Chapter 4
Chapter 4. About walks in the woods.
A hunting toast should be short, like a command, like a shot, otherwise there will be no time for rest.
Peculiarities of the National Hunt.
Sephiroth . Morning in a deep scary forest.
Here I go and think. What for myself this hair done? A mane of loose hair clung to all the branches and thorns that got in the way, which did not add to the mood at all. But it was also a pity to refuse such a thing - I remember exactly, the last two lives I went with long hair, so one can already say a tradition. Argh ... although ... some traditions can be revised. Or make yourself two looks - one, let's say official, for communicating with the authorities and performing legal affairs in the city itself, and the other - for affairs that are not too legal or, as now, associated with moving through not very passable terrain. Okay, I'll think about it later, right now I should focus on finding the dark ones. Somewhere in this forest area they should have a camp ... unless, of course, theyimpressed by the noise I create - you might think that there is a whole army stomping here. Hmmm, what was not in my skills was walking in the forest, past lives more and more passed in the city, and nothing worthwhile came from the carrier either. Well, okay, I'll manage somehow.
My rapid progress through the thickets really attracted the attention, but not of dark, but local predators. You know, it's not very pleasant when a carcass of fifty kilograms sags at you from a tree, clings to the back of the neck with its fangs, and even begins to slash with its claws (a loud scream shook the forest thicket, and the world first heard the Great and Mighty within its borders). They decided to have a snack with me in the most banal way! The chef was a very large creature , clearly from the feline family. Zhivotinka was clearly surprised that this prey does not die, but continues to stand on its feet and swear loudly? Fortunately, I came to myself earlier than the cat surprised by this turn of affairs, removing the pain of the carrier, took up the predator - she swallowed enough blood and Simba . I would not have been able to take her under control - I was not yet confident in my skills, and in my past life, specialization went to people, not animals, but it was quite within my power to arrange the paralysis of an evil cat, which I did. So, now patch yourself up and see who is so quick with us.
Healing took about twenty minutes, eh, where is my former regeneration, coupled with the armor, the birdie ... as for the predator, at first I could not believe my eyes, but remembering what a strange world I was lucky to get into, I still accepted what was happening as given. Pere to me in sedated lying lynx, but what! One and a half to two times larger than their terrestrial relatives and with khaki-colored wool. Fuck you camouflage lynx! Yes, with such a skin only from ambush and hunt - it will be difficult to see such a tree from a couple of meters. Something I doubt that she has such a natural skin, more like an experiment of some not quite sane magician. Hmm, if the locals have such experiments, then it is clear why Zhiznyukov (and who else can mock nature like that?) Is not liked here.
But okay, back to the feline problem. What should I do with her? Take with me - so I'm going to the bandits, there she definitely has nothing to do, letting go - Hamster will not forgive me, but leaving right here - with a probability of 90 percent - will be devoured. In general, it is strange, I asked about the local fauna - there were definitely no such guys there. Okay, I'll leave a few cells in it, let him run for the time being, and in case of something - either lure him (if there is enough control, something here turns out better, but something worse), or I will hunt him down. Then, in the city I ask about such an interesting pussy. Well, now let's move away and again 'turn on' the predator. With this sorted out, but the dark ones are still not to be seen. Really have to trudge to the road and try to get ambushed. In theory, they should bite - a loner in expensive clothes, but won't this arouse suspicion among local knife and ax workers? Here, either abnormal or magicians walk one by one (although, taking into account local magicians, I'm not sure if it is worth separating these two categories). On the other hand, I can stroll through the forest until Zeref's second coming , with an effect close to zero. We'll still have to get out on the road.
Hmmm, it seems I am definitely a magician, otherwise how else to explain the inadequacy of my actions? So I walked into the forest, not being able to walk on it, okay, but damn it, I don't know how to navigate either. I am ashamed to admit, but I am lost. Hmm , not the most successful start to a career, right word. So what should I do? Meanwhile, the evening was slowly getting dark and a suspicious buzz was added to all my problems.
-This ' zhzhzhzhzh ' is not without reason, - I quoted the famous bear. And exactly, after a couple of minutes, a whole squadron of mosquitoes raided me.
- Bastards, we are almost relatives ... there were once, - slap, - and you, - bang, - meanly attack defenseless monsters - ugh! The last mosquito flew into my mouth during my passionate monologue, so I decided not to waste more words on this buzzing brethren and hastened to wrap myself in Simba from head to toe. Hmmm, who would have known how one of the most terrible biological weapons would be used ... They stopped biting me. But the incessant buzzing drove to a nervous tic.
I came across the camp by accident. I was delighted with the dark, as if I were a family, I even wanted to hug some type of obviously gangster appearance. But for some reason they did not appreciate my feelings, instead they somehow turned pale, and someone in general screamed from the series ' Aaaa ... monster, save me !!' rushed to run. Monster? What other monster? Oh, I forgot to take off the mosquito cover ... well, it didn't work out well. However, I seem to have come to kill them all a little, let's start ...
A casual observer, if there was one, could describe how a completely black figure, standing out in the darkness of the night only with strange silver hair, with some strange sounds, something like hooting, chased the dark campers. A blade was clamped in the figure's hands, and anyone who was unlucky enough to get hit by it immediately lost his life. The magicians of this dark guild tried to oppose something to the monster, but they simply could not get into it - it simply dodged from energy strikes and fireballs , and there was neither time nor strength to beat something massive. In the end , only the mages who had been rounded up in a handful survived. The monster stood right in front of them, but then the dark cover slid from it and the besieged saw the face of a young guy looking at them with a slight smile, completely satisfied with the life of a man.
-So, gentlemen, I have the best offer for you! You give up, let me tie you up, along the way telling you where you have that valuable stored, and I, in exchange for this, will not poke you with this cute little thing, - the guy pointed to the blood-drenched blade, - believe me, this is a very generous offer with my side.
- What kind of creature are you? - one of the captives could not resist and tried to fry the enemy with a fireball once again. The attempt failed, and the attacker sank to the ground with a blade in his chest - the unknown was moving at a truly inhuman speed and certainly did not differ in mercy and compassion.
-I was already called a demon, probably even deservedly, so I do not advise me ... to annoy, - the smile disappeared from the face of the person ... the creature and fear rolled over the remaining four magicians. The demonstration was more than impressive. The dark ones preferred to surrender, this is differently better than immediate death under the blade of this creature.
Sephiroth . Very brooding.
We managed to deal with the dark ones quickly, the remaining magicians really wanted to live and were afraid of me until their underpants were wet, the guys gave everything they knew - where the dealers are sitting, who gives how much for what. We also managed to capture the treasury of this detachment. The amount was much more impressive than that of the previous gang - almost five million precious ones, and this is not counting the rare fabrics and spices that were available in a decent amount. But the most valuable acquisition was a book, or rather, not even a book, but a Book. In any case - for me. It described general exercises on the principles of mastering the Power. Judging by the design and pictures, the book was intended for children, but if we discard the beauty and the husk, a very interesting picture came out. It turns out that the local magic, although divided into schools, comes from one source, with which the 'souls of magicians' interact. It was also mentioned that for the development of your Gift you need to comprehend yourself, your spirit, not be afraid of experiments and go beyond the ordinary. Well , at least, this explains some inadequacy of the magicians of this world, if they constantly go beyond this framework ... but not the essence. Another interesting fact was the mention of the source itself. Compared with technology, a picture appeared that looked like access to a computer. Sorcerers were ordinary users - they could turn to some programs and, with their help, influence the world. The more experienced a user is, the better he or she understands the required 'program' and the wider his arsenal.
The power of magicians can also be attributed there, however, already with some amendments. Let's say a connection to a certain server via a dedicated line. The wider the channel, the faster the magician can conjure, and the more powerful his computer, the more complex and powerful the program spells will be. These are the pies with kittens. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have no other theories yet. There was also a few words about the Takeover in the book. Basically, it just described the danger of this school, it was also said that there are very, very few magicians who really own Absorption, mainly this is the ability of monsters. Here are creatures capable of devouring the essence of a person in bulk, for which the authors of the book expressed their gratitude to Zeref . I, of course, exaggerate, everything was written there much softer, but there was some propaganda and suggestion of 'correct' thoughts. In any case, the Book can give an initial impetus to mastering my Schools. She will not replace the teacher, but at least something. By the way, there was also an explanation of why a teacher with the same school is needed. It turns out that for the fastest initialization - the magician simply immersed the student in his kindred magic, so that he could feel it in himself and accept.
Anyone could handle further. It was possible to do without a mentor, just for this the exercises were used, but the path was much longer and without guarantees the result. Well, Well , will, than they are now engaged. Feel the Power, young padawan , damn it. The rest of the assortment of the bandyuganov store consisted of various magical trinkets and a dozen books on very perverted specializations. Moreover, the theory was described there at least, at best - release the force this way and that, such and such a circle should appear and such and such a thing should happen. In some it was in plain text - ask the teacher. And not a single, even the most seedy brochure, explaining where all these circles come from at all and why they are exactly the same and in no other way. No, I myself am a practitioner by nature, but with no theory at all to do magic? Considering my Schools, there are more pleasant ways to commit suicide, and on the basis of the basics and general exercises it is simply not possible to rise above the C rank.
Some of the magical items were also found. Firstly - various useful little things, such as a magic toothbrush, absorbing moisture and smell of fabrics, various fireflies (there was even a set of red lanterns, I wonder where they were taken?). I also stocked up with a funny pen - it changed color depending on which of a dozen crystals on the handle to apply energy to. Well, you could write to her even in the air - the record was kept either until the charge ran out in the pen, or until the record was crossed out with the same pen. All this splendor was powered by small crystals of lacrima , which play the role of batteries in this world, albeit in a wider range. Almost two dozen were also found in the gang's reserves. Even if they were very small, they will definitely fit in the farm.
As for the pleasant moments, now let's get down to the cons. There weren't many of them, but what kind! Let's start with the most unpleasant thing - I'm starting to become a berserker. Either this radiation affects me that way, or something shorted out during the transition, but I know for sure, the past I would not have burst into the camp, cut everyone around with a sweet smile on my face ... if it had not been for someone then of mine. But then I was just blown away. Yes, I need adrenaline, but not at this price. What if I got covered in the city center? Brrr ... scary to think. And these constant thoughts about girls, it seems, the smart organism finds a way out on its own. Another would be to understand why I am so sausage ... But there is still little data.
In the meantime, the dark ones drawn by me finished loading the most expensive property into the cart (and where did they bring it from? Although ... most likely they took it from the plundered caravan). Well, that's all, you can get under way. Although, right there I have as many as four magicians, it would be stupid not to rummage around in their brains, however, it is not a fact that after that they will be in their mind ... however , they should have thought about this before cutting out the caravans.
I tried to be as careful as possible, in the end , perhaps I will have to apply this method of obtaining information to those who I need in my sane mind. As a result, I spent a week, but I can proudly note that 1 out of four still did not become a vegetable ... well, he constantly mutters something about a silver-haired demon from the darkness and looks scared, by the way, I almost forgot ... The body had to be changed - first, a meeting with an unknown predator, then the extreme load during the battle with magicians, in general, the condition was, although not critical, but rather difficult, and then there were as many as 4 'volunteers'. The most promising seemed to me the comrade who owns Rearmament. There were several reasons. Firstly, mobility appeared, and the motto 'I carry everything with me' impressed me very much (and the Hamster approved, which was also important), and secondly, taking into account my sword, even with low possession, this magic would already be of use , in contrast to a faint light or generally almost unformed magic blows of the remaining ones. So having cut out the dark who remained in my mind, so that I would not run away, I started moving to one of the 'vegetables'.
There, of course, I also had to tinker, but slightly rejuvenating and cleaning the carcass is much easier than frantically patching up the old one. Well, that's all, it was no longer an unnamed dark magician of D rank that rose from the ground, but the same cute guy with silver hair, I used the old body for resources and there was not much left of it, it's definitely impossible to determine the appearance. It is a pity that now they will pay a little less, but the new body was worth it. In magic, it was 'pickled' much longer than before, and therefore it was stronger and more enduring, an interesting concept, but what will happen if you hold the carcass in a large stream of magic for a long time? No, it's still too early to experiment, it would be necessary to settle down first. So, here's a new carcass. The former owner is a vegetable and will certainly not interfere. You need to check the magic, there must be Rearmament, by the way, a fairly common school, but you never know how the abilities will behave under such circumstances?
Well, let's try. The body has habitually put the right amount of magic in the right place. Everything that had previously been in the 'pocket' of my victim fell into the clearing. Hmm ... and I only wanted to summon his sword. In general, the guy's kit was small and pretty standard. Sword, ax, hammer and spear. Nothing else could fit into its subspace - the Power reserve was minimal, putting something magic there would definitely not work - such things ate a lot of space in the 'Pocket'. But then I happened, and judging by the fact that now his entire pocket is lying in the clearing, although only the sword should have been lying around, the reserve has grown somewhat, however, it is not clear how much. Well , there is a way to check it! We start packing. The most solid-looking weapon of the dark ones, books on magic, flew into subspace, there was still enough space for spices and a piece of cloth. In general, it went under two carts. Not bad, very good. What about magic items? That's where I broke off pretty well - only fireflies climbed in, and a couple of lacrima crystals . From the memory of my new recipient, I knew that magic items 'weigh' a lot, but so! In general, I was very far from Elsa's reserves, although what I expected even if the volumes of my magic simply added up with the volume of this bandit from the high road, to S rank, and he and I were very far away. Well, okay, at least this type did not neglect training and even tried to develop his reserve, so I know the exercises, I still have enough time, which means we will do it. But definitely not in the forest. And even taking into account the newly acquired portable warehouse, there was a lot of good in the camp. Well , as one repairman of anything said before starting the repair itself, gentlemen, we take everything out. And here I have three more assistants (by the way, the frightened one, after waking up and not finding one of his accomplices, even tried to breathe in my presence as quietly as possible). After moving the valuables from the cart to the subspace, the bandits had to work as loaders again, well, now they even managed to load the tents, which means that some people will have to retrain in draft power, but first, let them help me in one more case. It is worth doing that ritual again. What will he show now?
The second time organizing the desired drawing was much easier. The magical action took even more time than the first time, but I was pleased with the result. Darkness, Absorption and Rearmament. Gorgeous. It remains to master all this. Now to the city!
I harnessed my 'donkeys', the bag with the head of the mage who resisted had to be thrown out - the stench from it was such that it was just right to use it as a weapon of brutal murder.
So we returned to the city. Exactly in the morning. The cart immediately went to the magistrate, where I handed over the dark ones to an assistant I already knew. The good had to be returned to the owners (in addition to what was in the spatial pocket, I later, after changing my face, fused it to one of the known addresses of the buyers), however, as an individual, I was paid a quarter of the cost of the goods. Together with the award for the dark and the magistrate's 'gratitude', my wallet was replenished by another two million six hundred thousand. Together with my savings, it came out a little less than eight million. It sounds impressive, but in fact, this money is not even enough to buy a house in Magnolia. The conversation starts there with ten million.
The interrogation of the captured magicians by the authorities brought me some fame - many saw my entry, and after the confession of the former leader of the gang, that very frightened type (he was just told that they would call me if he was silent, then he was barely shut up) I received an 'official 'the middle name, and if it is simpler, the nickname is Demon. Yeah ... well, I went hunting. However, while it was rather little known and I could not crush anyone with authority, but the very fact of such recognition was pleasant. Strange, I think I keep changing. Before, I would have been deeply purple, as who calls me.
Almost three months have passed since the hunt for the dark ones. During this time, I managed to get to that very dark guild from the outskirts and replenish my account (I had to open a bank deposit, I could not carry my savings in cash with me, and it was somehow stupid to fill the subspace with paper) for another ten million. And the list of trophies is a bunch of books on fire magic and many useful artifacts, including several staffs and a magic guitar, the latter I especially liked - the sound is truly magical. That B rank mage was exactly a fire mage, and not weak. Moreover, he was paranoid. I slept on the floor of my eyes, ate only after the taster. It was through the latter that I got to him. It is difficult to expect that the food will be poisoned by the one who tastes it. But if there are a lot of my cells in this someone, then how will it be. It is a pity that he died before I had time to get to him, because only he knew about the most delicious hiding places, but what he managed to shake out of his assistants was impressive.
Still, it's a pity, but I'm not yet confident enough to go to a B rank magician with my C. Yes, I managed to raise my rank, and quite officially, all in the same magistrate. B rank could also be obtained there, but higher - A - either from the master of the official guild, or through an exam. S - only by exam results and nothing else. Well, in order to achieve the status of ' God's chosen ', or, as they called these magicians 'God equality' was required not only to have a very large pool, but also to be a master at least two schools, to develop something really worthwhile in terms of spells and more a whole bunch of requirements. Although it could have been easier - to win in an FAIR battle one of the existing magicians of this rank. Over the past fifty years, no one has been able to do this. As for my promotion in various Schools, the best thing was with Rearmament - there were a lot of teachers, and the methods for development were very simple.
Want more pocket space? Easy - fill it to the eyeballs, and then add more, little by little, literally over a grain of sand. It hurts. Moreover, nothing can be drowned out pain - the energy body develops, as described in one clever book, ordered by me in a neighboring city. Do you want to summon various murder weapons as quickly as possible? Also no problem - summon and recall things from your pocket until your head starts spinning - this is how you can increase the speed of the spell. Moreover, in all Schools, but this is so, nice little things. Do you want to not only summon blades, but also change your armor? And this is possible, only you must have an extraordinary imagination so that it fits on your body exactly where you need it, and besides that, with a solid concentration - you will be distracted and, at best, you will not call anything. If you think that this is where the Rearmament School ends, then it's in vain. Although I had to give the teachers a total of a million and spend two more on the necessary books, the knowledge gained was worth it. Finally, having reached at least some theory of magic, I sold out in earnest. Things could be taken out of a pocket, or they could be thrown away.
Moreover, with a very decent speed, and if there is a lot of goodness there ... Plus, having applied a certain mark, the thing could be put in a pocket even at a distant distance. But all this had to be trained, trained and trained again. We also managed to sort out a little with the Absorption. Magic is powerful, but very dangerous for the performer. And in my opinion much darker than the same magic of life. The magician absorbs the victim entirely - magic, life, perhaps even a soul. The victim has a chance of resistance, it may even turn out that it is the magician who will be absorbed. But given equal opportunity, the Absorption mage has many advantages. At least the fact that the victim will be moved to his inner world, where she needs to be finished off. And in the inner world, it's much easier for its owner to fight. But even so, there are very few chances of getting shizu or going crazy , but if everything works out, the magician's power will increase.
Theoretically possible otest very good, but in practice pogloschentsy or stop after the first serious opponent as Elfman , and still lose the next opponent, which leads to the appearance of some of the next terrible monster. In any case, I found the ritual (only very powerful magicians can do without it, to whom I do not belong yet) and am going to try it, but what will come of it - we'll see. In the magic of Darkness, I still didn't manage to go beyond the basics and simple blows with raw magic, however, I was in no hurry. It is better not to go there without books and a mentor. It is unknown how my hands dissolved when trying to use the Darkness according to the principle of Rearmament, I was more than enough. This element was definitely not distinguished by love for one's neighbor and did not forgive mistakes.
I also dealt with the cat, which almost chewed off my head. On that day, I was lucky to stumble upon a ghost cat, in any case, the breed of these predators is called that way, I think there is no need to explain why? The animal is considered to be quite dangerous and rare (because you will find it hell - he also learned to hide from magic). His wool was also decently worth - at three hundred thousand per batch, and since they also shed ... in general, the cat moved to me. What? It's a triple benefit - profit from wool, practice in control for me, so you can still study the body of a predator, understand how she can hide from magic. Alas, the latter was clearly too tough for me - I still lacked knowledge. Here I needed a book on the magic of Life, or better the magician himself, but alas ...
This is how I slowly mastered the new world. I will not say that I have achieved much, but at least I have acquired at least some material base, I have become a little familiar with the secret art, and it seems that I even got used to the strangeness of this world. The turning point in my life was the next issue of the Vestnik. It was dedicated to Mirazhanna Strauss, along the way it was reported that the ' Fakes ' had cut out some den of thieves, at the same time smashing something about half of the city. It seems that the time of the canon has come, sorry, I was hoping that I would have a little more time. Well, Well , it is time to go to Magnolia. Oh, there will be something.