Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 6

Chapter 6

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 12:24

Don't get me wrong, but my first two choices were either to turn around and leave or to finish him off so he wouldn't suffer. It wasn't even the danger of repercussions from the slave-trafficking forces that stopped me, but a simple unwillingness to get my head in trouble that had been created by other people. So the fuckin' slave hunters are all dead, and I'm responsible for the death of the big-eared wondrous? I couldn't say that I cared all that much about the few other individuals who would crave my death because my attitude to the authority that is in Alurea is perfectly mutually described by the phrase "burn and bury the ashes". Well, some other guys will come after me, and I don't care about that.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:16

On the other hand, the full list of my enemies does not even know about me, but those who will look for the killers of the elf, it may get on the trail, which will result in another massacre and a pile of corpses. Guts hanging on trees is optional and at the will of the winners. With a small, literally minuscule, margin of victory was kindness - it was decided to save the little f*cker.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:24

A decision is a very good thing, a great thing. A decision marks the first step made on a chosen path, the first movement that will have to grow into something else, into something that will lead you to the final stage, to the goal. I could say a few more pompous phrases, but that would not change the main problem. I don't fucking know how to turn a nearly finished anatomical specimen from the "autopsy done by a self-taught sadist" category back into a functioning big-eared elf of unknown age.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:25

With a sigh that mixed a genuine reluctance to work my ass off and a fair amount of fatigue from all the crap the world was throwing at me, I walked closer to the victim. The victim himself paid no attention to my appearance, being unconscious. I confess, I don't blame him, for the pain must have been terrifying, and there was no reason for him to see me. I may be wearing a mask, but why should I even show that mask? Although most likely, at least the mask would have to show, yes.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:26

"Was he unconscious from the beginning?" I asked the question to Tarija, who was sitting by the window, breathing heavily to avoid the smell of the slaughterhouse in the ritual hall.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:27

The smell was there because there were other corpses besides the big-eared one, just not so much alive, which is why they died, rotting from open sternums and guts. I'd say I could have saved them, but judging by the age of those bodies, they died yesterday. I mean, I could have saved them, but it took too much risk on my part. And if I had decided to fight the whole camp alone, in order to start the operation as quickly as possible, there would have been an order of magnitude more casualties among the slaves. I would have to strike across the square, and I would have to remember to summon the Shadows, and it was not certain that my own strikes would be able to evade the defenseless targets.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:28

The situation with the ritual itself is much more interesting - if it was prepared in advance, there must be a reason for it. And it was prepared long and diligently. The inquisitive eye noted all the little things that made it possible to draw a relatively complete picture of the days that had passed. About a week ago, the ritualist erased much of the old figures and hexagrams covering all surfaces of the ritual room and began to prepare the ground for new development (or old, but not necessary until then). About three days later, the first sacrifices began, allowing him to connect to the strange artifact, and only then was the earwig himself placed on the altar, using him as an adapter. So that the energy of the artifact wouldn't turn an unfit person inside out.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:29

My attack was very " lucky " for the ritualist, for it allowed him to test a new weapon without leaving the box, even though its power was not enough to win. It was also clear why he was only hitting me - he could not reach the teammates, who had been dwelling on the edge of the camp and then in the swamp. The Ritual Room provided a precisely calculated maximum range, and he would not leave it and walk to the battlefield, even if he could use an artifact without making a peculiar adapter. I looked at the withered corpse of the mage and could hardly resist spitting on it. The man I'd killed was clearly looking forward to a battle, either with his former comrades-in-arms or against the cavalry that had invaded. Just because an elf cut into little pieces wouldn't last more than a day or two. Well, four if you pumped him full of the potions the outlaws had.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:32

So he had something like this planned.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:30

So somehow he knew about the shit approaching the fan.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:31

Maybe he, like me, was a clairvoyant, able to sense the approaching danger and begin to prepare to fight for his own skin. It's a shame that, after I killed the freak, my clairvoyance wouldn't help me answer that question - not only did I kill him through The Shadow, but I took everything out of him. Including that which allows clairvoyance to latch on to some subject and develop it.

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:33

"Yeah." Tarija interrupted my train of thought by answering the question. "He didn't even open his eyes. It looked like the subhuman was already on the other side, even though he was tenacious."

Camrad_RIP 30.01.22 в 21:35

She has no piety for the mauled boy. Or rather, she can hardly contain her nausea, but only because of the vileness of the spectacle she has discovered, and it is the poor boy's fate that concerns her least of all. She didn't give a damn about the humans (the outsiders), and she gave a damn about the elves twice as much.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 14:50

I was in agreement with her myself, but I couldn't do anything about it - it was too ambiguous, and the consequences of mistakes were now hitting not only me but my team as well. I had to get closer, trying not to step on the stiff bodies of the other victims, carefully examining the victim.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:40

A barely perceptible touch of my hand allowed me to determine the reason for this astounding will to live. The boy had been drugged with potions up to his eyebrows to keep him from fainting. It wasn't even the wounds that were likely to kill him, but the trivial intoxication from the alchemicals. There were plenty of potions that not only healed and kept him alive but also stupefied his mind and senses. Either they were afraid of the lad, or he was shouting too loudly. I would have bet on the latter, for with a fourth level you can't do much damage.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:41

The still-warm blood on the edges of the wounds literally oozed the same strange power that had attacked me through the artifact. So much so, in fact, that I could hardly tell the alchemy underneath, which was quite revealing when you consider the amount of alchemy in the blood. I sighed forcibly and began to remove the most dangerous consequences of participating in the sacrifice, and as a victim.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:42

It was not easy to get the pins out of the body - they were originally made to be easily driven into the body, but they could only be taken out with the meat. However, high dexterity, perception, good coordination, and the help of such a mother helped here as well. In the end, I simply decomposed the iron pins into an essence using alchemy, making the too strong stuff lose its strength. After that, all I had to do was pull the shards of iron out of the wound: difficult, but possible.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:48

The guts I just rinsed and shoved back into his stomach, obeying a trivial intuition. With that much alchemy in his blood, wounds can heal even without help, if you just let them heal. I sent the little inner biologist, claiming that such bullshit was impossible, to the same place I'd sent the inner medic a minute before.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:51

I put the leather strips back in place, too, though it wasn't much use. So was everything else I was doing, just to do something. The main task was to work with the blood, or, rather, with the crap that was in the blood. As a joke once said: there is no blood in your alcohol. Replace the word "alcohol" with "alchemy" and you'll understand my feelings.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:53

I had to remove from my belt several flasks, which I was saving for myself and my companions, in order to immediately pour them into the mouth of the boy, which was ajar. The potions against intoxication will help not only to reduce the burden on the body but also to prolong the effect of the drugs already fed to the boy. Not much, but better than nothing.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:55

The worst part was that I had a couple of compounds in my stash that would put him back on his feet in a matter of days. Most of them were potions made from the blood of the Bigfoot forest. But now the alchemy splashing in the victim was preventing me from beginning the cure. The circle is closed - if I don't use alchemy, then the boy will simply die, and if I still give him the most effective elixirs, then he will die at the same moment, foaming at the mouth. Either exhaustion or intoxication. And for dessert, the slag and toxins from the potions will leave the body much later than the moment when the potions will run out.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:59

The shitty situation, which I can't decide on the fly. I've been thinking several times about different options, using rarer compositions and even rapidly grinding alchemy, and I've had to give up on the idea. Even now, the problem isn't my skill, but the fact that the victim's body is too worn out. But even if I get the second rank of my class, I have no time to make potions and collect reagents. And that's only if I can get the right compound out of the stones and acorns on the first try.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:10

So alchemy is off the table.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:10

I don't even question the use of dreams - at most I can give an elf a pleasant dream before he dies, but I certainly can't get him out of the clutches of the Bone Lady. I was a little too careful, though, because I could tell that it didn't have much effect on the body at all. But it affects more subtle matters in no time at all! Something tells me that the effects on the mind and memory are just the tip of the iceberg of possibilities with such an unusual class. Even compared to my other classes, still unusual! Shadows and alchemy are no doubt cool beyond belief, but they are much more understandable, while Dream is still shrouded in mystery. It's not that I don't use it much, since I've only recently taken the second rank, but that it's incomprehensible. I had no idea what Shadow was either until I began to study it from the inside.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:12

By the way, speaking of The Shadow!

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:13

A quick scroll through the logs of the system messages allowed me to catch a very interesting idea that was trying to escape. I could hardly bring myself back to my goal, not letting the idea that was almost gone slip away, rereading the messages I had discovered over and over again as if they contained the meaning of life and the universe.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:13

In the Embrace of the Shadow: Many have tried to use some of the power of this place, and many have paid the price, even if some have been lucky enough to survive and even gain something. But only complete madmen and fools would dare to come into such close contact with the very essence of the Shadow as a separate realm of the universe. The risks are simply incomparable to the reward received, but that didn't stop you! Bonus: +5 to all characteristics except class, +5 to Shadow's characteristic.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:14

A considerable bonus, allowing me to become stronger again on another level. Another small chance to survive my future adventures, which, however, does not guarantee my survival. I learned to react to the System's scurrilousness back in the marshes, not to mention the current situation. Now I am the calmness itself, which embodies the very concept of serenity and sublimity.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:15

Also, the bonus is much happier than all the taunts from the admins. Six levels, albeit divided by different characteristics, remain six levels. Yes, and bonus to Shadows, which is increasingly difficult to grind by regular training, can not be forgotten. Something tells me that after a while I'll hit the class stats threshold. Maybe I can keep on grinding it, but the rate of development will drop to almost zero. The only thing left would be to get into all sorts of trouble and get beaten up for the sake of another stat bonus - the dream of a fucking Korean nerd.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:17

It's not a pleasant prospect, but right now I'm much more concerned with choosing another perk for the hundred or so characteristics the system kindly offers me. And even though endurance has never been a critically important trait for me, it's better to have the bonus than not to have it.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:21

The endurance characteristic has reached 100! Choose a perk!

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:22

- Weak regeneration (rare);

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:22

- Metabolism boost (rare);

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:23

To tell you the truth, Ygra's regeneration impressed the hell out of me. I really, really, really, really f*cking wish I had one. And I would gladly choose access to the most basic perk of this branch if it weren't for the fact that... I don't need it. Funny, but totally true when you think about it.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:24

In all my wanderings, I've only been hit a handful of times, and I've been hit by creatures that can't be stopped by weak or epic ogre regeneration. And I don't do much with endurance, either, to really integrate regeneration into my combat paradigm. And still, I would have chosen it, because having another chance to get out of the other side of the world is much better than not having it. If it weren't for my long-discovered ability to restore my health and magic reserve by sucking up to other people's lives.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:29

No doubt, it's too... nasty a thing to do often, but, as a last resort, it would save my life. The extreme case is when I won't be able to drink the potion, there will be no living creatures around to draw life from through the Shadow, and my wounds will be so severe that I won't be able to move. In such a situation, lack of regen equals death. However, I'm sure that if I'm in this deep shit, no amount of regeneration will save me.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:31

But the second perk will help me to avoid getting into it. The second perk will not only reduce the effect of all kinds of poisonous substances (including, alas, alcohol) but also speed up their decomposition and subsequent elimination from the body. That is, it does this, but this is far from its main advantage. The main thing is the accelerated depletion of the kickback from the taken potions, increasing the possible maximum dosage and weakening the post-effects from the already taken. I never found myself in a situation where regeneration could save me - either it was unnecessary due to the lack of wounds, or the wounds were such that it would not help. I had experienced the torment of intoxication, so I don't want to repeat it.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:34

The choice was a metabolic boost, which I was happy about.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:35

But that didn't help me get any closer to solving the elven question. Even though I was thinking pretty fast, even so, time was ticking away, and the guy had, at best, another day and a half to live. It used to be even less, but even my minimal care was enough to give him a little more vitality.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:37

I ignore the logs and turn my gaze to the last message, which I confess I'd rather not see at all. Well, my class is too dangerous for me! Yes, the overpowering button was given out, albeit not absolute, but powerful, I can't argue with that. But I didn't have to save my soul any more than my enemies did, because if I made a mistake with The Shadow, I'd be fucked in every corner. So vividly that they won't even find my soul!

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:40

And the message from the System only added to these wonderful opportunities to die in hundreds of new and unique ways, which are sickening to think about.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 17:40

Stealing of Shadows: 4/7

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:25

Allows to take someone else's shadow, thus taking the form of a stolen shadow; allows to pass someone else's shadow off as your own, fooling most standard and some of the exotic status assessment abilities; allows to leave a subordinate shadow on the original host, giving him a tangible effect; a stolen shadow has a negligible chance to unfold when moving sharply; If shadow manipulation is used too actively, the shadow may disembodied; under the direct influence of enemy skills, the shadow may be disembodied; allows the recipient to fill the stolen shadow with Shadow energy at great risk, partially embodying the recipient as a Shadow; under maximum tension, allows the stolen shadow to take over some influence on the real body.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 14:46

It jumped two ranks again, but at least it's understandable with all the risk. How do you spell it? "At great risk to the recipient"? Something tells me that when I took the first of the two points I got for this fight, it was "mortal danger". I've understood before why independent swinging is so dangerous in this world, but now I realize that it's not a handicap, it's a fucking handicap!

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:38

Just think about this situation.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 14:47

In order to move a second-ranked skill (albeit a mythical grade) from the second position of seven to the third position of seven... someone would have to repeat what I did myself. Voluntarily, in a combat situation, begin to turn myself into a Shadow, a vicious and eternally hungry abomination, and then not shift in phase for good.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:23

There are two options here, gentlemen.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 14:45

Either there's an obscene amount of badasses in this world who manage to grind even without investing any free points, or I'm such a dickhead that out of sheer greed and munchkinism I'm willing to risk my soul in any situation. The first version is dangerous for my life, the second for my ego... I don't even know which one to consider as the main one?

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:04

And then, re-reading the pop-up window and thanking Lady Luck (sort of like she's one of the local goddesses here) for surviving my own cretinism once again, a thought struck me like lightning! Or rather, my stomach rumbled, making me crave cherry pies even more, but it was like thunder to me.

Camrad_RIP 31.01.22 в 16:07