The God of the artificial world

***

A perfectly smooth edge of a huge black cube. It’s as if someone decided to cut out a piece of extended reality. This is how they cut a cake in old films about that time, which grandfather Sanya told me about. I touched this substance with my hand. Nasty slime ran down my hand, as if someone had spilled ink. And then something grabbed me with a rough black hand and pulled me inside the cube.

And then – darkness.

Level 1. Meet Seisil

First there is darkness. Then a platform woven from light appeared. I could barely fit on the «island» that floated in the darkness. After a few seconds, it turned into a piece of land covered with green grass. The light hit my face, and I could not discern what was happening behind the island. A pleasant female voice rang out. She is twenty years old, no older.

– Who are you, traveler?

A note appeared before my eyes: «Choose a race»

Stop! Am I back to online gaming again?! He swore that no more. The games suck you in so much that you don’t notice how eight or ten hours have flown by. Especially since smells and tastes appeared in the virtual world. Many are stuck in game content. In the real world they have become vegetables, they are fed from tubes. Where is the exit button? An abbreviation appeared before my eyes. AWG. Oh yes! I’m here on the instructions of agent Arteev! And also for Dimon’s sake. The image of my only friend with empty, crazy eyes appeared before my eyes. You know, on social networks I have more than a thousand people added to my list of best friends. But of those to whom I could trust my life, there was no one except Dimka. This is what it is – the empty world of illusions of the virtual world!

A small lake appeared in front of me, in which I saw a guy with long ears.

«Elf. This ancient race has a natural predisposition to magic and their keen eye can make you the greatest archer in Seisil. Vulnerable in close combat. Resists poisons and diseases»

Now the bearded dwarf was reflected in the lake.

«Gnomes. They gravitate towards Darkness, their strength in dungeons increases many times over. Dwarves make excellent warriors. They have the ability to magic gold. They are stable in battle and cause the greatest damage compared to representatives of other races. Clumsy, takes a long time to recover strength»

Now I saw a ghost shimmering with fire in the lake.

«Elementals. They are capable of perfectly mastering their element, but the action of other elements is destructive for them.»

The image changed and a mud-covered monster with small goat-like horns stared back at me.

«Demons. They cause strong damage with Darkness and have a natural predisposition to magic. But they cannot tolerate even the weakest applications of the spell of Light. Not recommended by the game developers.

Goblins…»

I won’t even read it. Werewolves, vampires, goblins – it’s all not about me! Where are the people here? Play is how to play. I don’t want to be some green creature.

«Are you sure you want to become human?»

You ask again!

– Whose side are you on? – asked a female voice. -Are you one of the conquest conquerors, or are you a Freed, a supporter of freedom? A new war between the Frieds and the Conquests is very close. Are you ready to take part in it?

A window appeared in front of me with two options:

«Yes, I’m ready!»

«No, this game is not for me!»

I pressed the first button.

– I hope you will use all the knowledge you gain only for good? – the girl asked. A window appeared:

«I am a conquest»

«I am Freed»

I don’t like playing as creeps, even if you kill me. There is already enough evil around to go over to his side in the game. Therefore, I chose the local equivalent of frips – frids.

– Excellent, I didn’t doubt you, valiant warrior!

The gray haze cleared, and I was able to see the face of a new acquaintance. A fair-haired elf with long hair, blue eyes and large breasts. We stood with her in the middle of the forest. Now I could walk, and not just stand on a small island in the middle of the dark. It smelled of moss and dampness. Birds chirped. I’m not good at biology, especially fairy tale biology, so I won’t tell you which ones. There are trees around with thick trunks, I think they are called oaks. Grandfather Sanya, telling stories, often mentioned them. Allegedly, these grew everywhere in his childhood, and one could walk among them not only in the virtual world. A large dragonfly flew up from a huge lily and buzzed loudly.

– What is your name, adventurer? – asked the elf.

«Write your name»

He made a few movements with his fingers, and the inscription «Eleon» shone in the air in fiery letters.

– Good name. And my name is Latiel, I am the ancient protector of this forest. Ever since our people lost their home. You know the history of the elves, right?

I shook my head.

«This forest was once the home of a great ancient people – the elves,» Latiel led me deep into the forest. – They were friendly with nature, and she reciprocated. Any word spoken by the priest became an immutable truth. The magic of the elves was omnipotent. But none of the priests could think of using it for Evil.

Silhouettes of dozens of guys and girls with long ears and hair, with pupils like cats, appeared in front of me. They chatted peacefully about something, while flowers bloomed around them and birds chirped, as well as large dragonflies taking off and landing. He focused his gaze on them. The inscription appeared:

«Strekkil. Creation of nature. Mood: neutral. Power: weak»

I turned my head to what Latiel was showing me. I missed how an ordinary person joined the company of elves, moving with difficulty and leaning on a staff.

«I’m hiding from the enemy’s army,» he said. «They devastated my lands. And then one day we met them on the battlefield. But the forces were not equal, so my entire army fell. I was the only one left alive.

– What is your name, traveler? – asked the elf in the crown, who seemed to be the king.

– General Dartel. Please give me shelter! Hide me from your enemies!

«The elves were too kind and trusting,» my guide continued the story. Oh, and she’s a beauty, you can’t take your eyes off her chest, and her face is nothing. How is my turn to start a family going, I wonder? I’ll have to ask Svetka when I get back. «They have never encountered human treachery before.» And Dartel immediately understood the full power of elven magic.

Dartel approached the Elf King.

– Gerberolden! The power of your magic can destroy all my enemies! Help me, I won’t be in debt!

«We must keep our secret,» said Herberolden. «I cannot trust elven words to an unreliable person.»

– But I’m a friend of your people!

The master was adamant. But Dartel managed to tempt several priests to go with him. By that time, he himself had managed to master the Elvish language to a sufficient degree to create a combat detachment. And then one day he disappeared. The king was missing several previously faithful priests.

The picture changed dramatically, and now a picture of the battle could be seen.

– Dartel destroyed the enemy at the root, teaching the army new magic. Power tempted him, and an unquenchable thirst awoke in him – to build an empire. But then he remembered that there are those in the world who can stand in his way.

And then one day, when the elves were sleeping peacefully, he set fire to their village.

Lathiel showed me a picture of a burning forest. The elves ran back and forth, and arrows hit houses and trees on fire.

– Gerberolden did not forgive the betrayal. He declared war on Dartel. Then both clans appeared, which fight over ideas to this day. The conquests strive to conquer the world, and the Frieds protect people from their attacks.

Almost all the elves died in that war, and many others died later, finding themselves far from home and its animating power. This story was forgotten for many years.

Until one day an Elvish dictionary was found – the greatest of books in our world. Dartel wrote down all the Elvish words he knew, along with their translations and approximate transcriptions.

A new war between the Frieds and the Conquests is very close. Therefore, we must be prepared to fight a treacherous enemy. What talents do you have? What can you oppose to the enemy when the battle begins?

The inscription flashed: «Select a class»

«Warrior. An unsurpassed melee fighter, clad in steel armor.»

«Guardian.» Clad in steel armor. Able to use gambits and cause an enemy to strike himself, as well as withstand long-lasting and deadly attacks from the enemy.»

Neighbors are not my thing. I read on.

«Archer. Medium armor…» Blah blah blah. No. Definitely not.

«Sorcerer» is already more interesting than «Light armor. Deals huge ranged damage. Able to heal allies. However, he is poorly adapted to close combat, his enemies easily unsettle him.»

«Anti-Mag. Has a natural immunity to magic. Most effective in close combat»

«Friend of nature. Summons pets that will take the enemy’s blow and also heal the caster and his friends.»

«Elemental caster. His magic takes a long time, but the consequences for enemies are colossal.»

«Technomage.» Finds a common language with metals and mechanisms»

«Pearl diver. Capable of entering the world of the dead. He becomes invisible to enemies for a while, so he is able to get close enough undetected and deliver a fatal blow. Can summon ghosts and wights to his aid. Melee Warrior»

«I am a sorcerer,» I told Latiel.

«The main magical weapon is the staff,» said Latiel. – I have a few extra left. Of course, they are not the best, but you will be able to enter the battle even with this. Then you can buy something better from a master. Choose which rune to give you a staff with?

Each staff had seven slots for runes. The first rune was fixed, and after you take the staff, you can’t remove it.

– Red rune of Naenis. You deny with increasing force. Increases resistance +10, parry +10, blocking +10, evasion +10 (any stat of your choice), mitigation of physical and tactical damage – +20 (choose of your choice)

– Orange rune Malebis. Your magic is flawless. Increases the power of tactical and critical damage +10. Energy +15.

– Yellow rune Dohates. Few can match your strength. Increases physical damage power +10 and strength +10. Morale +15.

– Green rune Kishienir. From now on you are the greatest killer. Enemy resistance -10, critical hit chance +10. Increases the chance of dropping an instant kill spell by 2%.

– Blue rune Hillar. Healers are also needed on the battlefield. +10 to outgoing and incoming healing.

– Blue Samptis rune. Now no one can break through your protective field. +2 sec to the applied «bubble» skill and +5% to the use of «cyclic bubble»

– Purple rune Depresis. You gradually subjugate the enemy, and he loses control over you. Will +5, faith +5, resistance to control skills +10.

I’ll invest in magic.

– Latiel, give me this staff with the Malebis rune!

– A good choice! I will teach you the most important spell. First, you must see the magic. To do this, tell HEIMO. It means «elven vision»

Latiel’s pupils suddenly changed and became slits, like a cat’s.

– HEIMO! – I said, and suddenly the whole world changed, filled with colors. More additional items and colors have appeared. My rune shone brightly orange, and the staff was also a little orangeish. Lathiel’s staff was completely filled with blue healing runes. I immediately added the new spell to the quick access panel.

– Your first magic spell is MALLEBAR, which means «magic» in Elvish.

A description appeared in front of me:

Deals tactical lightning damage with a maximum force of 100 over 3 sec. Energy 5 units per second. Not bad at all!

– Now you must learn defense. Spell NAYEN, which means «No»

Parry a blow, up to 95% damage. Energy -50.

Yes, you could just constantly parry the blows of your opponents. But I only have 150 energy now! What -50!

– And also – treatment. Spell HILLUS – «Get well»

Morale +25, energy -20.

– And now I want to check how you mastered your first lesson! Defend yourself! MALEBAR-ESSA!

A column of sparks burst out from Latiel’s staff, and the trajectory of their movement turned orange. The entire witch’s staff glowed a bright orange color.

– NAYEN! – I said. A red circle appeared in the air with the center of the circle in the place where the staff, glowing red, was pointing. – MALEBAR! – it’s my turn to attack, and I sent orange lightning at the enemy. It should be noted that the spell that Latiel just said immediately appeared on my panel. This means you can remember the enemy’s spells!

– NAYEN! – I must say that Latieli’s manna did not even sag after this phrase, which cannot be said about mine. Of course, I compared her 3000 energy to my hundred!

– DONE! – here I didn’t even have time to understand anything – a yellow shock wave appeared from her staff, which pressed me to the wall. Aches and unbearable pain appeared throughout my body. The morale sank to the limit.

– HILLUS! – I said, and the blue vine enveloped the sore limbs, sucking the pain from them. Oh, these elves with their active language! Experience is never given for nothing. So a new spell that appeared on my panel almost killed me.

– DONE! – this time Latiel did not have time to say a word, so the blast wave from my staff carried her to the other corner of the room.

– You learn quickly, Eleon. You won this battle with the honor of a warrior and the courage of a knight. Now is the time for you to meet the head of the Freed order, Gerber.

The inscription appeared:

New task. Talk to Gerber in his chambers. Accept?

Of course. Do I have a choice?

***

The sun was falling below the horizon. The wind carried the smell of freshly cut hay. Oh, I completely forgot to say that the game even had smells! I don’t even know where the developers got the different exotic smells from. I don’t even know if this same hay smells like that.

I approached the city where I was supposed to meet the king.

– Where are you going, guy? – the guard at the entrance asked me rudely.

– I need to see King Gerber.

– Everyone to King Gerber. What have you forgotten in our area? We lived well without you. Why are you stuck?

– I have an important task for him.

«Which you will not fulfill,» said the guard.

– And why is that? – I was surprised.

– I won’t let you in – how then do you plan to complete the assignment?

What a nit! It’s not written in writing, but it behaves like some kind of king or duke.

«Although, if you do me a favor, then the city will be open for you,» the guard smiled. – My brother lives in the village of Zarri. Say hi to him from me! Then I’ll let you in.

A new task appeared before me. Accept.

– That is great. I’m waiting to hear from him.

This is why I simply «love» quests. You come to one place, from which you are sent to another, then to a third, and all to do the first task. Bureaucracy here is just like in the real world. Well, not everything is best to transfer into the world of games! Here, at least the non-scripts are indicated by circles, it’s immediately clear who you need to approach. In reality, everything is not so simple. I had to go through all the circles of hell when I got in line to start a family.

As I approached the village, wolves began to attack me. A classic of the genre – a village surrounded by mobs.

«Gran went to study the strange things that happen at the burial ground,» said the elder. – Why do you need him?

«Yes, my brother says hi,» I said.

– Well, then go west. Just be careful – people tell different things about this place. Rumor has it that those who have no place in our world woke up there! Better yet, don’t risk your life at all and don’t go anywhere. Help our village cope with the wolves. Kill at least 10 of them.

New task. Refuse.

At this rate, I will never get to the king if I take every task that comes along that is offered.

«It’s a pity, of course,» said the old man. – Okay, good luck on your journey. But think a hundred times before you go there.

A dog howled in the distance.

– What is this?

– These are barghests. Ghosts in the form of dogs. Harbingers of imminent death. Oh, this is not good!

***

It’s a creepy place, after all, these Elsky Burial Grounds. Some kind of inexplicable fear, I would even say panic. Part of the green life scale turned red. I must say, not in vain.

A hand suddenly appeared from under the ground, grabbed me just above the knee and began to pull me down. A couple of orange lightning bolts, and the living dead died again, this time completely. But I had no idea what to do with this cheerful group that had gathered in a group not far from me, and were looking at me not very kindly with empty eye sockets. Manna was low, and morale was not at its best. A couple of treatments did not fundamentally change the situation. Meanwhile, the zombies were coming straight at me! But then a guy appeared from somewhere behind them and hit them with a pair of yellow shock waves, and the skeletons immediately crumbled.

– My name is Gran! – said the guy.

– And I’m Eleon. I wanted to say hello to you from my brother. What should I say to him in response?

– Eh, my brother will soon go crazy in the service. Every week he sends me greetings from a hundred or two people. He’s busy with all sorts of nonsense, but he doesn’t want to notice the trouble that’s going on here. I’m a researcher, I’m looking at what’s here and how. If you want, come with me to study the causes of the epidemic.

New task. Reject.

– No, thank you. I want to see Gerber quickly.

– And you too. You’re always in a hurry to get somewhere. But you don’t think about solving the real problem! Okay, give my brother my brooch so that he remembers me more often.

The inscription flashed like fire in front of me: «Congratulations on reaching the second level!»

***

– Eh, alive and well – and glory to Yagbel the Creator. – said the guard as I handed him the brooch. – Well, come on in.

The guard moved away and the door opened in front of me. Which I entered a few moments later.

The floor is covered with a red carpet. Reddish torches burned on the walls. Do they add strontium to change the color of the flame? It smelled of roses and urine. It seems that the developers have relied on realism. I must say, they succeeded! From behind the slightly open oak door, you can hear the music that the minstrels played on their lutes.

***

Gerber’s chambers were truly luxuriously decorated! A huge library, chandeliers with candles inlaid with gold, silver cutlery sets on the tables, floors covered with velvet… In general, cool!

– Hello, warrior! What is your name? – the gray-haired old king asked me. Where did I see this face? Who did the developers redraw this grandfather from? I don’t remember. Old age is no joy! Where are my fifteen years? In this situation, my mother would ask what would happen to me at forty years old. I wish I could live to be forty. Nowadays, at thirty you are already an old man. And those who are older are subject to euthanasia in order to give life to a new generation. Like my grandfather Sanya. One injection and sleep.

«I am Eleon,» I said. – Latiel sent me to you.

«I haven’t seen her for two summers,» Gerber said.

– She taught me the basics of the Elvish word. And sent it to you for further training.

– Then listen to my lesson and use it only for good. The SEMPT spell is the greatest elven shield. It will protect you not only from the enemy’s sword, but will also feed you with energy. And one more spell that I do not advise my students to use at all. But you must be prepared in case of enemy attack. It’s a KISHI spell! – means «death»

A green snake burst out of Gerber’s staff, which was now protected by a blue dome, and pierced a mouse running past.

Instantly reduces morale to zero, with a 95% chance.

«This spell was invented by our sworn enemies, but we must resist them. Therefore, use this spell only in the most urgent cases, or better yet, do not use it at all. After all, death has never brought much benefit to anyone. I will teach you another important lesson today. Words from the magical Elvish language can be collected into phrases and entire sentences and you can come up with your own spells that will be more powerful than the words individually. Of course, in a real battle you won’t have time to finish a long spell. But if you have time to prepare before the battle, you can create runes that you can then simply use in battle. Here, for example: MALEBAR-SEMPT’DUALIS ROTATUS! (two moving magic balls)

Orange lightning immediately appeared from the magician’s staff, which were surrounded by a blue shell. The entire structure turned into ball lightning in a couple of seconds.

«With the help of charms you can create whatever you want,» said Gerber.

– For example, revive the dead from the mound, as someone did in the Elsky Burial Grounds.

– What! And no one has reported this to me yet! Not far from the royal city, an unknown conquest awakens the wights! We need to check if Dirk is under reliable guard. Eleon, tomorrow you will go to the country of technicians and check if the head of the enemy clan is okay. If it breaks out, the world will be in danger again.

New task. Accept.

– Now go to the master of crafts. He will help you choose the craft that will suit you best. After all, the life of a Freed is not only about hot battles, but you also need to earn a living from something.

***

I went down into the dungeon, where Freak, a man with a brown beard, in rumpled work clothes, and kind eyes, was already waiting for me. Looks like a gnome.

– Which profession do you like best? Choose, don’t be lazy. You can, of course, do a little of all professions, but one of them will work best. Make it the main one.

Inscriptions flashed in the air, replacing each other.

«Gunsmith.» Makes the most powerful staves»

«Tailor. Will prepare your wardrobe for an extraordinary war»

«Jeweler. Not only scars adorn a man»

«Scientist. Studying ancient manuscripts allows us to weave the most powerful spells, hide them in runes and create healing potions.»

«Cook. Prepares the most delicious stews. Now during the battle no one will say that you didn’t eat enough porridge!»

«Resource miner. Well, where would we be without him? Wood and metal are needed everywhere and always!»

In principle, you can download all the pros in parallel. I will choose the main one, after all, a scientist. I can make runes with one-time combat spells. When I have a little more free time, I’ll immediately start leveling up.

– A good choice! – said Frick. He handed me my first working tool. I put it in my inventory when I have free time, I’ll definitely figure it out.

***

– Ilya, get up urgently! I’ll wake you up, as promised! – Svetka’s voice buzzed in my head. Well, it’s time to return to the gray world of everyday life.

– Light! But I asked you to wake up in six hours!

– And you slept for thirteen. I’ve been trying to wake you up for a long time.

The dream world is too good. And not everyone can stop in time and say to themselves: «Enough!» Since the advent of virtuality, many have gone crazy. Some did not come out into reality for days and died from exhaustion. There were also those who forgot how to distinguish between reality and play. I decided to take a couple of pills that make it easier to get into reality. They say they also reduce addiction to games. In general, doctors do not always tell the truth. While the robots were carrying another nutritional mixture, I passed out on the chair. It seemed like I didn’t really strain myself, but I didn’t have any strength left. It was as if I had been carrying bags for half a day. Ha! Another joke. What bags? Why bother physically if there are robots to do the work?

My head was pounding as if I had been banging it against the white walls of the room all day. I looked in the mirror: my eyes were red, there were bruises under them. My back is stiff. Not a man – Frankenstein.

Okay, morning is wiser than evening, tomorrow I’ll figure out what to do with all this and how to continue to live.

Level 2. City of technicians.

Room with white walls. Disappearing bed. The smell of sterilizers. Gray slurry of nutritional mixture. Or is it just me, or do I need to change something in this life? But there is only one way out of the House: to become a member of the Government. But the resistance will not achieve its goal soon. Although, why am I moping? Even if you were eaten, there are at least two ways out, and if you got an electric shock, then this is not only a minus, but also a plus.

The second solution for most of us was extended reality. You insert a modulator chip the size of your little finger into an implant at the back of your head – and now you are a real god. The belly turns into abs. Romance.

«Ilya, you haven’t done any exercises today,» said Sveta.

– Sorry, Light, not today. It’s time for me to go to the «Battle for Freedom!» come back.

– Ilya, don’t! I barely woke you up yesterday.

– You’ll wake me up in six hours. Or in eight.

«Are you sure you want to enter the game?»

Of course yes, stupid car!

Although, machines have long become smarter than people. I read in one of the articles that the level of artificial intelligence exceeds the average human intelligence by five times. But I don’t want to talk about sad things. Every man wants to think that he is smarter than a woman, even if she is the latest generation robot secretary.

***

Oak forest. The sunlight barely illuminated the ground and grass. Chilly. I hadn’t noticed before that the game also had tactile sensations. It looks like the developers recently added them. Cicadas buzzed in the distance. Frightened by me, a flock of dragonflies, huge dragonflies, rose up.

– Where are you going? – the girl asked. I started thinking about something: where did she come from here? She is the first real player I’ve met in the game.

– That’s on assignment. I’m going to the city of Technicians.

– By the way, I chose a beautiful appearance for myself! – she smiled.

– Yes, and you are simply stunning! Gorgeous! And what are you doing here yourself, in this scary forest? – I asked, and she smiled mysteriously.

– I’m not one of the timid ones! You can’t lead me astray that easily. As I understand it, on Gerber’s instructions?

– Yeah. And you too?

– Yes. I’m tired of all the twinks doing the same task! Are you new to the game?

«But there is such a thing,» I was embarrassed.

– Nothing! You’ll figure it out quickly! Come to our guild. We are the White Corsairs.

– Corsairs, you say?

I sang:

Yo-ho-ho! We are not afraid of the dead

We love mermaids, we are bottomlessly drunk.

We will be hanged – we will be finished!

But while we are alive, you are doomed!

The girl smiled.

– As I see, you are one of ours. What is your name? I’ll send an invitation.

– Eleon.

– That is great. Catch!

The player Sienna invites you to become a member of the White Corsairs guild. Accept.

– Let’s go together. Near the castle, four more should join us.

For some time we walked silently through the mysterious forest.

– Will you have an apple? – Sienna asked me.

– What? – I was dumbfounded from surprise. She threw me a small red and green ball. Oh, I already forgot what they look like. I took a bite. But the creators of the game tried their best – I will remember this sweet and sour, slightly tart taste for the rest of my life. The only time I ate apples was as a child, when my dad brought them home from work.

«Your power of magical strikes has increased by 15 units,» the inscription on the entire screen notified me.

«Almost like the real thing,» I admitted.

– I can’t even tell you anything about this. I’ve never eaten them. But, I must admit, the taste is really pleasant. And the filling with buffs is also very pleasant, agree!

– There is such a thing.

– Stop! – Sienna suddenly shouted. I looked back in the direction she indicated and saw a huge bear. – Don’t move and talk quietly. I hope he doesn’t notice us.

– Why are you so afraid of him? An ordinary mob!

– Ordinary, you say? Take a closer look at his fighting spirit!

I looked and was stunned! Four thousand! I’m a little dressed up now, and I have almost four hundred. Sienna is more fashionable – eight hundred and twenty.

– And this is not the most interesting thing! It’s not even about lives. His shield against many techniques periodically turns on. This is the guard of the technicians’ castle. The mechanical bear has incredible strength, the damage it does is simply terrible! Here, get dressed. Otherwise you’re a beggar, wearing all sorts of cast-offs.

She gave me a couple of fancy rings, pants and a shirt.

– Thank you!

– Yes, contact me! We are now in the same clan!

Once again, I note that the game is drawn simply masterfully. I was even a little embarrassed, pulling off my pants and sparkling with all the drawn charms.

– Come on, why are you, I’ll turn away if I’m so shy! – Sienna guessed my thoughts.

As soon as the kit was slightly updated, the parameters immediately doubled. In general, I found my ideal girlfriend.

The bear finally noticed us. He roared and rushed towards us.

– DONE! – without thinking, I shouted. But the yellow shock wave passed through the bear, he didn’t even bat an eyelid, he ran on. Only somewhere behind him, several trees felled by my magic fell.

– I told you – he is almost always invulnerable! Run! We will strike when the shield goes down.

The bear bit me on the leg, and now I was physically unable to run. Screamed. It hurts, though! Blood flowed down my knee. I wonder if he’s not mad?

– HILLAR! – Sienna thought faster than me. A pair of blue lilies fell on the leg, and the wound healed instantly. – Now let’s run! Faster! Don’t fall behind!

We ran, and somewhere behind us a mechanical beast was knocking down trees and howling loudly.

– Faster! Sienna shouted. – His protection fell off! Hit! DONE!

– MALLEBAR-ESSA! – I said, shooting orange sparks at the beast.

– No, we can’t handle him alone. Look, we damage him, but he recovers much faster. I told you there was no need to attract his attention.

– Who said it was just the two of us? – a voice was heard somewhere from behind the trees. Three strong gnomes with axes and a red-haired elf came out from there, all with staves at the ready.