The story of a duel with a fat guild dealer did not pa.s.s by the ears of attentive players.

Alexander and John decided to repeat the interesting experience and opened the possibility of a duel.

To start the duel, it was required that the opponents shook hands with each other. But everyone must have a fair intention of arranging a duel. After that, the players were shown a message from the game, where they could choose three duel modes.

The first mode was a duel before the first blood. It was the easiest way to exercise well in developing strength and dexterity. The guys have already realized that physical exercise does not give any increase to the characteristics. But duels allowed you to add 10 points to strength, dexterity and Endurance.

The second mode was to fight to the point of unconsciousness. Players could wound each other, the battle was fought with skills and weapons. When the player lost two-thirds of his health, he could faint from blood loss and wounds. In a real battle with monsters, it meant an early death. The results of the duel surprised the players. A duel before fainting could lead the loser to a loss of 1 point of Glory. They were never able to find out why the player had lost the Glory. Sometimes the winner conducted a beautiful combination of attacks, sometimes it was enough to win just to bring the opponent to half-death.

The third mode was the real Mortal Combat mode. The battle to the death. According to the results of such a duel, the winner necessarily received 1 point of Glory, which was lost by the loser.

Alexander and John were looking ahead. They both understood that the players were future rivals. Berserk learned to resist the skills of a.s.sa.s.sin. Who chose the Diversant Transform. John was learning to destroy a warrior cla.s.s player.

Dan admitted a personal interest in getting Glory, but he rarely partic.i.p.ated in duels. He proved to be an uncomfortable opponent, the skill of Autodafe began to work against opponents. John was delighted and admitted that every duel with the sinful Inquisitor taught him a useful lesson and that he had no pity for glory. Alexander once tried the skill of "Chains of sins" and said he hadn"t experienced such a nightmare in a long time. He remembered many of his evil deeds and even saw strange images in which he did completely unnecessary things.

Anyway, the guys were glad that their sinner had found a way to gain points of glory. In the image of Draugr the sinner became a real duel champion. When Tarrok woke up, the sinner could also beat Berserker and a.s.sa.s.sin in a normal human form.

Alexander took the sword of Draugr from Galatea. The weapon was not cursed, had no vampire effect, but retained its fighting ability.

*

"The Singing Blade"

Type: Elite.

Damage: 800 [Critical damage: 1000-1400]

Durability: 1200

Weight: 3 pounds

Combat skill:

"The Singing Blade". Spinning a whirlwind, the sword strikes a powerful circular blow, destroying anything within its blade radius. Cooldown: 240 seconds. [10/10]

*

Alexander was sincerely happy when he got acquainted with the new weapon. The ability to strike a blow that cuts down any enemy defense is the most enjoyable bonus for honest berserk. The damage was worthy, and the durability of the sword inspired reverence. The warrior began practicing with Dan in duels to teach him the skills of fighting with a two-handed sword. Especially useful were cla.s.ses with the presence of an invisible but experienced master. When Tarrok woke up he was able to give a good lesson to his partner, Dan pa.s.sed on his knowledge to Alexander to the best of his ability.

"Alexander, you did the right thing when you refused to use the vampire sword. I don"t trust things that can drink someone else"s life. I think a vampire sword could have turned into a dangerous artifact and awakened to live," said Dan.

"Like your cursed sword? Dan, I wasn"t thinking about the danger of a vampire sword. But it"s nice to have an elite two-handed sword. I"m sure the next transformation will allow me to completely abandon the use of the shield. But in return, I will gain new combat skills. Your status as Dead Inquisitor gives you a chance to increase damage by 100%. Your cursed sword makes you a master of battle. But that"s where your perspective ends. This is an unpleasant fact for the clan," said the warrior.

Dan smiled and said he"ll try not to fall into a new game trap and come up with something for his development.

Nick was running back and forth, he met the builders from the guild. Three masters worked with magic. The special magic of construction kept the local masters from getting their hands dirty. In three days, the workers increased the durability of the castle, reinforced the walls and provided additional magical protection. Nick escaped to Dor and sold a new shipment of weapons and jewelry.

He found the trading situation strange. The city wasn"t actively fighting the monsters at all. There were monster hunters and specialists in the fight against the undead. But all this looked ridiculous and not serious. People weren"t fighting enemies, they were keeping order. Nick didn"t understand why his product was in demand. There were smiths in town that could fully satisfy all the demands of local adventurers. But the weapons were very expensive and Nick had a great trading operation. He quickly sold trophies from Galatea. Eventually, he smiled and told himself it was a game, it had its own rules.

He bought five magic storage devices and paid 15,000 gold coins for them. Now they"ve increased the castle"s protection against all kinds of magical damage by 80%. There was no specialist to activate the defense against the "magic of death". There were specialists in Necromancy, there were demonologists in the city, but Nick wasn"t a person who had complete trust and respect.

Nick had time to learn new rumors and news, met with interesting people and returned to the castle.

Anna made her choice. The magician"s path offered six transformations to develop his cla.s.s. Each magician could become a true master of his element. For the magician of the Element, additional skills and spells in the chosen element were opened. There were two universal directions for development. A combat mage was able to enhance the overall condition of his character. Battle Mage could improve its strength, health and dexterity. To confidently conduct combat, he needed to develop intellect, which increased the damage from spells. The second universal way was the path of common magical development. The magician remained a weak man in rag armor, but he improved his intelligence and spirit.

Anna did not go the path of specialization in the magic of the Earth, she was not attracted to the path of a war mage, and she chose the path of the Sorceress. She didn"t hide the fact that the ultimate goal of her development was the rank of Archimage. When she found out that she didn"t have to go to the city guild of magicians, Anna realized that she had made a very good choice. Requirements for the rank of Magister at 320 points of intellect and 80 points of spirit no longer seemed impossible to achieve. Nick was worried about his girlfriend, her life reserve of 1200 hp frightened him. The question with the pet for the girl also gave no answers. Anna wasn"t trying to get a protector. She didn"t want to share her experience, she had a long road to the top of the cla.s.s. She had enough defenders. She laughed and comforted Nick:

"When we meet the dragons, we"ll strain ourselves. It"s interesting to get some kind of magic bird as a pet. Flying is just a delightful opportunity. I still have a long way to go to work as an air Magister!

And they"ve all been working. Nick joined the guys in Galatea, Anna never left the castle. She needed to put her Alchemist specialty on a normal, standard development path. She liked the castle lab. She had little free time and no time for stupid fights with the dead. It"s entertainment for boys.

The boys had fun, fought in duels and soon the reward found its winners. And they were not indifferent in the face of new surprises.

*

[Congratulations! You successfully completed quest: "Cleansing from Filth".

You get +1 to all the characteristics. +5 Fame points

The "Shoulder to Shoulder" clan gets +50 Fame points.

Attention! Your Clan is honored to perform its duties.

50 "Glory" points have been received.

Your Clan"s overall status has been changed to "Rumors confirmed" and you have received the second level of fame.

Up to the next level of fame you need to score two hundred more Glory Points.

Now your Clan can count on more tasks and more details, the traders will give you a significant discount on their products.

Attention! The unique quest "Galatea Renaissance" is available]

*

The guys got acquainted with the features of the unique quest and realized that the choice is very difficult. There was no desire to do this quest. There was no punishment for ignoring the quest.

The clan had the opportunity to get into its possession of the whole city! This promised a lot of profit and prospects, but also caused many unpleasant thoughts about responsibility for the decision.

Everyone understood that the city was power. Power is a responsibility, it is intriguing, and it is a lot of leadership and possible problems with the local population. It is not known what aristocrats will remember about their ancestors who flourished in the ancient city. Players have seen many flaws with active partic.i.p.ation in this quest.

The quest was not binding. The players collected their trophies and returned to the castle.

They got into trouble at the castle. They weren"t expecting very pleasant guests. Michael and Leo took 20 levels and warned of their desire to transform the cla.s.ses.

Nick could keep in contact with Michael, they were allied clan leaders. No one was happy about the upcoming meeting with their former partners. Nick told them that urban players have a strange way of life. They"re trying to strengthen ties with the local aristocrats in every way they can. For many, the game has become a constant execution of orders and quests from the locals.

The Phoenix clan had a militant group that destroyed monsters in the city sewers, but the group consisted of only four players. Leo, Michael, Gandalf and Tom were the strongest players in the clan. Sometimes Ron joined the group, but he spent a lot of time with the city"s teachers.

Nick was worried Anna flatly refused to hide in the lab and not show her face. Ranger proposed to her. And he responded with a scandal. The redheaded witch took offense at him and complained to the other men. The guys" reaction was tough and nice for Nick.

Alexander and John called him a coward and a slippery b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

"You"re totally playing these secret games, brother! Anna"s not going to hide from these city wimps. And if they don"t like something, I"ll challenge anyone to a duel," said John.

"A duel is a necessity," smiled Alexander. "It is necessary to deprive these traitors of several points of glory. And Nick must be deprived of his candy. Anna, give him an abstinence regimen. Nick, I didn"t expect you to be so weak. We are a clan, they are our probable allies. Probable is not obligatory or reliable. I won"t believe a word Michael says, and I don"t care much for the words of this traitor."

Dan sat quietly at the table, unwilling to interfere with the conversation. He was in complete agreement with Alexander. The city players had betrayed the idea of fighting monsters. They got a unique chance to not just destroy monsters, it"s the basis of any game. But the players of the Phoenix clan got a bonus to this side of the game. They had the status of heirs to the Ancient Order of Monster Hunters. This status was a.s.sociated with inconvenience and required little sacrifice. But Alexander, in his simple and harsh reaction, was right. Some players became "city players". Dan himself wasn"t in Dor, but the guys told me that the night in town was very fun. There are a wh.o.r.ehouse, taverns and even a theater in town! In the city, there was an opportunity not only to work hard but also to have a good rest.

Alexander was determined to meet former partners according to the strictest rules of meeting guests. No honesty, full secrecy mode. Michael and Leo received the guest mode and could only visit the Cla.s.s Choice room and the common dining room. John was in complete agreement with the warrior.

"The sooner we break up with them, the more convenient it was for us. I have nothing against Leo. But Michael tricked you. He used you! Anna only got three points of fame for completing the common quest. I"m sure this is about our status. We got a bonus as clan leadership. If this soldier starts making any claims, I"ll be sure to provoke a scandal."

Anna threw a finger at the bloodthirsty a.s.sa.s.sin and said not to focus on her. She"s already received too much from the clan. But she has an opinion and her point of view is known to everyone. n.o.body can trust the city"s players.

Everyone decided to stay calm and behave like civilized hosts.

And the guests have arrived! And the delegation was headed by a woman unfamiliar to three players. They knew who it was. It was Samantha, Michael"s girlfriend and a person who was not trustworthy.

The meeting took place in the castle courtyard. Leo was quiet and smiling. He shook hands with the men, nodded at Anna and went silently towards the main tower. A couple of Phoenix clan leaders were in no hurry to enter the castle. First, Michael introduced his girlfriend to everyone:

"Greetings, everyone. Let me introduce my chief a.s.sistant. This is Samantha, my girlfriend and a very good person."

"How are you, Anna? We were worried when you went missing. You can"t do this to your friends," said Samantha in a tender voice.

Samantha was a beautiful, very beautiful brunette. But her face kept a serious expression of severity and coldness towards others. When you look at her, comparison with the images of "strict boss", "wicked witch" came to your mind. The guys immediately realized that Anna was right when she described Samantha with one word "b.i.t.c.h". It was a vulture, a cunning and greedy predator, which grows in confrontations with weak opponents.

"Sewer rats are not my friends. Oh, I"m sorry, Samantha, they"re not your friends either, you never went down the sewers. You were afraid to get your dress dirty! It"s a beautiful dress, by the way. Michael, you"re not going to go bankrupt on your friend"s outfit?"

"I won"t," Michael smiled. "You could"ve told me about your transition to another clan."

"I could have, that"s why I didn"t," smiled at Anna.

"Please proceed to the dining room. We can have lunch and keep Samantha company while you and Leo are busy transforming your cla.s.ses," said Nick calmly.

Michael didn"t take a step. Then he said in a quiet voice:

"What"s that supposed to mean? Are you implying that Samantha can"t look at the cla.s.s selection room?"

"There"s nothing curious about it. You understand, Michael, we lead a quiet, harsh life for humble monster hunters," said Alexander with a sly smile.

"I want to be a cla.s.s scientist," said Samantha calmly. "I have the right to get a cla.s.s. You can"t break the alliance treaty."

"I"ll give you a free lesson, girl."

A mocking voice came out of nowhere. John used the Invisibility skill right after he said h.e.l.lo to the knight.

"You are in the castle of those who follow in the footsteps of the Greats. We have taken responsibility for this castle. We have placed on our shoulders a heavy burden of protecting the surrounding lands for miles around. You are not one of us. You don"t deserve to be one of us. And you don"t have the right to be a perfect fighter against the monsters of this world."

Everybody was silent. Michael tilted his head and a smile disappeared from his face. Nick was silent, he wasn"t in a hurry to interfere with the conversation. He and John had been tied up for hours of fighting, and they"d known their challenges and opportunities for successful partnerships in this world. The provocation is John"s case.

Diplomacy and benefits in dealing with difficult situations are Nick"s job.

"I know the terms of the union treaty," said Alexander. "Michael, we made a pact with you and your people. We knew each other. We did hard work together. You can get all the players you want in your clan. I don"t know any of them. This woman can get food and shelter under the roof of our house. She won"t interfere in our affairs."

"This is a breach of contract, Alexander. Nick, why won"t you say anything?"

"I hate to discuss important matters in this place. I invited you to our house. If you accept the invitation, please proceed to the dining room. That"s where we can talk about the details of our contract," said Nick.

At this time, Leo came out of the castle. The guy was happy. He got what he wanted. His joy in the face of general tension seemed insane. But he was met by someone who saw the best of everything. Anna blossomed with a smile:

"My knight, congratulations on your successful choice of transformation!"

"Thank you, Anna. Thank you, guys. Do you need my help?"

Everyone"s frozen, they"ve already forgotten what Leo"s voice sounds like. He kept silent all the time because he took vows of silence. What attracted him to these very restrictions n.o.body knew. Leo just chose this path of restriction and told no one anything about the development of his cla.s.s.

"Congratulations, Leo. We"re just planning an attack right now. We have to get through this. Thank you for your responsiveness and your offer of help," said Alexander.

"Goodbye," the knight bowed and went towards the gate.

"What about eating. Brother? I wanted to discuss one interesting event with you. Wait. Leo," said John"s voice.

The knight didn"t even stop, he just walked out the gate.

The hunters realized it wouldn"t be easy to do business with this man.

Alexander gave his hand to Anna, and they went to the castle. There were many unpleasant things in this world. The weather was one of the most annoying things. The sky was constantly covered with clouds, the sun rays illuminated the world, but did not please with its bright light. It made the world seem devoid of many colors. Weak but prolonged rains did not give pleasure to the constant sensation of dampness and humidity. Having a strong roof over your head is always important. But in this world, the importance of a secure shelter was reinforced by the fact that the house can be set up bright and strong lighting to please their eyes to see clearly the beauty and features of the masterpieces of this world.

One of the masterpieces of this world was cooking. Alexander was walking with Anna to the dining room and was outraged:

"Velida had prepared special dishes. She was so looking forward to meeting Michael, and this fool does not appreciate the opportunity to eat delicious food! Of course, in their town they used to visit all kinds of aristocrats. The aristocrats must have excellent cooking specialists."

"I agree with you. There are many good specialists in town. I"ve never visited the aristocrats, but Velida"s skill is a special case. They"re dwarves. They have their own secrets of craftsmanship."

"How are you doing with alchemy? Will you open the gunpowder soon?"

"I"m fed up with you, you stupid b.u.mmer. There"s no gunpowder in this world! I"m not stupid and I can combine three elementary ingredients in the right proportions. Earth"s powder in this world doesn"t burn or explode when detonated."

"Anna, I know that. I"m asking you to open the local gunpowder."

"Alexander, there are thousands of ingredients in this world for alchemy. I think the game will prevent new means of killing. Swords and Magic. And no bombs or guns. Face it, berserk and accept it with honor."

Alexander sighed and rubbed his baldness. He had no words to object and was quite happy with his new life.

There was an open table waiting for everyone in the dining room. No one would refuse the opportunity to have lunch. Players talked about things that were unpleasant for all the partic.i.p.ants.

"Why didn"t Dan come? He"s got a lot of trouble, I wanted to warn him. Ron had a bad quest. He has to kill Dan for apostasy and betraying the path of the Spirit," said Michael.

"If Ron needs to kill someone, let him try to kill someone," said Alexander.

"Does your former inquisitor have the right to be in this castle?"

"Samantha, our inquisitor is our business. Our business is none of your business."

"That sounded rude and offensive. You don"t want to apologize. John?"

"Michael, are you ready to fight for your lady"s honor? I"m ready to accept your challenge. Fight to the death. Just go first and get your transformation. Then you"ll save time on your way to Dor."

Everyone shut up and kept eating. Michael didn"t understand. John"s making a joke about him or it"s a serious offer. He decided to clarify the matter:

"Are you kidding me, John? The game doesn"t allow the killing of players. Or rather, it punishes the killing of players."

"There"s a lot you don"t know about this game, soldier," said a.s.sa.s.sin. "I"m not kidding. In the game, it"s acceptable to fight to the death between players."

"Samantha, I don"t like this fun, but I"m ready to help you. I"m going to kill you fast. A few seconds of pain and you"re already in town. I won"t even take money from you for a favor," laughed Anna.

"Crazy witch," smiled at Samantha.

"The calculating b.i.t.c.h," smiled back at Anna.

Michael ate and thought about how these people had changed for the worse. They weren"t interested in any cooperation. They called him a traitor and a renegade. It was a wild and unfair accusation! Nick made it clear that all relations between them could be limited to trade. If Michael wants new information on monsters, let him prepare to pay in gold for the information. These people were not worried about the fate of urban players, they were not worried about other people"s problems and someone else"s development. Michael was very surprised when he learned Nick"s level. Level 26! It"s only been a week! What kind of business is going on in the castle? What kind of monsters do they kill? Do they play in the dungeons? But it"s not enough to get this level so fast. Michael realized that the hunter clan had real secrets. And these players don"t want to share their secrets. He texted Samantha and got a reply:

"It"s okay. You go and get cla.s.s development. I"ll talk about trading."

Michael got up and thanked for a delicious lunch:

"Honey, I"m going to leave you alone for a while. I have to go to the cla.s.s selection room."

"Okay, Michael, we"ll talk about possible cooperation here."

Samantha felt comfortable and she was in a great mood. She was happy to meet people who were honest and good at doing business. In this matter, these players reminded her of the local aristocrats. She immediately realized that she was facing a new generation of aristocrats. Players who own the castle and the vast territory around it. Players who are independent of the city government. The real aristocrats. Who know their price, who values their principles. With people like that, she knew how to do business. She respected strong partners. But this time she came across a wall of overt negative reactions to herself. And Anna had little to do with that reaction. Anna never cared about the other players" behavior. Anna wanted to develop calmly and leisurely. They did not have any conflicts.

Samantha asked questions and received short answers. This clan was not interested in cooperation. This clan is not interested in urban affairs, and these players do not want anything to do with urban players. That was suspicious!

Samantha suddenly realized that two players with advanced invisibility skills could run their own business in the city. She thought for the first time that a.s.sa.s.sin could do business with the Killer Guild! This John was dangerous and did not hide his dislike.

Samantha made her main proposition:

"I am not an enemy of your clan. I am ready to help your clan. I"m going to a city university. I got a cla.s.s as a scientist, but I know that my development is too slow and imperfect. I"m willing to pay for the opportunity to get a game cla.s.s. Think about my proposition."

When Michael returned to the dining room, he knew the situation had worsened. There was no clan confrontation. But their alliance turned into two cold-blooded and indifferent trading partners.

Guests said goodbye and left the Castle.

"What an interesting woman," said Dan.

He came from the library and was happy to eat Velida"s special dishes.

"You were peeking!" screamed Anna.

"I was also overhearing," confessed Dan.

"An ugly and uneducated man. I asked you to scare that b.i.t.c.h with your mask! And you were just sniffing around, overhearing and peeking. It"s a sin!"

"I confess. My fault," smiled Dan.

"I liked Samantha, too. A simple and confident hussy," said Alexander.

"And I didn"t feel comfortable sitting at the same table with her. It"s been a bad day. It"s a nasty feeling at heart. We are right and we have the right to our point of view. But their visit ruined my mood. I want to go and kill some monsters," confessed John.

"I"m up north, I got a witch to deal with," said Dan.

"Dan, we"re willing to take our chances. Do you want some company?"

"Why, Nick? I have the power to kill a couple of strong opponents. Even if she has a level 30, I"ll take my chances and call the witch into battle. If I die, the fool himself, I hope to find a temporary rebirth point in those parts. Forty miles is a long road, it"s going to be hard to come back."

"It will be difficult for you to reach this witch! You"re completely relaxed with your skills. You"ll meet many animals, many dangerous animals. Animals are honest, they don"t care about your immunity and good relations with dead people."

"All right, guys. Dan, work for the witch. We"ll take the nearest convenient target. We"ll do a month"s a.s.signment and see what we can do next. And the city"s going to let them go through their sewers," said Alexander.

Such perspectives were pleasant to everyone. Dan replenished his supply of food and went to kill the witch. The rest of them decided to go hunting in the morning.