Готовый перевод Быть Гладу и Хладу / There will be Hunger and Cold: 1.

1. Before you start to pwn, it's a good idea to ensure you don't end up pwned yourself.

* * *

The Great Mechanism loves numbers that are multiples of nine and seven, but nine is still slightly more favored. This is a proven fact that no one disputes anymore, thanks to the same collection of statistics. Those who undergo the Star of Dreams ritual at an age that is a multiple of nine receive, on average, five percent more of their original gifts, or simply more powerful gifts. This cannot be attributed to chance, so many people try to reach the age of eighteen or another multiple of nine. For the most part, however, it is at eighteen. Hence, a never-ending number of suicidal people with minimal knowledge, training, and stupidity in their heads. Ilya underwent his ritual at the age of thirty-six, which gave him much more time to prepare, study the Broken World, and think through possible developments.

Well, he also managed to live a normal earthly life, get a standard profession, get pretty tired of this life, and acquire an armor of cynicism and mild misanthropy. In fact, he would have dived in earlier, even at twenty-seven, because even then he was completely ready and had obtained all the necessary qualifications. But no, he didn't; he decided to wait a little longer, despite how much he wanted to put into practice everything he had studied for so long. And, of course, to take advantage of his little secret, which promised not just certain bonuses, but very, very significant advantages, even if it was not yet clear what exactly they would be. The kind that would allow him to confidently reach the fourth level in twenty to twenty-five years, the kind that could get you killed even on Earth, with all its social guarantees, mutual assistance among divers, and the vigilant Treaty. Be that as it may, everything listed, except for the Treaty, existed mostly in words.

Human envy, on the other hand, was guaranteed to exist.

"Well, you've got quite a face, future Great Pwner." That was all Ilya said, looking at his tired and slightly gaunt face, admitting to himself how much he, a well-educated and erudite man, was frightened by the prospect and future relocation to the Broken World, and frightened precisely because he was well-educated and erudite. “You might as well get drunk, but it's too late now.”

Yes, at some point, about halfway through the eighteen days before the new cycle, he seriously considered spending the rest of the term until the first dive in an alcoholic or even chemical haze. However, his pride and weak heart, which could not withstand such libations, stopped him. It seemed that even if he died before the first cycle, but after the connection through the Star, the Broken World would draw his soul and let him start the game, but he didn't want to test it. And he didn't want to die in his earthly body either. Even though he considered the idea of moving to the Broken World as a working one, he didn't want it. No normal person would want that. The game world is nightmarish, terrifying, cruel, bloody, and other epithets, so people went there for the Essence and adrenaline, but were always happy to return to Earth. To the warm rims of clean toilets, the multitude of drinks and food in the markets, funny streams on weekends, and trash talk on forums and the Forum.

Ilya was the same. For him, another world was a chance to rise, gain status and security in the human world, and enjoy the fruits of such a life. Yes, he was drawn to mystery, adventure, and the very history of a vast super-world where the inhabitants of endless myriad other civilizations that had discovered the Great Mechanism intersected. But how much more pleasant it is to gain power and learn secrets when you have the opportunity to return to a warm and cozy home, rather than being stuck in a bloody nightmare for the rest of your eternity.

Having finished hypnotizing the mirror, Ilya lay down again on the floor, covering himself with blankets in the very same Star of Dreams drawing he had not put away all these days. This was an unsubstantiated superstition, but a persistent one, saying that if you sleep in the same Star, you will be more successful in the Broken One. In the sense that the place of birth of the Twin would be more fortunate and suitable. Ilya didn't believe in it, but now he wanted to grasp at any straw, because he still didn't know for sure whether his plan would work or not, whether he would succeed, or whether he would just waste his chance because he had to wait forty-five years. No. No! He couldn't take it anymore, and it wasn't even about his heart, which was getting stronger every year, despite his medical insurance and high-quality medication. He would simply go crazy. Better to fail the main plan now and start training as a regular diver. He was ready for that, too; he had always been ready.

What is the cause of nervousness and uncertainty?

Why did Ilya wait so long to take his first dive?

What is he hoping for? What does he want to achieve now?

Oh, that's undoubtedly a very good question, detectives, and the answer lies in yet another aspect of the Great Mechanism's work, namely the so-called “motivation to connect.” The Ancient Ones, when creating this nonsense, knew perfectly well how the psychology of humanoid races works and clearly had some understanding of marketing. Sometimes, very rarely, about once every fifteen years, a special notification appears on the Forum that the “Lottery” is taking place. In fact, of course, this event was only called a Lottery on Earth. It was called the Trial of Fortune. And yes, the Ancient Ones believed in the concept of luck, just as Earthlings believed in gravity. For them, the ability to manipulate probabilities and the tendency to do so were one of properties of existence.

The lotteries worked simply. A random million or so Earthlings who had not yet been initiated as divers were selected, and a condition was set. Moreover, each of the Earthlings, even if not initiated at all, immediately understood this condition completely and thoroughly, and as a bonus received a guarantee of initiation... More precisely, the Lottery initially selected only those who already had a tendency to contact the Great Mechanism. Only now they knew about it without any tests, from the very beginning. Who will be the first to earn the first unit of Essence? Who will be the first to step onto the Second level? Who will be the first to kill another diver from their own world? In the latter case, one of the newcomers managed to get to the Heart of Rebirth of a small group of Earth divers, clarified the situation, and wacked the man who had voluntarily taken the risk, who was then reborn anyway.

That group became one of the most powerful small factions of today, now called the Scarlet Thunder in honor of its leader's signature attack, that very same boy. The essence is pretty clear. This is both a motivation for savages to rush into the Broken World, and in as large numbers as possible, and a way to give small, from the point of view of the Ancient Ones, benefits that allow the entire civilization of a separate planet of savages to make a leap forward. Each of the winners, if they did not perish, became a very strong diver, reaching at least the fourth level. And no, not all of the fifth levels are represented by lucky lottery winners and cheaters, only two. But these two are out of only nine officially existing individuals! And there are suspicions about another one. Not all winners admitted that they were winners.

What does Ilya have to do with this?

It's simple, dear experts, very, very simple. The lottery before last was called the Test of Endurance and Patience, and it worked a little differently than the previous ones. According to the terms of the awesome contest from the ancient toastmaster, the victory and the prize went to the one in a million who was initiated last. But at the same time, a small, really small, gift was given to the first half of those who would pass the initiation immediately, without looking for a crane in the ass while there was a titmouse in their hands. Or you could refuse to participate altogether, receiving a little pure essence, which could be sold to the same government. A very profitable investment, in the first months there, the market almost collapsed. For the first time since connecting to the Broken, the Essence fell in price at the official level, which led to some individuals on the exchanges jumping out of windows.

What about Ilya?

Nothing about Ilya!

That evening, Ilya was unfairly punished, spanked a little, and sent to his room, without the right to play with his favorite games or watch cartoons, streams, and other computer nonsense. Because Ilya was only five and a half years old. He knew nothing about Broken Worlds, Dream Stars, and so on. Now Ilya is thirty-six, and no one has even remembered the lottery for more than fifteen years, although twenty years ago they sometimes wrote, saying, “I tried, but I didn't achieve anything, so there must be another ‘waiter’ somewhere, damn” Yes, it may well be that even now there is someone still waiting, someone with more patience than Ilya. But. But! Most of those who wanted to get into the Broken World went there long ago, while the rest simply could not afford to wait until old age, because the average age for receiving an invitation to the test is about twenty-five. Those who simply did not care about the possible super prize simply took their share of the essence.

Incidentally, the youngest diver to survive his first month in Broken was Jonas Melscher, who passed through the Star of Dreams during a teenage rebellion against his parents at the age of thirteen, but his Twin only lasted eleven years, perishing in one of the endless conflicts, leaving behind not a boy, but a man to write memoirs and pursue a very successful career as an internet celebrity. The point is that no one could have suspected five-year-old Ilya of being a potential diver at the time. It has been proven more than once that those who are too young are simply not recognized by the ritual mark of the Star of Dreams. The same applies to those who are too old. There have been many cases where potential divers who had waited too long, having successfully passed the preliminary test in their youth, were rejected by the Mechanism after growing old and attempting to dive.

It's terribly unfair, especially from the point of view of elderly politicians who have begun to think about eternal life in the Broken, and now they've been dealt such a blow!

Another pebble in favor of Ilya's luck.

The man was fully prepared to begin his ascent on the fields of the Broken World on equal terms, but he did not object to moving straight on to pwning. The main thing, as the immortal classic advised, is to ensure you are not pwned before you start.

Thoughts swarm in his head with constant noise, jumping from build options for individual classes to compatibility tables for selectable talents, from food prices to tax deductions on Essence sales, from thoughts of greatness to thoughts of death. At some point, sleep begins to take over his mind, but he doesn't quite manage to do so. That very feeling that hundreds and thousands of divers have described. The moment when you feel as if you are being pulled out of your body, leaving only your naked and powerless soul, unable to move or scream. And then that soul is dragged forward into the darkness until even the darkness ends.

And the light came on.

* * *

The surrounding space looked strange, like a mixture of dream and reality. Lots of dark tones, tunnel vision, and the awareness of oneself in a kind of ghostly state. Half existing, half seemingly not here. It was not surprising, because the real Ilya was sleeping peacefully in a drawn circle in the middle of his apartment, and here was only his soul, for which a twin was to be created. Or a Twin. There were heated debates on the forum about the use of capital letters in the names of sacred terms, where the orderly ranks of grammar Nazis on both sides clashed not for life, but to the death. But, as for all other earthlings, before creating an avatar, you need to design it.

All of this had been described so many times that he knew most of what he could see and understand in those moments by heart. The structure of Earth's society, where it was much easier to obtain the necessary information, allowed even outright idiots to create a working and effective build based on someone else's blueprint. One can recall Maria's friend, for example, who never introduced herself, and Ilya, with all his blissful frivolity, did not ask her name, but quite successfully created a very lively and biting avatar of a hybrid Warlock. Close combat plus cursed flames for medium-close range, ritualism for support, and reliance on the direct formation of a fiery halo. A classic that, like old horses, doesn't spoil the plow.

++The fate of the Diver is being assessed.

Actually, the main reason why they are all called divers, and not players, is precisely in this phrase. They are called divers by the very essence of the Great Mechanism, and it is useless to argue with it. In a few seconds, well, subjective seconds, this assessment takes place. And these are not just words. It is a fact, quite tangible to Ilya, because he literally feels that he is being measured, weighed, scanned, and the only thing they are not doing is performing a colonoscopy. Although who knows, who knows, because humanity, held hostage by alien rules, still knows very little about the phenomenon of the Mechanism and is unlikely to ever learn more. Perhaps those schizo-theories about aliens, UFOs, and anal probes did not arise out of nowhere?

++The assessment of destiny is complete, and two additional gifts of essence have been obtained.

The trait Focused has been obtained.

The trait Outstanding Secret Knowledge has been obtained.

In principle, this is quite expected, since age of fourteen, he had been practicing a set of meditations individually tailored to him, which influenced his “focus” or “Conc,” increasing the likelihood of acquiring this trait. Few people manage to achieve truly outstanding results in this endeavor, mainly those who have an innate predisposition. Or those who literally spend all their time in those very meditations somewhere in one of the renovated monasteries of Tibet. For obvious reasons, since contact with the Ancient Ones, there are now more of them there than mushrooms after rain. His personal trait, to put it mildly, is not the best possible option, but it increases concentration, reduces fatigue, somewhat facilitates the work of some passive abilities, and, most importantly, reduces the psychological damage from close interaction with the surrounding world. That's not so bad, although not every class can fully unlock this trait.

The second trait is much more interesting; it is not without reason that it is not just a trait, but one that is described as outstanding. Its influence on the avatar's status is also much higher, and its benefits are many times greater. It would be a real source of pride, were it not for the fact that Secret Knowledge of various levels, including even Outstanding, is obtained by virtually every earthly diver. Knowledge about the Broken World, its laws, history, quirks, and undisclosed features, basic and advanced erudition — this is Secret Knowledge in all its manifestations. Those who prepare themselves in a simpler way, without taking courses, without receiving specific education, without paying for all kinds of guides and so on, receive simple Secret Knowledge or even more basic Erudition. But there are also plenty of people who have become outstanding esotericists on Earth. This is the path to power available to everyone, and only a complete idiot would not use it.

Well, London Anomalous University has three or four hundred such outstanding graduates every year, and it is not the only university engaged in studying the mysteries of the Broken. It's just the largest, most famous, and perhaps the most publicised. It's possible not even the best, but other universities simply don't publicise their achievements as much. The Beijing Institute of Secret Knowledge is not much worse, but only those who initially sign a contract to sell their essence exclusively to the Chinese government for ten years after initiation, with a discount reaching completely indecent levels, especially if they study on credit or with a grant, can study there.

Returning to Secret Knowledge. In its basic form, it facilitates work with texts, languages, riddles, and everything else, enhances a number of classes and talents, and also slightly increases the chance of obtaining a particle of essence for intellectual work. You studied fifty books brought back from the raid, half of which were damaged beyond reading, then catalogued them and wrote down the most important stuff, put it in a folder, and there you have it: Essence. The Foundation. Unreal. Dust. Exp. There are so many names for it, but officially, in documents, it is called Essence. The outstanding form does the same thing, only much better, and can increase the Twin's base characteristics by additional units. That's why people love it, because it's practically impossible to pump these characteristics additionally. Only what was given initially, when creating the avatar, and what you get when you level up.

The Twin is woven and embodied for the essence of the Diving One.

Formation of the Attributes sheet of the woven Twin.

Formation complete.

He knows the standard attributes by heart, as well as all possible variations of what might be unusual about them. Well, from what is publicly available. There are bound to be secrets, and not everyone is eager to share them, even among earthlings. However, even knowing everything he is about to see, everything that will become part of his mind, he is not shy about looking and realising, even trying to obtain fragments of ‘system information’. What if there is something in that reference that no one has seen before? There is a chance, however small, and all it takes is a little more attention to reading. Or rather, not to reading, because these letters are only in his mind, but to perceiving images. Many divers deliberately ignore these inscriptions, trying to perceive the Mechanism not in a ‘system and status’ specially created for humans, but more naturally.

By the way, there is no sense, only biased rumors, but you have to relearn a new perception. For Ilya, it is easier to use the classic inscriptions and messages inside his head.

Claws and Bones: 1

Strength and power, physical perfection, speed, agility, explosive force, reaction speed and perception, combat instincts, and reflexes.

Blood and Heart: 1

Life and magic, magic filling and its flow, reserve volumes, and overall survivability, recovery speed, and resistance.

Veil and Mystery: 1+1

Knowledge and premonition, intuition and foresight, stealth and fusion, concealment of magic and pretense, finding the right question and mystery..

Aurora and Radiance: 1+1

Purity and hope, the density of magic and its power, the richness and strength of spells, the effectiveness of rituals and invocations, aspiration and achievement, finding the right answers, and mystery.

Thirst and Anger: 1

Harm and corruption, the lethality of magic and its tendency to suppress protection, curses and wounds, resentment and hatred, eternal striving and struggle.

Faith and Perdition: 1

Peace and tranquility, merging with the world and the environment, likes and dislikes, influence and persuasion, the invisibility of magic, and control of others' spells.

Fate and Fortune: 1

Yours Everything

Attributes free to distribute: 7

Practically everything was exactly as expected, yes, there was nothing he didn't expect to see. Plus, the two free attributes didn't surprise him either. He remembered the description of the effects of Outstanding Secret Knowledge perfectly well. At first, when the Mechanism first arrived, many people were confused by the names and types of attributes, which were completely different from the classics of early 21st-century gaming. There was no strength, endurance, agility, intelligence, or wisdom. Of all the characteristics listed, only the first, Claws and Bones, was predominantly physical, although not entirely. In other cases, attributes, characteristics, stats, or whatever you want to call them, had a greater impact on the magical aspects of existence, but also affected the physical body. It's just in Broken, your flesh is inseparable from your magical potential, representing two sides of the same coin.

Magic ruled the Broken World, regardless of whether it took the form of a Marauder-Butcher-Executioner class or a pure Shaman-Warlock-Enchanter class. Whether warrior, caster, or stealth classes, they all used magic in their skills in one way or another, bending the physics of the world, which had been raped hundreds of thousands of times by the Ancient Ones, in every possible way. Yes, there are certain classes that will benefit more than others from the rocked-out Veil and Dawn, but any class will get its advantages from any of the attributes; there's no question about that. First and foremost, these advantages will be expressed in the talents available to acquire, which form the Gemini build. So, whatever he becomes in the near future, two honestly earned attribute points won't hurt him. After all, it's not for nothing that the description of both attributes mentions the ability to get answers and the ability to ask the right questions. This is the key to understanding mysteries.

Everything else is standard. Seven free units, exactly the number of attributes in total. Seven and nine, the favourite numbers of the Ancient Ones, damn. And no, investing one point in each of them or investing everything in one attribute is not a smart decision. Although many have tried, some have even managed to successfully use this approach. It is simply much smarter and easier to invest according to the class you receive, because it is not for nothing that the help section states that all free attributes must be spent before completing the creation of the Twin. Yes, they must, but there is no specific clarification that they must be spent at the very beginning, as soon as you gain access to the attribute sheet. Counterintuitive, yes. Many of the first divers fell into this trap, especially when almost no one was writing on the Forum, and the Encyclopedia contained next to no useful information.

Ilya glanced, slightly irritated at the description of the last attribute, as well as at the one point assigned to it. This is a characteristic that almost no one improves from the start, except for adrenaline junkies or those who consider themselves expecialy intelligent. Many would even spend their free point to reduce this attribute to zero rather than increase it, but unfortunately, this intention does not work. Fate-Fortuna was responsible not only for luck, but also for bad luck. More precisely, for the very activity of fate, for the dance of probabilities around the diver.

Even with a single point, players will have many more opportunities to find themselves a ‘Great Adventure’ or just a smaller adventure. They might find a note, a local nobleman might need help, they might find strange ruins, and so on. But if you invest all seven points in this attribute... let's just say, you're guaranteed to find yourself in an epic situation with incredible opportunities for career and not-so-growth. Anything can happen around such individuals, up to and including a situation like ‘went to the toilet and accidentally awakened the Mighty Evil buried under that toilet from hibernation.’

And you were eaten by it.

Without leaving the toilet, yeah.

On average, such characters did not live longer than a couple of days, and the record was considered a month, and even then, it was not the maximum eight points, but only five additional points. Large communities usually do not accept those with a Fate-Fortune higher than two, with very rare exceptions, and for attempting to hide the fact of having such stats, they will simply and unceremoniously detach you from the Heart and kill you. In the most extreme cases, they will kill you several times in a row until you are completely dead and return to Earth. The rampage of Fate and the mockery of Fortune are too dangerous, not only for those who choose this characteristic, but also for everyone else who happens to be nearby. Even raising it above two is a very questionable choice, rarely leading to any particularly useful results, but some still try.

Some even survive and write to the Forum.

Formation of predestined Lots.

Analysis of inclinations and steps taken.

Here are the available classes, which may be quite predictable if you know what to expect in advance. On average, it is generally accepted that at least four or five of the mandatory nine (remember, nine is a favourite number) available classes will correspond to the diver's personality and behavioural characteristics. Well, like those morgue enthusiasts and cemetery guards who have been persistently cosplaying as Lithuanian gravediggers for the past couple of months. The second half is chosen at random, practically independent of the diver's previous actions and personality. There are even some very, very magnificent options, often unique or simply rare, but most of these classes promise a lot of power for a lot of problems.

There is little joy in taking a class from some Izver if you are forced to extract the essence through torture and gradually become accustomed to the pain of others like a drug addict. Well, or you are initially ready to choose this path, not considering such an approach to be a significant problem. And then there's the familiar theme: when the distortion of the mind, the difference between you as an earthling and you as a diver, becomes overly obvious, personality splitting and the observer effect kick in. After that, welcome to the psychotherapists, where you will get a constant third-person movie every dive cycle, as well as a fervent desire for someone to kill your second self after all.

Although not always everything is so terrible, a certain number of "second selves" quite peacefully coexist with other earthlings, even without losing their positions and status. Take the same Matthew Forrest, who is called the Tree on the Forum. His Twin literally became a tree, alive, thinking, having the fourth level, and at the same time quite favorably disposed towards people. Even the original Matthew, albeit without much pleasure, admitted that his Twin turned out to be a person in many ways even more decent than the diver himself. Alas, this is not an isolated, but an extremely rare case when stratification with the Twin happened simply from a change in worldview and not a transition of the moral and mental horizon of events. Cannibals, executioners, rapists and other scum among the stratified are very, very many, almost one hundred percent of the total number.

In general, when choosing your Lot, especially if the Lot is one of those that provide increased stress on the psyche, you need to immediately put at the forefront the fact that some of the talents will be spent not on strengthening the build, but on weakening it. Or rather, on increasing mental stability. That somewhat reduces the power of the most fierce skills because these “especially fierce” ones are so strong precisely due to the decrease in normality. An element of balance, which those who fervently believe in their unshakable iron will regularly try to spit on, and then either swallow pills by the handful, or walk onto the monorail, meeting the train with a gloomy face. And all because there is no need to be greedy, as well as to consider yourself smarter than everyone else - carefully read the guides, listen to the help hint, and know for sure that unless otherwise indicated, any gift of the Mechanism still carries one or another catch.

The available Lots...

Here, Ilya couldn't take it anymore. Without even looking at the options, he tossed them aside because he needed to figure out what he got from the lottery and if he got anything. They announce these gifts as the last message from the standard list, as if they're messing with you and building up the suspense. If it were possible to hold his breath without a body, he would have done so. If it were possible to feel pain in his heart from excitement, he would undoubtedly have felt it. If it were possible to faint from lack of breath, he could have coped with that too, for he was too agitated, too thin a line separated triumph from failure.

The Challenge of Endurance and Patience has been passed!

The last of them became the first among them!

Additional Gifts gained: one random Great Trait, one random Great Boon, three additional Talent Drops to distribute to the chosen Lot.

Great Trait: Great Restorable Stability of Consciousness

Great Boon: Great Enhancement of Development Essence Inflow

At that moment, Ilya almost had a mental orgasm, and if he had a body, it might not have been just almost. Each of the gifts listed was something that people would kill for. Not even to take away, no, but just to kill, out of banal envy or to knock out a future competitor or just because fuck you, that's why. And when he began to pore over the reference images, he had an unbearable urge to smoke, even though he had given up vaping seven years ago, and he simply didn't have the physical lungs for it in his current state, a priori and in general. All that was left was to pat himself on the head for not going for the easy levels in the Citadel admissions committee, otherwise, he would now have to answer a bunch of uncomfortable questions. In the sense that everything could have turned out extremely well and they would have started to deliberately elevate him and prepare him for rapid advancement, but it could have been the opposite, ending with him being quietly shut down.

The trait turned out to be extremely simple, especially for the Great Trait. It simply and unpretentiously maximised mental stability, preventing the mind from being overwhelmed by the madness descending upon it. The very division of consciousness between the original and the Twin becomes minimally dangerous for the possessor of even weaker analogues of the Trait, if one knows the basic safety rules. In the case of the Great Gift... The aforementioned safety rules can be disregarded, not because they are stupid, but simply because most of the dangers automatically cease to be dangers, turning into very tempting opportunities. The strength and resilience of consciousness. Even if you do happen to grab some extra chthonic energy, fail a dangerous ritual, or try to poke the legacy of one of the Dead Gods with a stick, it's not the end of the world.

Because its stability is not only great, it is also renewable. Effects that influence consciousness either have no effect at all, or have an extremely weak effect that quickly wears off, or, if they do break through the defence, the mind will return to a stable form and state after a certain time. The defence is simultaneously passive and partially active, as well as adaptable, adjusting to the types of madness or influence that have already been encountered and survived. Mental and spiritual attacks are not very popular among divers, simply because of their inconvenience and weakness at the initial levels, or because of the rarity and complexity of developing truly serious tricks. However, among creatures, especially highly developed ones, almost every first one can pressure the brain and mess with it, if only by its repulsive appearance and aura of alien horror.

With this Trait, you can not only start killing large numbers of psycho-oriented creatures, but also save talent points, which are always in short supply. This is because specific talents that are supposed to weaken the madness of a particular class trick are simply unnecessary, allowing you to maximise your Lot to the limit. The very same one that local minimaxers probably don't like, even if they don't know the term itself, which came from Earth role-playing games of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He will gather together something particularly powerful, resilient, dangerous, and insane, and in three days, he will get out of sync in the very first dive cycle, and the locals will then have to hunt down and try to destroy the resurrected creature that is hunting them. Only now, Ilya will not be able to go crazy, retaining his sanity and control over the Twin.

His original build was geared towards classes inclined towards self-control and did not associate themselves with particularly fierce demons. Even if it was a fiery Warlock following the teachings of Ardor, no matter how popular and overused this build was, its popularity was understandable, because in the right hands, such a Twin could give a diver a lot, elevating them no worse than the progenitor of the build. But now... with such an ace up his sleeve, he can try to choose the most potentially powerful build without the slightest regard for mental stability and the possibility of losing control! Yes, it's quite a task, you'll have to turn your memory inside out, because you'll only be able to check your decisions after the cycle is over and you wake up on Earth.

Boon...

For something like this, they'll kill you or put you in a cage. They'll find a way around the letter of the Treaty, harass you indirectly, risk getting a kickback, or simply a personal visit from one of the Seven, but it'll be either the coffin or the cage. This boon increases the flow of essence received from any activity, whether training, creative or physical work, or, of course, battles, killings, or specific rituals. It increases it very, very significantly, so much so that I would definitely not say “a little.” The Mechanism did not provide exact numbers, but they did not particularly like such numbers anyway. The “great” blessing is definitely better than the standard ones. And the guys who received similar gifts from the Mechanism are cherished and pampered because they transfer part of their speed of pumping essence not only to themselves, but also to their group and comrades.

On average, a typical local aboriginal of the first level, blessed by the Mechanism, receives one unit of Essence for seven to nine days and nights of hard labour, provided there have been no direct combat encounters. If there is a war or regular culling of creatures, the result is greater, of course, but the risk of dying also increases exponentially. Those who have developed into craftsmen or ritualists, theurgists or preachers, receive a slightly greater increase. In general, if one's personal Lot and chosen talents allow for development outside of combat. Earthlings have once again cruelly deceived everyone with their internet, piracy, and free exchange of information, so they earn Essence a third or even half as fast. But even so, you have to save currency for years to improve your initial talents, and without the help of a group or taking a huge risk, you can only dream of reaching a new level.

If he were in the Citadel, he would be doomed either to quick elimination or to a long, comfortable life in a very secure cage. And that's only because it would be impossible to control the possessor of the Great trait to desynchronize with the Twin, and then wash the Twin's brain clean, preferably leaving only a controlling ritual pattern on top of the exposed brain. After all, the Treaty protects Earthlings more in reality than on the fragments of the Broken One. And yes, you need to burn a warning inscription into your skull with a hot iron. The option of desynchronization and/or subjugation is something that the locals will definitely try to pull off if they find out about Ilya's boon and get the opportunity to capture him. In general, he will definitely invest his talent in minimal protection against various forms of scanning, because now he definitely has these extra talents.

Talents, drops of them. The foundation and beginning of any diver, the essence of their pumping on par with the Essence. When creating a Twin, each diver receives ten basic free talents, nine from the Gift of the Mechanism, and the last one, as part of themselves, is the definition of their own diver talent, which they can spend freely. Active skills, passive auras, traits, blessings, modifications, enhancing aspects, anything at all. Ten drops, ten talents, ten choices, each worth only one talent, each of which you see for the first and last time in your life.

Another one to five talents are awarded upon acquiring a class, but these are mainly key skills that cannot be leveled up on their own, the basis of the class, they are leveled up automatically with the choice of class and are not deducted from the initially available number. However, this initial ten can be increased or decreased, depending on certain Attributes. Some will add one, while others, in exchange for other advantages, will reduce the number of available talents. More precisely, they will not reduce them, but will automatically spend them on acquiring certain skills, subtracting them from the base number. Roughly speaking, they will take away a talent that usually fits into the class automatically.

Also, many talents, though not all, can be developed up the stages, although not above the initially known maximum. However, even for a one-time increase, you will have to pour in essence, let alone raise the skill to the limit in order to immediately start improving entirely new talents at the new level. But you can't neglect such leveling either. For a normal level increase, you need to level up at least the basic talents that are key for the class, ideally to the maximum. Then the transition to a higher level will be easier, the probability of failure will be reduced, and the essence invested will immediately pay off.

The trick with leveling up is that when you do, you get your talent pool back, but with exactly the same value: twenty on the second level, thirty on the third, forty on the fourth, and fifty on the fifth, which is currently the maximum for Earthlings. And each subsequent increase opens up more powerful and profound options, which greatly depend on what you chose before and how successfully you developed your choices. Yes, it is possible to independently master a couple of skills or properties per level if you actively seek ways to strengthen yourself, but such talents cannot be compared to level progression, and developing them is much more difficult and expensive. That is why there is a real gap between the first and second levels, ranks, stages, leaps, and other synonyms, despite the difference being only one digit. Between, say, the third and fourth levels, there is no longer a gap, but an abyss, while between the fourth and fifth stages, there is an endless and very dark cosmos.

And that makes it all the more valuable to gain additional talents in the base number. That's exactly how the bonus works. Thirteen talents now, twenty-six on the second, thirty-nine on the third, fifty-two on the fourth, sixty-five on the fifth. There's a difference, isn't there? Even if the second level, with all its bonuses, is extremely difficult to achieve and fraught with forty thousand ways to die, as in that song from before the Mechanism, it's still a guaranteed opportunity to reach the top if you work hard and don't die. The rest of the divers work hard and try not to die without such guarantees, often spending twenty, thirty, forty years in supporting roles, never making it from a two to a three.

Ilya, being a real nerd, understood better than anyone what exactly he got.

Available Lots: Seeker, Hermit, Assassin, Sage (reveal), Martyr, Executioner, Maniac, Possessed (reveal), Dreamwalker

Oho-ho.

This is roughly the sound combination that Ilya would have uttered, along with the immortal “poo-poo-poo,” had he been able to make sounds at that moment. The options were certainly viable, but he had not expected such gifts. He believed, hoped, and wished for a lottery win, but invariably expected another blow from his miserable life. Nine is good, and two of the nine classes are unlocked, allowing you to choose a subtype. These are generally stronger than other classes of the same level, although there is no guarantee. In a different situation, he would have chosen the Sage. It's a very smart and correct choice for someone who wants to study the Broken, earn Essence, and is in no hurry to die. Although to be on the safe side, you need to know for sure that you will be attracted to the group, because Lot itself is not particularly powerful in combat. And choosing normal subclasses of the Sage takes away one to two talents precisely because it is a safe choice.

The Sage learns, seeks, studies, and shares wisdom. They go mad less often on average, have access to magic, although it is quite utilitarian, and also have increased essence output from working with knowledge and secrets. Combined with an honestly earned outstanding Trait, the result was very respectable, whether a Scribe or a Contemplator. But now, with the above-mentioned bonuses, the choice of the most promising Lot seemed and was, surprisingly, um, suboptimal. Like any normal holder of a London Anomalous diploma, he was also focused on combat training and fully considered the option of earning essence exclusively on his own, in direct combat with creatures or natives.

The Seeker goes straight to the sludge pit because they are all focused either on working, not even in a group, but in a large community, or on working for the locals, with a bunch of oaths and assurances. It is better for him to stay away from the locals, especially those who can hire or want to hire the Seeker. A mixture of hunter, detective, interrogation master, and almost an inquisitor from the latest reboot of the Warhammer franchise. They are agile, fast, very observant, and excellent at reading tracks. Their magical development focuses on sensory perception, pursuit, and one-on-one combat. They are quite good with firearms, be it crossbows, bows, or even pistols and wildly expensive mago-mechanical revolvers. Unfortunately, when fighting alone, Seekers cannot reach even a third of their potential, and even a quarter is a stretch, because they are too fragile, and their resurrection mechanics are overly complicated and also require the help of a group or organization you work for.

The path for team players, a significant proportion of enforcers, who dive into Broken, not only gets this option to choose, but also chooses it. One of those who reached the fourth level, developing through this class, now controls the Citadel's intelligence and counterintelligence. The second, if he really exists, as the evidence is only circumstantial. So, the second, supposedly, but this has not been proven, became a secret advisor to the Emperor of one of the very large indigenous state structures, where the area occupied is like that of the Roman, Chinese, and British Empires combined. But it cannot be verified, as it is too broken and endless for someone to be thrown into such a “tiny” goal by chance of birth, and this individual is in no hurry to deliberately attract colleagues to himself.

Only on the Forum does he reveal some of his actions and open secrets, and based on these revealed secrets, we have gained a rough understanding of the class and level of an individual who is in no hurry to reveal his identity.

A Hermit would be suitable, but there is too strong a connection to solitary play. You will go mad not from the chthonic in your head, but from your own loneliness. Combat power, again, is low, and in the company of other intelligent beings and in proximity to populated areas, it becomes even weaker. The choice of a complete introvert. Ilya even understood why this choice fell to him with his character. But no, it's good to be an introvert sitting in your apartment, with access to a bathroom, plumbing, the internet, and a phone number for a delicious food delivery service at your fingertips. Being an introvert in the wild, where ancient evil could be lurking under any bush? No, thank you, better to look for something else. This choice should only be made when there are no other options left.

The Assassin is already better; this class is good as a base, from which you can develop yourself in any direction, from a stealthy master of cutting throats to a brawler, a cutthroat bandit, or even a temple warrior. It's not exactly a good path, but it's not bad either. Among all the class options available when creating a Twin, it is considered a solid middle ground. The Executioner and Martyr are roughly on the same level — very rotten classes that the Assembly regularly complains about, but this is more because that individuals who choose this path think more about torture and execution, which are easy ways to get free essence, rather than the more risky and painful use of the strengths of these paths A damage-dealing fighter with insane damage or a tank that takes a beating, which is extremely difficult to defeat, but carries a very high risk of becoming a complete masochist with experience.

Because Martyrs are forced to constantly endure pain, and the ability to derive pleasure from pain is available from the first level and is considered mandatory when choosing this class. Although those people who are naturally incapable of feeling pain, if they receive one amusing trait when creating a Twin, can bend as hell. And without any risk of becoming a masochist or going mad and losing control of the Twin, plunging into agony forever.

Maniac... no, just no, all the grinding there boils down to murders and a series of murders, extracting essence from general fear and rumor. Yes, the combat side is not good, but it's not bad, but there is an excellent one, one of the best for basic classes, stealth, and camouflage, so you don't get caught. Those who play this class must be either very cold-blooded personalities, or complete scoundrels, or both at once. The locals, too, do not like this path and resolutely suppress both newcomers and their own who have taken it, until they are completely destroyed. In theory, you could play a character like Dexter Morgan, as the sixth reboot of the cult series has just begun, but it's very difficult and risky. No one is particularly likely to avenge prostitutes killed in the style of Jack the Ripper, but all sorts of hardened scoundrels and murderers, you know, know how to kill themselves, and they are protected by the law because they most often have power or serve those in power.

Ilya isn't opposed to this method of pumping, but it's not the only way to do it! Even with his Gift, it would be difficult, too difficult, even though there's no need to fear the cuckoo. To be honest, partial or complete insanity helps Maniacs more than it hinders them in their effective development. Rumor has it that particularly mentally resilient and completely unprincipled earthlings deliberately go mad, leaving their Twin to frolic and bring them more essence, and they perceive the need to observe his life every cycle as simply analogous to watching cheap slashers. But, according to Ilya, you have to be a clinical psychopath to deliberately entertain yourself in this way. Because even if everyone doesn't give a shit about the Assembly and its antics, you still have to remain human and not flush your humanity down the toilet.

What else? Dreemwalker, yes.

First and foremost, dreamwalkers are mentalists, brainiacs, scouts, long-range operatives, cursers, and weakenings. It is a powerful but rare class, its bearers quickly lose their minds due to the specific nature of their work with the dream worlds. It is often chosen by disembodied dreamers and simply people with very rich — and, yes, sick — imaginations. Artists, writers, lovers of fairy-tale characters, and all that sort of thing. The main problem with this path is the need to immerse yourself in the world of dreams and act there, leaving your body unprotected, because what lives in dreams can devour you and take over your empty body. The resurrection system is very fucked up — you can't say it without swearing — complicated and tied to those very dreams. That's why it's too easy to die forever, even with a full supply of essence for rebirth. Someone will capture the empty body and devour the mind that has gone to sleep, and for resurrection, you will have to wait for the physical body to die in order to create a new one, and then pay double for the body and spirit. Not everyone manages to gather a double supply.

The advantages include equally insane class skills and magic, access to powerful mental abilities almost from the start, and the ability to level up even when playing solo. By ‘solo,’ I mean without the help of other divers from Earth. If you are particularly gifted, you can also assemble a harem or reverse harem of brainwashed natives. Which is why, by the way, it is believed that every Dreamwalker is a perverted rapist with a maniacal desire to hypnotise beautiful girls into sexual slavery.

Well, it's not an unfounded opinion, although we should thank some of the most notorious lovers of crawling into sleeping heads, who were not shy about their exploits and put them on display for anyone who wanted to watch on the Forum, which automatically verifies the accuracy of the data. Although many people forget that for every Mesmera or UglyBastard — yes, yes, not everyone reveals their identity even now, and the Forum allows you to log in using a nickname or simply a false name — there are a bunch of novice dreamwalker who got their asses kicked several times in a row until Twin fell apart.

In principle, if that were the end of the list of available paths, Ilya would choose the Dreamwalker. No, not because he can't wait to intertwine other people's brains and move around with his small army of obedient slaves. After all, not all dreamwalker builds are based on mind control and recruiting defenders; there are other, equally powerful paths. The choice of a Dreamwalker would be justified by the fact that with his speed of essence gathering, it is quite possible to pay the increased fee for resurrection, and the very concept of the development of this class suited him in every way. But there was one thing: even though his consciousness was protected from madness and the crap he might encounter and was guaranteed it in his dreams, it was only his mind. Not his body! And the problem of “GTB - Grand Theft Body,” as the theft of a body by some kind of creature is sometimes called on the Forum, is much more common for dreamwalkers than ordinary death.

And there was the last option, the second of the advanced ones, allowing you to choose a slightly more advanced Lot. The Possessed are quite useful in a variety of builds. They haven't gained much popularity, but there are those who dive into this Lot, some of them even quite strong, and there are those who have reached the fourth level, even if only a couple or three, but who knows. The Lot is extremely specific and requires a very competent approach and careful monitoring of the state of the psyche, but if these conditions are followed, it is quite competitive. The problem with the Possessed is that if you approach it correctly and take care of your head, it is easier to do the same with a less problematic class. The exceptions are either special Gifts received from the Mechanism upon connection or the absence of other normal paths.

But.

But!

But!!!

In Ilya's case, the main reason this path is unpopular is absent! Possessed ones of all kinds are precisely those guys who spent between a third and half of their talents to weaken themselves. By reducing the control of the possessor, they lose a considerable amount of strength, but gain the ability to use it correctly. Not to break out into a mad slaughter at the slightest sharp sound, not to rush at their own, not to rush like a berserker at a creature that, in direct combat, will turn the unfortunate possessed inside out and leave them alive. Control of oneself. Control of the battlefield. Either madness, desynchronization, or heartfelt gratitude from the locals or your group, because they will have to deal with your raging Twin. At the same time, Ilya can not weaken the possessor, but enhance its effect on the occupied body. He can develop without regard for the threat of madness and take everything from his Lot.

And in terms of raw power, damage, flexibility, and, most importantly, survivability, a properly balanced build of the Possessed, with no restrictions on madness, can beat any, absolutely any, of the classes offered to him. Even a Dreamwalker, who is practically defenseless in a direct face-to-face battle at the first level, and even in the subsequent ones, is unlikely to change much. There's no point in even thinking about it. The ratio of raw power and the ability to ignore madness literally screams “ILYUKHA, TAKE IT, DAMN IT!!!” at him, and he has seen no reason to refuse so far. Yes, Broken, unless stated otherwise, will always screw over the diver, but this is precisely the case when the Mechanism has spoken very clearly.

The choice has been made, well, the first one, because I still need to take an advanced specialty.

There were more than seven subclasses in the Possessed category, but only four were revealed to Ilya, though not the worst ones: Possessed by a Beast, Possessed by a Demon, Possessed by Evil, and Possessed by the Dead. The last one is out of the question. This class ties you to a place, to a certain tomb of a mortgaged corpse, who died but did not become less dangerous, although he did not rise as an undead either. The class is very variable in terms of which corpse you might get. It's one thing if you are possessed by a mischievous village grandfather who was buried under a village hut three generations ago, cursing men with impotence, women with unwanted pregnancies, and milk with accelerated souring. If, on the other hand, you are possessed by an ancient sorcerer from some tightly sealed tomb, then everything is much more fun. But not for long, because such powerful scum will quickly find a way to kick the diver out into the cold from his Twin and continue without him.

With this specialisation, you always need to spend a talent point on ‘backstory,’ which will integrate you into the world and allow you to acquire basic knowledge about who you are, who you were, how you lived, and so on. What is characteristic is that the diver did not consume the soul of the local and did not inhabit it; rather, reality was distorted in such a way that your Twin always lived this life, and at this moment, you simply merged. Almost the same appearance, adjusted for the difficult local life, the same character and certain reflexes, but a completely different memory. A perfectly grown empty shell. Direct manipulation of causality, fate, and retroactive changes to the past. Well, or in such an infinitely Broken World, they simply grow a bunch of clones of each potential diver from the outset, strictly for each of the possible Lots.

Whatever it is, it's mindblowing.

Returning to Possessed by a Corpse. It requires a binding to the tomb location and is quite unpredictable in itself, since it is impossible to form in advance the possessor who will move into the diver. That is why this option was immediately discarded, but the other three...

A beast is almost the same as a shapeshifter, with the difference that the second form comes from the spirit of the beast, not from the inner beast. There are far fewer problems with the active transformation time, but at the same time, there is a noticeable vulnerability to exorcisms, which is a class weakness of all Possessed in general. The builds are largely identical, and even the talents are almost the same as those of Shapeshifters. Among these furry quadrobers, a meme that is almost a century old, popularised by a couple of Slavic streamers from the Eurasian Bloc, there are some very serious guys, although most of them are still among the Shapeshifters. There are also problems with brains there, but they are easier to deal with, which is why those possessed by animals are not highly rated. Why bother more if the result is the same for everyone?

At one time, it was very popular, and still is in some places, to play as a Shapeshifter or Possessed Beast with a second form of a Walrus. First, it is easy to achieve this form while still on Earth by changing your diet to a specific fish-based, high-calorie one, gaining weight, and spending enough time splashing around in the pool. Secondly, the build is not completely defenceless on land, but at the same time, it is deadly strong in any coastal or island regions, bending so much that sometimes it is worth a full combat five. If it chooses the battlefield correctly and manages to take advantage of its advantages, then yes, it is capable of defeating a team of five of equal level. It doesn't matter if they are locals or divers from other worlds, not necessarily Earth.

Unfortunately, Walruses are prepared in advance by those who will draw them at the moment of initiation, so that they have cover, food, specific enhancements, and so on. Several communities have almost half of all Walruses among earthlings in their ranks. And not without reason, yes. For a solo game, which Ilya is doomed to play... well, it's definitely not the best choice. Wolf, Fox, and Bear are also good, but not exactly great, and more exotic forms, such as the completely cheaty Cuckoo, will definitely not fall to him, there is a very small chance, even if he initially tries to get them, changing his lifestyle for years to “fit” the desired form.

Overall, better than Possessed by Dead, but not quite what is needed.

The Possessed by Imps will provide a disguise for his true nature that is only slightly inferior to that of the Maniac, but Ilya was not sure whether the protection of the mind would work against the mechanics of this class. The point is that this type of possessed person shares their body with a demonic entity, which is inherently malicious. And this scum is quite willing to help, advise, assist and protect, but, bitch, it demands payment for everything. And you pay it either by having to perform certain actions, most often openly immoral or simply disgusting, or by giving up some control over your body and life. One hand for five minutes, your sight for half a day, your speech apparatus for a week, and you may not even be able to hear what the devil is saying through your mouth.

The path is either for a flagellant or a chain-wearer, who subdues the devil through asceticism and self-torture and forces him not to act strangely, or for very peculiar personalities. There are undoubtedly cases where a diver has managed to get along with the devil, becoming soul mates, but these are either such scoundrels that it is unclear who is worse, or simply tricksters, masters of legal deals and games with the letter of the contract, as well as simply crazy people. Crazy people from the very beginning, even on Earth. The demon will quickly kill or force into cooperation any possessed person who does not follow the devil's wishes. There are also options for kicking out the original inhabitant of the body into the cold.
Идиома

No, no, the list of available talents is very impressive; you can build a character for almost any role, but the essence of the path is a deal with the devil, a deal, not direct control over the mind. In this regard, the protection of the great Trait may either not work, or his class may turn into a pumpkin dummy. In that case, it would be easier to take the animal option and join the furry community, as there are more benefits and significantly less hassle. It's a shame, a real shame, as it is one of the most flexible classes, capable of unpleasant surprises even at the first level, all other things being equal.

There was one last way left.

Possession by Evil did not actually refer to a spirit, whether animal, dead, or demonic, but rather to some abstract and evil idea, a harmful non-virus that infects the body, mind, and soul. It changes the victim into something corresponding to the chosen Evil. Creatures of this kind are remarkably strong and dangerous, no less powerful than demons, but they are guaranteed to require more than half of one's talents to contain the Evil within, or else quickly succumb to madness. And with such a handicap, the possessed are of very little use on their own, winning not in combat, but purely through unique abilities that sometimes bypass the standard methods of familiar classes. Individual exceptions who received successful Gifts or managed to master a number of skills on their own only confirmed the rule. There was still the option of seeking help from the community, which would help a stabilised possessed person cross the first level and fully reveal themselves on the second, but this was too great a luxury for Ilya.

The choice of forms of Evil here was not much smaller than the number of specialisations of the Black Mage or the second forms of the Shapeshifter, but Ilya already had the right choice. Not the best, not the kindest, and most humane, but certainly allowing him to maximise his strengths and level out his weaknesses. Perhaps he is making a mistake. He would probably regret it. Obviously, he was behaving a little better than a greedy minimaxer. There was no doubt that his choice would be condemned by the Assembly, which had passed a vote of disapproval on this particular Lot and a number of similar ones. It is worth acknowledging that this Lot is indeed cannibalistic, but it is precisely through cannibalism that Ilya plans to significantly reduce the degree of madness, simply by using the very Gift that made him mentally very stable.

The Lot has been chosen: Possessed by Evil!

The number of Talent drops has been increased by one!

The basis of Talent consists of fourteen Drops!

One stable Drop of Talent, contained in the Lot, has been found and can be invested in the heart of the Lot!

Stable Drop of Talent is spent!

The essence of Lot has been obtained: Hunger Obsession!

The display of the name of the lot has been changed: Wendigo!

Attributes have been recalculated according to the Lot!

Acquired the key talent of the lot: Hunger and Cold!

Acquired the key talent of the lot: Child of Nature!

That's it. There's no turning back for Ilya now. Everything depends on whether he was right in his reasoning and whether, instead of the path to the pinnacle of power, mountains of Eurocredits and undying glory, he will end up with the reputation of yet another moron who ruined his mental health in pursuit of power. The Broken World and our native Earth have seen countless such people, and will see even more in the future.

Pushing aside the incessant swarm of thoughts buzzing around his head, the earthling begins to organize his build. Whatever he may think of his intelligence, he is capable of carrying out such a distribution with his eyes closed and without straining his brain. Most of the build has long been refined and polished by previous divers, and even the list of talents is not littered with unfamiliar names. The first-level path has now been almost completely explored for all popular classes. He skipped some of the unfamiliar names, while others he studied carefully and either discarded or added to his build using his available free talents, which did not need to be used to protect his psyche.

Ten basic drops for divers, three gifts from the generosity of the Mechanism, and the last, fourteenth, from the class itself. The choice of the Possessed by Evil, which would give the class of the Possessed, would give as many as two drops, but this path, for all its advantages, is incomparably more difficult and risky due to the lack of cover from the gift trait. An experienced and strong devil will shove that trait up Ilya's ass so hard that it will come out through his ear. The mechanics of contract actions are based not so much on the will and steadfastness of consciousness as on the auric and spiritual aspects of the Twin. In general, it is better not to play these games with creatures whose very essence requires them to be malicious, and towards everyone, including each other.

At this place, the very concept of time did not exist. Een if its laws had worked here, the entire process of creating the build under the cute forum name “Doctor Lecter,” although the simpler and more understandable term “Cannibal” was more commonly used, took only thirty to forty minutes at most, most of which was spent checking the forty-nine available talents that were unfamiliar to him and differed from the patterns he knew. He glanced through the remaining three and a half hundred just to make sure nothing new was hidden under a familiar name. Having completed his task, Ilya finally accepted his choice and resigned himself to what awaited him now and who he would be from now on.

Part of him desperately regretted choosing such a difficult path, not becoming a sage and contemplator, but only part of him. He had waited too long, prepared too long, strived too hard for the Broken One, desired to know it, study it, and challenge it. Another infinitely small grain of sand, imagining itself to be a mountain peak. How many such grains had the Broken World already seen, how many had disappeared in it without a trace?

Claws and Bones: 1+2(Lot)+3=6

Strength and power, physical perfection, speed, agility, explosive force, reaction speed and perception, combat instincts, and reflexes.

Blood and Heart: 1+2(Lot)=3

Life and magic, magic filling and its flow, reserve volumes, and overall survivability, recovery speed, and resistance.

Veil and Mystery: 1+1(Trait)+1(Lot)+1=4

Knowledge and premonition, intuition and foresight, stealth and fusion, concealment of magic and pretense, finding the right question and mystery..

Aurora and Radiance: 1+1(Trait)+1=3

Purity and hope, the density of magic and its power, the richness and strength of spells, the effectiveness of rituals and invocations, aspiration and achievement, finding the right answers, and mystery.

Thirst and Anger: 1+2(Lot)+2=5

Harm and corruption, the lethality of magic and its tendency to suppress protection, curses and wounds, resentment and hatred, eternal striving and struggle.

Faith and Perdition: 1+1(Lot)=2

Peace and tranquility, merging with the world and the environment, likes and dislikes, influence and persuasion, the invisibility of magic, and control of others' spells.

Fate and Fortune: 1

Yours Everything

Attributes free to distribute: 0

Its entire essence seems to pulse in time with the cogwheel of a colossal Mechanism moving inside itself. A mechanism greater than planets, stars, and galaxies, that is in itself an entire Universe, created once with the purpose of knowing itself, all this time growing, multiplying, endless, and continuous.

The Great Mechanism.

And he, part of it, part of himself, part of everything.

The moment of creation, when the Twin was not just created, but born.

Ilya felt it.

The first thing he felt.

The first thing that greeted him.

Hug him.

There.

Here.

Cold.

Ilya felt cold.

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

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/88055/588448

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP