Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 16

Chapter 16

Camrad_RIP 11.08.23 в 19:27

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Camrad_RIP 11.08.23 в 19:27

Do you know what is the epitome of the phrase "both funny and sad"? It's when your body is splashing a skillfully selected cocktail of dozens of potions, some of which had to be created on the fly, remaking ready-made compositions. Perfectly combined formulation, correct layout, minimal risks of intoxication, and almost complete absence of side effects. Pour under the very edge and leave the situation on the thin edge when you can not add anything else, and there is no need.

Camrad_RIP 11.08.23 в 19:30

Nothing is needed at all because the basic recipe provides everything, speeding up the recovery process so much that it should no longer be called alchemy but rather a miracle.

Camrad_RIP 11.08.23 в 19:31

One cannot drink anything because even a drop of foreign essence will start a cascade reaction leading to the disintegration of chains of mutually reinforcing compositions, rapid intoxication of the organism, and disintegration of subtle bodies.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:25

You can't drink anything. Not even the most primitive fucking potion for colds, which can be made from plantain and sawdust, and you don't have to be a very good alchemist to do it. After all of my injuries, to come down with a trivial cold with my level, characteristics, and class resistance... Both funny and sad, as I have said and will not be able to say otherwise.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:30

It was hard to speak. Both because of the pain in my throat and the coughing and because my voice had become so nasal that I would involuntarily start laughing at myself as soon as I spoke. Although, the essence and fever might have played a part in that. A good reason to be in a bad mood! If our escape from the Eternal is failed due to an unfortunate nose smack or audible sneeze, it will be so much my style that it's just ugh. Distilled Konstantine, condensed and concentrated in his Konstantinianism, yes.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:33

"A herbal concoction." Hestia, who had taken on the role of today's nurse, held out a concoction created from some army recipe that was not alchemy, according to her, but could get a half-dead man back on his feet, so he went into the grave himself. "For colds, healers prescribed it for those who couldn't take potions or if they wanted to teach someone a lesson."

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:35

The last remark is probably related to the odor of this stuff because it is in the odor that a considerable part of the "lifting power" applicable to the half-dead is hidden. And the reason why they jump into the grave is probably hidden in the odor, too. To some relief, I was unable to assess the bouquet of this perfume, as I stopped feeling the odors on the second day after a runny nose. And also, I did not feel the taste, which also caused some joy - army medicine is not alive by smell alone.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:55

At first, Tia was a little worried about my loss of sense of smell because it was a symptom of an old disease, or rather an old battle virus that I might have picked up in the underground complexes beneath the city, but I resisted. It was just a common cold, overlaid with complications from the potions I'd taken, which in turn shot up because of my weakened immune system. A quick blood test using the ritual circle, however, she did... only to admit with a scolding glance that there was too little blood in there due to the potions. It wasn't easy to diagnose diseases!

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:57

It's now when the crisis of the first two days has passed, I'm giggling merrily, but at first, there was a good chance that if I didn't die (it wasn't that hard), I'd spend a couple of months in the city recovering. Drinking plenty of water, potions dangling in my body that had, among other things, some kind of healing effect, a good night's sleep, and simple rest allowed me to heal in less than three days.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:58

But, as it was already said, during this time, my weakened body got a couple of potions' kickbacks and decided that I didn't need my sense of smell shortly. However, against the backdrop of the fact that the complex of essences that had knocked off my taste (the usual one, not the taste for classic literature) was gradually patching up my subtle bodies and even helping me recover a little from the planar infection, such trifles didn't bother me much. I was originally expecting bloody vomiting if something went wrong, but it was the expected side effects that were avoided. If it hadn't been for the cold, it would have been great, but who knew?

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 20:02

The hot and tasteless concoction warms me, and Hestia sitting next to me is strangely endearing. No, not cute, but the look of empathy on her face was surprisingly unusual. Alas, unlike Taria, she can't dive under my blanket and warm me with her body (exactly what it says on the package, not what the Anons thought) because the body of a Mist creature, even in human form, is much cooler than room temperature.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 20:04

Taria and Hans were out on the town once more, and Tia was accompanying them to cover them and get some reagents for specific rituals. She had used up her supplies, and there was nowhere to get new ones, so they had to improvise with a lot of cheaper elements, achieving results at the expense of time and extra effort. It would be necessary, after the Eternal, to return to the green-skinned tribe and replenish the raw materials. It would be a mistake to think the alchemist's reagents cannot be used in rituals because you can. But some things have to be stored in a different form and processed according to completely different principles. And I mostly only have finished potions and purified essences with me, not reagents.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 06:09

A good ritualist works with essences as well as a good alchemist, but that's not what Tia specializes in. Her ritualism was developed strictly as a support for the star class, so she's very good at working with planar power, as well as shielding herself and others from it. It is, by and large, common practice among pure Star users to put a bridge between themselves and the summoned force, which takes up the lion's share of the load. Tia had long ago mastered the direct use of such terrible energies, but she still sensibly preferred to use rituals if she could.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 06:11

Ritual work with essences is certainly possible but requires a completely different approach to ritualism as if two different styles of fencing or hand-to-hand combat. Also, you wouldn't believe it, essences and in large quantities. Are the prices of even extremely shitty filtered essences in their purest form comparable to the prices of high-end costume jewelry and gems? Essentialists are very rare birds, and extracting essences from reagent requires long and painstaking labor at alchemical machines or ritual complexes, and that's money, time, and specialists. Pumping this branch of ritualistic skill to anyone and everyone is overkill, even for elves with their resources and economy. Tia, of course, knows how to work in this direction, but to be able and to be a pro are different things. I'll be able to provide her with much high-quality material for practice without difficulty.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 12:27

Losius still explores the depths of history in the same way and does so simultaneously through Imperial and Alishan sources, trying to create in his mind an average picture of the events that took place once upon a time long ago. Judging by the occasional comments of his noble might, the averaged version of events simply showed all sides of the conflict from an equally fucked up perspective. What a surprise, really!

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:11

It's bad to be sick and weak.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:21

It's good to have those who have your back in a moment of weakness and help you get up after an illness.

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:22

Sorting out the good and bad of my wacky mission was mundane and tiring. I was too used to legendary status titles to be excited about them. To be frank, I never really rejoiced in them, remembering the price of each of my "feats" as well as the possible consequences of failing to accomplish these, if I may say so, accomplishments.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:25

This time the System was suspiciously generous, which only increased my desire to quickly and decisively get away from the Eternal and the Empire of Ages in general. Even though the risk of the task, as well as the complexity of the task, gave all the opportunities for pumping, but I was well aware that the strength of my opponents also played a role. Hell was not an enemy I would want to face while in such a poor state of health. If I was fully recovered, then I could try to get a taste of those guys, look for their lairs, and poke them with my wand.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:27

Not like in Kraj, where I literally "bumped into" them, but rather with the expectation of exposing them to the local security and then letting them fuck as they wish. Ideally, I won't even have to go near the enemy, just enough to slip in many proxies of visions to specific onlookers, and then take popcorn in my hands and watch from the other side of the continent. The spectacle promises to be exciting, and I'll stab Сгде in the back out of sheer principle and general maliciousness. They killed Kenny, I mean Pypyshch! It's impossible not to avenge a reasonable man with such a name, and if he wasn't there, I'd think of something else to avenge. After all, we're talking about Hell and its emissaries, so there's something to avenge even if we don't look for it at all.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:34

There's a chance to level up, too. The reward from the System for bringing to light such a hydra that wasn't afraid to do what they did in the Library would be considerable, even if you didn't lay a finger on anyone personally. That's how normal seers level up, not how I do it all the time. I can take the level with no small probability because, after a couple of ups I received for my labors, I've got a little bit left to the forty-seventh, much less than I had to the forty-fifth right before the operation. I look at the line in the Status, and at once, I feel a little warmer.... until my head starts trying to unscrew itself again and go on an exciting trip around the world.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:41

Level: 46

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:20

A little more, and I'll become an adult, like a local Hero if I don't die before. Even without clairvoyance, I consider the probability of that much higher than normal. In addition to the level, I got a lot of other nice things, including a couple of class skill upgrades, of course, tied to the Lord of Dreams and Reflections. To be fair, these upgrades were really satisfying, despite the dangers I experienced. I'll refuse to repeat them, it's not even worth thinking about, but the fact I risked my life, my essence, and my ass for a reason is a pleasant surprise.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:48

Reflected Image: 2/9

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:21

Phenomenally enhances clairvoyant abilities, especially when using mirrors, allowing one to see into the past and future of any objects that have ever been reflected; allows one to, with effort, reflect various physical or magical effects for a time receiving at one's disposal their somewhat weakened copies; the reflected effects feel similar to the original and can fool standard, advanced and most exotic expertise; allows you to skillfully search among the reflections of the necessary and instantly find them not by direct search, but with the help of intuitive flair; allows, at the limit of concentration, to reflect mirror variants of being on reality, working with the techniques of reflections in the absence of direct access to Dream.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:53

This upgrade was bestowed upon me for a few very specific actions carried out in a rather short period. First, there was the mirror creation, which served as my vessel and main caliber when penetrating the holy of holies. There I had to not just work with reflections but build something quite real out of these reflections. A creation, the material and basis of which was only a reflection of the present, which managed to become even more real than reality itself. The next thing was a careful and almost gentle dissection of Pypyshch's memory and personality, after which received this upgrade.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 16:58

I had a rather funny thought from observing this message. Here I got the pumping without investing points, but how much it is individual for each owner of a similar to my class? I mean, there can't be many such classes, but still, the essence of the question doesn't change. If I acted differently with my skills and tried to achieve a different goal, wouldn't the improvement I received for my actions change? After all, if working with mirror constructs for this skill was just asking for it, then the ability to quickly search for the necessary images through the mirrors of the same Misty appeared in a very timely manner.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:07

If I lived long enough, I'd have to start collecting data on class skills and abilities. I already knew from Tia, Hestia, and Losius that even ordinary classes differ in their pumping, even if their abilities are practically common knowledge. Starting with rare classes, the differences between different owners of such classes are already really noticeable, but where exactly is the limit? Is it possible to assume that by making efforts and trying to do something specific with the methods available to the class, it will be possible to develop skills in the desirable direction?

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:10

Although, why am I being stupid? That's exactly the point of changing a class, upgrading it, or modifying it into something new. Why shouldn't it be possible to limit yourself to half-measures, staying within the native archetype but expanding it? And the higher the class grade, the easier it is to expand, and the more room for expansion, the more free slots for modifications. If you look at it this way, then it is the pumping without the use of points that will be the most favorable for the future Overlord of the Universe because this is how you can get the very expansion of potential.
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Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:13

I'm hardly going to take any more risks in pumping than I already do. Not because I'm not after power, but because I realize the sad fact that with my life, avoiding those risks where I can raise skills is not going to work anyway. And without my desire, there will be opportunities to test my theory, which increasingly reminds me of inventing a bicycle. Probably the same Tia knows something about it, or even I just realized a well-known fact. Kostik is like that. He can be very sharp when he doesn't need to be and blind like a methyl alcohol lover when he needs to be sharp.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:41

It was hard without clairvoyance, which allowed me to check any guess quickly, but with my injuries, trying to see would mean making the lords of this world happy and dying quietly. It's not as if I've lost the ability to think without it, but rather, with clairvoyance, I can minimize the time it takes to separate the grains from the chaff. But without it, I have to ask long and tedious questions and analyze what I've heard since there is no Google on Alurei... Wait, mistake. Google is here, but they won't let me go to it a second time. No matter how hard I try.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:25

All right, we have done with the first one, let's move on.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:16

Creator of Labyrinths (legendary): creating magical constructs that can play a strategic role is not an easy task. Making these constructs stable and undetectable is the kind of task that no one else can do. Mirrors became your canvas, their reflections became a brush in your hands, and by combining them you got something that cannot be described or understood. The Mirror Labyrinth is a place where a dream penetrates reality, and reality becomes a dream lost in mirrors. A frightening, deadly creation, but one that offers the widest list of possibilities for the application of what you have created. Your triumph, your masterpiece, your risk, and your reward. Bonus: +5 to all stats; +1 class skill point; greatly simplifies working with stable mirror-based constructs.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 17:16

It was the moment of receiving this title that I managed to distinguish before I was finally immersed in Dream and stopped paying attention to all earthly trifles. Actually, I consider the receipt of something like this to be a natural outcome of a long and thoughtful cerebral sex between me and mirrors. After so much effort and calculations - indeed, there were even more calculations than when working with complex potions, only much slower and more complicated - if I didn't get anything, it would be a shame.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 18:02

Of course, Kostik is greedy because ordinary mortals work for years to obtain a legendary title until all the liters of blood and sweat are transformed into a result. On the other hand, I do it with my hands and almost without defense, relying on my reaction and personal skills. No protective ritual circles, no support artifacts, and no personal circle of buffers behind my back. Only you and your skills will build a barrier, and the structure will hold and cover the others. The risk and load are disproportionately higher, which is why the pumping is faster, as well as obtaining titles. If you complete a five-year project in three weeks, it does not in itself cancel the fact that it was a huge work, even though it was done with such risks that the labor safety code is shoved down your throat through your ass.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 18:06

Anyway, the entrance to the Library was over. Things were relatively smooth from there, though only until that sad moment when I decided to play a hero.... oh yeah. Getting back to the topic of getting through the mission, those difficulties were workable. Without belittling the merits of the defense systems and signal nets, it was possible to overcome them without any overkill. The work was difficult, demanding attention and not forgiving mistakes, but in essence, it did not require me to step over myself in an attempt to catch the void, putting my life on the line. Even a second encounter with that thing that sits in the stones of the Library, whose base is the altar I seek, was no longer an insurmountable obstacle but merely an unexpected difficulty. Hiding Misty in the body of a recipient is a lot easier than hiding myself under his damn eyes.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 16:24

I'm not even halfway through my analysis of the defenses I've encountered, but I can tell you that if I had gone there myself, relying on Shadow's stealth and my luck, my chances would have been pretty slim. Lower than working through Pypyshch. Too much magic there, so much so that in some places the very fabric of reality turned to materialized magic. Too many, too varied, too different countermeasures each scourge required. You could sneak in, you could hide there, but it was one thing to wander the corridors, but trying again to get to the altar room was another. I might be able to get into the altar hall by stealing the right shadows, weaving the right clothes, choosing the right moment, and using them to support my disguise, but I wouldn't risk deceiving the altar. The chances are too slim, and it's easier to try again later than to jump the gun. And if I say this phrase, then the degree of risk should be easily understood without further explanation.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 16:33

To be honest, I should have wandered through the late librarian's memory a lot longer, looking for secrets. I'd already found a lot, and I'd only pulled out the tops while I was looking for the right images. The Library was a treasure trove of treasures that my soul was begging me to clean. The same warehouses of artifacts or special books can increase skills or even help in pumping. This is much more important than despicable gold.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 16:36

Artifact storage, reagent storage... I've never been particularly greedy, but even I felt bad about missing out on so much good stuff that could have been mine. On the other hand, the normal use of stolen legendaries and mythic would not have been possible anyway. But it would be very easy to get into trouble by trying to steal such valuables. These are the words I will use to console myself to drown out my resentment.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 16:39

If I could make my face more sour, I would. I can't help but think of all the ways to avoid going back to the end of our story. It was an unpleasant ending, even if I managed to play it on my own terms. The problem is not even in the Devils because I have one more and one less weird fuck in my life, but there is no difference. The problem isn't even the Devils. No, it's the altar itself. No matter how hard I rack my brain trying to logically deduce a way to put down the Google server, I just can't think of one.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 16:57

And it's not a lack of clairvoyance that's the problem. I've understood enough to know roughly what I'm talking about. And what I saw was enough to make one unlucky summoner's heart sad and longing. No, if I strike with all my might, having prepared and, preferably, trowing a cauldron or two of pre-prepared abomination on this altar, there is a chance to damage its structure. But that's until I start to take into account the fact that it will be difficult to get into the altar hall for the second time. And it is worth only imagining how the one sleeping in the Altar will answer me when I start to break a part of this something... If I can get away, I'll be surprised myself until my eyes acquire anime proportions.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 17:25

My mind realized that the Big Fucking Mess had begun the moment I'd entered the Eternal's territory, entering the field of the Mystery Devourer and that interfering with Tia's fate and infiltrating the Library had only made things worse. I realize that if I hadn't known about the problem, the consequences would have been even worse than they are now. And still, it is unpleasant because anonymity is my sword and shield, helping me even more than three mythical classes. If, say, tomorrow the authorities of the Empire of Ages find out about me, find out about a free Hero, I will live a very short and very sad life. Or, on the contrary, very long and unbearably sad.

Camrad_RIP 15.08.23 в 17:35

Saves only the presence of at least five to seven years in reserve, but rather even longer periods. My secret is well enough protected that drinking it was a challenge. I will have time to go to the wild lands, regroup there and return with a new goal. The second time should be easier, right? To penetrate there inside another host, only now not a spy, but a real kamikaze - I can really make a big explosive surprise. And then let them send notes of discontent to Alishan, Neitmak, the Eternal Forest or anyone else, trying to understand which bastard undermined one of the main trump cards of the entire dynasty in paroxysm of pomposity. And I'll sit in the distance, with a trollface and drink mojitos.

VirusZyX 14.08.23 в 18:41

Dreaming is not harmful, but the realization of these dreams ... I would now at least run away from the capital.

VirusZyX 14.08.23 в 18:21

Reflected Image: 4/9

Camrad_RIP 13.08.23 в 19:20

Phenomenally enhances clairvoyant abilities, especially when using mirrors, allowing one to see into the past and future of any objects that have ever been reflected; allows one to, with effort, reflect various physical or magical effects for a time receiving at one's disposal their somewhat weakened copies; the reflected effects feel similar to the original and can fool standard, advanced and most exotic expertise; allows you to skillfully search among the reflections of the necessary and instantly find them not by direct search, but with the help of intuitive flair; allows, at the limit of concentration, to reflect mirror variants of being on reality, working with the techniques of reflections in the absence of direct access to Dream; allows, with great effort, to change reality between self and reflection, blurring or multiplying the concept of existence even for oneself.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 18:12

I read on and cannot stop being horrified at how I managed to survive the disclosure of this facet of my abilities, even by two divisions at once. As I remember my feelings after applying the trick of turning myself into my reflection, erasing my real self, which became a reflection, and then manifesting into the reality where I am no longer there from the mirror, I immediately feel the desire to punch myself in the face. It is unclear what I was thinking. Although, I can trace the course of my thoughts. The excitement of the fight, unwillingness to admit that the couple screwed me without even letting me break the score, as well as the habit of believing in my immortality.

Camrad_RIP 14.08.23 в 18:10

I believed, yeah.

Camrad_RIP 16.08.23 в 18:19