Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 1

Chapter 1
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Camrad_RIP 24.02.23 в 10:03

On Earth, when winter began, people often rejoiced - after all, many people like this particular time of year, with all the snow, blizzards, New Year's celebrations, the possibility of taking a perfectly legal sick leave without actually being sick, and all the rest of the package. I was not really a big fan of winter because I didn't like the cold, didn't play in the snowballs because I lost them regularly, and almost always celebrated New Year's Eve alone, apart from the rest of the Internet crowd. However, despite the lack of festive tendencies, winter was not a bad time for me either, remaining at the same level of "who cares what's outside the window".

Camrad_RIP 24.02.23 в 10:12

Alurei, as you might guess, has changed my opinion of winter. Of course, in a world so utterly insane, such a romantic and sublime thing as Mother Winter was bound to be something morbid and chthonic, or, at least, deadly. Alurei did not disappoint me by recounting from the mouths of a subordinate tribe a host of folkloric tales, one more *awesome* than the other.

Camrad_RIP 24.02.23 в 10:15

For a start, the most unpleasant news was the presence of a peculiar Spirit of Winter in this section of the wilderness, which sometimes passes through the land, taking whoever it is into its grasp. Actually, this creature operates much further north, in the deeper parts of the wilderness, rarely venturing into the frontier. And yet, rarely doesn't mean never. My personal tribe of green-skinned tit warriors knew for a fact that there was a certain line it was best to walk across only in summer, but never even attempt to cross it if there was a single pathetic pile of snow on the ground. Winter could not only pick up a careless visitor but could follow his footsteps to the very walls of the tribal camp.

Camrad_RIP 24.02.23 в 10:16

I do not know how much of this was a fairy tale, for there had been no real precedent in generations to come, neither with "my" tribe nor with any known adversaries or allies. But I know that clairvoyance, without giving clear answers (with my skill!), also told me not to go to those places in the near future. Сlairvoyance said it was dangerous here, away from civilization, but it was ten times more dangerous there. I decided, for a change, to listen to reason and not take any chances.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:19

I could not and did not want to refrain from checking my conclusions more persistently. The rest was the same: the old camp, the mirror, the visions. The visions didn't tell me much, but I trust orcs and their lore a lot more now. The creature that wakes up every winter and freezes large territories every winter, just for the hell of it, really existed. And it was strong enough that I gave it the upper hand of the mythical rank and forbade me from even going near it. Despite all the precautions, I nearly froze just by looking too deep. And I would have frozen if it hadn't been for the Shadows, who were at arm's length with the concept of cold!

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:21

It's like Undead Frost and Satan Claus all rolled into one. Shaken but not stirred.
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Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:22

It was probably this experience, the first time in a long time that I had encountered a very frightening shit that I had no chance of defeating, that made me realize that our company's stay in the wilderness had been somewhat prolonged. Yes, with the help of a tamed tribe, it was much easier to survive here. And more than that. I was free to develop my alchemy skills, pump my crew on dangerous beasts, and stock up on an obscenely large number of reagents and concoctions made from them. If I decided to sell even a third of what I had amassed in Melareth, I could bring down the whole fucking market for years to come.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:29

No, not joking, but a completely serious assessment of my capabilities. With the help of the orcs taking over a hundred percent of any menial work, our team was left with only hunting and destroying. According to Losius, that's how the richest of the aristocrats are pumped up, wanting to get the maximum level. I don't mean on the same monsters, but the same methodology. Just fight and gain experience, and leave all the other problems to the servants. In our case, I'm also in charge of tracking down and selecting prey, as I have the most appropriate abilities for that.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:30

The greenhorns do all of the work, including cutting up the loot, transporting it, procuring the most useful reagents (I take away the most valuable so they don't spoil), and setting up the temporary camps. Pumping went really quickly, allowing us to fully practice the command cooperation and slowly turning us into a full battle group. For the first time in my life, I got exactly what I had started the adventure for.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:34

I can't say it went without problems, for there were some. In the beginning, when the mechanism of pumping had not yet been established, quite a few orcs and goblins had been hit by monsters. And while not many of my minions died simply because they weren't thrown into battle, the male population of the outpost was reduced by a quarter.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:40

Hestia's enhancement turned them into very powerful units for their level. Alas, they were only powerful because of their increased characteristics and some limited combat-appropriate talents. Otherwise, I remind you, all the men were turned into dumb and executive puppets who lacked the instinct for self-preservation. Combat skills were intact, as was the ability to react or use tactics they knew relatively intelligently. The rest, however, was complete dementia and weak-mindedness, with a little admixture of bravery (these meat tanks had even less emotion than brains).

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:41

It should come as no surprise that not everyone managed to survive such mutations. In our ventures, not many died because we did not let unnecessary people near the battlefield, but in the campaigns... On campaigns, though, some got nibbled by monsters, others got pummeled by one of our prey, and others got mangled and died like a Darwin Award nominee. One of the former boyz blow up with an explosive potion, and I refrained from arming the male half of the tribe with anything more dangerous than a club. That potion couldn't even theoretically explode by accident, but the idiot drank it first (instead of healing one). Then topped it up with another booster compound and his own brew. The alcohol somehow reacted in the wrong way and detonated the potion he drank. The result: nine corpses, all of whom were sitting by the fire, and a couple of other passers-by. Even a couple of females were hit by the shockwave and shrapnel, and only one of them was saved.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:45

So while the women finally got the hang of commanding the men. While Losius was able to provide a normal tactic whereby we didn't lose orcs to stupidity. While that tactic was practiced... In general, these bastards, even when fully submissive and brainwashed to whiteness, managed to give me a gnashing of teeth and a wild headache at the same time. It was like being in a mix between a Benny Hill show and a cheap B-movie horror movie - lots of blood and not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:49

As if the orcs and goblins weren't enough trouble for me, the orcess and gobliness were giving me a hard time, too. The Greenskins are quite hierarchical creatures, and I (or Hestia, but at my behest) had, for a moment, shredded their hierarchy to the ground. When they realized that those who had been listened to and streamlined were mostly dumb pack mules, who could not even speak articulately (those who still could be silent, for they lacked the will to talk), the ladies began to decide who was in charge.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:56

Some women initially had quite a high position, like that of a shaman or a couple of female boyz in charge of their own gangs. But for every one of these "pumped up" there were several former wives, keepers of the hearth or, as the orcess warriors themselves say, "bitches". Not to mention a lot of goblinees, who weren't even considered "persons" by the orcs. The bitches got an excellent kick-start to their careers and began to work their way up, using gifted by Hestia's abilities.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 11:58

This situation has resulted in more than one raid being in jeopardy because the one you put in charge last time, today, thanks to some kind of hypnosis, can no longer get her tits off the ground because "her nipples are now glued to the rock, Chief". And that's still the most innocent of things that happen at times. Goblins didn't lag far behind the orcs, managing in small crowds to handle solitary orcess who rarely perceived them as a threat.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:00

Fortunately, over time, a clear hierarchy was formed, although the regular intrigues have not ceased to this day. Grtlashra, the former wife of the chief, who had been given one of Hestia's most trumped-up abilities, was able to stay afloat, remain "in charge" and clearly put a lid on those who wanted to move her. After that, it was quieter, and I didn't have to swear and flash my eyes frantically to clear the dope from the minions' brains right before the raid.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:01

The Greenskins did not use their skills on the Ultimate Hero's Team, which Hestia was smart enough to have strictly prohibited. It wasn't that they didn't want to. It was that they couldn't bring themselves to do it. Every time their minds went in the right direction, they immediately switched to something else. However, Taria had played around in this way, having already worked her future "mistress" with her tits. On a few occasions I had to restore her mind through the Dreams when she was overplayed, but for the most part, it went smoothly. The few people who could permanently damage her mind were the ones she stayed away from, exercising reasonable caution.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:08

I don't know about Hans and Losius - I don't follow them. I mean, I know that they are not at all celibate in such an environment, but I limit myself to that knowledge. But I have a suspicion that at least our nobleman has tried once or twice to test his resistance to suggestion with disappointing results, but this is only a suspicion. And I am very careful not to even think in that direction, lest I provoke clairvoyance. I don't need to watch other people's private lives yet!

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:09

I, on several occasions, allowed particularly interesting and original abilities to be used on me to test my defenses. I can't say that it did much good, but it at least made me a little more aware of the concept of mental influence. It was only twice that they were able to push the Hero's defense, multiplied by the realm connection to two realms, and only because I had removed most of my protection, leaving only my basic resistance, and had relaxed beforehand.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:12

At the same time, my defenses were punctured, not completely broken. An attack of Obscene Gossip, for example, made me believe that I wanted to fuck Lkana, and that was why I had come to see her today, just for a few seconds. And then I shook my head and shook off the obsession as if my brain had been flooded with foam. And even though she had been preparing the Gossip almost two days in advance. I couldn't help but feel by my intuition!

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:14

The only one who didn't mind being in a subordinate position was Ygra, for whom all this brainwashing was a trivial game. Taria found a way to spend her free time that wasn't just in the company of another green-skinned girl. Ogress went all out, unashamed of her desires. She managed to charm some with her own charms, but more often it was she who was charmed. The Ogre wasn't complaining, though, enjoying the thrill of having a dozen goblins playing with her. And the goblins themselves, even driving the ogre's primitive mind into a trance, shut down one by one from their long exposure to her body. The orcs held on longer, but they too gave up sooner or later.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:16

Grtlashra managed the longest, avoiding retaliation through her strange foresight. She was the one who managed to turn Ygra into her furniture, convincing her that she was a table, a chair, or a sofa. This raised her authority to the highest level, but when Ygra became almost constantly in a trance, if not on the hunt, she had to be rescued.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:26

Ygra herself seemed seriously offended by the rescue.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:18

Tits are tits, and perversions are perversions, but I was sure that staying in the wilderness was not going to get me anywhere. And I was sick and tired of it. There was nothing else I could do but hunt and level up, and self-development in the form of alchemical arts that almost drove me crazy, plus debauchery in the company of either Taria or Hestia, who had learned to create a physical body, or both. Only Ygra would resent me for ignoring her if she wasn't so fascinated by the new world she was about to discover. And if she were more often in her, sorry admin, mind.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:42

We had to get to civilization, if not with our green-skinned mega-harem, then at least with a team, because things were not going to do themselves. We had already completed the main task for which the trip to the lost world was intended. The authorities of Melareth have given up trying to find and punish us. Levels, skills, and abilities had been upgraded, too, even if that was mostly only for my team. A new supply of potions for all-everything was ready in multiple quantities, and it was time to get moving.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:44

After all, it was always possible to return to this place. I hid it as securely as I could hide an entire tribe, along with the camp, at my level of skill. The hardest part was with the other tribes my orcs occasionally crossed paths with. Sometimes for trade, sometimes for an alliance, and sometimes for a fight. I was initially lucky if the correct use of clairvoyance can be called luck to target one of the most distant and unsociable tribes. They lived too close to the edge of Winter, as I'd said, so their neighbors seldom bothered them. Even the tribe itself would have preferred to stay away from such a place, but their "skyscraper" was too posh a place for an outpost that they could never give up. And it had been a long time since Winter had come to those places to seriously frighten the orcs, who were only superficially familiar with the very notion of fear.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 12:49

After thinking about it, I began to fortify the defenses of the camp, trying to hide it from all harm as much as possible. The first layer of protection was a compromise between inconspicuity and protection. The first layer is orcish incantations and contracts with spirits. The orcish tribe has lived here a long time, and during that time, they have managed to do a lot of different things. They could not be considered serious protection, but most of the simple threats could be either noticed or repelled.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:21

The second layer was made by me personally and represented the same dome of false reflections as I did in the first camp, which had a huge stone mirror. I used some of the mirrors that the tribe had as a base and created a couple more with essence from suitable stones. The mirrors were smaller and not as significant as the huge melted monolith that was left at our camp, but there were more of them, and I also arranged them in a circle, securely covering the space. Hid not only in the real world but also in the world of Dreams. In recent months I've had the feeling that a fellow isekai is being looked at there... and I even have an idea what it is.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:25

The barrier had two functions - stealth and defense. A stall was very difficult to find, or at least to spot. Even a man above level thirty, if he didn't know what he was looking for and pumped himself full of realm energy (or drank a lot of potions, or put on amulets), would simply pass by, taking a detour of five kilometers without noticing it.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:26

If an attack did occur, enemies would miss, regularly experience dizziness, anxiety, and emotional swings, and, at times, go mad and start slaughtering allies. Not to mention the fact that any glance at a random reflection in a puddle could be the last - the mirror traps remembered from Kickass's adventures are actively used by me. When your own reflection starts squeezing your eyes out, your real body risks the same damage. It is possible to block such an attack, but not at all easy, and it would require very specific knowledge and defenses.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:38

I would also note that the tribe has used similar magic in the past. I mean, not Dream, and not mind-affecting, but massive spells that can only nudge the enemy just a little bit at the right moment but work on all enemies at once. It's a good coincidence that the orcs, already dumbed down to the point of slippers, don't have to be retrained.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:41

The last layer, protecting precisely the stable, was the effect of Hestia's Mist. All this time, she had been reinforcing the tribe and encapsulating the surrounding area. The camp was untouched by the Mist, for we also lived there. Instead, it encircled the stable in serpentine loops (during the day) or surrounded the rocky spire, overwhelming the orcs and goblins gathered below (at night, while we were resting at the very spire). The result was appropriate to Hestia's talent grade - very disturbing but powerful.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:44

The changes in the fabric of reality had no combat applications, but the disguise had increased obscenely, even to the point of spatial distortion, breaking the metric of space. It would be difficult for the attackers to even walk normally through the areas within the camp itself and another kilometer in all directions. On the contrary, it hangs the buffs on the altered tribe and allows for some kind of Lovecraftian version of teleportation. The most deformed of all the orcs and goblins can, having inflamed their lust to the maximum, make a move and end up wherever they want.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:46

Hans spent a good two weeks tormenting Hestia and those orcs but managed to figure it out and pumped one of his class skills to a five and was pleased enough, so Taria threaten to feed him a lemon, even though there were no lemons in the vicinity.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:49

The last layer of defense was the same dream. Only now, I was not taking over the immediate surroundings but almost all of the tribe's hunting grounds together. Of course, this could not have had much effect, nor could it have been an easy task. With essentialism, I turn a pile of stones all over an area into mirrors, then bind them into one system and weave a vast net, or even a Net, covering a marked area. It was quite a chore. It took me almost a month (nearly four weeks, to be exact), but I managed it, even though, in the final phase, Dream came dangerously close to taking me with her for good.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 13:52

The effect is not too strong, not too powerful, and not ыщ effective. But it has, first, become completely indistinguishable even to the very attentive eye and, second, permanent and uninterrupted. The territory of the tribe - they used to be called the Bloodwind, by the way - of the Great and Mighty Green Tits (Taria, after pushing the name through, with the help of Grtlashra and her tits, could not stop laughing for three days) seemed uninteresting.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 14:51

Anyone coming in here would find this place simply useless - no normal hunting, no prey, no traces of other tribes... nothing at all. nothing at all. I expect the newcomers will try to find out where the local tribe and their conspicuous encampment are, but they will give it up in a short time. They've seen strangers disappear in the wilderness, and no one wants to deliberately prowl around where an entire tribe has vanished without a trace. Especially if the tribe itself, while remaining invisible, will occasionally make disappearances to searchers.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 14:54

It was then, as I finished reading the new system message about the class skill upgrade, I realized that I had finished with all this business at just the right time. At first, it was a barely perceptible hum, audible only in the clairvoyance and Dream, but with each passing moment, the hum became clearer and clearer. It was like a huge working hoover, trying to suck in information and knowledge, suck up past events and deeds, learn them, and go for a new portion.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:14

I went into combat mode right there, near the central hub of the disguise net, which was the old mirror camp, and ordered the orcs accompanying me to be ready for battle. And, while the five men, like robots, spread out in a circle and waited for an attack, the two female orcs who had asked to accompany me, as well as Hans, who kept me company (because of whom the orcs had managed to ask for it), were quite wary.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:17

Using the mirror for clairvoyance was not so difficult, but I had the good sense to act cautiously and deliberately, which saved me, if not from death, then from trouble for sure. The peculiar attack was coming from a town I knew well, called Ostmark, but I could bet my own hand that neither the townsfolk nor even the angry for the fall of the Stone Melareths were involved in the attack.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:31

There was a carnival swirling in that section of the Dreamscape that corresponded to Ostmark, and it was such a carnival that it made me sick even after all the fгcking I'd seen. A sign of things to come!

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:44

The creatures were subtly reminiscent of those strange searchers who had almost caught me in the Stone but reminiscent only of their ugliness and... the hand of a craftsman, a maker even, perhaps. The creatures were made out of the remains of several souls, and they were like one big ulcer that looked and felt like a heart still beating in perpetual agony, with endless flowing out of the ulcer hearts to form one enormous Net. If my Net concealed and hid, averting attention and stares, this network was the opposite: searching and gathering.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:46

In the center, even though the usual landmarks of space do not apply to Dream, of the swirling "carnival hearts" was another creature, several times more dangerous than the others. Huge jaws, or even just a stomach, sucking in the broth of pure knowledge that was coming through the vessels, digesting it, ridding it of the rubbish visions and leaving only the truth.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:48

If there ever was or will be a contest for the nastiest and most eerie way to clairvoyance, the creator of the carnival wouldn't even get first place, as he would sit on the jury. That would be all right - as I've said a hundred and fifty times before, there's plenty of shit on Alurei - but this strange ritual was looking for me specifically, using the imprint of my powers in the minds of several of the locals to do so. That was how I smelled its effect, for that matter.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 16:55

To my deepest surprise, the strange creatures did not even risk approaching the trader Lane nor her assistant, in whose head I had left most of my work, nor any other personality I had ever processed by Dream. Instead, I watched as the dreamlike abomination swarmed around them with lurking jackals, carefully sorting out every, generally every single, fragment of the past that was reflected next to them in the Dream.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 17:00

It was as if the creatures feared something. As if they expected that if they only touched the souls and essences of these people, there would be retaliation or some other evil thing. The clairvoyance and the mirror helped me to distinguish some of the intentions and knowledge of the creatures that were revealed to me, but only partially. I did not want to look more closely for fear of a surprise in return, which was bound to happen.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 17:03

Instead, I repeated the trick that had worked with the Shoreless Eye, lurking in the shadows of the creatures' attention. I could have tried to track down their maker, but even the thought of it made me want to cut a mithril crowbar with my asshole. Instead, I followed the town for a bit, realizing that nothing was wrong with the town. The people were perfectly calm and were not about to go mad or mysteriously die. The only one possessing extremely strange and contradictory emotions was a white-haired kid hastily picking a lock on one of the warehouses. Anger, a stubborn unwillingness to die, cold concentration, and deadness.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 17:08

I wouldn't have paid any attention to it if it weren't for the fact that it was the same warehouse where I'd stored my alchemy supplies after my adventures in the Kraj. If the creatures found those supplies, there would be trouble - there was too much of me on them to give them a chance to fall on my tail. Despite their ugliness, they're not dangerous to me. If I can get a little more aggressive and use my full power on the mirror, I can kill them all at once, expending about half my reserves. If I climb into Dream I could do it even easier. Not because I'm so tough but because those things aren't meant to fight. They're just meant to search. That's what they were made for if you think about it.

Camrad_RIP 02.04.23 в 17:15