The Birth

by Paul Kite

  Temporary imposed spells: none, imposition is impossible

  Level restrictions: none

  Class restrictions: none

  Weapons: Light sword - used by the recruits of the Border Guard of the Kingdom of Nazhar’s Army.

  Quality: good.

  Material: steel

  Damage: 30-40.

  Permanently imposed spells: +15 Strength.

  Temporarily imposed spells: none, cannot be imposed more than once

  Level restrictions: none

  Class restrictions: none

  “Maybe I will live for a little while,” I smiled, after dressing and attaching the scabbard with the sword to my waist.

  “Do you like it?” Urosal asked, pretending not to have heard my words.

  “And are there any better options?” I squinted with interest.

  “Of course there are, but not for you,” the elf shook his head.

  “Then it’ll do.”

  And we returned to the room where the students of the Guild of Shadows were waiting.

  “Ready?” Urosal asked.

  “Any doubts?” The elf, who didn’t like me, asked.

  He considered us–people–to be weak and useless. But he was right, at the moment. Now, at my current level and with this collar, I really was weak and useless.

  “So, you go with him to the arena first,” Urosal pointed at the elf with his finger.

  “With pleasure!” He exclaimed and drew his blade.

  Urosal raised the bars, let us in and blocked the way back. As soon as I stepped out into the arena, I heard a loud, short chime of bells and a series of translucent system messages appeared before my eyes.

  Attention!

  You’ve entered the training arena of the Guild ‘ELGHINN DAL VELDRIN’. According to the rules, your level and the enemy’s level are averaged.

  Received level: 21

  You have 57 free points for distribution.

  Change your characteristics.

  Error! Because of the slave collar Ansr-run, your access to the characteristics is denied. The system will change your characteristics according to the specified standard for melee fighters.

  Your character has no class and skills. According to the rules, you get your opponent’s class and skills, developed by him to level 21.

  The class ‘Shadow’ is obtained

  Obtained skills: Alertness–21, Disguise–35, Dagger–32, Trade–5, Quietness–30, Meditation–43, Light Sword–40, Acrobatics–23

  Obtained class skills: Paired weapons–38, Spurt–10, Double strike–14, Vampiris –11, Shadow–13

  Error! Because of the slave collar Ansr-run, the ability to use active skills is denied. Read the description of the passive skills available to you in the "Help" tab.

  Wow, so that's how the problem of different levels is solved!

  And by the way, I’m beginning to like the Shadow class! To have such skills at level 21 is cool! And this is not all that’s available to him, I'm sure. Oh, it’s a pity that the Shadow class is not available to players.

  “Get your sword out, at least,” the dark elf interrupted my thoughts. He moved a couple of steps away from me. “It's too boring otherwise.”

  “Are you in a hurry?” I followed his advice and took out the blade from its sheath, clumsily grasping the hilt.

  The drow sharply and unexpectedly attacked me with the simplest hit from above and from the side, without using any skills, only pure strength and speed. But, having surprised even myself, I managed to dodge and jump aside.

  I didn't think about trying to block or carrying out an attack. After all, in this game, it wasn’t enough to pick up a sword and swing it, every player needed to spend at least some time learning how to use their selected weapon.

  “Ma-a-a-n,” the elf said, annoyed, but he was in no hurry to attack me again, “You shouldn't run. Let's get this over with.”

  “Oh, no thanks!”

  “As you wish,” he shrugged.

  The drow dashed forward and suddenly, like a blurred shadow, appeared very close to me. I got hit and the sword pierced my side, easily going through the leather armor.

  It’s so painful!!!

  I was about to fall, but the elf grabbed me and held me firmly, not letting me fall to the sand.

  “Do you like it?” he was slowly turning the blade and his eyes were burning with animal pleasure.

  “Bitch!” I spat blood in his face and almost lost consciousness; a red, impenetrable veil covered my eyes, sound had disappeared.

  Physical damage (+double hit, + critical damage) 230 units (- defense) received. Life 20250

  Ansr-run is activating the transfer function to the anchor point assigned by the owner of the key

  “Drink!” I appeared in the room in the fetal position, not having had a chance to move, and Urosal was holding a bottle, apparently, it was a health potion.

  “N-n-no, I can't,” I could barely pronounce the words, “My collar.”

  “One minute,” the drow took the key and closed his eyes.

  After a moment, I finally felt my arms, legs and my entire body. The dark elf would turn ‘immobilization’ off when carrying someone in a critical condition.

  “Drink it now! You know, the training must go on.”

  Sadists! The usual NPCs can go crazy here after a dozen times! No one can bear this for long. But ... one of them mentioned an Orc warrior, a Berserker class. In this case, the training would be close to reality. But why do they choose simple NPCs? Moreover, these drow have high levels and are good at using weapon skills. Was it for fun? Something's wrong here, or Master Hontar, like the others, was misled by my appearance.

  After drinking the potion, I was finally able to stand, leaning on the wall with trembling hands.

  “Are you ready?” the dark elf asked.

  My HP was completely recovered, but my morale was critically low. I was depressed and exhausted. Of course I wasn't ready! But I knew that answer wouldn’t suit him. After all, he had a Master's order to execute.

  “Well, yes, I'm ready,” I said at last.

  * * *

  The conversation between two drow-Master Hontar and his senior and best student-occurred in the library building on the territory of the Noar-Rahor.

  “How long did he last?” the Master asked, not looking away from the book titled ‘The History of the Races of the Kingdom of Nazhar.’

  “Fifteen fights,” the dark elf said, “Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough, potions didn't help him much, and after the last training session, he lost consciousness. Master, I don't think he's who he says he is.”

  “Why?” Hontar was surprised.

  “He doesn’t know how to wield a sword, and absolutely doesn’t know the simple techniques for attack and defense. He doesn't even know how to move properly in armor,” Urosal explained. “This person does not belong to the noble class, despite its name and appearance.”

  “It's weird,” the drow put the book on the table and took another, this time it was ‘The History of the Races of the Kingdom of Gavrtol,’ “Zorkhan’s never brought us ordinary slaves. What did he find in this man?”

  “Diligence and perseverance?” Urosal suggested. “A common slave could not have withstood so many battles in one day.”

  “No,” the Master didn’t agree, “He has something else. And I want to know why Zorkhan needs this man!”

  “What's next?”

  “Zorkhan will return no earlier than five days from now, so continue the fights and watch him carefully. It is possible that, after all, he's not who he is trying to appear to be and will soon reveal himself. Talk to him and try to find out who he is, where he came from... Well, you know what questions to ask.”

  “Yes, Master,” the senior disciple bowed.

  Urosal came out of the library, and Hontar, impatiently tossing the book back onto the table, sat down, deep in thought.

  “Who are you, Kraven?” he asked into the void.

  C
hapter 7

  S elfleed brought Verlain to the outskirts of Weistel. He landed on the road near a nondescript two-story building, that didn’t have any signs or alphanumeric symbols.

  The girl arched an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at the elf, “Does he live here?”

  “He lives and works here,” the elf chuckled.

  “You have a strange friend.”

  “We are all a little weird, my lady,” Selfleed smiled.

  “Do you wanna call me that again?” Verlain spoke, with a faint threat in her voice.

  “No-no-no!” the elf replied, playfully putting his hands up, “I’ll be quiet!”

  “Shut up, then,” the dryad frowned disapprovingly, “You better forget who I am! From now on, I'm a player, just like you.”

  “Or almost like you,” the girl added to herself.

  Verlain and Selfleed entered the house and, after walking along a long corridor, came to a large and spacious room, furnished like a director's office in the real world, but with all of the game’s nuances.

  In a wide, massive chair behind a large carved table sat a short, stout man, or, to be more precise, a dwarf. He was carefully searching for something in the pile of leaflets and scrolls right in front of him.

  “Hello, Neizer,” the elf greeted the dwarf.

  “What?” the dwarf raised his head. “You again!” Neizer muttered in displeasure, for some reason ignoring the presence of another intelligent creature in his office–the dryad. “What do you need? You’re distracting me again.”

  “Uncle, I’m here to do business,” the elf unceremoniously flopped into a less prominent chair, standing on the other side of the table, opposite the dwarf. “I need…” Selfleed twisted his hand in the air, “a cool, rare and mega original pet. A reptile.”

  “And what about that wyvern of yours?” the dwarf was indignant. “I made a great effort to get it from the Free Lands. The best of the best! And you come in a month later and say this,” Neizer shook his head in displeasure.

  “But, uncle,” the elf spoke up like a child. “It’s not really for me. It’s for her,” he pointed to the dryad, who was still standing at the entrance.

  The dryad looked at what was happening with a little shock–there was a dwarf in the capital of the Light Elves (they did not really like each other) and he was this guy’s uncle and a pet seller.

  “Verlain?” the dwarf said thoughtfully, after reading the girl’s available profile. “Ah, you wrote to me about her, about two hours ago.”

  That’s interesting! He’s already managed to tell someone about me, only to his relative, admittedly, but... I hope it was nothing important, thought the girl.

  “Okay,” the dwarf put the papers aside. “Give my client a place to sit and get out of here. Nephew.”

  “But, uncle!” The elf stood up from the chair and with an inviting gesture pointed the dryad at it. “Can’t I stay? It was me who brought her here.”

  “No ‘buts’,” Neizer looked sternly at him. “Customer’s affairs and private conversation shouldn’t be heard by extra ears.”

  “But I’ll certainly learn everything later,” the elf took offense.

  “That will be later, but for now, be kind enough to follow the rules.”

  “Okay,” Selfleed left the office and slammed the door behind him in annoyance.

  “What exactly are you interested in?” The dwarf asked, turning to Verlain.

  “Your nephew has already listed the required criteria,” the girl shrugged her shoulders.

  “Dear Verlain. All these words about the cool, rare and mega original reptile do not quite accurately describe the pet you need. According to this classification, I can suggest a lot of pets to you. Let's clarify a little,” the dwarf leaned back in his chair.” What is most important in a pet, for you? Are speed and maneuverability required?”

  “Of course,” the dryad nodded.

  “And survivability? Will you participate in battles with it? However, judging by your class, that is unlikely, am I right? So, the first two points are the priority.”

  “Yes,” Verlain agreed. “But it should still have some attack skills.”

  They discussed the future pet for a couple of hours. But, at last, the dwarf learned all he needed to know and offered the girl only three options. Each of them had a full description, along with images from a memory crystal. There are things in the world of Noria that cost a fabulous amount of money, but for merchants, who, beside simple descriptions and pictures, want to demonstrate to a client 3-D models as well, this was an indispensable tool of the trade. Sculptors, architects, and many others also use such crystals.

  “A black wyvern. It’s better than the one that Selfleed has now, not to even mention ordinary ones. Alkher pterod, or simply, a pterodactyl. Yeah!” The dwarf grinned, noticing the bewilderment on Verlain’s face. “Of course, you’ve hardly studied the animal world of Noria, but apart from fictional creatures, the developers added into the game some animals, extinct millions of years ago - pterosaurs and dinosaurs, and ichthyosaurs can be found in the oceans.”

  “That’s great!” The girl said excitedly.

  “Yeah, I agree. But the third one is a draclite.” The dwarf slowly showed her the image of… a dragon.

  “A dragon?” Verlain's eyes widened in surprise.

  “Not really a dragon,” Neizer shook his head. “Rather, it’s a greatly weakened copy, called a draclite. And in some characteristics, it is slightly inferior to a pterod. And dragons cannot be turned into pets, you should know this. Some wouldn’t tell you that! There are enough deceivers, willing to fleece you in the game.”

  Once again having compared all the characteristics and the appearance of the animals she’d been offered to choose from, Verlain finally decided, “Pterodactyl!”

  “All right,” Neizer nodded. “And now the most important thing,” the dwarf took a clean sheet of paper and quickly wrote something on it, and then handed it to the girl. “I have dared to write down the price for each pet. Compare and think about it again. But I have no doubts about your capacity to pay me.

  “Oh! Has Selfleed told his uncle who I am?” frowning, the girl took the paper and looked back at the door.

  “How do you prefer for me to pay you?”

  “In this case, my dear Verlain, of course, I would like real currency,” the dwarf replied, having thought for a while.

  “At the current rate?”

  “I will not be impudent, so at the current rate, yes, please,” Neizer said cautiously, “Whatever suits you.”

  The dwarf took another clean sheet of paper and wrote his account number on it.

  “I'll transfer the money within six hours, after I'm out of the game.” The girl wrote the information down in her personal journal, which was combined with the computer that was connected to her virtual capsule.

  “Great,” Neizer was excited, “But I can't immediately provide you with the selected pet. I need…” the dwarf closed his eyes, counting something in his mind, “...about three days, if I don’t come across any unforeseen circumstances.” And having noticed Verlain's discontent, he added, “You can just pay an advance, which will be twenty-five percent of the total sum.”

  “We can do better than that,” the girl said very seriously, “I will transfer the whole amount at once. Try to smooth out all these unforeseen circumstances. And if you manage to find the pet within the promised three days, I'll pay you ten percent more.”

  “It’s a great pleasure doing business with you, dear Verlain,” the dwarf said admiringly, “Then let's make a contract.”

  An hour later, the girl left the room and stumbled upon Selfleed, who was peacefully sleeping on the floor.

  “He's sleeping in the game,” Verlain whispered, “How much time have you been in the virtual world? Selfleed!” She shook his shoulder, “Get up!”

  “Huh? What?” the elf jerked, “You’ve already finished.” Having opened his eyes, he saw the dryad leaning over him, “W
ell, have you come to an agreement?”

  “Of course,” the girl nodded.

  “Will you tell me about it?”

  “Why not?” Virlan shrugged, “Will you give me a ride to a druid out of town? I have a mission to complete, and then we'll fly back to the ‘Fir-Za-Nai’. I'll tell you on the way. Although you could just ask your uncle yourself.”

  “He's boring,” Selfleed waved that off, “Show me the way.”

  During the flight, Verlaine told Selfleed about the deal and scolded him for the fact that the elf had revealed the secret of her identity. He himself confessed to it during the flight. He explained that his uncle didn't deal with ordinary players, so Selfleed had had to mention who Verlain was. But Selfleed had forgotten to say that the dryad would be coming by soon.

  When he brought her to the hotel, she wanted to pay for the flight, but the elf flatly refused to take the money, referring to the fact that Verlain was interesting. Moreover, Selfleed was going to get a percentage from his uncle. Having said goodbye and promising to contact him if it was necessary, the girl got to her room and logged out of the game, having decided that she would deal with the potion she’d earned later.

  A hard and intense day awaited her tomorrow, she would be having a meeting with the player killer and his so-called ‘old friend.’

  It was a new day in the game. After sunrise, the NPCs woke up and hurried to do their daily chores in the capital of the Light Forest. Soon, players began to appear; they urgently needed to complete unfinished tasks. The guards closely inspected all passers-by, studying every bit of the capital in the hope that no incidents would happen.

  Having been to the real world, Verlain, as she’d promised, had transferred the exact amount to the dwarf's account yesterday, and, at eleven, she’d entered the world of Noria and was currently going to the Central portal of Weistel. She didn’t want to visit the Dark Forest, especially its capital, but she had to go there, because of the meeting that was scheduled in that town. She had already found out where the restaurant was, and it was good that one of the portals was located nearby. She could quickly get to that elite and private institution, as well as her hotel.