It was one of his first-cla.s.s transformation skills. Nick made an easy choice. He wasn"t tempted by the opportunity to be a great archer. He chose Ranger"s path.

The first transformation of a scout developed his ability to conduct a distance attack. He was becoming the most skilled sniper, the Free Shooter. He developed skills that enhanced his vision, his concentration on the enemy, his ability to strike at a weak place. The shooter could improve his arrows, he could give them short-term effects to successfully inflict damage. The Shooter"s weakness was that he remained weak in close combat and his skills had a long cooldown.

The second branch of transformation was called Diversant. It allowed him to maximize his camouflage and his dagger skills. The Diversant"s weapon was a crossbow. The player was allowed to work with poisons. He could infiltrate the enemy camp and cause great damage to his diversion. The disadvantage of this image of the game was that the diversion becomes visible on the map of the enemy when detected, it is clearly marked as a target. The Diversant was losing his reputation. The att.i.tude of the locals to him was changing. The Diversant"s were not liked for their way of fighting. Legal killers are unpleasant, but understandably they did their dirty work, but they did not hide their status. Diversant stabbed them in the back, there was no Honor. That development path didn"t suit Nick at all.

He was looking for a unique path, and he got his way.

It was Ranger"s way. A forest tramp with a bow in his hand. He was a master of snares and traps. With a knife and his skills, he could give his opponents a very fun life. Ranger was automatically trained as an herbalist and could cook poisons on a vegetable basis. His development of archery skills did not increase damage. Ranger could only speed up the rate of fire and gain the ability to work with arrowheads. The player could apply special notches to the arrowheads and then the arrowheads would have the effect of Bleeding and it was not easy to get rid of them. Such arrowheads had to be cut out with a knife!

Nick"s choice had two negative sides. His cla.s.s ruined the quality of the trophies. Ahead of the new Ranger, the main intrigue of the game was waiting for him. The Rangers were hated by Elves! No clan Glory and no personal reputation can save Nick from death. The reason for this hate was that only Rangers and Druids survived the last war between humans and elves. Free Forest Rangers brought such problems and losses to the ears of the opponents that it was forever reflected in the game. The elves lived long, they had a long memory.

Nick bought some books in town. They were books on the structure of this world. He learned that forests make up a significant area on this continent. And he made his choice. Now the forest was turning into his safe shelter. The enemy couldn"t catch Ranger in the woods. Traps and snares, arrow hits and even the help of ordinary animals were on Ranger"s side. Nick had the skill of being an animal friend. It was a skill that made it possible to target an animal at his enemies.

Nick was happy when he discovered the skill of speeding up movement in the forest. It"s quite in the spirit of the Ranger to get away from danger in time and quickly. There are a lot of tricky animals and creatures waiting in the woods, there are a lot of ambushes and dangers.

The skill of "Wind over the Gra.s.s" gave speed-up when moving in the woods. It required 10 mana to activate! But he had a fast Cooldown in one minute. Nick immediately developed the skill to its maximum and got a one-and-half speedup. He took out of the vault the costume jewelry to increase his intelligence, changed the rings on his hands and smiled. Now he was ready to visit the Dor again.

He never regretted his choice of the Merchant subcla.s.s. Turin became treasurer of the new clan, but they both understood that the dwarf was in that position for a while. When Nick consolidated his ties in town, he would be clan treasurer.

Nick carried part of Dan"s loot to the city. Up ahead was a meeting with the masters of the Killer Guild and a deal that would open up new opportunities for their clan.

Nick was pleased. The road to the village didn"t allow the speeding skill to be activated, but it was worth taking a couple of steps aside and everything was fine. He spotted the time and ran.

The road to Dor was an interesting adventure. Sometimes the ranger would notice wild animals and other monsters ahead. Then he activated the boost and sneaked past his enemies at high speed. The creatures didn"t even try to make a chase! Everything went according to the plan of a tricky scout.

He got to Dor in seven hours. He was happy with that speed.

Of course, the clan could take the n.o.ble cause of keeping the road to town safe. But the players didn"t need that kind of work. On the contrary, they were happy that the road was dangerous for people and players. They didn"t want to see guests at their castle.

Nick came up to the One-Eyed Man and arranged a meeting with the Guild leaders on a profitable trade deal. He suggested that the bodyguard of the Head of the Guild should be present. There was special merchandise for this vampire.

In the town of Nick, he changed his costume jewelry and put on an artifact from the Vampire"s Grave. It was a cloak that made it difficult to focus on the owner. They checked the work of the artifact and were pleased, the cloak was a great addition to Camouflage and Invisibility.

Nick hadn"t made contact with Michael and other Phoenix clan members. He went to the suburbs of the town. Near the market, he saw an old man cripple. The old man was sitting by the wall on an empty barrel, looking up at the sky. The old man did not ask for charity. He was just admiring the sky. Nick walked up to the old man and threw a sack of money into a hole in the barrel.

"Do I know you, old man?"

"We still know each other, Master Nick."

"That"s good. Can I talk to another friend of mine?"

The old man smiled back and knocked on the barrel. A boy ran up to them. The boy was dressed poor, but neat. Nick immediately recognized him as one of the thieves. The old man ordered the boy to find Bunny.

Soon the big-eared boy came up to them. The boy"s ears were a little pointy at the tips. He certainly had elves in his family. The name Little Bunny was a good name for him. The boy had a pretty face, which aroused confidence and affection to meet such a sweet little boy.

"Thank you, old man. I hope to continue our introduction. We"ll talk aside about my business."

"I hope your business will not harm the Guild and we will continue our introduction, Master Nick."

The scout and the boy stepped aside and Nick listened to his agent"s report. He nodded his head and gave the boy a purse with coins. Bunny went back to the old man and threw the money in the barrel, then did his usual work.

Nick headed towards the city gate.

He walked out of town and into the woods. The forest near Dor was safe. Hunters went out hunting every day and it was difficult to see a large, dangerous animal in the forest. There were no monsters, and large raids were made on them as soon as they found traces of dangerous creatures.

Nick didn"t spend much time. He went out into the clearing and stopped not far from a small fire. Next to the fire, a familiar girl was doing some physical exercises. She squatted and jumped. She would squat and jump. Nick saw that the girl was working under pressure. He immediately noticed some big rocks. They were clean and did not serve as a fire fence, the girl used the rocks as a load. There were a few metal mugs on the fire. The girl was cooking something.

Nick stood by the big tree trunk and whistled softly.

The girl stopped the exercise, smiled happily, and said softly:

"h.e.l.lo, Handsome. I wasn"t expecting you so soon."

"How are you, Anna?"

"It"s never worse! I"m tired of their demands," Anna smiled widely.

Nick wouldn"t understand sometimes, is she joking like that? Or she doesn"t really care about anything? A clear smile didn"t go off that redheaded girl"s face. She would smile a lot and even impress the girl out of the world. A little bit crazy to get into this horrible world.

Sometimes Nick felt like a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. But now they had this life.

"Is it that bad?"

"Your Gandalf is bothering me with his drooling requests to be his girlfriend. Your Michael is an idiot. Samantha spins them the way she wants. The b.i.t.c.h is sly and dangerous. I don"t care about the other weaklings or worry about them. Ron is a wimp who came running and demanded that your strange ex-inquisitor come to town for trial. You have an inquisitor! I want to see him."

Anna suddenly stopped smiling and said absolutely seriously:

"Stay away from the Phoenix clan. They"re dangerous. Samantha will soon be the official leader of the clan. And then she"ll only think about her benefits. The rest of the players are tools, steps in her path to power."

"She"s not dangerous," objected Nick. "She has chosen the simplest and most reliable path to power. But her impact on the aristocrats is not as great as it seems. On top of that, she doesn"t take into account the power of local women. An angry aristocrat in these times is a dangerous opponent. The poison is capable of killing any player."

"Samantha will revive. And she will have her revenge."

"She will not take revenge on anyone. Her hands are short. She"ll get everyone in trouble. But I"ll get you out. Don"t worry. I"m ready to take you now."

"You need a magician."

"Don"t you believe in my feelings for you at all?"

"One thing doesn"t hurt the other, pretty boy. I remember people like you. A calculating and tricky b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

Nick wasn"t smiling back at her pure smile. She scared him a little. But he felt this girl was the best thing they could meet at the beginning of the journey. There were no other choices.

"How are you doing? How"s your alchemy?"

"Open my status and see for yourself."

"Anna, you are not in my clan, and we are not in the same group."

"Nikki the trickster confessed his weakness, how sweet. Okay, don"t be mad. What do you want from me?"

"To know your number of intellect points. We"re preparing the mission. It takes a magician to activate a rank 4 scroll. Fire or Earth."

"You know how to seduce a humble girl. Rank 4 is a master of magic. I don"t even know what these powerful spells are called. But I can put all the prize points in my intellect and then the solution to your problem is in front of you."

"Anna, you haven"t wasted any points at all? Don"t answer that. 100 Intellect! You"re going to drive me crazy. I don"t want to know how you develop."

"Thank you for the gift. I"m developing quietly. Unlike your Gandalf, who"s ready to fry everybody"s a.s.ses, I"m useful and pleasant. Everybody needs a "swamp" and a "shield of the earth" in the sewers. To slow the creature down and increase the group"s protection, I"m a popular girl. Level 14."

"Get ready. We leave the Dor tomorrow."

"Don"t overload your inventory. I"m not taking away all my ingredients."

*

Nick was on his way to the Builders Guild and thought he was lucky to meet Anna in time. This girl had no illusions. She had a desperate desire to live in this world full of miracles and the cold mind of a scientist. She was studying chemistry. She wanted to be a magician. And from the moment she appeared in the game, she went to her target with the bulldozer"s persistence and confidence.

The clan needs a magician and an alchemist. He really liked her.

In the Builders Guild building, he immediately made his interest clear. He needed to increase the defense of the castle. Not the house, not the city residence, but the old castle of the Order of Hunters.

An official accompanied him to a specialist and Nick expressed his wishes. The specialist pulled out books with schemes and offered the client to choose the options for improving the castle. After that, Nick realized that the job of improving the castle would cost a lot of money. He looked at the schemes and saw clearly what gave him the option to improve and how much it would cost. They wanted to improve not only the physical but also the magic protection of the castle. Everything was possible, everything was worth money. Nick realized that they would need at least 10,000 gold coins for the first improvement. The price looked incredible, but the clan could already afford the cost.

Nick specified the problems, he and the master-builder approved the project. Nick paid for the master"s time and made a contract with the guild. Within a month, he pledged to transfer money to the guild"s account, in which case the guild will send specialists to the castle to start work.

The question of the money remained to be resolved. Nick changed the rings one more time, he boosted his spirit. The first meeting with the head of the guild left a strong impression.

Marrog was a grey old man of solid build with an attentive and clingy look in his grey eyes. The head of the Killer Guild was all grey and unremarkable. His unique wardrobe wouldn"t let you focus on him. It was hard to have a conversation with him. Sometimes Nick thought he was talking to himself. It was very unpleasant to be around this man. Even his bodyguard didn"t create such a thrill. An ordinary vampire. Greer didn"t surprise Nick at all. A vampire, what"s so surprising? Nick"s already met banshees, draugr and werewolves. Greer was slim and young. There was a curve smile on his lips. His eyes were completely faded out, they weren"t red, and they were two murky failures on his face, under his black eyebrows. The skin on his face was pale and did not look quite pleasant. But Nick thought Dan looked a little better. And he got accustomed to the look of the former Inquisitor somehow.

Nick walked into the guild house and he was escorted into a small office. The scout got prepared for the meeting, got his spirits up, and relaxed.

He was sitting at the table in a comfortable chair. Greer walked into the room. The vampire looked at Nick, looked around, and took a step away from the entrance. The head of the guild entered the room and went to the table.

"I have little time, Master Nick. I"m glad your words don"t break with the business, and we"ve begun a more productive collaboration. To the business. I want to know the reason for your interest in my bodyguard."

"I want to show you ancient weapons. It"s a trophy of our clan. It"s a very interesting trophy."

Nick was quiet. Marrog nodded his head and Greer came to the table and stood between them.

Nick pulled a unique dagger out of the inventory and put the artifact on the table.

He noticed the vampire"s eyes shining, Marrog frowned but kept silent. Then the head asked a question:

"Greer, are we interested in this object?"

"Yes, Master Marrog, we may have an interest in this artifact. I have a personal interest in it."

"How much interest?"

The vampire looked at the master. Marrog was silent. But the vampire read the answer to the face of a man he knew as a young killer.

"5,000 gold coins. And Master Nick"s word that he forgets the subject of the deal and the deal itself."

Nick wasn"t expecting to get that amount. The deal was good. The amount was just great. He said very calmly:

"I give my word not to mention this artifact."

"And you vouch for your people."

"Yes, my clan will remain silent."

"Well, that"s good. I wish you a good meeting with the guild dealer."

The old man turned around and left the room.

The vampire smiled his crooked nasty smile and said goodbye:

"I memorized your favor. You can send your a.s.sa.s.sin to the guild. I"ll give him a couple of lessons. And one more thing. Now I see that the disturbances of old spiders in temples and magistrates are not without reason. You are dangerous people, you have to deal with dangerous people and someone like me. If you can get a trophy that will interest me, I hope we meet again."

"I get it, Greer. John will get your word. I don"t promise any new trophies, but I agree. Dangerous humans and vampires deal with dangerous trophies. There"s no need for anyone else to know about these dangers. The world deserves its moments of peace and security."

The vampire is out of the room. Nick didn"t even notice the moment when Greer took the dagger! On the table was a piece of white paper with the bank"s emblem. Nick already knew what it was. A debt receipt that allowed money to be transferred from one account to another in the city bank. The scout shook his head, this vampire could kill him several times in a row and only then Nick would notice it.

The sight of another visitor made him happy. It was a short man known to him, not a dwarf, but a very short man, with a smile all over his face and a perfectly developed trade skill.

It"s time to make money! And the work was boiling. Nick laid out the first three lots on the table. It was gems and jewelry without magic effects. There were also daggers on the table that could boost the effect of increased damage, nothing unusual, great daggers for killers.

The merchant began with the gems and began to carefully consider each item, and then he called the price. Nick wouldn"t take long to resist and argue. He realized he was losing about 20% of the value he was given by his player status. That was fine with him. They were arguing and negotiating for some stones, jewelry and daggers. It was funny and entertaining, at times they switched to mutual abuse and raised their voices against each other. This trade lasted for about three hours. The trader offered to rest and Nick agreed.

The trader clapped his hands and two girls entered the room with trays in their hands. They were serving an empty table. The traders sat down at the table and started a late dinner. Nick answered the main question. He left two very interesting lots of goods for the auction, and one of them may seem to the trader not just interesting, but stunning imagination.

They finished dinner and continued.

Nick started selling weapons with vampiristic and other good effects. Now it"s time for real emotion. Nick didn"t know how the local merchant was improving his skills, but he had to push his price hard! He fought for every dagger. He lied about the virtues of artifacts and told incredible stories about the b.l.o.o.d.y struggles his people had endured. He abused the Guild merchant and cursed for greed and stupidity. The merchant laughed and stood up for his price. He shouted loudly about all kinds of faults and stupidity of a young man who does not understand anything about the complex matters of the local market. At one moment the trader bounced off the table, quickly removed the sheath with a short sword from his belt and threw his weapon on the table. He showed clean hands to Nick and froze with the expression of a challenge on his face. He no longer seemed like a funny short man. Nick took the dagger off his belt and showed his hands clean to the trader. He held out his right hand for a handshake. Nick knew what was going on. Fighting was a great way to improve the deal! Nick shook the dealer"s hand. It was like his hand was caught in the grip of a steel jaw. A message flashed before his eyes.

*

[Attention! Merchant Laurenis calls you to a friendly duel.]

Do you agree to take part in a duel? Yes/No]

*

Nick agreed and at that moment felt the fat man let go of his hand and quickly struck Nick in the face from his left hand. The scout bounced off and smiled. This will be interesting! The fight was quick. Nick found out that the city was not only fighting with his hands but also kicking. It was easier to fight in the village. He responded with hand-to-hand combat skills. They didn"t hit each other for long. The fat man turned out to be a tough man who never fell. Nick did not hold back the strength of the strikes.

Suddenly, the fat man bounced off and exclaimed:

"Master Nick, let"s not argue like that. I agree that this dagger deserves a higher price."

Nick didn"t believe that clever man on any copper. And he wouldn"t relax. But the game confirmed that the duel was over.

They went back to trading.

Nick sold a shipment of weapons and moved on to the last part of the deal. He took a bottle of wine out of his inventory and put it on the table. The bottle was the kind that Dan took out of the vampire"s grave. No one knew the quality of the wine in the bottles. But in Nick"s status, the wine was a very expensive elite product with an initial price of 250 gold coins.

And he knew he"d make good money when he saw the trader"s excitement. The short man quickly pulled himself together and took out of his pocket strange gla.s.ses. Instead of transparent gla.s.ses, there were two big transparent stones in the frame. One was yellow, the other was light green. The merchant wore the gla.s.ses and began to look carefully at the wine bottle. He did not even touch the bottle with his hands. Then he took a step away from the table and looked away. The fat man whispered something quietly and asked the question in a normal voice:

"How big is a lot of this product, Master Nick?"

"Unfortunately, the lot is small. There are only 13 bottles. We had to pay for this product by the death of many good people."

"Don"t say too much, Hunter. The Guild is ready to buy the whole lot for 3,575 gold coins."

"4,000 gold coins look like a worthy and perfect sum for this worthy commodity."

"3600 and only out of respect for the moment. And we will congratulate each other on your first successful major trading transaction."

"3.900."

The merchant shook his head. Nick realized there was no way to raise the price. He waved his hand:

"You"re right. I"m still young. Okay, I won"t challenge your price. The product seemed rare to me. It wasn"t exactly a normal deal. I agree to rely on your experience."

The merchant blossomed and snapped his fingers in antic.i.p.ation. Nick put the other bottles of wine on the table. Each bottle was carefully examined by the merchant with his artifact. Nick looked at his watch. They were trading till the morning! He was tired. He was not even pleased with the achievement that added seven points of Glory and +1 to his intellect and the t.i.tle of "Merchant of Rarities".

Master Laurenis wrote a check for 12.000 gold and asked to wait until the wallets with gold were brought. Nick wanted 4,000 crowns in cash.

Shorty called for a servant, and they sat down at the table. The girl brought two gla.s.s goblets and a bottle of wine. She filled the goblets and left the room.

The fat guy smiled and raised his goblet:

"Well done. Congratulations on starting a worthy business. You have good perspectives, young man. But you need to improve your energy. More aggressiveness! Of course, only when you work a deal with a decent product. Let me ask you a question. Yes. I can afford it. You"re planning to make important purchases. Our guild can boast of special types of merchandise. I am authorized to expand our offer list for you."

Nick took a sip of wine and didn"t withhold information. Still, these tricky guys are going to find out.

"I intend to make a couple of deals with the Magic Guild. I"m interested in the magic scrolls. Rare magic scrolls."

"You"re making me laugh. You go to the magicians for the magic goods. Do these old stumps know the real price of a good product? They can do magic, but they can"t sell it! What exactly is interesting to a young man? The summoning of the Elementals? Portal scrolls? Battle magic? The Guild of Killers is ready to offer a particularly valuable product. And our prices will pleasantly surprise you."

"Battle magic. Preferably "The Shiver of the Earth". "Starfall", if you please. 4 ranks."

"We have this. Only 1000 gold coins for the scroll."

"Do you have four scrolls of Earth"s magic with the "Shiver of the Earth" spell?"

"Our guild has it all. And what"s not, we just haven"t taken possession. Oh, don"t take it personally. You can count on a deal. Four scrolls will cost you 3900 gold."

Nick took out his watch and looked at the time. There was plenty of time. He took a breath and started working:

"3900 for 4 scrolls! You"ve gone mad. Cheap, rotten parchment, work done by an unknown who, there"s no guarantee that the spell will work. I"m willing to pay 3,500 gold coins and not copper anymore!"

Master Laurenis put his goblet on the table, rubbed his hands and smiled. He began to resemble a small but very dangerous predator. His eyes were burning with an evil challenge, he bent his head and poked his finger at the scout:

"Boy! How dare you defame the skills of the respected members of the Guild of Mages! The merchandise has been thoroughly tested. 3850 crowns!"

They had a good deal of negotiation. Nick bought scrolls and left the Killer Guild in a good mood.

He went to the bank where he transferred the money to the Builders Guild. The clan had several thousand golds in its account. But ahead was an operation that promised good trophies, good experience and a good start in the clan of one redheaded girl magician.

He met Anna at the gate.

"How much does your inventory weigh?"

"14 pounds."

"7 strength, you need to do more of your training. We have a good specialist in physical training. What"s your weight?"

"Such questions are not asked women."

"Anna, it can be dangerous on the road. I"ll carry you in my arms."

"120 pounds. I never thought I was dealing with such a weakling!"

"120 pounds is good. We"ve got time. You need special ingredients. We can do the shopping. It"s on the clan. We need a good alchemist."

Anna smiled and it got lighter outside. Nick flinched, that redhead will drive him crazy.

He followed her and thought it would be hot talking to the guys. And pretty soon he"s going to have to look for new agents in town. And there"s no telling how the guys are going to take Emma, she was a serious, silent girl. Cute, but quiet. Not as pleasing to the eye as blooming Anna. But pretty and proud and a very good archer.

Nick gave the girl a wallet and got some metal cups from her. He put them in the street and said:

"Anna, there"s a real alchemist"s lab waiting for you at the castle. I don"t understand anything about it, but there are lots of different jars and bottles and dishes for work."

"This is my lucky cup. Quickly picked it up and put it in your inventory. And the rest can be left behind."

Nick smiled. You can"t do a good job without a happy cup. It"s a saint. He found the correct new person for the clan.