt, and the clear understanding in my head that this night will be remembered for a long time.

After a few minutes, my arm was completely healed by the healing potion, and I slipped out the window to my first destination of the night.

Guys, if I don't get any sleep, then you all don't get any sleep either, bitches!

* * *

12.5 pages, but 5.5 of them are Status. Status is long absent, don't curse at it.

http://www.art-atalog.ru/data_picture_2016/picture/375/11276.jpg - Carnival.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10XNc6FEJuu2NZ2oeZ8IXSNvqVaUZVlaC/view?usp=sharing - The dancer to whom the MC threw the silver coin.

https://yesoboi.ru/image/cache/gallery/2/1383-560x650.jpg - Mask, the original, only the coloring is poorer.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C0qsJL3mIepqmHg3xhisKkhkXl_e7jrm/view?usp=sharing - The most approximate thing I could find about the MC mask.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q_W7e0VtZQixCPNTi5zqK-s2jpJnPmyJ/view?usp=sharing - Also quite similar, though not quite.

Crit is exactly one: 1 - the failure of the Guardian investigation. The Cult paid where it was due and covered everyone and everything.

They are wary, they don't know where to expect an attack and what happened. There were opinions to switch to martial law, but they decided not to rush into it.

Big mistake.

MC doesn't want to wait.

Внимание! Этот перевод, возможно, ещё не готов.
Его статус: идёт перевод

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/80370/522376

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP