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Chapter 1. Return to Barliona

The list of tasks has been updated. Please read

The first thing that appeared before my eyes, as soon as Barliona was replaced by reality, was information about the updated list of tasks. The huge words, flaming and sticking to the side, stated a simple fact - until I opened the list of tasks and familiarized myself with it, the message would not go anywhere. After making sure, just in case, that I was brought into the game in a relatively safe place - the main hall of Altameda, I sat down on my favorite rocking chair and began to conduct an audit. Something tells me that until I fully familiarize myself with all the changes to the Shaman, they will not even let me out of Altameda. "Creator of Light" Description: Speak to a hermit living in the foothills of Elma. It will help direct your creativity in the right direction. "Pirate brotherhood. Step 3: Armard cries for us". Description: attack the capital of the Gloomy Empire together with the pirates. Destroy the Heart of Chaos (15 days until completion) or sack the city. The task can only be completed on your own ship. "Training. Level 2". Description: Complete the Vampire Patriarch's training ground. The duration of the training is six weeks, upon successful completion, all basic characteristics increase by 60 units. The character's level increases by 5 levels. "Encounter with the Emperor". Description: You have earned Exalted with the Emperor and the Malabar Empire. You must come to the Emperor to receive your reward. "Encounter with the Lord". Description: You have earned Exalted with the Sovereign and the Kartos Empire. You must come to the Sovereign to receive your reward. "Emperor's Award". Description: Earned "First Kill" and received 2 tickets to an audience with the Emperor. An audience with the Emperor will take place in five months. "Passage of the Tomb of the Creator". Description: You have obtained the "Primal Key" of the Creator's Tomb. Any loot obtained from this Dungeon will be 'Unique' or higher. The minimum level of the Dungeon monsters is equal to the maximum level of the player on your mainland. Information about this has been passed on to all the clans of Barliona. "Strong family. Step 1". Description: During 3 calendar months, spend 30 meetings with Anastaria for 1 hour, performing joint tasks, or communicating with each other. Quest class: Unique family. Reward: +2000 Reputation with the Priestesses of Elune, +1000 Reputation with the Goddess Elune, access to the next step in the chain. So... How much new information is gained from reading the usual list. First, the text of the tasks has been adjusted, because I do not remember +5 levels in the training of the Patriarch. Second, reputation with Malabar and Karthos has reached its maximum. Pushed by curiosity, I opened the list of achievements, but I did not have a new line describing the bonus for the first Exalted in two empires at once. Someone managed to get it before me. It's a shame. Thirdly, several social tasks were missing from the list, which I received back in time immemorial and which either did not reach my hands or had no desire to complete them. Apparently, the representatives of the Corporation considered such tasks insignificant and deleted them as unnecessary.

The character has been updated. Please read

The next step in getting acquainted with the character changes was the characteristics and clothing. In fact, I wanted to watch them from the very beginning, but the tasks came out first. Having opened the properties, I poked at the first object that came across to me and brought its properties before my eyes. Let's see what Legendary items the developers gave me.

72nd Chestplate. Description: One of the founders of Shamanism, the ancient troll Edka was famous for his careful selection of clothes. Either he did not like the description, or there were too few characteristics, or the subject looked somehow unconvincing. However, on the 72nd breastplate, the soul of the troll rejoiced - he found what he was looking for.

Upgrades: +2500 Endurance, +3200 Intelligence, +600 Strength, +900 Agility, +40 Vitality. Protection against all types of damage +3400.

Bonus for 2 items: +5000 Intelligence.

Bonus for 6 items: +5000 Stamina, +10000 Intelligence.

Full Set Bonus: All primary stats are increased by 30%

Item class: Legendary set. Restriction: Shaman class, character level 300+

Looking at the hamster and the toad, who collapsed on their backs from shock and began to jerk their paws convulsively, I swallowed convulsively. I did not expect such a gift -- nine Legendary items. Complete set of Caustic. The Shamrock items I had were dumped into my personal bag, but after comparing the characteristics, they lay there and remained, having lost their former attractiveness. At level 300, the difference between Shamrock's stats and the gift set was monstrous. Almost twice. The only item inferior to the updated clothes was the boots donated by the Emperor. If not for the full set bonus, I would have left them like that. There were no other changes in clothing. For example, I still have a small copper chain hanging around my neck, which gives me only +12 to Intelligence, and is a direct reminder that it is time to get creative. I closed the window with clothes and characteristics, wanting to start analyzing the mail, but a new message popped up in front of my eyes:

Please allocate your free attribute points

There wasn't much of a choice. No matter how I tried to close the window with the characteristics that popped up after the message, the system insistently demanded action. Even the exit to reality did not help to get rid of Barliona's importunity - as soon as I returned back to the game, my eyes again covered the screen with the characteristics and the proposal to distribute 1500 free points. Still got it...
- Master, - as soon as the window of characteristics went to the side, I was visited by Viltras - the manager, who is also the butler, of my castle. The system decided that it had fully fulfilled the mission of informing about Barliona updates, allowing you to throw all the windows aside and, finally, deal with the game itself. -- Will there be any instructions? “Tell me what happened to the castle lately…” Viltras busily straightened the lapel of his jacket, as if collecting his thoughts, after which he proudly lifted his green muzzle up and began to speak with feeling, with sense, with arrangement. I could hardly suppress a smile, as the goblin lacked a small stool to complete the picture. The image of a little boy who was forced to recite a verse on New Year in order to receive a Santa Claus gift would be perfect. There were few changes and incidents in the castle. Given the relative remoteness of Altameda from the habitats of the NPCs and the level 180 location in which the castle fell, Viltras took the liberty of releasing the Gray Death and its flock for a walk in the vicinity. It is not clear how he communicated with the wolves, but the goblin managed to set several conditions for the walk - the transfer of 30% of the Experience received from the mobs to the castle's drives and the delivery of all production to the warehouses. The Gray Death agreed, and in just a few weeks, the vast area around the castle was completely cleared. Everything was destroyed, even frogs and grasshoppers, not to mention bears, elks and other living creatures. Moreover, several new wolves appeared in the pack, which the Gray Death found in the forests surrounding the castle, and puppies were born to several females. General level the pack grew to level 240, the Gray Death itself became a mother 280 she-wolf, and it dawned on me that a very real and powerful army of NPCs appeared at my disposal, not directly tied to the castle. The head of the palace guard, Rrgord, and his warriors were the defenders of the castle, and it was time-consuming and expensive to use them at outdoor events. Viltras also surprised me by the fact that the Evil Dwarf has been sitting in the castle for the third week. The gnome appeared before the cataclysm and is now unnerving the warehouse keeper. The Corporation called Cataclysm the period during which Barliona was unavailable. According to the developed legend, an amazing meteorite flew past our world, which stopped time for two weeks. Both for living beings, and for all phenomena and actions. Why this was done is unclear, since it was possible to safely start the game from the moment of restoration, however, the meteorite was needed, apparently, for the internal purposes of the Corporation. So, the Evil Dwarf fulfilled his promise and repaired the castle gates, having spent almost the entire fuse of the Imperial Oak, after which he locked himself in the workshop and has not come out of there for two weeks. From time to time his muffled laughter is heard, explosions, curses, laughter again, periodically one of the demons comes out of the workshop and gives Viltras a list with necessary ingredients. High level ingredients. Given my direct order to supply the Gnum with everything necessary, the butler could not refuse the dwarf, but it was clear from the appearance of the goblin that he was categorically against such a neighbor. Rrgord’s detachment regularly served, over the past three weeks since my last visit to the castle, nothing critical has happened, except that Artem Sergeevich visited the castle several times with unknown people, they visited remote warehouses, after which new contracts appeared in the clan. At the moment, the warehouse was 70% occupied, of which only 30% belonged to my clan. The rest is other people's things, handed over to the Legends of Barliona under safekeeping agreements. Viltras finished his report, but was in no hurry to leave me alone. By the way the goblin began to fiddle with the lapel of his jacket, it became clear that he wanted something extra from me. - We should hire brownies! Viltras decided to voice his secret thoughts. - A castle without brownies is empty, there is no soul in it. As well as protection from beings endowed with power. Master, is there no way to negotiate with Madame Anastaria so that she removes the alganzatras? The goblin looked at me so imploringly that I could not refuse him such a small thing and immediately contacted Nastya. We entered the game together, so it must definitely be somewhere in Barliona. -- Sunny, I would need to remove the alganzatra from Altameda. - No problem, are you in the castle now? -- Yes. I drag. "Wait a minute, I'll talk to my father." Not even like that - officially giving you access to my personal room and personal things. Take them out yourself. By the way, as soon as you finish with the castle, tell me, I'll drag you to us. We have to talk. -- Something happened? -- Yes. Our mainland is declared war. Have you checked your mail yet? - War? Who?! No, it hasn't reached the post office yet. What's there? “If I understand correctly, you have several proposals in the mail. Dim, we opened something that should not have been opened. Everyone needs the Maker's Tomb. And everyone needs you as the owner of the original key. We were given an ultimatum ... In general, I won’t load you now, finish your business and fly to us, I sent you the coordinates in the mail, dad made access to his castle. “Viltras, I give you access to Anastaria’s room and her chest. Get the alganzatras out of the castle,” I said automatically, in a state of shock. Is the Tomb of the Creator really such an important game object that representatives of one continent went to war with another? Are they not enough of their Dungeons? I do not argue that real monsters of the game live in the same Celestial Empire - the average level of their leading clan is 380 units, while the highest level player of Barliona is also located there - a Warrior of level 433 with some kind of unpronounceable name. Considering that two 300+ players from our mainland went to the mines at once - Helper and Bezponiki - our fate is unenviable. Going out against such high-level monsters is fraught with the loss of Legendary items. It’s even useless to go out with things of a different class - they will crush you and not ask you your name. The only thing that somehow made our life easier was the reduced interest of the Celestial Empire players in PVP. As far as I remember Plinto's words, anything that doesn't earn XP is considered stupid and useless in Celestial, so mob-oriented players may have some difficulty with PVP-oriented fighters. But, damn it, with a difference of 100 levels, it doesn't matter what the player is focused on! He will spit a couple of times, and everyone will fly away to distant distances! Why were they so attracted to the Tomb? Do they know something we don't? It will become with the Middle Kingdom. -- Master! Master! - tearing me away from painful thoughts, a couple of steps away appeared beaming with joy Viltras. The joy that the goblin radiated was so contagious that a smile crept onto my face. - We can hire brownies! Four! No, five is better! Master, the algantzers have been thrown out of the castle! Nothing else prevents you from putting up a worthy lock of level 25 protection! Realizing that if I didn't immediately hire new workers for the castle, the goblin might have a stroke, I got up from my chair and moved to the throne. As soon as I put the crown of the Keeper on my head, an intricate interface for controlling the castle surfaced before my eyes. The “green” status of the castle and the postscript that the strength of the castle is 100% immediately caught my eye. I moved on to the mercenary tab, cursed silently at the amount that Rrgord and his army were costing me, and then fell into deep thought. Yes, I need to buy brownies, this is a given. Yes, I have a small staff of 7 NPCs, a portal demon with his portal, an amazing butler who is ready to perform any assignment, but the castle was still missing something. Some little thing, some little touch that makes an already gorgeous picture brilliant. I flipped through all the bookmarks, but nothing extraordinary could be done in Altameda - everything that can be built has already been built, everything that can be bought has already been bought. Further, the castle is developed with the help of improved living conditions and additional decorations, but this cannot be bought in the interface. These things need to be done by the players themselves. So the idea with the development of the castle died out in the bud, I won’t ride Gnum alone, and advertising is needed to invite other high-level creators. And such that ... An idea! “Viltras,” I immediately voiced my thought, agreeing to pay five brownies, “tell me what will give the lady and his owner a dinner party?” "M-master, did you say 'dinner party'?" stammered the goblin. - Dinner party. Ball. A party. You can call it whatever you like, but the essence will be the same - an advertisement for the castle and the clan. Let's invite the Emperor, the Sovereign, maybe the Lord of Darkness will agree to come, if we guarantee immunity. Let's gather all the light of our mainland and arrange a tournament! -- Master! squeaked the goblin, and shriveled up so ridiculously, as if a huge slab weighing sixteen tons had begun to press on him from above. - It's such money! -- What kind? I said, rolling up my sleeves. The corporation gave me back a hundred million, why not indulge in a little whim? I hope Artem Sergeevich will not kill me much if I spend a couple of tens of millions. -- Invitation of guests of this level must be agreed in advance. Adequate security must be provided. From all three empires there must be representatives of high society. If you are going to organize a tournament, there should be a notification and open participation of anyone who wants to. In my memory, such large-scale events have not been held on our mainland, as it is too expensive. I can’t even roughly estimate the budget for such an undertaking, but it’s definitely not less than two hundred million gold. -- WHAT?! My eyebrows went up at the amount I heard. “Inviting the Emperor and Sovereign will cost our treasury 50 million in favor of their empires. Everyone knows this. I think the Overlord will also not refuse the same amount. We will need to renovate the castle, arrange a competition ground, provide food, entertainment, security, because this is not a city and the Freemen can start killing each other. Or not each other, then how lucky. Therefore, you need to hire security. All this is very expensive and it doesn’t fit in my head where to start in order to calculate the exact cost. “You don’t need to count anything,” I immediately backpedaled. Has everyone gone crazy in the Corporation, inventing such a price list for inviting NPCs of the Emperor level? Nafig-nafig! “Calm down, it was a stupid joke. Take care of brownies - you need to set a task for them and control its implementation. Discouraged, Viltras vanished into thin air, and for a few moments I wondered what to do next - sort out the mail, or honor the Evil Gnum with my visit? The castle control interface showed that the gnome was in the workshop, so it would be right to go and see what he was sculpting there. But laziness won - right now I didn’t feel like jumping somewhere and after that I really didn’t want to say anything. I have not yet recovered from the meeting with the manager and the news of two hundred million gold for the tournament. Opening the Mailbox, I sighed bitterly - again sky-high numbers of unread messages. Goodbye for a few hours of my life. No, this is not going to work, something needs to be done about it! Alternatively, hire a secretary. Hello Mahan, popularly referred to as the miser! Ten thousand for a unique card is not even funny. This is silly. I agree with your arguments - my first letter was a bit naive. So here it is! In light of recent developments related to the Tomb, the cost of the card has been increased to a million gold and 10% of the loot you will receive on a campaign. I go along with you in a wagon and get the Experience due to me. As for the target that the map points to, it is one small cave in the Free Lands, hidden by a special curtain. To make it even more interesting for you - it was in this cave that Karmadont found his greatness. There are 350+ ghosts living in the cave, so I can’t go through it myself, but something tells me that you will be very interested in the location associated with Karmadont. After all, it is you who create his Chess! With respect and hope for reaching an agreement, Hunter Sabantul. Excitement took my breath away, so I jumped up from the throne and began to walk around the hall from corner to corner. Ergrace! The crystal that Laith brought from another world and which is now in the Creator's Tomb! The ghosts that Sabantul wrote about are the great Mages of the past, who died during the activation of the crystal. Surely they will be able to find out what Ergrace is and how to deal with it. Where did Sabantul get the map from? Where did he get it?! Stop! My Reptile is trying to find this cave! “I am listening,” the cobalt’s drawling voice rang out in the amulet. “Reptile, this is Mahan. Tell me, please, how are you doing in your search for krastil? - I wrote you a letter with a report. What, you didn't get it? -- Still did not understand the mail, only entered the game after the restart. “I didn’t find the cave you were talking about. He climbed the entire territory at the source of Elma, but nothing. Mahan, you promised me a suspension, no matter the outcome. - I remember tomorrow I'll start making them. I need your official permission to use the image of your other half and bind it to the subject. Preferably in writing to me in the mail. - I'll do it. What are you going to do with the crests? - Nothing, the need for them has already disappeared, thanks for the help. Write a letter, tomorrow I will start making pendants, you will be in the forefront. I put the amulet back in the bag and continued walking around the hall. The reptile failed, which means that the cave is really not easy to stumble upon. The desire to pay Sabantul a million gold pieces was so great that I had to pull myself together, open the mail and continue sorting it, rightly believing that this would extinguish my desire to part with the money. Before doing this, you need to weigh all the pros and cons, collect about the Hunter Sabantul the Happy. information and then make decisions. I had enough Bezponiki through the roof! - Nastya, I need your help. I want to find out everything about the player under the name Sabantul everything that is possible. Who, what, where, how much, how? Down to who this person is in reality. He offers one unique thing, and he offers it at a very opportune moment. Paranoia screams for verification. - I'll do it. What's the thing? -- A map with the coordinates of the cave where the krustils and Ergrace were found. Do you remember the story of the Supreme Mage? Sabantul wrote me a letter with an offer to buy it for a million gold and 10% of the production, I still didn’t answer anything, I want to understand where a player unknown to me got such a thing? Isn't this fake? Isn't this a hoax? -- You are my smart girl! Anastaria summed up. -- I will ask my father, he will pull out everything that is possible about this Sabantula. Are you soon? - I'm sorting out the mail and flying. Having shifted the worries about the Hunter onto the fragile shoulders of Nastya, I made a separate folder in the Mailbox, in which I placed all requests for the creation of a pendant for lovers. To my great surprise, among those who wanted to get such a thing were not only representatives of our mainland, but also several tens of thousands of players from other locations. Where did they find out about these? Like the third film about the Legends and their misadventures was not. Did Artem Sergeevich advertise this item in such a way that for the sake of it players from other continents would agree to work for the benefit of my clan 6 hours a day for a week? On this side, the situation is ideal, but on the other hand, eighty-seven thousand applications for the creation of a suspension were driven into despondency. With four minutes to create one pendant, it would take me 348,000 minutes to complete all the orders. Which is 241 days with a 24 hour work day. I'll die! To the head of the Legends of Barliona clan, Shaman Mahan! Greetings, creator! We want to express our admiration for your creativity, the desire to saturate this game world with colors and feelings, depth and unsurpassed beauty. We know that you revealed the Chess of Karmadont to this world, opened access to the Tomb of the Creator and received the original key to pass it. We are interested in our warriors being the first to pass the Tomb, therefore we wish to make you an offer. You will receive one billion gold if you go through the Tomb with us. You will receive Experience, First Kill, the title of one of the richest players in your mainland. Think about our proposal, waiting for a response within a week. No one but our warriors will pass the Tomb. Become unique players on your mainland -- join us! Head of the "Heavenly Dragon" clan, Confucius the First. For a couple of minutes I looked at the wall and saw only emptiness. What is being done?! As soon as I won the Tomb from the Phoenix, a third force appears that wants to take over my Dungeon! Do not be this! If a representative of another continent with a modest name "Confucius" naively believes that I will throw myself into his arms as soon as I see the amount with nine zeros, then he is severely mistaken. Previously, one had to think... - That's how things are, - I finished my story, introducing Anastaria and Ekhkiller to the course of what had happened. -- A similar letter, only with different amounts, was received from representatives of all gaming continents. Five letters, five billion and everyone needs a Tomb with the status of "original". Somehow it bothers me a little. “Our situation is no better,” Ehkiller drawled thoughtfully, looking at the witch's fire burning in the fireplace. -- At the last inter-clan competitions, we took the last place, so Calragon players are not taken into account. For the entire gaming world, we are weaklings who can and should be bent. Phoenix received three ultimatum letters - if we do not report the coordinates of the Tomb and do not provide a safe road to it, a targeted hunt will begin on us and our property as part of the game mechanics. And it will start on our own territory. -- Coordinates? Haven't they been leaked yet? I couldn't help but gasp in surprise. No, but it's temporary. Too many people know where the entrance is and it's too hard to control them all. Someone will definitely like the idea of ​​getting real money for a couple of numbers. The same Celestial Empire and Astrum are silent, most likely, they already have the coordinates, so I propose to proceed from the assumption that the location of the Tomb is known to everyone. - In this case, we have five high-level raid groups of up to 100 players, - Anastaria "pleased", having estimated the scenarios. - During the Cataclysm, the portal between the continents was closed, now it is not active yet. We have a week, two at the most, to prepare for the meeting. “I don't think they'll go through the portal. What's the point of risking the players? Ehkiller smiled sadly. - What if we jump over our heads and repel the attack? “Something the logic of the conversation has completely left me,” I admitted. - What is the risk here? We kill them, so what? They will revive and again trample to the Tomb. "Players from other continents don't have an anchor point on Calragon," Anastaria explained after a short pause. -- If they came to us for the sake of the Dungeon, then the game would revive them in the nearest cemetery. But they come here to fight and cut the players. In this case, the binding rule comes into force - I decided to do PVP on a foreign continent, be ready to be reborn at the anchor point. In doing so, lose the level. -- Stop! How is the level? It's against the rules of the game! - If there was no risk of losing the level, the continents would have been captured by either Astrum or the Celestial Empire a long time ago. The most pumped players are there. Except in scenarios, PvP on a foreign continent is the only thing that can lower a player's level. Unless there is a link to this mainland. It can be obtained in two ways - to found a castle or drag a standard. I checked - neither Malabar nor Karthos received any applications for the construction of the castle. Geranica does not distribute locks, therefore, this option is no longer available. The flag remains. “The more I communicate with you, the more I understand that I don’t know Barliona at all,” I couldn’t help smiling sadly. - What is a standard? -- It's called by many different names: clan symbol, portable respawn point, place of power binding. If you remove the epithets - this is a huge ten-meter statue, heavy and catastrophically untransportable. It is received upon reaching the twenty-fifth level of the clan. You can't throw a standard through a portal, it is an extremely fragile thing, although it is completely immune to magic. The cost varies from thirty to forty million gold and at any given time, one clan can only have one banner. If they drag him to us, then I cease to understand anything. What is all this for? Is it for the Tomb? “Not only, although it served as a trigger for activation,” Ehkiller sighed sadly. “While you both were resting, the enemy was swinging. The departments of the Corporation responsible for the development of other continents did not have global launches of new Empires, problems with employees picking up paws, they did not need to create an Enemy in the person of Geranica. They calmly and leisurely developed their old dream - the conquest of the oceans of Barliona. By the way, Mahan even managed to visit one of these places when he was hunting for squid - the Abyss. Now the ocean is turning into a huge game location with its monsters, Dungeons, islands, scenarios and events. The corporation decided it was stupid to lose such a chic gaming space. Why do you think pirates are activated here? For five years we could not find an approach to them, and then suddenly you and Mahan became captains. Defenders of our mainland from invasion. I clarified that currently forty-two players have followed in your footsteps, and this is just the beginning. We have ahead not only the battle for the Tomb, but also for dominion over the water. If the borders between the continents are erased, high-level players from other locations will sweep us away. “The sea,” Anastaria drawled slowly. “They will drag the standards by sea, establish themselves on our mainland, and then begin to move towards the Tomb. But how can they be sure that the Tomb will remain unexplored? There was a pause, and I was surprised to realize that Anastaria and Ekhkiller were looking at me attentively, waiting for an answer. "Don't look at me like that!" I had to get angry. - I did not sell anything to anyone and ... Your left! I had an epiphany that demanded an outlet for my emotions. I remembered the quest update! Nastya's eyes immediately narrowed suspiciously, so I had to explain my reaction: - The maximum level of the player at the moment is 433, right? After waiting for an affirmative nod, I continued: “I had an update of the quest related to the Tomb. From now on, the level of this Dungeon is equal to the level of the highest player in the mainland. If you're right and the Celestial Empire brings a standard to Calragon, then the level of the Tomb will fly into space. “In this case, the final boss of the Tomb will be level 483,” Nastya muttered in confusion, realizing my words. - We have no one to pass it. We need to stop the transporters. The standard is formed once a month. Destroy the ships and we will have a chance to pass the Tomb first. "It is necessary," Ehkiller smiled bitterly again. - But how to do it? Where to catch them all? Where will the drop off point be? What kind of fleet is needed to destroy a single ship? And is he alone? This Celestial Empire can boast of the unity of the players. From other continents, several clans with their standards can sail to us. How do you catch them all? How to control the drop off point? I don't have answers. Do not forget - this is the sea for us new area , for other continents - this is practically a familiar and native location. “We need a fleet,” Anastaria began generating ideas. -- The north is under protection, there the players have long been navigators. The south will be covered by pirates if the right agreement is made with them. Dima and I have a task. There remains the west and the east. - In the west, Geranika with her Darkness, they won’t go there. Closed locations, such as Skyfall or sylvari habitats, will also be bypassed - the Corporation will not allow intrusion into their territory. By the way, the north is inconvenient - our mainland is geographically located in such a way that you can swim either from the south or from the east. Nastya, we need ships from the north. We need to meet with the captains and agree on the protection of the coast. Think about what you can offer them to get involved in a naval battle under our flag. - In a good way, no fight is needed, - I put in a remark. “If only the transport with the statue is destroyed, the rest of the fleet is safe for a month. Let it float. - The transporter will go in the center of a powerful armada, they won't let anyone in just like that. One could, of course, swim up to the ship under water, but there are no such ships in Barliona. Or rather, no longer, because I had to order Nastya to destroy your squid. - So it was your idea? I asked in surprise. -- Why? “Because the development of the ship requires time, which you did not have,” Ehkiller explained. "If you hadn't opened the tomb, Bezponiki would have had to 'close' you." Therefore, I decided to destroy the squid, and Nastya followed my direct instructions. Yes, now it could be useful to us, but then such an action was the most correct. It's too late to grieve about missed opportunities - the squid cannot be returned. “Well…,” I drawled, making a politically important decision—to talk or not to talk about the embryo of a giant ship? On the one hand, Phoenix and I are now on the same side. On the other hand, the scars from the words and actions of the top of this clan in the past are still fresh on the soul. - Dim? Nastya leaned forward, staring at me with interest. "Don't tell me you have another little squid dolphin." “Unfortunately,” I shook my head, made honest eyes and looked at the instantly sad girl. She leaned back in her chair, lost in thought about how to live on, so she did not pay attention to how I took out the Mailbox, found the letter I needed, pulled out the object enclosed in it and put it directly on a huge wooden table, the massiveness of which could would envy even the imperial. Still, Phoenix is ​​doing well. “I don’t have a small squid. I have an embryo of a gigantic... Anastaria's roaring laughter resounded through the hall of Phoenix's main castle. "Was that your present?" asked Nastya laughing. “Which one did you talk about before the opening of the Tomb?” - Like yes. “Dim, you are so wonderful...,” Anastaria drawled, continuing to have fun, but even an outside observer would feel understatement in her words. What to say about a man who can read the mind of this girl? - However, there is a "but", right? - If the principle of development of the squid is similar to the development of, say, a griffin, - Ehkiller explained, - then we will be able to use it in combat operations no earlier than after six months of enhanced pumping. Remember your old ship. On the first level, it was destroyed in a matter of seconds. In order for this fetus to have a chance to fight against the armada, it must be raised to level 10-12. This is six months. “Then I don’t really understand your words that you are sorry for the destruction of the Small Squid. - If he had remained intact, by this moment you would have been able to pump him up to level 5-6. In this case, it would be possible to plan sabotage. You can now, but I know the result in advance - the squid will be destroyed. Ships, as you know, do not respawn in Barliona. So let's go back to the original plan - we need the ships of the north. Nastya, you will do this. I will go to the pirates and I will... - You said that magic does not affect the standard, - I unceremoniously interrupted Ehkiller. "What about pure physics?" If a high-level fighter gets on a ship, how long will it take him to destroy the banner? “Three minutes,” Nastya answered, trying not to look at her father, who was silent and glaring at me. Someone clearly did not like that I opened my mouth. - Then, as an option, you can use griffins ... - The use of flying means, my young friend, - in turn Ehkiller did not fail to interrupt me, - is impossible for several reasons. From the side of the enemy, players tested by more than one battle will come out and it is stupid to think that flight blockers will not be hung around the armada. Imagine a huge army of ships, around which hangs a forbidden territory for flying for several hundred meters. How are you planning to fly in? -- Dad! - Wait, Nastya, - for the first time in many months of acquaintance I saw not the kind uncle Ehkiller, but the real head of the leading clan, and something hooked me. Look, tone, wry mockery - I can’t give a clear answer what exactly angered me, but I wanted to argue and prove my point of view, even if it is obviously losing. For this is my opinion, and I will defend it! It hit me like a rein under the tail - is the proposal to fly over the sea stupid? Okay, I'll approach the question from the other side: - In the form of a Dragon, I can fly over areas closed to flight. Load capacity two people. I can take a fighter and, say, a tank. I will be a doctor myself. Three minutes, until the standard breaks, we can provide with a tank. -- Clear. Dmitry, - Ehkiller switched to a semi-official language, - try to fly up to the ceiling. -- Dad! - Anastaria was again indignant, but Ehkiller was adamant. - Wait, Nastya. Come on, Mahan! Transform into a Dragon and fly up to the ceiling. If you do, I will give you the crown of the Lord of this castle! Right now, by the Emperor! Ehkiller sank for a moment in a bright cloud, confirming his words, so I had no choice but to transfer to the Dragon and take off. Or rather, try to take off, because I did not succeed. Have they closed indoor flights? I asked, turning back into a human. - If someone read the update carefully, he would see that the flights of all creatures, even if they are able to fly without special means, are now closed where it is forbidden to everyone else. This someone will no longer fly over the city or castles. And all this is written in the manual. - Blockers should work only on the outer perimeter, - my hands almost dropped from the demonstration flogging arranged by Ehkiller, but at the very last moment a crazy thought flew into my head. -- Inside the armada there should be an area accessible for flights. These are the players! “I agree, they won’t be able to ban flights between ships,” Nastya supported me. The players will be outraged. Part of the space will be open, but how will this help us? The radius of the outer ring will be a couple of hundred meters. You don't have enough momentum to cover this distance. Don't forget - inside the no-fly zone, the system will actively reduce speed and will try to drop you as soon as possible. No matter how fast you fly, you have no chance. - On the one hand, you're right, - I continued to develop my idea, having stumbled upon support, albeit such a strange one. “I don’t have enough speed or height to fly over closed space. Therefore, your help is required. Nastya, do you have a fast ship? “Not really,” Anastaria narrowed her eyes in confusion. I love her look - when she realizes that she doesn't understand something and it infuriates her! - If necessary, you can take from the pirates. But why? - Since the flight option is not suitable, I had the following idea - we take a high-speed ship. One piece. We put a catapult on it. Also one thing. We swim up to the enemy armada, preferably under some kind of cover, but it is possible without it. So. We swim as close as possible, but so that we don’t get hit hard on the head. We put me, the tank and the fighter in the catapult. Tell me more, or do you have a good imagination? “Hmm...,” Ehkiller answered meaningfully, bowing his head thoughtfully and finally ceasing to stare at me. -- Youmiracle! I'm having dinner tonight and more! - Anastaria's joyful thought rang out in her head, and the girl herself, with a satisfied look, like a cat who had eaten sour cream, leaned back in her chair. “Tamerlan the Wonderful will be a tank, no one can do better than him,” Ehkiller said thoughtfully after a while, more to himself than to us. - A fighter can be either Plinto, or ... I don’t see another either. Only he can deal with the statue in a reasonable amount of time. Decided! - Ehkiller started up, having made some decision, and somehow imperceptibly again turned into a good uncle. As if at the snap of your fingers - once, and in front of you is another person. I would hate to have Ehkiller on my real enemy list. - Tomorrow I will receive information about the movement of our opponents, find out the route along which they will sail towards us. Nastya, you have a ship. Mahan - you need to do some test flights. You need to practice turning into a Dragon in flight and catching other players in the air. Work on this element. What else? Look like that's it. Then get to work! - I still have a question, to which I never received an answer, - despite the fact that Ekhkiller and Nastya jumped up from their chairs, wanting to quickly start implementing the plan they had just thought up, I remained seated. "Why can't we complete the Tomb in these two weeks?" There will be no one during this period, and the level of the Dungeon will be comparable to Plinto. We will take it out in two weeks, how to drink it! “Ergrace,” Anastaria answered simply. - It's all about him. "I don't understand," I shook my head honestly. - What does the crystal from another world have to do with it? “The fact of the matter is that until I figure it out, it is strongly discouraged to meddle in the Tomb. Can you imagine what would happen if this crystal acts like the Tears of Harrashess? No one knows what scenario is embedded in this crystal and why, when mentioning it, another world is always mentioned? I really don't want to take risks. Therefore, in the beginning, information is needed, which takes time to collect. Which we won't have if we start going through the Tomb right now. - If our flight plan works out, - apparently, today was my day, as ideas poured out of me like from a cornucopia. - Representatives of other continents will not wait a month and buy a new standard. What for? It will be easier and faster to take some kind of lock. Something tells me that it is necessary to set the Emperor and the Sovereign against such an undertaking. “Suppose we get an audience,” Ehkiller sat back in his chair, while leaving the uncle mode on. “Somehow I don’t think the Emperor will be happy to hear a request not to give someone a castle. We will not be able to limit the desire of other players to spend money on our mainland. - Why, we can, - I was struck by another idea. -- It all depends on the circumstances in which this request will be made. Whatever one may say, intercontinental clan competitions will be opened very soon. If my memory serves me, in two or three months. No matter. If you really want to protect yourself from the castles of strangers, you need to arrange a tournament of the Calragon clans. We need a representative for the competition top level Why is Phoenix always involved there? Let it be a hodgepodge of all clans. And when we organize and hold such a tournament, neither the Emperor nor the Sovereign will have reason to refuse us a small request. Literally a couple of months not to give anyone locks. Because we are united. For we are one. Does the corporation love unity? We will give it to them, asking in return for the smallest thing - a chance to pass the Tomb. If we do not achieve anything in three months, then the Tomb will have to be handed over - it will be too tough for us. "Tournament..." drawled Ehkiller. - It is necessary to hold a tournament... - With the participation of Kartoss and Gloom, - I nodded in agreement. Why darkness? - For the entourage and unity of the mainland. They will put monsters for us, which will need to be destroyed. As an option. - Shadran! Ehkiller said softly, and a ghost appeared a few steps away from him. The butler of Phoenix's main castle was a ghost orc. -- Calculate the estimated cost of hosting a tournament involving the three emperors. Develop a tournament grid similar to last year's continental competitions, limit the number of participants to ten million. - Building sites to consider? the ghost asked matter-of-factly. Unlike my Viltras, this butler carried out orders accurately, without showing unnecessary emotions. Maybe you need to dig deeper into the settings of the goblin? Even though I like him that way. - The venue of the tournament will be of great importance. If you plan to invite all three emperors, then we need a castle in the Free Lands. The territory of any empire in this case is impossible. "Altameda is in the Free Lands," I put in. - I will provide a portal for everyone who wants it. "Accepted," Ehkiller confirmed. - What about the assessment? -- According to the input received, the cost of the tournament is estimated at three hundred to four hundred and twenty million gold. Awards and prizes are not included in the cost calculation. - What do you need to apply for such a tournament? - From the confident voice of the head of the Phoenix, it was absolutely not clear that he was sorry to part with such an astronomical amount. - Application completed. Please confirm it. -- What's next? - after making several passes with his hands, Ehkiller looked first at me, then at Anastaria, who was sitting in an armchair and watching with curiosity the spending of a huge amount of money. Nastya managed to shrug her shoulders as a shimmering portal opened next to us. Even the brownies could not restrict the arrival of the Herald. "The Emperor wishes to see you!"

Chapter 2

Citizens of Calragon! In three weeks there will be a tournament where the best players of our continent will be determined. They will defend the honor of Calragon in inter-clan competitions. During the preparation of the tournament and until the end of the tournament, killing Freemen becomes impossible! The venue of the tournament is Free Lands, transportation at the expense of the organizing clans: Phoenix and Legends of Barliona! Be the best! Come to the tournament and declare yourself! Information on competitions and directions will be posted on the official website of Barliona in four days. Follow the news!

Player Anastaria joined the clan "Legends of Barliona". Current rank: Deputy head of the clan.

-- Welcome back!-- a message from Plinto immediately appeared in the clan chat. -- Are you to us for a long time, or so, to sail and quit?“Baby, I’m now planning to run through the trainers and teachers, then I need to get to Nashlazar,” Anastaria continued, ignoring the Rogue’s remark. Having adjusted her already perfectly styled hair, Nastya hugged me, put her head on her chest, closed her eyes in pleasure and thus forced me to hug her too. “Do you think teachers and others can wait half an hour?” I asked in a choked voice. Despite the time spent together, both in the game and in reality, when Nastya was so close to me, my breath treacherously spiraled, my head began to make noise, warmth and tenderness spread through my chest, filling my whole being.

The task "A strong family. Step 1" is completed! Contact the High Priestess of Elune for your reward and access to the next step in the chain!

Dim, come on in the evening? Nastya looked slyly into my eyes and playfully slipped out of my hands. - I knew that there was no need to wait all thirty days! Enough to prove that we are together again. Shall we go to Elizabeth's in the evening? "So it's for a mission?" - I almost suffocated from indignation, but Anastaria was again in my hands, whose brown eyes shone with triumph from another victory. “I love you too, honey,” she purred in my ear, managing to nibble a little at the same time. "Can you get to the Paladin training grounds?" In the evening I promise to suffer a well-deserved punishment! Having reluctantly fulfilled Nastya's request, still pouting at her trick, I decided to complete a number of obligatory tasks. Since I was so briskly raised in levels, it makes sense to get acquainted with what it gives. It's time to turn into a real Shaman. -- Flute Hello! What are you doing?-- First of all, I decided to contact the student and find out her progress. Something told me that if I appeared in front of Kornik or Pronto without this knowledge, I would get hit in the neck.

You cannot communicate with a student through mental speech without forming an internal binding

WHAT?! I sent a request to Flute over and over again, but received the same answer - mental conversations are prohibited. The system did not say that the student was not in the game, she said that I was not worthy to talk to her without an amulet! How is that even possible? Realizing the futility of further attempts to contact the Shaman, I decided to find out from Kornik the reasons for the blocking. Surely the old goblin knows what happened.

You cannot communicate with a teacher in mental speech without forming an internal binding

Quest received: The return of the dead guards. Description:... Lead time: 24 hours.Job class:" I knew that you would choose this option (Igor)" . Rewardand fine: variable.

Chapter 3

Mahan, Anastaria! - Elizaveta said in a surprisingly cold voice, as soon as we appeared before her eyes. Having the task completed helped to avoid a long wait, and we almost instantly got to the High Priestess of Elune. "To what do you owe the honor of seeing the Harbinger and General of the Paladins?"

Reward received: +2000 Reputation with the Priestesses of Elune, +1000 Reputation with the Goddess Elune

Supreme, - Nastya and I said simultaneously, as soon as the message about receiving the award appeared before our eyes, we bowed at the same time, as if we had been rehearsing the bow for more than one year, looked at each other in surprise and burst out laughing. - I see that spending time together did you good, - Lisa noticed in the same cold voice, not paying attention to our fun. Surprisingly, there was no such ice behind Elizabeth before. I honestly tried to stop laughing, but nothing came of it - the emotions from being outside the prison walls rushed out. “Supreme, we’re here on business,” Anastaria was the first to come to her senses and, taking several deep breaths, banishing laughter, turned to Elizabeth. - We have fulfilled the first part of your order and proved that our family is strong. “So strong that you abandoned your training with my acolytes and set off to rescue Mahan from prison?” Elizabeth raised an eloquent eyebrow. - Was a couple of hours so critical for you that you decided to ignore the orders? -- Dima, let's go! Attractiveness dropped to 50 units. The Supreme is out of her mind, - Anastaria's anxious thought flashed through her head. “Elizaveta, it’s my fault that…,” I began, but the Supreme Commander interrupted me: “Of course yours, who would argue,” Elizabeth turned to me. I was surprised to see that out of the 100 units of Attractiveness that I was proud of, only 70 remained. Enough great importance for the average player, but completely unacceptable for me. Laughter was taken away, as if by hand. What happened?! -- What upsets me the most is the stability. If there are any troubles, then Shaman Mahan is most likely at their epicenter. “Supreme,” I continued stubbornly, despite the fact that Anastaria was trying to drag me out of the office. We have been through a lot together, both good and bad. More than once we covered each other's backs, so explain what caused your discontent? -- Explain? A look of surprise appeared on the NPC's face. Why are you suddenly interested in explanations? Especially not your own? Isn't that your motto: "Forward and only forward!". Without looking back? “You must have confused me with someone,” Anastaria couldn’t move me, so she muttered something, but remained standing next to me. - For all the time of our communication, I have not committed a single unreasonable act. Nobody can blame me for this. -- Really? Just a couple of hours ago, one Shaman sent six future guards to eternal rest. Young, inexperienced, untrained! Of course, this was done with full awareness of the actions, especially their impunity. Six, Mahan! In passing, without even noticing it! And you're going to tell me that you're doing the right thing? “That’s why I’m here,” I began to justify myself, but Liza interrupted me again: “You hope for my good relationship ? Do you want to avoid a well-deserved punishment? It will not happen that ... - Yes, I do not care who and how will punish me! - the fact that I can scream, no one expected. Especially myself. Lisa fell silent with a surprised expression on her face, allowing me to continue: - I am ready to bear any punishment even now! However, before you make any decision, tell me - how to get into Non-Being? Elizabeth collapsed into a chair, as if knocked down, and the office was plunged into silence. "You can't bring the dead back, Shaman," Elune's mournful voice announced that there was one more person present in the Priestess's office. “Even the grieving mother that is Elizabeth cannot allow this. -- WHAT?! - Nastya and I shouted in sync and in bewilderment began to look from Elune to Elizabeth and back. Elizabeth - a grieving mother? Did something happen to Oglobley? “Authondil didn’t have time to get the mark of death,” Elune continued, and Elizabeth stared sullenly at the blank sheet on the table, not looking up at us. “He was so eager to serve the Empire that he signed up as an assistant guard. The explosion, the unwitting creator of which you are, thundered exactly at the moment when the detachment with Avtondil passed by the workshop. Six dead. Six young and inexperienced citizens of the Empire. And among them is the son of my High Priestess. There's nothing I can do, Mahan. As are you. “I have twenty-four hours to get them back,” I said stubbornly. The authority of Elune pressed with a huge stone slab, forcing them to abandon this event, run away to the far end of Barliona, remove the Shaman and, in general, forget what the capsule looks like. If the goddess says that it is impossible to bring back the dead, then there is no point in getting involved in this. However, the presence of the task made him go against one of the most powerful creatures of Barliona and, clenching his fists, stubbornly stand his ground. Shaft must be returned to this world. “Unexistence is closed to the living,” Elune continued. “Then I will go there dead,” I persisted. “The longer you stop me, the less time remains. “Mahan, this is impossible,” Elizabeth tore her gaze from the blank page and looked at me with eyes full of tears. Kill the developers! Looking into the eyes of a mother who lost her child through my fault, the realization of the unreality of what was happening disappeared. My heart was hurting like never before. I wanted one thing - to help the woman return the child. For me, Barliona became real again, and the NPC with the code name "High Priestess of Elune" became a mother who lost her child. Not a program. “Lisa, there is such a thing in this world as hope. As long as she is, Shambler is alive. As well as five other guards. Elune, what do you need to do to get into the Oblivion? “Die,” the goddess said shortly after a short pause. “Die and forsake the Gray Lands. Be aware, Mahan, you may not come back. “Then consider me a Democrat,” I managed to say before my head exploded into a hundred little pieces. Elune personally sent me to be reborn.

Please read the rules

I had to read a huge sheet of text from which ordinary life I would have goosebumps all over my body. It turns out that the Unbeing is one of the closed locations and if I fail the task, the Shaman can stay in it forever. Or rather, not forever, but until the Corporation decides to return the hitman back to the game. Grinning, I pressed the "Accept" button, which appeared only after reading the entire text, and the surrounding space began to move. Mist appeared around me, smoothly turning into darkness just a few meters away. There was a feeling that I had turned into a light bulb, trying to disperse the dullness of this world, but not having enough power for this. I sparkle, but dimly and somehow unconvincingly. Nevertheless, there was enough light to see the paved road leading into the fog and the cliff sinking in the same fog. My legs gave out on their own, forcing me to squat down. Who knows what the height of that cliff is - maybe half a meter, or maybe the whole infinity. With a track width of fifty centimeters, make an unsuccessful step and fall over the edge - just spit. Getting myself to get back on my feet with the first step turned out to be quite a non-trivial task. With my mind, I understood that there was a game around, but a wild fear of the unknown and heights fettered my movements, turned my legs into cotton wool and forced me to lie down on the path so that I was guaranteed not to fall. I had to fight with myself for several minutes, even to go out into reality a couple of times, proving to the subconscious that there was a painted world around me. It seemed to help and I was able to move along the path. Communication with the outside world, as I predicted, did not work - no clan chat, no mail, no amulets, no mental connection with Anastaria. Nothing at all. The only good news was that the task timer that hung in front of my eyes as soon as I got into this closed location stopped for the duration of my stay in reality. The task had to be completed in 24 game hours, not real ones. Which cannot but rejoice, since Anastaria will pull me out of the game at the end of the day and force me to talk about everything that I see. Speaking of which, I'll see... Damn! Video recording doesn't work either. -- STRANGER! Suddenly, an ominous lingering whisper broke the silence, as if huge snake she suddenly forgot how to lisp, learning at the same time to speak and terrify unafraid Shamans. -- WHAT DID YOU FORGET IN THE WORLD OF THE DEAD? -- Greetings! - Just in case, I shouted, noting the debuffs that flashed and then disappeared, which took off 10% of my Life. The voice not only frightened, the voice also destroyed. "My name is Mahan and I come in peace!" “YOU DID NOT ANSWER,” an unknown creature whispered, after which I was literally covered. I lost control over the character, my arms and legs began to twist, threateningly cracking in the joints, the level of Life in a race with Vigor rushed to zero, but I looked at this bacchanalia over the Shaman from the side and suddenly realized - there is no pain! My character has completely disabled discomfort! If I had gone through Oblivion just a couple of weeks ago, now I would be a howling lump of torn muscles and torn nerves without a hint of consciousness. For I remember what "pleasure" arises when the joints crack. Now: "I've come to collect the six guards of Anhurs who died a few hours ago!" They have no place in the Non-existence! The voice, to match the surroundings, turned out to be broken, shrill, with notes of panic and shock, but I was able to achieve the main thing - I stopped turning inside out. -- DEAD IS DEAD, ALIVE IS ALIVE! - whispered a voice at the level of a kitchen philosopher, who knocked over several glasses of fire water into himself, after which he fell silent, leaving me alone with a narrow path and 5% of Life. Shaman has three arms... On the reflexes developed over the year, I called the Spirit of Complete Healing, completely forgetting that I was blocked by all unexplored calls, so I was not particularly surprised when I did not get the required result and saw a message in front of my eyes. I was touched by something else - even though the message was standard, but completely inconsistent:

You cannot use the call of Spirits in the Non-existence.

If I was forbidden to call on Spirits that I have not yet trained, then the system should first check if I can call the Spirit at all, and only then track where I do it. After all, I could just sing a song about the life of a mutant Shaman without a single hint of a challenge. Why waste system resources keeping track of my every word and checking whether it is a call or not? It's very stupid and unprofessional, the kind of thing you learn from in the early years of programming. The conclusion suggests itself - the restriction on summoning "unlicensed" Spirits is imposed and basically gaming world calling them is difficult, but possible. The main thing is to figure out how it's done. The good news was that in the Non-Existence, the elixirs of the restoration of Life acted as effectively as elsewhere. After drinking four bottles, making a note for the future to upgrade my glass arsenal, assembled for a level 160 player, I carefully moved along the path. The timer inexorably moved to zero. The path seemed endless. I was no longer paying attention to the abyss at the edges, moving forward at a fairly fast pace, when I suddenly saw a branch. Or rather, the second path, at an acute angle connecting with mine and a translucent orc with a sour muzzle slowly wandering along it. Dressed in a baggy gray robe, the orc moved slowly, reluctantly moving its legs, as if something was prodding it forward. The paths leveled out, allowing for a closer look at the orc. Not a single emotion, not a single glance to the side - on the face of the creature walking next to me was drawn indifference, mixed with fatigue and acceptance of its fate. Judging by the muscles, the orc was a warrior, perhaps a good one, but this did not save him from the Non-Being. Found someone stronger. I could not resist and touched the shoulder of the weaving creature. Rather, I wanted to touch it, as my hand passed through the orc as if it were a projection. Ghost. At the same time, the ghost did not react in any way to such tactlessness, slowly approaching the point where the paths join. I didn't exist for him. Schaz! The system happily told me again that the Spirits had no place in the Nothingness, I passed through the ghost like a gorgeous top model among a crowd of nerds - without meeting any resistance. The orc did not react to any of my gestures, neither to waving his hands in front of his face, nor to screams, nor to unliterary expressions. The imitator did not care at all that I was spinning like a snake, trying to somehow stir him up. He went to one of his driven goals somewhere far ahead, nullifying all my efforts. Shchaz in the square! The constructor greeted me with the light and joy of the work ahead. Dull and poppy functionality. Finding "Blessed Face of Elune" among the recipes, I combined it with an ingot of Imperial Steel, since there was no marble in the bag or in the mail. My idea was as simple as Barliona's copper coin - to create an amulet of a junior acolyte and put it on a ghost. I had no other options, how to at least talk to the orc.

Not enough resources to create "Blessed Face of Elune". Make sure you have 1 Marble in your personal bag.

Now I'm really pissed... No resources?! How can you create if the corporation has closed any attempt at non-standard action? Looking for recipes for everything? Schaz in a cube! I can't craft the pendant since I don't have marble and, going forward, copper ingots. I can't create a new face of Elune out of, say, Imperial steel, as I physically don't have enough time for that. But I can do something else! Having caught up with the ghost that managed to move away from me, I reopened the Constructor and with a malevolent grin created a projection of the orc. If I am forced to work according to the rules, then so be it - I will work according to them. Only the rules will be mine! With the help of "Change the Essence" I implanted the face of Elune into the orc's chest, thought for a while, opened the Blacksmithing recipes, found the simplest sword in them, added its projection to the orc's hands, considering that it was not worth it for a warrior to die without a sword, after which I closed my eyes and imagined how this whole construction is embodied in reality. If I were in a normal game world, such actions would create a simple statue for me, fragile and short-lived, since the Sculptor's abilities were not involved in its production. But the Non-Being must have its own laws... - No-no! - the wild cry of the screaming creature tore the surrounding silence to shreds. I opened my eyes and saw a fleshed out orc on his knees, eyes closed, yelling like a huge army of elephants and blazing like a supernova. The light emanating from the orc was not blinding, so I saw how the surrounding space got rid of the fog for a few moments. Inside everything went cold - hundreds, no, thousands of paths, united and intertwined, rushing to a huge rock at the very horizon. Animals, monsters, two-legged creatures, fish trudged along the paths... A huge army of those whose age in Barliona has come to an end, and who are heading to their last stop - a point of complete rest. The light faded, bringing the mist back, and at the same time the orc stopped yelling. A sword that fell out of nowhere rattled against the stones with a metallic chime, but with a quick movement of his hand, the orc grabbed it and abruptly stood up, turning in my direction. -- Free! he spat out with hatred and brown eyes began to slowly fill with blood. - The gods took pity on me and gave me the opportunity to take revenge! Not allowing me to answer at least something, the orc rushed forward, raising his sword over his head and wanting to cut me into two small symmetrical Shamans. On the one hand, level 120 was not particularly scary to me, on the other hand, the orc's ferocious face made me shudder. - Ugh, you're a ghost! spat the orc fleshed out bitterly as his sword passed through my hand, reflexively held out for protection, doing no harm. Wanting to make sure that I was a projection, the orc pushed me with his hand and foot, but the result was the same - we were in different layers of reality. But they could talk! -- Who are you? I asked a seemingly simple question that led to unexpected results. - Talking Ghost! - an indescribable range of feelings appeared on the formidable face of the orc, ranging from shock to fright, after which he jumped high up, hiding in the fog for a moment. Returning back, the orc collapsed heavily onto the path and began to creep away from me in fear, slipping on the stones, approaching the edge with every moment. -- Stop crawling! I yelled in a menacing voice, guided by the fact that the orc must be a warrior accustomed to following orders. -- Level up! Attention! Report according to the form - who, where, where, why?! Fulfill! A message flashed about increasing the scale of Charisma by a few percent, but this did not bring me much joy: - WHAT ?! roared the orc, springing to his feet. “It will never happen that the Free Dog gives me orders!” “Calm down, warrior,” I put forward my open palms conciliatoryly, turning off the commander mode. “No one is going to give you orders. If you had continued to crawl, you would have fallen over the edge. Who are you? "The false speeches of a Freeman will not find ground in my soul!" - not listening to anyone, the orc once again tried to pierce me with a sword, but again he was convinced that we were ghosts for each other. - Okay, do what you want - when it dawned on me that it would not be possible to talk normally with this creature, I waved my hand and went further along the path. I need to find the guards. - Stop! - I managed to move away only a few tens of meters, when I heard the heavy stomp of an orc and, having run through me a few steps forward, stopped and turned to face me. -- Where I am? And what is this creature? “Actually, I wanted to ask you this question myself,” I reacted with surprise to the words and gesture of a warrior pointing to a neighboring path hiding in the fog, along which a round monster, all eaten by ulcers, was crawling. I believed that the warrior who came to his senses would help me figure out the device of the Unbeing and its rules, but the orc himself did not know anything. - Tell me, what do you remember from the last? "Fire," the orc choked out. The warrior's face has turned into a springboard for an internal battle between hatred for all Fremen and a thirst for communication, albeit with an incomprehensible creature, which will help extinguish the flame of fear of the unknown. Thirst won. “The Free Fire Mage casually burned down my unit that was defending the village. Then you appeared, this fog and the path. Where I am? O! So I got not a simple warrior, but the commander of some unit? In that case, his Mimic should be advanced enough to start fighting for survival. If at all allowed by the local algorithms. “We are in Non-existence,” after my words, an expression of complete hopelessness and acceptance of fate again appeared on the face of the orc, so I had to somehow cheer him up. “I came here to collect six dead souls and bring them back to Barliona. If you want, I can take you with me. Can you calm down your hatred of the Fremen? I really don't know why I gave up on this creature. An orc doesn't like players, only level 120 like him - in any village you can hire a genie for a couple of gold coins, and also demand change. However, I stood before the orc and waited for his answer. As one ancient writer said: "We are responsible for those we have tamed." In my case - created. Or implemented. Doesn't matter. "You don't look like a Fremen," said the orc after a long thought. -- You are different. - Can this be regarded as "yes"? I clarified. The orc did not answer, but by the fact that his eyes turned brown, the decision was made, but not announced. It was important for someone to keep their pride. In order to protect myself in the future, I singled out an orc and invited him to join the group. Will we have to fight? This miracle will enter the state of a berserker, crushing enemies to the right and left, and it will also inadvertently hook me. It is now that we are in different planes of reality, who knows what awaits us at the rock? -- The Dragon?! - a surprised exclamation of an orc was heard through the Non-Being, causing me to smirk. Yes, I am, be afraid of me. Almost for the first time, I had to regret that the peculiarities of the location prohibited shooting - the colorful expression of the surprised dark green muzzle looked funny. The facial muscles of the orc did such a thing that it became even scary - as if his jaw had not jammed. “All creatures,” I pointed to the path along which the round monster once crawled. Even if there was no one there now, the orc must understand who it is, - Like you before, they are moving straight along the path. Ahead is a huge rock, which may not even be a rock - a huge pump that attracts the souls of the dead to itself. Us there. “In that case, if you go back along the path, can you get to Barliona?” -- the orc confirmed that his Imitator was a fairly advanced version. He wanted to survive. “Perhaps, but I can’t verify it—first search. We'll decide how to get out of here after we find everyone I need. Are you with me? Or are you going back? "Gerdom Steelaxe doesn't betray allies, no matter who they are!" - the orc puffed out his chest proudly, fixing his gaze towards the rock hidden by fog. If I correctly understood the message of the NPC - we are going together. The trip to the rock itself will be remembered for a long time. Not so much from scary looking monsters and creatures overtaken by us, how much from the hopelessness written on their faces or muzzles. Ghosts wandered dejectedly towards an unknown goal, and the closer we got to the rock, the more I worried about Gerdom. What if he gets sucked into a rock? It turns out that he revived him in vain. As an author, I am offended when the created object is destroyed. - Mahan? - a surprised exclamation of a familiar voice resounded throughout the Non-existence, forcing the orc to take a fighting stance. I automatically tried to put my hand on Gerdom's shoulder, offering to calm down, once again meeting only air on my way. We were still in different layers of reality. - Kondraty? I asked cautiously, not believing my own ears. After a few moments, a shadow appeared in the fog, gradually taking on the shape of a bear. Have you become a human? I burst out when I realized that the huge bear and the Prince of Malabar were one and the same person. Moreover, several goals higher than the orc frozen with a sword. “That’s right,” the bear confirmed, starting the reverse transformation. The hairline retracted into the torso, revealing a completely naked and shriveled bear, after which the body began to shrink into itself, forcing the werewolf's joints to twist in an unnatural way. Not a very pleasant sight, especially for an unprepared creature, so I was not surprised when I heard the war cry of Gerdom, who jumped on the transforming werewolf with a raised sword. Sparks flew from the blow of the sword on the stones, the orc turned around by inertia, and he barely stood on the very edge of the path, "entering" with half of his body into the Prince of Malabar. These two were also in different layers of reality. “What a nervous friend you have,” remarked Kondraty, finally taking on a human form. Ignoring the sword of Gerdom, who did not calm down, flashing before my eyes and passing through the body, the werewolf approached me and affably extended his hand in greeting. The gesture was so natural that I responded automatically to the handshake. "You don't belong to Nothingness," remarked Tisha's husband, smiling at my dumbfounded face. For me, Kondraty was real! - What...? I flashed my eloquence. “You can’t stay long in the Gray Lands,” the former werewolf began to explain, correctly understanding my question. “Everyone who has the mark of death falls into Non-Existence in a month. We spend the rest of the time here, and in the form in which we died. I'll be human when I get back to Barliona, I don't have long to go. How is Tisha? “It seems to be normal,” I muttered, still not coming to my senses. Everything was too unexpected. “Geranika got her mother back, so now Tisha is making up for lost time by talking to her and getting used to having two parents again. Was her mother alive? - Kondraty was surprised, because of which I had to retell the events of the recent past. “I see you are still not sitting still,” the Prince chuckled as soon as I finished my story. In that case, it's time to get down to business. I was sent to negotiate with you. - Negotiations? I asked in surprise. -- Who? “He is the head of all this disgrace,” Kondraty gestured at the fog surrounding us. “The one who absorbs the souls of all dead beings. The one from whom you want to snatch some of his well-deserved treat. The son of the High Priestess of Elune is a delicious loot. I'm even afraid to ask how you managed to get involved in this case. Chaos sent me to you. Judging by the fact that Kondraty could not contain his laughter, looking at my face, the expression on it was eloquent. If I don’t tell Anastaria word for word everything that will be said here, she will eat me alive! Why don't the cameras work?! “As you know, Barliona is not unique. This is just one of many worlds spinning in infinity. Each world has its own Creator, often several worlds have one, but have you never wondered - who created the Creators? Who was the starting point of all things? Now you know the answer - Chaos. Self-sufficient, unified, inclusive of everything, always existing, Chaos decided to play by structuring a part of itself and fettering this part with laws created by itself. A being with absolute power created Creators with the right to create worlds, after which he began to patiently wait for these worlds to return to him. Each dead creature that is not marked with death returns back to him, bringing with him the pleasure and joy of reunion. "How do you know all this?" I asked in surprise. I had never dived so deeply into the history of Barliona before, and now all the information was absorbed by my brain like water into a sponge. “There is an absorption portal a few kilometers from here. A piece of Chaos into which the dead fall. The portal takes all creatures, except those marked with marks. It remains for us to roam, communicate and share information. Five months of doing nothing drives you crazy if you don't talk. But there are lucky ones who have a short rebirth period. Recently met with one such - the boss of the Dungeon, a giant praying mantis. Gets here every week, he said that after the revival, we do not remember anything about the Nothingness. Death, darkness and new life is all that will remain in memory. But when we return here, we regain the whole memory. Such is the life cycle of information. "What did Chaos want from me?" And why negotiations and not demands? By the way, stupid question, probably why you? Chaos appeared on your way and said - go to the Shaman, start negotiations? “I... No, everything was...,” Kondraty hesitated, blinked his eyes, trying to understand why he appeared in front of me, even stepped back a couple of steps, as if I could pounce on him. -- YOU CAN'T TALK TO ME FOR A LONG TIME! came the reply, which brought me to my knees. All parameters and characteristics rushed to zero, frozen at around 10%, and for almost the first time since playing Barliona I wished peace and good luck to an unknown technician who set up my capsule to play without pain. "I understand," I croaked, pouring my rapidly depleting supply of Life Potions into myself. “Chaos knows what you need. The six ghosts are slowly but surely moving towards their final resting place. There is practically no time left. They offer you a deal - you complete two tasks and take the ghosts with you. -- ...? “Mahan, understand, I didn’t come up with this. Not only that, I won't remember anything when I get back to Barliona, so decide for yourself. The first thing you need to do is sacrifice this creature to Chaos,” Kondraty pointed to Gerdom. The orc tensed. “Just push him off the path. It will return to where you pulled it from. If you take the form of a Dragon, you can touch it. “Understood,” I drawled. - What about the second task? Kondraty sighed, gaining strength, after which he blurted out: - You need to repay every stolen soul. Make a sacrifice. A thousand deaths for each. -- What?! “To make it easier for you to complete this task,” Kondraty continued, closing his eyes, clenching his fists and reluctantly spitting out the words. “Chaos is giving you the coordinates of the Liquidator. You need to customize it and destroy the required number of cities. Mages don't wait another two years for an attack, so you won't have any problems. Magicians, two years, cities... As if by a click, the mosaic formed into a clear pattern. The liquidator is the device that once every fifty years creates a dark fog, which the High Mage Anhursa spoke about. A device for destroying cities. A merry prospect - to be known as the Destroyer throughout Barliona. -- What do you say? asked Kondraty, opening his eyes. "Worthy price for the return of six sentients from the world of the dead?" - You have to bargain. Ten for one,” I quipped, knowing full well that I would not be able to send even one sentient into Non-Existence. Otherwise, you can immediately remove the Shaman - Elune, the Emperor and the Lord will not forgive this. Perhaps only Geranika will be pleased with my actions. Hmm... Geranica... -- A THOUSAND! Chaos thundered categorically, taking my words at face value. Probably, you need to make yourself a "Sarcasm" table and get it at the right moments. - Mahan! - Kondraty exclaimed angrily, but I was carried away: - Fifty! I do not ask for the return of Karmadont - only he is worth a thousand souls. All the rest are small things. Especially the guards! Fifty is the maximum value. -- FIVE HUNDRED! Chaos said after a long pause. Kondraty and Gerdom looked at me with hatred, as if I were the last creature in the world. But by this point I already had a plan, and I was going to follow it to the last! - Only out of respect for the creator of all things - a hundred. A hundred souls for one guard! Pause. -- TWO HUNDRED! -- I agree! But I have two conditions,” I shouted, barely concealing my triumph. “First, I need to look at the guards to make sure they haven't disincarnated yet. Second, I'm taking Gerdom. -- NO! I was dropped to the ground again. -- HE WILL DESTROY! Away smile! We are trading! “I don’t understand why you sent Kondraty if you talk yourself,” I grumbled, pouring the last remnants of the potions into myself. - Schaz I will die and all negotiations down the drain. Gerd is coming with me. Twelve hundred souls is a very reasonable price for seven. Show guards! “You have changed,” Kondraty spat, while the owner of the Non-Being was making decisions. “The Mahan I knew would never have done that. “It’s even better that you won’t remember anything. How to use the Liquidator? “For Gerdom, Chaos demands another two hundred souls,” Kondraty ignored my question. The map icon flashed invitingly, suggesting that you familiarize yourself with the update. To the side. Now is not up to her. "Okay," I agreed easily. “In total, we agreed on the figure of one thousand four hundred pieces. Where are my guards? - Look, - a passage was formed in the fog, leading to infinity. On that edge of infinity, several silhouettes appeared. The distance between us was so great that the figures seemed frozen. -- Are you satisfied? -- What is it? I wondered when the passage disappeared. -- Where is it anyway? They showed some incomprehensible silhouettes, nothing clear. Are they at all? What, they want to fool me? -- Think what you say! exclaimed Kondraty. - It's Chaos! The ancestor of all things! “Including lies and deceit,” I retorted. Did he create them too? -- What do you want? - Chaos asked through Kondratiy - To see them at arm's length. Make sure they are exactly what I'm looking for. Then we can talk further. "YOU ARE INSANE, SHAMAN!" Chaos couldn't help it. - I defend my interests.

Skill Upgrades Received:

+2 specialty Trade. Total 21

+2 Charisma stats. Total 82

LOOK! - everything around me spun, Kondraty and Gerdom disappeared in an unknown direction, when everything calmed down, at arm's length I saw six dejectedly wandering guards. Including Oglobla. “One thousand four hundred souls, Mahan. You have eighteen hours,” said Kondraty, who appeared next to him. Gerdom did not lag behind him a single step, again trying a couple of times to pierce me with my own created sword. What kind of creatures are orcs? -- How to get out of here? I asked, holding back my excitement. Igor knows me very well, so he would never have gone to the trouble of creating such a task. Need to think! “If you go away from the portal,” Kondraty explained, trying not to look in my direction, “then in ten seconds you will be thrown into Barliona. - Gerdom? Is he any different from you? Kondraty spat out again. -- ten seconds in reverse side and he is free from the power of Chaos. Why is he a killer? - Bring slippers! I couldn't resist. They will teach me life! Kondraty fell silent, obviously inventing a speech, so I turned to the orc: - Are you ready to carry out my orders? Flaring his nostrils wide, trying to restrain his violent temper, the orc proudly raised his head and boomed: "Gerdom Steelaxe will never bring slippers!" I will gladly return to Chaos without losing honor! Someone kill me! -- YOU. WILL. FULFILL. MY. ORDERS! "I didn't even yell," I growled, choking out the words with difficulty. Brushing off another message about an increase in Charisma by 2 units, I caught up with the guards who had left us with one huge jump, opened the Constructor on the go and projected the entire six into it. Appearance guards up to this point was a mystery to me. In order to go against Chaos, I needed to see them, including Oglobl - since the day we met, he has grown a lot. We must act quickly before the Mimic in charge of Chaos realizes what I'm up to. All I need is somewhere to find ten seconds. - No-o-o! came the wild cry of six throats, and the outgoing light tore the fog of Nothingness to shreds. Don't hesitate! I spread my wings and only now realized that I managed to turn into a Dragon. Fig with him! Breaking away from the path, I glided at the guards and gathered them in my armful. All six. Gerdom was ten meters away, so I flapped my wings, grabbed the orc's legs with my teeth, biting them to the bone, and possibly even with the bones, after which I rushed away from the center. Second! - Mahan! - the cry of Kondraty, faded in the distance. Spit! Third! -- WHAT?! - Chaos unacceptably quickly came to his senses, looking in surprise at my escape. Sixth! -- SHAMAN, YOU ARE BREAKING THE CONTRACT! - The life bar of the orc and the guards has dipped by half. They hung like limp puppets, not preventing me from swiftly rushing away from the center of Nothingness. In Dragon form, I was not affected by the voice of Chaos. At least some joy. Ninth! -- THE AGREEMENT IS TERMINATED! YOU WILL BE NAKA... Tenth!

You left the Nothingness against the will of its master. From now on, this location is closed to you.

Scattering aside benches, candles, players and other trifles, I collapsed heavily in the main hall of the temple of Elune. So the guards, who had not come to their senses, fell out of my hands, rolling on the floor like chumps, I spat out Gerdom and bared my teeth - the level of the Orc's Life was practically at zero. -- Nastya, help! I yelled into space, sending out a call. I urgently need a healer who can restore the level. -- What to do? - Nastya appeared instantly, without having time to turn back into a person. Surprised exclamations of the players were heard, seeing the Siren and the Dragon live for the first time. I pointed with my hand at Gerdom, who miraculously still hadn't gone to Non-Being. The orc clung with all his might to the new opportunity to stay in Barliona. - Mahan, who is this?! Anastaria exclaimed in surprise. Her actions did not bring results - the orc was wheezing on the floor, the level of Life dropped to 3% and purposefully crawled down, the emerging bright flashes did not bring anything, except that the orc began to wheeze more protractedly and angrily. -- What the heck! He is a Zombie! WHAT?! -- What's going on here! Elizabeth's sonorous voice silenced the temple. I stared blankly at Gerdom's properties and didn't know what to do: Dark Zombie Warrior. Level 120, burning every second in the light of Elune's temple. Anastaria also added to him with her treatment! Mahan, are you back? Elizabeth was surprised. -- So fast? What, don't you... - Mom! ' came the barely audible voice of Oglobli. - Son! Instantly transforming from High Priestess into mother, Elizabeth rushed to one of the guards. Dropping to her knees, she pulled him close to her, but pulled away immediately. - Not this! Liza's quiet whisper sounded like a tocsin. I tore my eyes away from the wheezing Gerdom, concentrated on the Shawl and could not restrain myself: - Fuck you! The properties of the son of the High Priestess of Elune were more eloquent than any curse words: Zombie Priest. 250 level.

Chapter 4

The subgenre is predominantly entertainment in nature. For several years, he has gained millions of fans around the world, fascinated the minds of gamers and ordinary readers. These books attract even those who are not familiar with computer games . The reader, as if together with the hero of the book, is immersed to the virtual world- big, immense, full of surprises and riddles. Despite the share of spilled criticism, LitRPG books continue to lead the hits of popular genres for several years.

Features of books in the genre 2019

They love to read LitRPG for atmospheric, one of which plunges main character- he can be an ordinary player, but, having a bit of ingenuity, perseverance and other characteristic features, often quickly conquers the gaming space, becoming a special player. Heroes follow unconventional paths that lead them to a virtual triumph - or at least a quick rise in the game rating. They lead guilds and clans, are on friendly terms with deities or strong NPCs (NPCs). But the adventure virtual reality don't end quickly.

Many scold LitRPG for being primitive, but in fact the genre is wide enough for ideas and plots. Here they play with a mixture of with, and problems, and intra-virtual conflicts, "system failures", code errors, immortal virtual life, a breakthrough of the gods from the virtual into real world and many other aspects that can only be revealed in this genre. It all depends on the skill and imagination of the author.

The writing style is usually simple and capacious, without frills, one story line. For the most part, these books are loved for a good opportunity to relax and immerse themselves in the colorful world of the book.

The virtual world is usually fantasy, but it is not uncommon for LitRPGs to be described in a different way: for example, in or in pirate spaces caribbean. Separately, it is worth highlighting "", where game actions take place in the real world.

• Battle Star Galactica
• Star Conflict
• planescape
• Fallout
• ArcheAge
• Runescape
• MMORPG Ultima Online
• Prime World
• skyforge
• Worface

LitRPG about the game economy, crafting and leveling, about thieves, robbers, "tanks", damage dealers, about guilds and gaming clans...

Read free LitRPG on our portal - the perfect choice. There are thousands of books posted by the authors themselves. They can set any questions in the comments to the works, as well as subscribe to updates. Many authors of this genre love Lit-Era for its good functionality, and therefore they post here exclusively. You can read your favorite books both online and by downloading the text in a convenient format.

When you read books from the same series for a long time, it becomes sad when the series comes to an end. You don't want to part with your favorite characters. It was the same with the sixth book from the LitRPG series about the world of Barliona. When readers no longer hoped to see a sequel, Vasily Makhanenko wrote the novel The Way of the Shaman. Search for the Creator”, which once again delights readers with immersion in the world of gaming reality.

The main character appears in a slightly changed image, it's nice to see how he changes. There are a lot of events, you don’t have time to figure out what happens and when, what are the consequences, how it all is interconnected. However, it should be noted the talent of the writer to explain in the finale all the intricacies of the plot, and here there are a lot of them. The ending itself promises to be very unexpected, forcing you to reconsider your attitude towards some heroes.

When the Shaman thought that he had already done everything in the game world, changes were made. The Dark Lord himself will be revived with his entire army. So it was decided by the head of the Corporation, who made this restoration. And Dmitry Makhan agreed to a very advantageous offer of the Corporation and decided to take one more step in his path.

On our website you can download the book "The Path of the Shaman. The Search for the Creator" Makhanenko Vasily Mikhailovich for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.