Victory in the Arena changed little in his position as a living dead man, but the sinner sometimes thought that some draugrs nod at his meeting. He added 17 new symbols to his stock of runes and went to the castle.

On the way he called the pet and improved her attack skills. p.u.s.s.y immediately ran to the side and began hunting animals, gaining points of experience for a new level.

*

p.u.s.s.y

Master: Dan [Shoulder to Shoulder clan]

Type: pet

Level: 30

Experience: 4671000/5500000

Power: 30

Dexterity: 30

Intellect: 30

Endurance: 30 [HP: 9000]

Fighting skill:

"Cat Claws" [10/10]

"Smash" [10/10]

"Victim" [10/10]

*

When Dan came to the castle, he went into the vault. The gems and jewelry he saw in some crypts he left in the vault.

He was walking down the stairs and saw Nick, who stopped and shook his head.

"How?!" That"s all Nick asked.

"Places to know," smiled at Dan.

"Look, you know, connoisseur, we need to do a major operation and raise all new players to level 20. Do you know what transformation means to a player, do you happen to know a place where the group can hunt well?"

"I don"t know a place like this, Nick. But I don"t think we should rush into it. I was able to discover my personal quest for a sharp rise in level. The Hunter"s Circle makes it possible. I"ll be able to make the quest again in a month. I think you"ll have a new quest for the Hunters" Circle in a month."

"That"s an interesting idea. I"ll be sure to read your new clan perspective notes. You found new information, didn"t you?"

"I"d rather confirm the old information and put it all in my findings book. I haven"t seen the update of the mandatory quest. What were you waiting for me to see a couple of new monsters and a new boss?"

"It"s a strange way to ask a question in the form of an answer. Yes. We love and appreciate you. Thank you for replenishing the vault. Betty and I are personally grateful to you. Betty became a financier! She scares me! A desperate girl who stepped on the warpath."

Nick told that Betty had drawn her conclusions from meeting a demon. And the conclusions were disappointing. She realized that players who seemed to her as almighty heroes could not do anything when they met with a monster that was below the level. And she was a completely weak and useless part of the team. The girl found out from Anna how many points of fame the sorceress had. Anna answered her that she keeps a reserve of 12 points, but this is in the extreme case of a sudden appearance of a magic skill, which she can immediately raise to 10.

And then the girl put all her reputation in the Spirit! She left a reserve of 30 glory points to be able to improve her unexpected gift from the game. Also, she stated that she was willing to take on the position of the clan financier, she needed to develop the Spirit, and she was ready to work in that direction.

The 300 Spirit points immediately gave her the Spirit Expert Rank and raised her base character by 15%. At this point Betty has temporarily calmed down, and now she can summon a Level 18 Earth Elemental, with a life expectancy of 13150 HP, capable of doing 1315 damage. The Spiritual tested her skill in the dungeon and was satisfied. Calling one Elemental cost 24 mana points. It can be sent to hit the enemy, and the most important thing was that if the stone guy died, the monsters wouldn"t throw themselves at his master. Betty tried to call the second Elemental and it turned out that she could only have one stone fighter. She tried to call another Elemental and it turned out that she could not get four defenders from different elements at the same time. But that didn"t upset the girl. The guys were impressed by the damage to her boy"s stone fists, excellent support during the pa.s.sage of the dungeon.

The newcomers from the combat team followed the example of red Nick and Betty and significantly reduced their stock of Glory points to develop the characteristics necessary for the cla.s.ses.

Betty was asked how she was going to be a financier for a clan with little reputation? The girl replied that she is the face of the clan and in the bank will work for her clan reputation, and the financier himself can afford the status of not a very pleasant person, the main thing is that he was a great specialist.

Dan guessed the newcomers would come to this position. He found out that the group was waiting for him, and he could join her if he hurried.

That day, the clan went through another dungeon and updated the map of the mandatory quest. n.o.body got a new level, but everyone was excited to continue the main task for the clan.

At dinner, they discussed the possibility of raising the level monthly, and everyone agreed that this was a working version of future development. But the players were ready to work on their own. The spirit of adventure awakened in them, and many realized that once a month the clan could meet an outstanding and dangerous enemy. But in normal locations, players can prove themselves well and not worry about their safety.

Nick pleased everyone with the news that there were strange events in the city and Michael wants to meet him. The soldier sent a personal letter to the game mail, in which he made an appointment to meet and wrote in the conclusion that he leaves the Dor and leaves the clan. Samantha now holds the position of leader.

This news sparked a strange reaction. All the girls snarled and even in words expressed their att.i.tude to "this b.i.t.c.h". The men did not worry, although Nick said he would continue to stand up for the clan"s firm position on cooperation with urban players. Hunters can do well without urban problems, and if the hunters need something, they"ll get their own without someone else"s help.

Richard added that there is not enough experience, and the clan would like not to lose the opportunity to use the resources of the city.

Nick said he worked carefully and quietly and the clan doesn"t want any conflict with the locals.

Ranger added that he had left the order in the village and the local hunters will now be watching the forest more closely. The clan will pay a good price for the opportunity to get a little wooden cat cub and one bear cub.

"For the little fox, I"ve set a fee of one gold crown," added quietly, Nick.

"Anna laughed and everyone supported the red sorceress. Everyone knew Anna was cool about the idea of having a pet. The sorceress herself said she already had one pet and was in no hurry to get a new one.

All laughed at Nick, but the girls were jealous of Anna and already started some of their cunning combinations and operations with matrimonial character.

John in Betty and Kate"s company barely sat in the castle. As soon as the group was released from work in the dungeon, the trinity disappeared and wandered around. Kate and Betty met the monsters. Betty would fill out her drawing alb.u.m, Kate would increase her skill in "Cognition of Evil". But Kate had already realized that John was paying special attention to Betty and not disturbing the young people. She had her own plans on this important issue.

Suddenly, there was an alliance of warrior and priestess. This couple was a good cheerleader for all the witnesses. Bella kept an eye on Alexander"s health all the time. The priestess did not stop swearing at the brainless berserk, who does not care about his defense and drinks mana from it! The imperturbable "manasucker" rubbed his bald head and justified himself by the fact that he had everything under control, he was not worth such close attention and care. But despite their supposed differences, they muttered something and tried to hide their interest in each other.

Richard spent a lot of time with Jane. In his past life he had nothing to do with the army and was an ordinary servant. To his surprise, Jane knew a lot of stories about different historical war events from both worlds" past. Richard had already spent a considerable amount of money buying local books on military operations. These books were read aloud by Jane, and Richard looked at her and sometimes took notes in his notebook. Alexander once read his notes, then flipped through a couple of books describing the wars of this world and said that he could help in something, but does not intend to deal with this issue yet.

*

Early in the morning, Nick left the castle and ran into town. He had several reasons to visit Dor. A meeting with Michael. Meeting with Samantha. An unexpected invitation to meet the head of the Killer Guild. The need to make purchases for the clan.

Nick arrived in town at almost noon. He texted Michael and arranged a meeting. He set up a meeting with Samantha. And he warned the guild members that he was ready to meet the head of the guild. After that, he went shopping. The clan took most of his expenses to buy books. Players liked to read stories about the new world, it was a pleasant activity for them, even if you do not pay attention to the increase in the characteristics of the intellect while reading.

Nick sat in the tavern and sighed. The books were heavy. He was thinking about how to change the connection between hunters and the city. Hire a detachment to deliver your purchases to the castle? It"s a good solution, but you need to find out about the cost of hiring a team of city adventurers. Nick regretted that there was mail in this game, but there was no way to exchange packages by mail.

The ranger spotted Michael right away. Michael looked serious, tired and in his eyes clearly read the expression of sadness.

"Hey, soldier, you"re on level 22, congratulations."

"And you"re 28, glad you"re doing well, Nick. You already know that I"m going to another town. There"s a player from the "Sunrise" clan coming to Dor. They"re recruiting new people. I"ve agreed to move into their clan."

"That"s a great clan. 5th place in our continent"s ranking. Can you tell me what they do?"

"It"s no secret. They"re practically a military organization. They"re most interested in cla.s.ses of soldiers, warrior, knight, and priests. There are four former military men in the top positions. I realized I"d had enough of the life of a leader and decided to be a simple executor of orders. Good prospects for development. Strict discipline and quiet life. I hope I won"t be disappointed. Nick, you"re not going to hurt Samantha?"

"Michael, I"m not at war with women. I"m a married man. With players from the city, all I can do is trade."

"But you started doing quests in town. It hit the reputation of her clan. She urgently changed the game policy. A lot of people didn"t like it."

"And you decided to leave the clan with a new policy. I"m meeting with her today. I hope she doesn"t hope to change the nature of our relationship."

"Why don"t you want to help them, Nick? I mean the city players. Don"t you care about their fate? You"re a cop. We"re very few, and it"s hard not to think about responsibility."

"Michael, I have a good sense of responsibility. I have a wife. I have a clan. I don"t want to be responsible for the actions of the "Sunrise" clan players and other strangers."

"Cruel, but fair. I know what you mean. I hope we don"t meet like enemies."

Michael stood up from the table and extended his hand to the ranger. Nick stood up and answered the handshake, too.

When Michael left, the ranger finished his juice and went to meet with Samantha.

She set up a meeting with him at the mansion of one of Dor"s aristocrats. Nick thought about the offer and agreed. He didn"t expect anything unpleasant from this baron. An ordinary local aristocrat.

At the appointed time, the ranger approached the gate, behind which was a large ornamental garden. A beautiful and large mansion building was rising above the greenery. The gatekeeper let the hunter in and walked him to the entrance of the mansion.

Nick entered the house and saw Samantha. The woman looked beautiful. She was serious, polite, and Nick didn"t notice a bit of excitement in her face.

"h.e.l.lo, Nick. I want you to meet the owner of this house, and then we can talk business."

"h.e.l.lo, Samantha. I don"t see the need to meet the owner of this house. If it"s against protocol, we can go out and discuss business in the garden. The weather is nice today, cloudy, but it"s not raining."

"Nick, it"s not decent. Why do you refuse to make new acquaintances?"

"We"re wasting time. I"ll see you next time."

He turned around and left the house. He was walking down a wide path covered in a light smooth stone and didn"t understand what that woman wanted from him. It"s a very strange start to a new phase of the relationship.

He got the answers to these questions from the Killer Guild.

Marrog greeted the Ranger and looked at him with a certain reproach. The head of the guild didn"t smile and went straight to the point.

"Master Nick, we"re worried about your life. I understand you"re not in danger of death, but you must agree that losing your life is an unpleasant event."

Nick was surprised and asked a little:

"Did the Guild get an order for my destruction? Don"t answer that. I"m glad. That the guild can make good money on this case. I hope I"m valued high enough."

"No, Nick. There are no orders, no such crazy and fools in our town. The city"s rich people might sometimes make expensive gifts to show their respect and look forward to future cooperation. Did you know that two men from our guild died near your castle?"

"I know nothing about your people, our clan has nothing to do with the deaths of your people."

"I have no doubt about it. I"ll tell you how they died. Nick, you understand perfectly well how we do business. We don"t interfere with someone else"s privacy, but we try to keep our hand on the pulse, as city healers say. In the village near your castle, there are several guild members. They sometimes show curiosity and keep a close eye on events. Three people wanted to get a closer look at the Hunters" Castle. One man suddenly fell, they came to him and saw that our man was dead. There were no enemies near him. Another man took a few steps aside and fell too. The third man decided to be careful and prudent and slowly left that mysterious place.

I can see that you understand what I"m telling you. I"m not hiding from you the fact that our team went to investigate this incident. Our specialists found an inconspicuous stone near the corpse and risked their lives, they were able to review and carefully record on paper the creativity of your practice on the runes. Master Nick, I received an answer from the capital. This is the conclusion of two famous Masters of Runes. You live in the lair of a monster. Your specialist violates every conceivable and possible rule of the runes. Are you confident in your man"s competence? Are you sure of your own safety?"

"This is the man I trust in my life. And I"m willing to trust his work in the future. He may have shown unhealthy enthusiasm for his work, but all members and guests of our clan have no problem with it."

"Clan guests and clan members," nodded the head of an old gray man. "I see. You have a dangerous and honorable occupation. The people of the city appreciate your efforts and are happy that real monster hunters have returned to the world."

"Master Marrog, with all due respect. I specify that I personally gave a serious warning to the head of the village. I warned that if you saw the roof of our castle, you can"t come any closer to the castle. We have no intention of joking, and we await an attack at any moment. We live in a dangerous place, we have enemies, and we must exercise reasonable care."

The head of the guild smiled and agreed with the ranger:

"You"re a good leader for your men. Now we"ve cleared up all the questions about this. No claims, you"re in your right. The guild took a risk, the guild got the information. Do you have any questions or suggestions for me?"

"No. Master Marrog, I believe our clan has not yet established its position. We"re just getting started and it"s inappropriate for us to bother the guild with unnecessary questions and suggestions. We"re doing business together, the hunters are grateful for the opportunity to do business with your guild."

"Wonderful, I wish you success and prosperity. I am pleased with the result of the meeting."

Nick stood up and bowed his head in a respectful bow, a man he respected. He liked the Guild of Killers for its strict order and speed of response in resolving issues.

Samantha met him again, this time in a respectable tavern, more like a restaurant. Nick had dinner and made a list of gifts for the clan girls and boys.

She walked up to his desk and without an invitation sat across from Nick. He smiled at her and nodded his head at the greeting.

Samantha was silent, waiting for a maid to come to the table and order a gla.s.s of wine. Nick sometimes glanced at her and saw the woman pretending not to know them. Samantha looked away, at the company of the young aristocrats, who had dinner and laughed merrily but behaved with decency and honor.

The maid brought the wine. Samantha took a sip and set the goblet.

"Why is it so difficult with you? Nick?"

He heard a little beautiful voice and looked at her. Samantha looked past him, she looked behind his back, at another company. Her left hand went up to the corner of her mouth, and she bit her index finger.

Nick wouldn"t answer that question. He was in a good, calm mood. Things were going just fine. And he had no desire to deal with this woman"s questions. If only she"d offered him a dragon egg!

"Can you sell me a dragon egg?" asked Nick.

Samantha looked at him in the face and saw that he was asking completely seriously.

"You already do dragons in your castle. I didn"t know, I didn"t know, I"ll try to do something for you."

"You try."

"Will you owe me?"

"Don"t get your hopes up. Money decides."

"Not always."

"Maybe. Maybe it does. But for us, the money will be an excellent intermediary."

"You could do me a favor and meet Baron Harper. A lot of money for a simple task. Your clan is very good at urban tasks."

"Not interested. Not Baron Harper, not his daughter."

She wasn"t surprised by his knowledge and realized that Nick was unwilling to make contact. Samantha got up and left without saying goodbye. Nick had eaten and recovered from shopping. He had a big shopping list.

The leader was in a great mood. Nick remembered Dan convincing everybody to set the boundary of the runway protection at a distance from the castle walls. The girls were the most important opponents. There are children in the village! Children can run far into the forest! The children could die by accident! In the end, Dan fortified his mines in the wall of the Castle of Hunters. Now the hunters didn"t worry about the city masters" curiosity to infiltrate other people"s homes and hiding places.

Baron wanted the hunters to take on a mission to protect his daughter, who had poisoned her lover. One young aristocrat refused to marry, another aristocrat was not against marrying the girl, but the girl did not like him. Nick waved at the prospects that threatened the clan. They wouldn"t get into the problems of the local aristocracy for a mountain of gold.

Samantha decided to take a peaceful path. She took an interest in the possibility of owning the land. She could buy slaves and give them jobs in her village. Becoming a Feudal is the right decision for a player who doesn"t want to do the usual quests and fight against monsters. Samantha could even give quests to her a.s.sistants. She would definitely be delighted if she had the opportunity to engage in the development of Galatea. Ranger decided to give Samantha time and not to worry about the problems of a novice slave owner.

The clan decided to get down to the fundamental quest. It"ll take a couple of weeks. Then they"re going to have to organize a trip outside their territory. It was calm in the south, more civilized lands began in that direction, there were already two large cities, somewhere far to the south was the capital. The West and the North were good destinations to find large monster forces. And there they are! After all, some large groups of the dead appeared, destroyed the local village and returned to its territory.

Nick smiled, he was happy to take his mind off the bureaucracy and work as a scout. They"re going to pair up with John for long-range reconnaissance. It"s going to be interesting.

Maybe we"ll meet the dragon, thought the ranger.