Быть Гладу и Хладу / There will be Hunger and Cold: 18. Если это не повод для маленькой капельки заслуженной гордости, то что вообще можно считать таковым?

18. If this is not a reason for a small drop of well-deserved pride, then what can be counted as that?

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 07:17

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Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:06

As one character, who has been recognized as a classic on Earth for a century and included in the school curriculum, said: “CATS ARE GOOD.” This phrase is fully understood by those experts on the Broken World who have seriously studied the question of what a Cat living in the Broken World actually is. Because yes, cats are indeed good, but for the Cat, not for those who, through misunderstanding or ignorance, happen to be nearby. For them, everything can end very badly and with absolutely no alternative. And most importantly, few will even understand where it came from and why exactly it happened.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 07:24

If, in the same ill-fated Tooth, in the backyard of someone's hut, closer to the border of the protective wall around the settlement, a man-eating tiger appears, the villagers will be frightened. They swear, and then take their clubs and impale the tiger on stakes, trying not to damage its skin. If they are really unlucky, they might even lose someone in the process, but more likely the tiger will run away, and then the local hunters will catch it, because its skin is really beautiful, with stripes. If the tiger turns out to be marked by someone's blessing or a magical beast, then there will be many casualties, but they will also kill the beast.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 07:31

Or rather, they won't kill it, but they'll try to drive it away. Or hire a group of hunters, possibly even with their own gifted member. Tooth was just a stone's throw away from the town before Ilya stayed and tried to legalize his status there. They would have enough money to buy a couple of days' work from some relatively strong professionals. For example, that Charmancer, who liked to lock hamsters in cages. Even without a gifted one, such a group is quite capable of taking down a mediocre first-level creature with pitchforks, shooting it with bows or crossbows, or simply throwing expensive amulets at it until it is completely incinerated.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 07:35

In short, unless a hypothetical man-eating tiger in a villager's backyard turns out to be a particularly seasoned beast, perhaps not even a first-step one, it will be dealt with. If not by the villagers, if not by the hunters they've hired, then by the authorities, whoever they ask for protection, and they'll send one of their two men with a backup team. Be it a tiger, a puma, or even a snow leopard, people will view the beast as just another creature they can profit from, as long as it doesn't eat them first. Possessing certain characteristics, some talents and abilities unique to big cats, but nothing more. A maneuverable, angry, hungry, and predatory piece of shit — that's how you could describe almost a third of the creatures inhabiting Dead Man's Ridge, including humans.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 07:37

But if those same villagers from Tooth were to discover a real Cat one morning in their yard. Even if it's a multi-colored one, still quite young, and not yet fully developed... It would be very fortunate if they didn't understand what this strange, small, unusually colored lynx had wandered into their yard, and simply ignored it, or even allowed it to catch mice and rats. Then the Cat might just give those villagers a lazy feline look and go about its business. Perhaps it would even catch all the mice and rats in the Tooth barns. And in half of the Ridge in general. And not just the barns. And not just the rats. And not just the catches. But, in theory, if left alone, and the "woolly bastard" itself was in a good mood, the people might not even know what a fucking mess they'd just dodged.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 08:11

But it's far more likely that they'll try to kill this little creature, small, no bigger than Earth cats, in its most basic form, for its skin, meat, and to stop it stealing chickens. After all, medieval customs prevail here in many ways, especially in villages and small settlements; no one would feed an unknown animal that looks almost identical to Earthly specimens. And not just purebreds, chipped, and with vet passports, but even the stray mixed-breeds that were common in every household before the Treaty. It's more likely that such a naive animal, approaching hungry people, would be eaten, even if there wasn't a famine year. There's free meat here; who would refuse that?

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 07:37

Yeah.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:06

Freebies, whether in the Broken or on Earth, only come in the form of beatings. The Cat will do it to the naive villagers, shoving the now-deceased priest's mill up their asses. Moreover, this phrase may be literal, not just a figure of speech. And the authorities of the Ridge and the Crown, having learned the reason for what happened, will likely decide it would be easier to build a new Tooth, somewhere far, far away. However, that's if the authorities are knowledgeable enough, because in Broken, even in its most developed sectors, very little is known about Cats; not everyone will even be able to understand what they're dealing with, and what exactly it was. Then they could easily lose several groups of hunters, fighters, and other specialists if they don't act according to the principle of point three-seven-nine.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 08:12

That is, don't send more and more people to places where previous ones have disappeared or died in very strange and incomprehensible ways, unless there's an absolute need or absolute certainty that the next group sent will be sufficient to solve the problem. Because there won't be enough. Even if City Governor Lazy, old Ryuk, and a couple of their peers gather together in a group and then, somehow avoiding killing each other and keeping their retinues in check, go after the incomprehensible creature, not everyone will be able to escape. Although the Cat, too, will likely not wait for an attack and will leave on its own, and there's no way to catch it, let alone engage it in combat. This is assuming we're still talking about a young, colorful creature, not a monochromatic one.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 08:13

In short, Cats aren't so much a good thing as a horror story for those who cross the path of these wandering anomalies, so close to the Mechanism like few others or anything else in this world. Especially if the creature is in a playful mood. That's why Ilya, looking at his opponent, experienced such a powerful range of emotions. Not a single positive or even reprehensible one was among them. Well, at least there was one. It was only a blood carrier, and a first-level one at that, smiling at him now, not the Cat itself. Only at least four step would be able to outrun her, and even then, it's not a given. Successful battles with truly seasoned Cats are virtually nonexistent in Earth's history. There were supposedly mentions of such encounters on other Forums and in the histories of individual sectors of the Broken, but they were just that: mentions.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 09:01

That same Simon White, when he found the smoky Cat lying on the cracked altar of a recently cleared lacuna, which they were planning to connect to the Citadel's shared altar network, merely glanced at her, scratched his nose, swore under his breath, and ordered all clearing teams to retreat. To his credit, he was the last to leave, standing until the very end, basking in the stream of pure power flowing from the claw-scarred Heart, already imagining the losses that would follow from the operation to clear the mega-lacuna, later dubbed the Cat's House. No, officially it was called the Labyrinth of the Lost, but the unofficial name is still far more official than the actual one.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 08:42

And Mr. White can kick your ass for using this unofficial-official term.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:07

That day, the Mechanism's favorite child drained the Heart dry. They had to make up for it by salvaging everything else they could from the lacuna. Although that was a small thing compared to the axial Heart, and an almost pure subtype at that. Without the Cat, Earth in general and the Citadel in particular would have had one more five, maybe even two. And most importantly, no one could figure out how exactly this "woolly faggot" — consider it the official name for Cats among divers, so as not to mention them too much, but still understand who we're talking about — ended up near the axis. Either she'd snuck in after the noise of the three fives' battle with the axial creature, or she'd been wandering there all along. On her own.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 09:02

In short, it’s not a Cat – and that’s good.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:31

But cat blood on the first step isn't even bad; it's a disaster, especially for Ilya's hopes of a nine-fight winning streak.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:32

Okay, the mechanics of the steps won't allow her to utilize the most ferocious aspects of feline magic. The body of a first-step gifted person won't be able to withstand such a weight, even if she's completely reliant on passives to enhance energy and flesh, ignoring stabilizers. In principle, feline talents, with the right attitude and skill, can also serve as their own balancer, even in extreme cases, not weakened by stabilizing aspects. Yes, yes, cat blood can easily give almost the same result as Ilya's Trait... though it might not. In any case, an earthling would prefer to assume only the worst. Less chance of error.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 10:14

They didn't speak to each other, simply looking at their opponent. She with a smile, he with almost genuine indifference. The emptiness surrounding them blinked, transporting them to the arena of the coming battle. A rather strong and unpleasantly warm wind hit their faces, damp and reeking of something musty. It wasn't even the light that struck their eyes. No, the awareness of the space around them. Very, very vast, far more vast than in the previous arenas. Well, perhaps those arenas were just as large, but visually they seemed smaller due to the terrain, and also because the opponents appeared almost next to each other.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 12:14

Ilya stood on the summit of a cliff, bare and lifeless. There wasn't even moss or lichen, only dead stone. Everywhere he looked, the same dead stone. A multitude of sharp rocky peaks, thin and unnaturally high, and cracks oozing with a warm wind. And then there was It. Not even a crack, but a natural fissure, at least seven kilometers wide, so that in places the opposite side was lost in the shimmering, warm wind. The breeze in the gap seemed like a real hurricane, surely capable of lifting rocks into the air, if such rocks existed there, in the void. The bottom of the fissure was invisible even with his vision, but he could see it. His cliff rose directly above the edge of the fissure.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 12:24

The arena's perimeter stretches from horizon to horizon, like a damn bottomless rift emitting the most powerful magic. No, this isn't the infamous Greatest Wound, on either side of which are communities of earthlings who have never met in person. These are two sectors of the Broken, separated by the Wound and completely inaccessible physically. Even at its narrowest point, there's at least a full hundred kilometers of rift, and the flow of magic from it is so intense that anyone attempting to fly or jump across the Wound mutates into a vicious shit a third of the way. No, this isn't the Wound, that's for sure. It's likely, almost certainly, that this Grand Canyon of the mother's friend's is perfectly possible for an ordinary gifted person to cross without growing a few extra mouths and limbs. But you shouldn't fall in there. Even if there is a bottom there, you'll die before you hit it.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 13:12

Between the two sides of the divided arena, there are many different bridges in the form of the same rocks of various types, stone isthmuses, and bridges, involuntarily reminiscent of the kind of living tissue that results when you cut a piece of meat and stretch the cut apart. It looks like a real wound, huge and immense. Well, or a scratch, yes. It is quite possible that this arena is literally a piece of the Broken One, located near the distant edge of the Wound, millions of kilometers from the territories known to Earthlings. Or maybe such fractures in the Broken One come in a variety of forms, who knows? The sky here is covered with clouds, the constellations are not visible, nor are the stars, so it is impossible to check whether the sector is close to the phenomenon known to all LORE experts.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 08:23

And this isn’t what Ilya should worry about, if to think about it.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:32

What should worry him is the figure, visible to his enhanced vision, standing on a rock almost identical to the one where Ilya had manifested. The distance is enormous. Without the appropriate talents, even the vision of a standard gifted person, no matter how perfect and enhanced, would barely make it out. But she sees him too, perhaps not his face or the expression in his eyes, but she certainly sees his figure. She makes him out and waves to him, welcomingly and almost sweetly, evoking a deep-seated anger. It's unpleasant when they don't just laugh at you, or even try to take you lightly; no, they simply don't see you as a real threat. Yes, she's noticeably better prepared for this fight than Ilya, but she could have avoided displaying such bravado. Or rather, she's obviously deliberately displaying it, to enrage and frighten the beast within.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 13:14

In that void of nothingness, where they saw each other's coats of arms, their senses were blocked. She couldn't know his class or nature, but here, in the real world, the Mechanism's favorite could easily read him even from such a distance. He could see her calmly beating heart, couldn't he? He could. How was she inferior? Not at all. She was superior in every way. No matter how much he tried to console himself with the thought that his rival possessed only a drop of blood, not the full essence of a cat, she definitely had that blood, strong enough, complete enough to be reflected in her body modifications. His entire arsenal, all the synergy of his Hunger-Obsessed build, dialed up to its limits, would be enough to prevent a completely ignominious and utter defeat.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 13:16

Cat's Blood at the first tier won't unlock magic, the fierce, reality-shattering madness displayed by Cats. No, first and foremost, Cat's Blood is a modifier to the effectiveness of physical attributes and talent power. A literal multiplier, with an initial minimum. At the third step, when the Earth Cats, also the leaders of the Infinite Staircase community, acquired their blood, this minimum is very good, but not absolute. At the third step, and especially at the fourth, there are already plenty of imbalanced builds and particularly powerful trump cards. But at the first tier, as well as most likely at the second, Cat's Blood will be practically uncounterable.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 14:36

If Ilya were still the same Lottery winner, but possessed a different, more powerful magical class, honed to the extreme attack of a glass cannon with area talents on the same Abyss, there would be a chance. Like the aristocrat who was killed not so long ago, only even more powerful. And for the fight to take place, as it did there, in a closed room where there was nowhere to dodge. Then he would have crushed her, crushed her with not the worst chances, despite the blood. Perhaps the Druid would have had a chance with the same advantages if the arena had been forest-like and active enough for him to put it to work. Cats are also Nature's favorites, but there would be a chance.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 08:32

But, alas, Ilya is a Wendigo. He is possessed by one of the forms of Evil, a Beast who has given himself over to Hunger, but remains in human (or partially human) form. Her talent will work incredibly effectively against him. The basis of her class, if she hasn't received something unique, tied specifically to her blood, is most likely either Assassin, Hunter, or some form of scout build. To assemble anything else, having access to cat blood, is simply stupidity of epic proportions, and his opponent didn't seem stupid to him. And getting the ill-fated blood with some other build won't work either, not at the very first level, damn it! So no, he's willing to bet his salary that his enemy is just as much a lottery winner as he is, having gained a huge advantage from the start of development.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 08:35

So what does she have?

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:32

First and foremost, she's faster, stronger, more resilient, and more powerful than he is. Even if he were in his full Form, in fact, she'd also embraced hers, manifesting her blood with the corresponding talent, "Blood Manifestation." Her figure grew taller, broadening in the shoulders, and acquired features that were neither humanoid nor bestial, but rather alien and irregular. They say that adherents of the furry subculture mightkick ass for reminding them of what cat-girl-boys look like in the Broken realm when they switch to combat mode. Or sue them if it causes them genuine psychological trauma. Ilya isn't in danger, but even his eyes hurt a little. The appearance of the two-meter-tall humanoid, with its clothes automatically stretched and shifted, was so wrong.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:13

The girl ducked down from the cliff, hiding from his sight, and her heart's glow began to fade. It would have been completely lost if not for the recently acquired aspect of the corresponding talent. Secondly, one could say. It's her camouflage, natural camouflage, tailored to merging with nature, surpassing the capabilities of the first step by about the same amount, just as Ilya's Eye surpasses those same limitations. And her camouflage will gradually become stronger, he's sure. So losing someone else's heart from her focus is almost guaranteed, especially when she crosses the rift. There's such a flow of magic there that an earthling involuntarily squints, his perception simply blinded. If she's not stupid, she understands this, because it would blind anyone. She understands and will take advantage of it, because she's not stupid.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:15

What's third?

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:16

Ilya leaped down, carefully choosing his landing spot, barely feeling the impact with the rocks as he began to move deeper into the stone labyrinth, avoiding the particularly sharp chips. The sharpness of individual edges rivaled that of volcanic glass, while the hardness of this strange non-stone was more suited to a solid piece of steel. He could go and chip off a blade, but it would hardly be so easy. Pure gloomstone, and not just any ordinary one. A kilogram of it could be exchanged for a gold nugget three times its size. And it will be cheap. Here, there were not just tons of gloomstone, but millions, billions of tons of solid, high-quality material. Had he been a craftsman, like the Golemancer, the Mechanist, the Draftsman, the Alchemist, or the Carver, the battle would have ended in a technical victory for the catwoman — he would have died on the spot from greed.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:24

Well, there's no need to worry that their battle will damage the surrounding area. It's also worth avoiding scratches on the stone, as wounds can kill a Wendigo over time. They simply won't heal. By the way, the scratch can do the same to his opponents. But they are gifted, and obviously physically strong too. With their coordination and body awareness, they won't cut themselves with a random movement, unless they yawn particularly epically. No, everything will be decided by a personal fight. It may not happen right away. It is still unclear when she will find him. Or he will manage to notice her approach first.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 09:04

Thirdly, yes.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 09:04

Ilya moves forward under the cover of his rock, creeping not as a human, but as a Wendigo, leaning on all four limbs. When the cat's blood picks up his trail, one of his few trump cards will be that she will hunt the hunted and hungry beast. Let her be surprising, at least a little. If she is surprised. Intuition in all feline blood must also be a basic multiplier property, strengthening both Veil and Mystery, and Aurora and Radiance equally. Although who knows. There's too little data on obtaining blood at the first stage, damn it. Ilya would not have refused to study this point more deeply; he would have spent generously, buying the time of specialists in the necessary field, but this tournament does not offer the “Forum Help” option, despite several precedents found in the archives.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 11:37

An excerpt from the Seventh Verse of the Ninth Multiverse of the First Writing of the One Who Knows the Unspeakable, an attribute of the very Purifying by Act worshipped on the Ridge, repeats itself in his head like a broken record. As Ilya understood, this attribute was either unknown or of little interest to anyone in the lands of the Crown, as were the other attributes. It was common for one of the Dead to be worshipped in its entirety, without being divided into attributes, even in church sermons for the simple folk, revealing those attributes only to their own caste. The priestly caste.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 11:40

How was it there?

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:33

Do not anger the sneaking Cat, be afraid of the laughing Cat, fear the Cat who is beyond their grasp.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:59

Fear the Coming Cat, be afraid of the Cat bringing news, do not wait for the Omnipresent Cat.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 20:59

His opponent has only fragments of the Cat's true abilities, mostly focused on intuition and physique, but there must be a third element. The question is whether she has managed to develop her deep cause-and-effect relationship to the level where she can achieve the famous cat-like balance. Well, a shadow of a shadow, of a shadow, of a shadow that can be endured at the first step. If so, then it is easier to jump into the rift or smash your head on sharp stones, because it is no longer fair, and it is easier to preserve what remains of your pride by leaving on your own terms. If not... then there is still a chance.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 11:42

Whatever is said about the Mechanism, it does not lie directly and therefore will not lead directly into a completely hopeless fight. All of Ilya's defeated opponents had a chance of defeating him, some more, some less. Even the Dreamwalker who threw himself against the wall of his mental fortitude could have won the fight if he had behaved a little differently and not put everything on one, as he thought, an irresistible blow. He could have summoned nightmares, blurred the boundaries of dreams, cast a spell of slumber on the space around him rather than on Ilya's consciousness, dug in for a defensive battle, and tried not to wear him down, but to force him to reveal himself. He could have killed himself against the wall, too, only more slowly.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.26 в 11:55

But yes, technically, the Dreamer was matched against an opponent most unsuited for direct combat, one possessing absolute and uncounterable defense of consciousness and self. In a way, this fight can be considered payback for an advantage already gained. Yes, in direct combat, like a Wendigo against a feline blood with either the Assassin or the Huntress class, he doesn't stand a chance. But there's no need to be a Dreamer trying to get into the mind of the Great Trait's wielder. The game is about surprises, about contradictions, about the need to drive the opponent not into a trap, but rather, her blood and instinct will pull her out of the trap or prevent her from entering. No, no!

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 21:03

He needs to lead her into that network of options where there is no right choice at all.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.26 в 21:00

Ilya peered into one of the seemingly bottomless cracks, emitting a warm, magically charged wind. Even he would soon feel ill here. Even his body would gradually wear down in this background, like the ancient cleanup workers at nuclear power plants. Him, his opponent, both of them. Neither would rush, nor would they allow themselves to hesitate; both would have to choose their battle, and both would want to fight it on their own terms. And he would certainly grant these terms to the feline beast.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.26 в 09:25

Having made his decision, Ilya pulled himself together and ran forward at a leisurely trot.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:34

He will have to make a rather large loop, even knowing for sure that this loop will not deceive his rival.

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:35

* * *

Camrad_RIP 15.01.26 в 20:34

He spent the first day simply walking along the rift, unhurried but also without slowing down. He spent the second day the same way, allowing himself a few minutes of restless sleep. He activated the Eye at full power almost on cooldown, but, as expected, he saw nothing. Cat girl was outside the talent's range, either hidden by the background emanating from the rift or somehow managed to overcome his Eye and the Aspect. Or even all of these combined. Excellent fuel for paranoia, bringing their confrontation to another clash of endurance and character, only here he doesn't even expect to win, as he did with that trio of liquidators. They're not the same weight class, not at all.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.26 в 09:28

On the fourth day, he crossed to the other side of the rift, feeling noticeably ill, even though the bridge he needed was located barely a kilometer and a half from the edges of the "scratch." He crossed back to the original side on the sixth day, not yet feeling any weakness or malaise, but aware that they would soon begin to manifest. Fatigue and soreness would accumulate, and the strain on his consciousness and energy would increase. The image of Hunger within his consciousness no longer even growled, but merely stared silently at the ceiling of his bunker, feeling how up there, at the very edges, the bunker itself was gradually dissolving, like sugar in boiling water. And despite the adaptive resilience of his consciousness, the pressure was still being applied faster than Ilya could recover.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.26 в 09:35