.

Yang was fast asleep at home when his cell phone rang at night. He rolled over and covered his head with a pillow, expecting that the caller would get bored and he would decide to call later. But the caller did not stop, so he had to get up and take his phone. He did not recognize the number and, after hesitating a little, picked up the phone:

"I hope you have a good reason to call me so early.

- Very strong Yan, we need to talk, urgently, tell me where you live and I'll come.

- Wait, Elim is that you?

Ian was surprised that in childhood they were best friends, but after his friend lost his family, his parents tried to minimize their communication, seeing how Elim began to change, not for the better, in their opinion, side and over time they lost contact.

- Yes, I'll tell you everything, only we need to talk personally, right now. Ian did not ask unnecessary questions and said his address.

- I'll be there soon, but for now, go online and watch the news.

- What kind?

- Now there will be only one news, do not worry, you will not miss it.

This ended their conversation.

Not understanding anything, Jan started looking for news right from the phone, his friend was right - now there was only one piece of news. All over the world, strange gates and their no less strange guards appeared, Ian looked at all these photos and could not believe. Now they had a night and few people know about it, but where the day was just incredible chaos began, people were in a panic and did not know what would happen next. So, unnoticed by him, almost an hour passed when there was a knock on the door.

When he opened it, Ian saw a childhood friend, out of breath and stained with blood. Noticing Jan's gaze, Elim hastened to calm him down:

- Calm down, she is not human, it takes a long time to tell, have you read the news?

Ian walked away, letting his friend go inside and closed the door.

- Have you read, did you want to talk about it?

- Yes, I'm just from there.

- You mean from there? - Jan looked at him blankly. - From the dungeon, in short, let's sit down and I'll tell you everything. The guys went to the kitchen and Elim told his friend about the gatekeepers, the gates and the dungeons behind them, about the monsters and about the "Ascended", everything that he could possibly learn now. In the past, or more correctly, in that life, fate brought them together again and Jan was one of the strongest people he knew, as well as the one he could always rely on and Elim appreciated it very much, the bonds of friendship between them passed test both by time and by war. But he did not talk about his reincarnation, and in the future he was not going to either, only if there was no other way out. Jan, in turn, listened to his friend attentively, without interrupting, he certainly had questions, but he decided to ask them when he finished speaking.

- And by the way, I did not come empty-handed, - smiling, Elim took a book out of his backpack -

[Petrification] and gave it to Jan - it's for you.

Jan took the book in his hands and asked, confused:

- What is this book?

- This is a skill book that dropped from the goblin commander I killed, it, after you read it, will make you awakened and put the basic knowledge of using this skill in your head, you can turn the skin to stone, not bad, yes ?

Jan was silent, holding a book in his hands.

- Not bad, thanks of course, but I can't take it, you said yourself that you got it in battle. All this crap, the world seems to have changed a lot and this book is now worth a fortune, I can't just take it, '' Yang said and handed the book back to his friend.

The smile on Elim's face grew even wider - his best friend remained the same as he remembered him, no matter what horrors he went through, it was simply impossible not to rejoice at meeting an old friend.

- Jan, as he was and remained. He himself said that the world has changed, now everything will be different. In my humble opinion, it will be much harder for one in this world to live, and of all whom I know, I can only call you a friend, so this book is yours and while you are reading it, I go to the shower, otherwise I am completely wrapped in this dungeon. ... Objections are not accepted.

Ian grinned: they have not seen each other for how long, 2 years, and now Elim has come to his house and is talking as if they only saw each other yesterday. While Elim was taking a shower, his friend opened the book and began to read, the symbols were from a language unknown to him - he had never seen anything like it before. But contrary to common sense, he understood what information they carry in themselves and read without stopping, the book was not very large, only two dozen pages, most of it was the cover.

When Jan finished reading, the book in his hands lit up with a white light and disappeared, Elim warned that it would be so, but still it was unexpected. After reading the book, Yang already knew exactly how to use [Petrification], so he stood up, used this knowledge and, using mana, covered his body with a stone layer. Watching how his hand was covered with a stone, the guy was completely delighted, he even jumped up on emotion.

- I see you are having fun with new abilities? An unexpected voice came from behind him. Jan turned around and found Elim standing at the door of the room, but that immediately attracted her

Attention - this is a cut on the levels of the chest, which was now sewn up and bleeding slightly. Elim followed Jan's gaze and hurried to calm him down: - Don't worry, it's just a scratch, how do you feel, do you feel a surge of strength? Seeing how his friend was calm, Ian decided not to focus on his injury and answered the question: - This is unrealistically cool, but now the bullets won't take me! - Jan's voice oozed with enthusiasm. Bullets won't take you, you say, can we check? - Barely restraining laughter asked Elim. You won't shoot me, will you? - slightly worried from the words of his friend Yan. No, let's check the old fashioned way? Elim said, flexing his right hand. Ian tapped his chest with a challenge, looking at his old friend: Come on, hit with all your might.

Elim did not want to immediately destroy his friend's dreams, so he punched Ian in the stomach without using mana. He felt only a slight pressure from the blow, but nothing more, after which he burst out laughing.

- Did you feel anything?

"Nope," Jan replied cheerfully.

Let's do it again, - suggested Elim.

Ian prepared for the next "blow" with a smile, seeing the satisfied grin of his friend, Elim put mana into his fist. From the impact, Yan was bent and if Elim had not held him, it is quite possible that he would have fallen to the floor. When Jan sat down on the sofa, his [Petrification] had already passed and he was looking at his friend blankly.

- How did you pierce the armor, skill? After all, your first blow did nothing to me.

- The first time was a normal hit, the second I put in mana. You will also learn this way later, your skill is a variation of mana management, just for you, because of the skill book, it felt like moving your fingers, you just move them without thinking, and so is your armor now. By the way, since you are now also "Reborn", we can check your status.

Ian stared blankly at his friend.

"What is the status?" - Ian thought to himself when a window appeared in front of his eyes:

[Level: 1]

[Strength - 14]

[Dexterity - 9]

[Stamina - 12]

[Magic - 7]

[Active skills:

Petrification I]

[Passive skills: none]

[Features:

Innate fortress]

[Innate Fortress]

[Description: Your body naturally has more protective potential than others. The effectiveness of all defensive skills is increased by 25%]

Seeing the twisted face of his friend, Elim understood what he was looking at and gave him time to digest it.