История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: 4. Глава четвёртая. Первые неприятности Героя Королевы Эльфов

Chapter Four. The First Trouble of the Hero of the Elf Queen

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 09:35

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Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 09:35

Cyril stared at the inscription that appeared before his eyes for a moment. All the fatigue and sleepiness after a long day seemed to be removed as if by hand. He had chosen the system modifier “ System Assignment I” on the advice of the elves, to speed up the experience gain. Yes, other options gave a good bonus to gaining experience for peaceful ways of pumping or killing enemies. But the queen provided some excerpts from the archives. If to believe them, and there was no reason to doubt the vast accumulated experience of the elves, the tasks given out by the system would be more useful for Kiril specifically. Peaceful ways to pump - in the case of his class, this led to artifacting. Aggressive ways to pump up for the time being were also rejected, as Cyril still had a long way to go before the nearest battle, which the elves warned him about at once. First, he needed to get used to his powers. And Cyril was in complete agreement with them. It was not enough to kill himself on some goblin of the first level, or any other stupid way to die. He'd already screwed up once, and he didn't know how.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 20:57

So, the option of getting assignments was probably the most optimal in his case. Of course, in theory, he could be offered something too dangerous, but, if the same elven archives were to be believed, he would have to grow in levels for such a thing. And the offered assignment can be refused without any serious consequences. All you have to do is wait a week for a new assignment. But if you fail, the penalty is doubled, and you will have to wait two weeks for a new assignment. But if you successfully complete it, you will get a new assignment in three days.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 20:59

So Cyril, without a second's hesitation, accepted the new message and read the lines that appeared right in his mind.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:00

System assignment (small) received: store at least one of your full reserves in the storage amulet until dawn.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:01

Reward: one-fifteenth of the experience scale; minor facilitation of amulet-storage amulets.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:01

I see. Well, here was his first assignment, as it should be for a hero of the first level, quite simple. Although, if you put your hand on your heart, Cyril still had a faint hope that he would now be given a global quest to save the world. Or restoring the shaken world balance? Well, in general, something significant. And preferably with a marker on the mini-map, which would be given in the set. And with an appropriate reward, of course. All right, well, we'll work with what we've got.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:16

Cyril got out of bed and put on his finger one of the gold rings with a large emerald he had taken off before going to bed. He was able to tune in to it without any problems at all, thanks to the knowledge he'd received about “the basics of working with basic amulets and artifacts". As well as the fact that this particular ring was made specifically for him. Concentrating, Kirill began to pour his reserve into it. And almost immediately, he realized two things. The first was that he had completely misjudged the capacity of the rings he had been given. There was no question of “a few” of his current amount of energy. There's like, not all of a dozen and a half! Even his most basic knowledge bestowed by the System was enough to realize. This is VERY cool! Many gifted people would pay any money for such a ring, and if they didn't have enough of their own, they would borrow or sell a kidney. Or the kidney of a relative/friend/colleague. Or a relative/friend/colleague's full body. Not to mention the option of banally killing the owner of such an amulet, because you need it more!

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:19

This is a creation of the level of a full-fledged Master of Magic, which absolutely most Adepts, not to mention Apprentices, can only dream of. Unless, of course, their father/mother is a local Rotenberg. It was very nice to see another confirmation of how much the elves appreciated him, that they had given him two such amulets. He would have to thank the queen for them again. However, all these thoughts flashed in the back of Cyril's mind, only to be immediately lost there.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:21

The second thing he realized as he began to infuse his energy into the amulet was that he had miscalculated his strength and, out of habit he had poured two-thirds of his reserve into the ring in one fell swoop. From such a sharp loss of power, his body instantly became cotton. If Cyril hadn't been sitting on the edge of the bed, he would have fallen to the floor. Abruptly cutting off the channel of energy transfer he sat motionless for several minutes, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. His whole body felt woozy, his ears began to rumble, and a cold sweat broke out. Belatedly, he realized that spending too much and too fast was not the most pleasant or useful thing. Especially not for the gifted beginners.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 06:47

Licking his parched lips, Cyril realized his mouth and throat were dry. Fortunately, an enchanted carafe of water and an equally enchanted goblet had been left on the bedside table. Cyril filled it with his trembling hands and drank the unusually tasty and cool water greedily. It suddenly made him feel better. A little better. His tiredness returned, and he wanted to crawl under the blanket and sleep... But Munchkin's greed made him open his eyes and grit his teeth. We have to finish the job! I don't want to fail my first quest! And such a simple one at that.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 06:48

Cyril sat down and spent a few minutes trying to get himself in order. The spent reserve was already replenishing itself, but only weakly. He could start meditating to speed up the process, but he still needed to sleep. So Cyril carefully took control of the rest of the reserve and began to pour it back into the ring. This time he was extremely careful, strictly controlling the amount of transferred energy. It was easy to create a channel of the required bandwidth, and maintaining it was practically effortless. The energy slowly flowed from Cyril into the ring, with almost no losses. That once again spoke about the quality of the artifacts given to him.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:24

Cyril made himself comfortable on the bed and tried to breathe deeply and slowly, watching the reserve gradually empty. At the same time, he felt the fatigue growing more and more, and his body was becoming sluggish again. But he was determined to finish the assignment and get the reward. When the reserve still showed the bottom, Cyril held on almost on stubbornness alone. And as soon as the system message came, about the successfully completed task, he immediately literally collapsed back into bed. Victory! Mentally congratulating himself, Cyril managed to crawl under the blanket and cover himself tightly. His body was shivering, and the thought flashed through his confused mind that he should have prolonged the filling of the ring at least for a few hours.....

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:27

"Master Cirial? Master Ciriall"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:28

From somewhere far away, through the warm sleepiness, came concerned voices. Cyril blinked and opened his eyes to see the concerned faces of two girls directly above him. After a couple of interminably long moments, it dawned on him that they were maids. His maids.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:32

"Good morning,” the young man said sleepily.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:32

Well, he tried to say it. But it came out something like “'ood monin'” His tongue was suddenly sluggish and slurred. What the hell? Trying to sit up, Cyril was surprised to find that he felt completely shattered. His whole body was stuffed with absorbent cotton, and there was no strength at all. He could barely move his fingers. Fear flashed across the faces of the maids, and they instantly developed a flurry of activity. Armina, pulling out a communication amulet from somewhere, called loudly for someone. Gata pressed her palms against Cyril's face and forced him to look into her bright yellow eyes, in which a fire naturally burned.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:34

"He's suffering from severe magical exhaustion! He needs immediate help! Call the healers, I'll do my best to support him!"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:34

"Already! They're coming! Put the protective amulet on him! Why did he take it off in the first place?!"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:34

"Damn it, his powers continue to dwindle!"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:35

"How so?! Do you see any damage to the aura?!"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:35

"Nothing... The ring!"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:35

Cyril listened to all these shouts as if through thick glass. The words barely penetrated his brain but did not reach his clouded consciousness. He wanted to sleep, just lie there, and do nothing at all. And not even think about anything, because thinking was too hard. But Cyril was not allowed to fall into a blissful slumber, he was constantly breaking, asking something, saying something. At some point, it became wildly annoying. He even wanted to shout to get away from him, but then a vaguely familiar face of the elf appeared in front of his eyes. Her luminous gray eyes seemed to attract the young man's gaze. And then Cyril felt as if he was doused with ice water, which swept not only through his physical body but also through his subtle body. Fatigue and drowsiness were washed away in a flash, his head became clearer and he sat up sharply in bed, as if he had been electrocuted. For a few moments, Cyril stared at the several elves and his maids crowded around him in bewilderment. The closest to him was a visibly tense Fiorel, and next to him was the local chief enchantress.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:56

She was holding her staff in her hands, pointing it towards Cyril, and the tiara on her head glittered with precious stones. Her gray eyes sparkled in unison with them, and she looked at the young man very intently. And this look was not kind, which made Cyril immediately become uncomfortable. He literally felt it physically on himself, as it was groping his delicate body, sending small waves of energy through it.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:58

"All right. I've stabilized his condition and restored the minimum reserve. Give him a few minutes to recover and then take him to the healer's chambers. He should be fine by tonight,” Mirael said, lowering her staff and extinguishing the glow.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:58

After which, her beautiful face took on an extremely stern expression, and she said in a stern voice:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 09:58

"Honorable Cirial, as I recall, you and I agreed that you would refrain from unauthorized experimentation with magic."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:13

Licking his lips, the young man, who had a sudden urge to be somewhere else, managed to get something out of his parched throat:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:13

"What... what happened to me?"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:13

Throwing a very expressive glance at the rest of the elves and Cyril's maids gathered around the bed, the head enchantress said in a lecturing tone:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:14

"You poured all your magical power into one of the storage rings given to you. But even when your reserve was empty, you continued to feed the ring, pouring your own life force into it. You were saved from complete exhaustion only by the fact in sleep the reserve is restored faster, and the replenished crumbs of energy reduced the drain of your life force."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:15

Leaning forward, Mirael asked in a polite voice that sent shivers down Cyril's spine:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:15

"May I know the reason, honorable Cirial, why you nearly killed yourself, bringing you to the point of total exhaustion?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:22

Licking his lips, Cyril stared at the head sorceress for a few seconds, unable to take his eyes off her and desperately trying to realize her words. In addition to the growing panic, there was a single thought in his head. What the fuck?! And then the knowledge given by the system suggested the answer, which made Cyril want to smash his head with the palm of his hand. Feeling like a complete idiot, he managed to squeeze it out of himself:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:16

"I didn't cut the connection..."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:13

Mirael, who had been watching him, arched an eyebrow demonstratively:

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:13

"Excuse me, what?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:14

"I got a system assignment yesterday! I had to store one of my full reserves in the amulet-storage device until dawn... So I... a little underestimated my strength... And then I was so tired that I almost immediately passed out and didn't cut the channel I used to drain energy into the ring...."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 10:16

There was silence in Cyril's bedroom. The gathered silently looked at the Chosen One, who had almost killed himself on the spot. Again. The main enchantress had a particularly expressive face, and she sighed heavily.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:09

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Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:08

"It was risky,” Sivila said slowly, watching the reflection of Cyril's bedroom in the artifact mirror.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:09

Standing beside her, Third, unperturbed as ever, shook his head:

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:10

"It was a fully justified and controlled risk. His condition was continuously monitored by our healers. He was in no danger, and they wouldn't have let it happen. But now we can make the most of this incident. For one thing, it'll teach him a lesson that he won't do anything rash or willful again. You know as well as I do that no child knows what's hot until he's been burned. Secondly, it will increase his trust in us and make it easier for him to work with us in the future."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:12

"I agree. But what if his patroness informs him that we've been following him from the beginning?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:12

"This is unlikely, according to our archives. As a rule, such entities do not often have direct contact with their favorites after they have sent them to the other world. But even if they do, we'll just honestly tell him we did it for his own good. Judging by my experts' assessments of his character, he should take it well."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:11

"Okay, let's say. How long before he recovers?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:10

"By tomorrow morning, he'll be perfectly fine and able to start his scheduled training."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 21:10

"Good. Any problems with his magical arts mentors?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 13:06

"None, the honorable Mirael has well selected her best students."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 13:06