The God of the artificial world

– 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.

– Still! Bran! Robert! Marie! I’m so glad to see you! White Corsairs assembled! Full party! Watch out, machine!

The bear looked at us all and growled loudly. He ran towards me, and I barely had time to jump to the side.

– Get ready! Sienna shouted. – Now his shield will fall off! – she seemed to be the leader.

– MALLEBAR! – we shouted in one voice, without saying a word. Six orange lightning bolts flew towards the beast, and the brotherhood reception turned into a bird blazing with orange flames, which began to scratch its eyes. Literally a few seconds passed, and the bear had five hundred units of morale left.

– Oh, and a tenacious creature, after all! – Still said. – With this technique you can burn half a district! And he just went to lick his wounds.

Blue butterflies were again flying around the bear, which meant that it was useless to beat the animal. We scattered to make it more difficult for the enemy to kill everyone.

– Try not to die! – Sienna shouted as she ran. – If anything happens, I’ll pick it up! Just a spawn point a few kilometers away! We won’t wait for anyone.

As soon as these words were said, the not at all friendly bear knocked down first Still, and then me. It’s not a positive feeling at all – as if someone poured fire instead of blood. I fell to the ground, and the inscription shone above me:

«Your first death! But don’t despair – maybe Fate will give you another chance?»

When the shield fell, the guys used another volley, which finished off the bear. He fell to the ground and the steel body rang.

– HILLAR-HILLARUS-EN! Marie and Sienna said almost simultaneously. Still and I were enveloped in a blue fog. All my bones ached, an unpleasant tingling current ran through my body, but I was alive again and stood firmly on my own two feet.

– Okay, now let’s go inside. Just be quiet! The main thing is not to be noticed! – Sienna commanded again. We followed her into a stone cave.

***

We found ourselves in a huge hall made of steel. There were robots walking around here and there. And there were many people in black cloaks with hoods.

– Something is wrong this time! There’s something I don’t like! Sienna said.

– What exactly? – Robert asked.

– Look around! Where do so many conquests come from? Here, our opponents should only be their main and one of their assistants. And here there are more conquest soldiers than technicians! And this is in their own hometown! Okay, let’s see what happens next. Why not lose the task because of a couple of dozen creeps?

In the center of the hall stood a gray-haired man in military uniform.

– Dirk! You have one last chance! Tell me the secret of your weapon, and I will give you life! Otherwise, tomorrow you will face the gallows.

– General Haber! – in the voice of the head of the conquests one could read undisguised joy. «I need my staff for this.» I’ll tell you a secret.

– Bring in the staff! – the general commanded. – Just remember! No nonsense. A hundred crossbows of my robots are aimed at you. One move that seems suspicious to them can riddled you right through!

– Yes, General, I understand that very well. Let’s get the staff already!

Dirk grabbed the weapon he brought.

– Shoot only at the target! – the general shouted to him. – I want to know your secrets too! We technicians have always envied magicians who had technology that was inaccessible to us. But now the injustice will be eliminated!

– There is no secret. A few words can do a lot. HEYMO! SAMPT! – Dirk’s body was now protected by a blue dome. He burst into hysterical laughter and turned to Haber.

– I told you – shoot only at the target! – the general shouted in fear. «I’ll order you to be riddled with bullets – then you’ll see!» You’ll laugh then!

– Take a risk! I don’t mind at all.

– Kill him! – and the order was immediately carried out by several dozen robots. Crossbow arrows flew towards Dirk. But they hit the blue shield barrier and fell to the floor. The head of the conquests laughed again.

– KISHI! – he said, and the green snake from his staff gnawed the throat of the leader of the technicians. – All my faithful servants, remember! From now on, no one can resist the will of a true conquest!

All the players from the enemy clan took off their hoods and began to beat the robots one by one.

– I told you – this time everything is completely wrong! Previously, Dirk simply gave a task to one of his servants. And now he can get out of captivity! Looks like the game creators have come up with some new update! Let’s try not to let the conquests finish their plans! At the same time, everything together is a shield! On the count of three! Once! Two! Three!

– SAMPT! – we all shouted together. Usually the bubble covered only one person. But now the big blue dome covered us all at once.

– Look, just what kind of people they are! – said one of the guys who was the first to notice us. – And without security. Sienna, it’s not too late to change your mind and go over to the side of the conquests. And this proposal applies to you too.

The inscription appeared in front of me again on the entire screen.

«Change camp» Refuse.

– You shouldn’t be doing that, guys! From this day on, the conquests will be on horseback.

– Fuck you, Hyde! – Sienna spat in the guy’s face in anger.

– You shouldn’t be doing that. I offered it from the bottom of my heart. I have loved you for many years now!

– Repeat again?

Hyde whispered something. I couldn’t even make out the words. It’s a pity – the spell is spectacular, I wouldn’t mind adding it to your panel either. Five snake heads appeared from his staff at once. They looked like the Hydra in the old Olympus stories. And, unlike a regular killing spell, they did not disappear immediately after being cast, but continued to penetrate our defenses. The PVP in this game is thought out very well. Crowd against crowd, real battles.

– DONE! – I shouted my favorite phrase, and the yellow blow flew towards the enemy.

– NAYEN! – Hyde retorted.

It looked like a complete mess. The robots only had time to reload crossbows. And the technicians even had a prototype of some kind of elementary firearm. They were the only ones who saved us – if not for the army of technicians, we definitely would not have been able to cope with so many conquests. Although the robots could not penetrate the magic armor, the weakest of the players were already out of action.

– KISHI! – said Sienna, and Hyde did not have time to parry the killing spell. And it takes away the entire supply of lives if it goes well.

Our enemy fell to the ground and disappeared into thin air.

«Your reputation with the Freed faction has decreased by two units.»

«Your reputation with the Conquest faction has decreased by forty-two points.»

– Has your reputation also fallen? – I asked.

– Still would! Direct killing spells are the strong point of the conquests, and here Gerber strictly forbade them. Okay, let’s give them a hard time. We all use any yellow spell together.

– DONE! – I said. Usually the shock wave only came from the staff, but now it spread in all directions at once, and one after another our enemies were thrown back to the walls.

Meanwhile, Dirk continued to walk towards the exit, pushing away enemies.

– We need to stop him immediately! Sienna said. – DEPRESSION! – a violet beam headed towards Dirk. But his shield could not be broken so easily. He turned in our direction.

– SAMPT-NIEN! – he said. This meant approximately: «No shield.» A red spot appeared on our blue hemisphere, which continued to grow in size.

– NAYEN! – I tried to cancel the effect of his spells.

«It’s no use,» Sienna said. – His spell is more complex; it consists of several connected words. Against a spell of the second level, spells of the first are powerless. I don’t know any second-level spells yet. They will become available only from level forty.

Something needs to be done about this urgently! If our shield disappears, then we will not hold out for long against superior enemy forces. Although, what could be simpler? Just cancel the shield cancel.

– NAYEN-NAYEN-SAMPT! – I said. A red beam shot out from my staff. But after half a second, the staff in my hands shattered into pieces.

– What are you talking about! You have a weak staff for second-level spells! He is not able to pass such an amount of energy through himself!

A few seconds later our shield burst like a soap bubble. And then about twenty green rays flew in our direction.

Again a sharp ache all over the body.

And I woke up at the spawn point. I was surrounded by elves and poured some strange-smelling infusions over me. I want to tell you that it is not a pleasant feeling to come to life. There was a feeling that you were being turned inside out, then you disappeared in one place and appeared in another. In general, I don’t recommend trying it.

Level 3. Ghost Squad

Gerber was waiting for us in the throne room. A gray-haired, bearded old man sat on a throne. There were guards around. The light from the windows near the ceiling was an even white blanket, but the candles were still burning, adding to the solemnity of the atmosphere. It smelled of rose oil and wine. Minstrels played lutes.

– How he escaped! – I didn’t expect such a loud voice from the old man. I even jumped on the spot, honestly! – The technicians could not allow such an oversight! They have never been friends with magicians, which is why I entrusted Dirk into their hands. They believed that he was accidentally captured by them, but in fact the Order of the Frieds did everything possible to ensure that the head of the conquests was imprisoned as long as possible.

Although, why am I blaming the technicians? It’s only my fault! I was too careless! The time has come to prepare for war. Before this there were endless skirmishes, but now the enemy has a leader again. And conquests cannot live without war, because power and conquest are their element. Friends, I want to warn Melissa about the impending danger.

New task. Accept.

– She is now in Parkwell, which is southwest of Darville. Harness your horses and ride to her!

The six of us immediately rushed to complete this task. It seems that we were the very first to be in the thick of things, so the main thing is not to miss the chance and complete a number of unique tasks. Most likely, they will give us all sorts of goodies. Come over to our side – we have cookies!

But the path lay through the Cursed Forest.

– It looks like the developers are planning some serious changes in the plot of the game! Sienna said. – Now, I can imagine the faces of the arrogant ones from the Sable clan! We will receive unique tasks that will not be available to them! And our tops will also bite their elbows for not being, like us, in the right place at the right time!

***

The light somehow made its way through the thick foliage. The forest was dark and gloomy. An eerie, ominous silence reigned. It was even scary to break it by stepping on a branch. Here and there an owl hoots or a wolf howls. And fog, which makes it very difficult to know where you will step next.

– Guys, be careful! Sienna said. – Here mobs appear from the void. Been here several times – unpleasant place. And I don’t really want to come here a second time from the respawn point – I can’t stand this horror.