6 The Reward for the Ques (1/2)
In the morning the weather was good for training and everyone began to gather at the gate. There were gray clouds in the sky, but it didn't rain.
Michael and Alexander opened the gate. After that, Michael returned to the others, and Alexander got up near the gate.
Dan was running around the castle, jumping and doing various physical exercises. There was no clock on the game menu! It's hard to tell how much time he spent on morning exercises. But when it was over, Dan had enough.
Dan's characteristics rose by +2 to strength and +1 to dexterity. That's good.
This rapid growth will not last long, there is progress because he still has small levels.
Dan went to the blacksmiths to give the trophies to the dwarf.
It was very hot in the blacksmith's shop. The corners of the mountain, the red-hot red, were now heating the strips of metal lying on them.
The dwarf rolled up his sleeves to his elbow and hid his magnificent beard behind his apron. Turin was naturally opening up a hot piece of metal on an anvil.
Brutally and naturally, Dan realized that the craftsmen in this game would work with full force and time.
\”On business?\” asked the dwarf.
\”The trophies came in.\”
\”Trophies are good, wait, I'll be right out.\”
Turin didn't stop working when he started talking to Dan.
Gamer came out of the blacksmith's and sat on the doorstep. A couple of minutes later, the dwarf came out.
\”Show me,\” he said.
A bag of powder, an iron bar, two iron daggers, fifteen silver, and one copper coin, two small crystals and one large/
\”How many skeletons did you kill for that?\”
\”Six.\”
\”Not bad, not bad. The other one's going down less.\”
\”I'm lucky.\”
Turin pointed a finger at a large crystal.
\”This is Talakat. It can be melted into the blade of the sword, it will become sharper and never blunt. Such stones are rare, you don't need the skill to use them. Usually only shards like those small ones are brought in.\”
\”So you can improve one of the swords taken from the skeletons.\”
\”Where did you come from so interesting? I've been watching you. You're not from the city. It's as if the children were unreasonable at first, they didn't know the simplest thing. Then, you got used to it, and you got used to it very quickly, and you started to gain strength very quickly. And you die, but the next day you're alive as if nothing had happened.\”
Turin suddenly changed the subject.
Dan didn't know what to say to him. The truth? Making up a story? To dodge the question?
\”We are not local, Turin, I would say very much not local. And your world is a stranger to us, but now we have to live in it. And yes, we're not dying, definitively, at least. There's a place in the main building of the castle where we're born again. We keep and increase our knowledge. This is our gift and our curse.\”
\”And how does it feel to die?\”
\”I don't know how to answer that question correctly. You just stop being for a moment. This is very unpleasant. And then the pain of the first breath of air, and you're alive again.\”
Turin was a little quiet and asked.
\”Are you scared?\”
\”It's scarier than pain, Turin.\”
\”Thank you for your honesty, master Dan. I know your name. Here, this is for you. It was your hand that took the life of the creature that killed my daughter. I will not accept rejection from you.\”
On his huge, as if carved from stone, palms lay a simple, wide ring with three crystals.
Dan looked at him carefully:
*
The Power of Mountains
Type: Rare
The effects:
Strength +3
Dexterity + 3
Spirit +3
Intellect +2
Overview: Dwarves are great masters of the blacksmith, working with metal and stone is in their blood. Improving the skill and creating new products, the master of the business can create masterpieces. They go beyond the boundaries of the skills learned.
The Ring of Power of the Mountains is one of these masterpieces.
Forged by Master Turin in the hour of great despair.
*
Dan was shocked. He wasn't happy to know that he got a thing like that just because of a whim of fortune.
That's a great ring! It's a masterpiece.
\”Thank you, Turin, your gift is invaluable.\”
\”You've done enough to get it.\”
\”Turin, why did you leave the village for us?\”
\”I swore to Father of Mountains that I would give the dearest to the one who would avenge the death of my daughter. The most precious thing I have is my work.\”
\”And Father of Mountains is...\”
\”You shouldn't talk about it. It's a bad topic to talk about.\”
Turin turned around and went to the forge. He's a dwarf without ceremony, as it turns out...
*
Dan was thinking about the important details of the conversation. Right Michael, the locals are not stupid Not Playing Characters that are created for a player fun.
This conversation left a lot of food for thought. Dan was so sick of these puzzles. He needs to find Michael, go to share the details and new facts. Let him have a headache, too.
Dan went to the stables.
Michael and John and Jim were building a new shield to replace the one that the Ghoul broke.
Dan pulled the leader aside and held the ring in the palm.
He could read the effects of the ring and ask:
\”Where is from?\”
Dan completely told him where he got this kind of wealth from. And he was pretty confused.
\”Interesting cases, very interesting.\”
\”The most interesting thing about our conversation is the end of it, Michael. There are Gods in the game. This is very important information. This is classified information.\”
\”The village sells strong drinks on herbs, you can try to drink a dwarf drunk and learn about their religion.\”
\”It's not funny, Michael. It's a dwarf! I think we'll all lie under the table before we know anything from him. Dwarves are very tough guys.\”
\”That's right, too. So, let him be quiet, we're in no hurry. What's important to us won't pass us by. But I'm even scared to imagine the future. I'm calm about faith. But I don't know how others would feel about having real Gods. Jesus is not going to meet us in this Hell for sure.\”
\”Michael, this is not a topic for conversation. You're right, we should wait for the news.
Take the ring while you're at it, you'll need it today in battle. But after the fight, I ask you to return it.\”
\”Aren't you afraid I'll keep your Precious?\”
\”I'm not worried. Easy come easy go. Just think what happens if a dwarf sees you with him. This ring is his present to me.\”
\”Dan that was a joke. I will return the ring intact after the death of the damn ghoul.\”
And Michael ran towards the blacksmith.
Oh, yes, there was a useful stone on his sword. Dan laughed and helped to complete the shield.
By lunchtime, the battle preparations were over. The battle group began dressing in armor.
Michael and Alexander were dressed in almost the same armor. The dwarf forged a second armor from the trophies, almost identical to what we received in the form of loot.
Nick and John were wearing leather armor reinforced with metal plates. They even had knees.
Three were armed with swords, John had daggers and a spear, and sheaths under the daggers were made of Jim's leather. Michael's sword blade was poured blue.
Someone was upset that there was no photo camera in the game.
Leo and Tom picked up a new shield. And Jim and Dan got a shield and one stake each.
A new attempt to clean up the castle began.
The hall was empty. The passage between the columns was also poorly illuminated. A new pack of torches was taken from Michael's inventory, set on fire and scattered around the hall.
There was no level 1 skeleton! As soon as they took positions, the Skeleton elite of level 17 appeared. They caught him and dragged him to the bones. And they quickly removed the remnants of the old shield and installed a new one, and supported it with four stakes. The Elite died a minute later.
*
[Received 7000 experience points. A new level has been obtained.]
*
Dan gently looked into the gap of the shield. He couldn't see the enemy. The other warrior's skeleton was launched from the other side of the hall. The fighters killed him quickly, too.
Dan got 4000 experience points.
And Michael shouted the team out loud:
\”Everybody out! There's a Ghoul left.\”
Players started to get out of the hall. Dan managed to shout out to the fighters:
\”Good luck, guys, shut that bitch down!\”
Now all they have to do is waiting. Dan turned the group status around when was sat down right in front of the Donjon Gate. One minute later, it was starting to look like the ghoul wasn't coming down. Suddenly, Nick's health bar was fluttering. Then, the health started to fall on the others. And worst of all, their hits were dropping pretty fast.
John died first, Nick followed. Michael had 1480 hp left, and Alexander had 1134, while his life continued to fall, but slowly, hitting 12 per second. Apparently, he was seriously injured.
Then, the status of Alexander's life flashed twice, and he went to the rebirth. Michael died suddenly, too.
There was a frightened whisper all around. Players wondered what happened, is there really another strong creature? Jim said quietly, but harshly:
\”We don't have any medicine or potions, guys. The damage was 500 points each. It was Michael who killed the wounded Alexander, and then killed himself. Take out your weapons and sit quietly.\”
Nobody dared to object. But players got up and went under the window to wait for the rebirth.
It was already becoming a ritual. 'Whenever you come back to life, you'll always be waiting'. Strangely, that thought made it easier.
They came down in about 20 minutes. They had smiles on their faces. Happy and a little pale Michael quickly stopped the questioning:
\”All stories are canceled. Now we take all available weapons and in the crowd, we go through the donjon. There are unfinished skeletons of the 1st level left. One at a time, no one goes around. Divide into pairs. Let's finish this damn quest.\”
Everyone backed his decision with an approving nod. Players were already armed with clubs and daggers. The group went to look for enemies in the donjon. They found seven more skeletons. Level 1, weak opponents. Dan ran through halls and rooms and never stopped wondering about the strange planning of the building.