The God of the artificial world

– 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.

We walked on, stepping carefully. Then Sienna motioned for us to stop.

– Do you hear? – she whispered. I was just trying to answer when suddenly a ghost appeared in front of us. It was a gray-bearded man in knight’s armor.

– What did you forget, travelers, in our forest? He is ours, and only ours. And we don’t invite guests at all.

«Let us go to Parkwell,» Still said.

– You chose the wrong route.

– But there is simply no other! – Bran intervened.

– But there is also no other way through our forest, except to reach the outskirts of the forest, becoming a ghost. This path is closed to the living!

The knight clicked his teeth and flew towards us. My companions realized faster, and they were already wearing blue shields.

– SAMPT! – I shouted when the ghost was a couple of steps away from me, and he hit the blue hemisphere.

– MALLEBAR! – I shot orange lightning towards the ghost, but he did not pay attention to my magic, which did not harm him

– DONE! – Robert shouted, but the shock wave only hit the trees, and the ghost continued to tear apart our shields.

– KISHI! – said Bran, but a green ray entered the ghost and spread evenly over his translucent body.

The knight laughed:

– Are you thinking of killing the dead man? You can’t have two deaths, but you can’t avoid at least one!

– DEPRESSION! – Still made his last attempt when his shield had already burst. A purple stream enveloped the ghost’s body, and he fell to his knees.

«I listen and obey, my lord,» said the ghost.

– Yes! The subjugation spell worked! – Still smiled. – Tell me, how can you be killed?

– I’ve been dead for half a millennium. It’s impossible to kill me.

– Okay, how can I… Calm you down?

– Please, no need! I will do anything for you…

– Speak!

– The spell of all-purifying light sends the ghosts on their final journey.

– Name him.

– LIGHTENIS! – the ghost whispered, and a light white haze flew from his lips, and a new spell – or rather, a new branch of spells – white in color, shone on my panel. Without the staff, the spells were too weak to do any good or harm. It’s so good that they made me a new staff! Otherwise he would now be as useless as this ghost.

«A second-level spell,» Sienna whispered. Only my staff can do such things; yours will crumble into pieces from it. Tell me, knight, how many people like you are there in this forest?

– Once upon a time there were two hundred of us. We swore an oath to serve King Charles faithfully, just as we served his father. But Charles turned out to be a bad king. He spent his days and nights on wine and women, but he didn’t care about his native lands. When his younger brother Stan rebelled, we joined his army. After all, the threat of attack by the Styrians was great, and Karl did not care about anything except a cheerful and wild life.

Stan and I entered the royal city. Stan stabbed his brother with his sword. But before his death he uttered words of curse. The phrase spoken before his death acquired special power, and since then everyone who swore an oath of allegiance to Charles, but disobeyed it, was cursed forever.

Since then we have been groaning among the forests, and there is no peace for our souls.

– Take us to the edge of the forest! – Still commanded.

– Yes, master. Only I am far from the only one who will attack you. We hate the living. We despise their happiness, which we did not know. We envy their ability to experience warm feelings that we have already forgotten. We also want to be loved, but no one will ever love us. We want to be alive – or at least just die. But even this is not available to us!

The ghost led us through the labyrinth of the forest. He turned left and right, and we could barely keep up with the flying creature.

The wolf sat baring his teeth at us, but as soon as the ghost flew closer, he ran away, howling pitifully.

We found ourselves in a small clearing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, more ghosts appeared. Dead warriors surrounded us on all sides.

«I warned you, master, the path through the forest is dangerous,» said our knight, who was shining with the purple light of submission.

– What have the living forgotten in this forest! – one of the dead warriors shouted in a terrible, sepulchral voice. – We didn’t invite you. Although, I am ready to invite you to our squad. Guys, let’s make them dead too. We haven’t made new friends for a long time.

The knights clicked their teeth, staring at us with glowing red eyes.

– SAMPT! – without saying a word, all six said at the same time, and a large blue shield immediately enveloped the entire brotherhood. The ghosts flew towards us and began to bite our defenses.

«The shield won’t last long against such numbers,» Bran noted.

«We need to try a new spell,» Sienna said. – LIGHTENIS!

For a few moments, time seemed to stand still. A white beam shot out from Sienna’s staff, but literally a moment later the light filled everything around. I went blind, and for a couple of seconds the only thing I could see was a bright, all-consuming light.

When the haze cleared, our shield was no longer there – it seems that the light destroys all spells, even those cast by us. The ghosts suddenly began to turn into fog.

– Thank you! I’m free now! – said the knight who was our prisoner. – The light cleansed me from the curse!

Sienna fell to her knees.

– What happened to you? – I asked.

«The spell drained all my strength.» You see, the energy is almost zero.

– But you alone dealt with so many enemies! Let’s help her, guys.

– SAMPT! – we said together, and the resulting blue shield began to feed the girl with energy.

After resting a bit, we moved on.

We walked further through the forest without incident. Of course, wolves and guardian birds attacked a couple of times, but are single mobs really an obstacle for such a brave squad as ours?

Then we came out onto the plain. In the distance was the beautiful fortified city of Parkwell. We got there only at sunset. We asked for the guards, and we were taken straight to Melisa.

– Oh, my friends, what have you forgotten in these parts?

«King Gerber sent us to you to convey important news,» I said. – Dirk, the head of the conquests, broke free.

Melissa’s eyes filled with horror.

«Now everything will change,» she said. «I’m wondering why our enemies are so self-confident lately.»

Melissa came closer to me and whispered in my ear:

– Parkwell is filled with conquests. They captured me. Tell Gerber about it. They are dressed as simple peasants, but they have wands hidden under their peasant clothes. Be careful, but be sure to tell the king about it. We must not allow this plague to spread throughout the kingdom. I can’t handle such a huge number of villains alone. But if they gain power throughout the kingdom, it will be too late to fight. Tell it to Gerber while you still have time!

– KISHI! – there was a scream from behind, and Melisa, enveloped in green flame, fell to the ground. An unpleasant man stood behind him with an outstretched staff.

«But I thought it was that Melisa really came over to our side.» And she decided to be a spy and report everything to the enemy. For the sake of order, I suggest you come to us. Let’s conquer the world together.

The inscription hung in the air: «Change faction.» Refuse.

Sienna readied her staff for an attack.

– DEPRESSION! – said the conquest, and Sienna stood, shrouded in purple threads. – Not so fast. I know what you did with the ghosts, but there’s no point in waving a staff around.

We didn’t even notice when more people appeared behind us. Now the six of us stood, wrapped in threads of submission.

– I forgot to introduce myself – Count Mallon, an old friend of Countess Melissa. I’m very sorry, but the ideas of conquest are closer to me than the peaceful life that the Frieds propagate. The world is collapsing much faster than people can build it. Now the head of the conquests is free again, and we can go on the offensive. I have already prepared one army.

Behind Mallon, ghost knights appeared from the void

– But how were you able to subdue the ghosts? – Bran was surprised. – Depresis can make slaves of one or two, but you have a whole army!

– Once upon a time, they swore an oath to King Charles, which they did not fulfill during their lifetime, but after death they are obliged to obey it.

A half-decomposed corpse walked into the center of the hall. He smelled of death. He walked with his arms outstretched and chattering his teeth.

– Meet Karl. I’ve been interested in necromancy for a long time. I awakened many wights. Some of you have even fought with my warriors in the Elsky Burial Grounds.

Then I remembered the terrible sight I saw while looking for Gran. Hundreds of restless people wandered back and forth, without a shadow of a thought. Their only desire was death and revenge. So was Charles, the long-dead king who cursed many infidels.

– Tomorrow morning we will set off to merge with the main detachment of conquests. And you will come with us. Dirk will be delighted to have guests. Please throw the staffs on the floor. You won’t need them anytime soon.

I could not disobey the order. After all, purple spells completely deprive you of willpower. But as soon as the weapon was thrown to the ground, the multi-colored lines of magic spells suddenly disappeared. The world has become ordinary. I looked back at my friends, and their pupils now took on a normal, human shape, although a few seconds ago we were looking at everyone with cat eyes.

«Now lock them,» Mallon commanded.

We were thrown into a large hall and the doors were tightly locked. We ran to the windows, but there were bars on them, and it was also impossible to knock down the doors or cause them any harm.

– OK! «I think I’ll leave the game for now,» said Bran, and his body suddenly became translucent, and the inscription «Not in the game» appeared above him.

Other players followed his example. It’s just me and Sienna left.

– You know, I’ve wanted to try this for so long. But, you know, in reality this cannot be done.

She came up to me and kissed me. But the game fully conveyed all the smallest sensations. I could feel her smooth skin and every crack in it. I could smell her intoxicating scent. When she began to unbutton the buttons on my shirt, I looked at her in surprise.

– It’s OK! It’s possible here. This is the game world.

Although it was a game world, everything was real.

***

– Get up, Ilya! – Svetka still woke me up at the wrong time. That’s a damn car! Well, does he really not understand at all when he can wake him up and when he can’t? But I couldn’t be offended by her for a long time. After all, I fell in love! You could say this was the first time. Well, love for the teacher in the children’s home does not count.

I looked at myself in the mirror and tensed the «muscles» that were hanging and jiggling like jelly. I stroked my plump belly. The double chin has long been overgrown with stubble.

– Light, I want to weigh myself! – I commanded.

– Your excess weight is thirty kilograms.

I was stunned. Will I be able to please her if we can ever meet in the real world? She is so slender and beautiful, and I only have a beautiful drawn character.

– Lights, treadmill. And a barbell!

I ran hard and then did some barbell squats.

Level 4. Captured.

– Get up, why are you lying down? – someone shouted over my ear. I opened my eyes and almost screamed in horror. It was one of the walking skeletons.

Oh, yes, we were captured last night. We were taken to the main hall. Mallon was dressed in travel uniform, surrounded by an entire army of loyal conquestists.

– Let’s hit the road.

They tied our hands and put chains on our feet. It wasn’t just us who were prisoners; there was a whole line of them.

– Why are you delaying?! – one of the conquestists shouted, and the skeleton hit his shoulders with a whip.

So we set off on the road. And we were kept company by an army consisting of people, ghosts and wights. We went west from the Cursed Forest, further and further from the capital of the Freeds. A couple of hours passed and we found ourselves in the desert. There is only sand around, which has no end or edge. Somewhere in the distance behind us we could see the forest we were in yesterday. Many of the players had «Out of Game» signs glowing above them. But I didn’t leave the game so as not to miss any details regarding the AWG company. Sienna also remained online. Or maybe he just likes to mock himself. Masochist!

When the warder passed by, I shouted:

– Give me something to drink! I’m dying, I can’t walk anymore.

– Nobody allowed the prisoners to talk! – the skeleton growled. What a surreal dream!

My legs were giving way, either from the distance traveled and fatigue, or from heat and thirst. I noticed that Sienna was also having a hard time. The prisoners walked in pairs, and we were connected with her.

«When we get out, I’ll clean up that Mallon’s face.» And to all these conquests combined! How could they do this to us! Sienna screamed. – Until this moment, I treated the «Battle for Freedom» only as a game. But now I’m really angry!

– I know what you mean! – I said.

– What do you understand?

– Talkers! – the warden shouted and hit me with a whip.

They walked on in silence. Every time I looked into Sienna’s face, I saw her unkind gaze directed towards the guards. The woman’s revenge was expected to be terrible!

In the evening we settled down for the night. They even gave us some foul-smelling water and rotten meat. But after a long journey, rotten meat seemed like a divine lunch.

The cold penetrated to the bones, although there was still warmth from the sand. A howl was heard from somewhere in the distance.

– It’s them! – whispered one of our friends in misfortune.

– Who are they? – I asked.

But there was no need to answer – several huge tentacles appeared from the sand, which immediately dragged away the two prisoners.

– But we don’t even have weapons! – I shouted to the warden.

He didn’t look in my direction and walked away. Tentacles appeared here and there. I had to use all my skill to avoid getting caught by them.

A couple of conquestists ran among a number of prisoners and pulled someone out of the line. When they approached me, Bran and I also stood out from the crowd.

– You follow me. They took off the chain and untied my hands. When we were near the captors’ camp, Mallon handed us the staves.

– Just look, no nonsense. I give the staff only for this battle.

– HEIMO! – I said immediately. This phrase was repeated by other «chosen ones». The world suddenly acquired additional colors, became more colorful, or something, especially in the dark.

The tentacles shone with all the colors of the rainbow. Moreover: wherever they touched, a clearly visible rainbow trail remained.

– MALLEBAR! – I shouted as one of the tentacles headed towards me. Orange lightning struck the monster and the tentacle began to convulse.

– DONE! – Bran shouted, and the shock wave tore out the limb completely.

– It is a useless idea to hit each tentacle separately. How many of them does the monster have: twenty? Thirty? One hundred? We need to find the root cause of what happened.

«Perhaps he’s right,» said Hyde, one of our enemies. We already met him at the technician camp. One of those, seeing which you begin to regret that spawn points exist!

Conquests and Fridas mixed together, we ran to where, according to our assumption, the head of the monster should be. Each time I had to dodge when a tentacle flew at me.

When we ran up to the place we were looking for, I was stunned with horror – here a huge mouth opened right out of the ground and smelled of rotten meat. It seems that the monster was not a vegetarian, and brushed his teeth no more than once a century.

The monster exhaled and green fire burst out of its mouth. I immediately dodged. But a couple of players did not have time to escape, and an inscription appeared above their heads: «The player is dead. Sent to recovery point»

– DOHATO! – I used the first spell that came to mind. But the blast wave only rustled the hairs on the monster’s head. It roared and orange magical lightning flew towards us. I barely had time to use the denial spell, and the red circle protected me and two other comrades from injury.

– What it is? – I was surprised.

– This is sandy onyx. They only wake up at night. These magical creatures were awakened and emerged from the deeper layers of magical reality. In general, they have no body and consist entirely of charms. But having climbed into the sand, they acquire something like a body. There are also stone, water and, the rarest, air onyx. But in the desert these are more common than others.

– And how to defeat him? After all, he has the same number of lives as our entire squad, including ghosts.

– Among other things, he absorbs other people’s magic and can use it, increasing his power.

Several dozen staves were aimed at the mouth of an overgrown octopus.

– Don’t waste your energy! – I told my comrades. – We can give him such a surprise!

– What do you suggest? – asked Hyde.

– Light! All-purifying light! The monster consists of pure magic, so we can only use a spell that will deprive it of this very magic. And all other spells make him stronger.

– LIGHTENIS! – we all said together.

Again the light that filled the space around. And when the haze cleared, there was no empty space left of the monster.

– DEPRESSION! – I heard several voices. The purple thread enveloped me too.

– Prisoners! You did a good job. But now you can throw staves. they are of no use to you anymore.

***

We were gathered in a huge barracks.

– Sleep. Rest. Get yourself in order. Tournaments await you tomorrow,» at these words the warden smiled mysteriously and walked away.

– Tournaments? – Sienna reacted instantly. – What does all of this mean?

– Okay, let’s go off. We will meet tomorrow. You really need to rest a little. We’ll find out everything tomorrow!

***

Some of the prisoners, including me, were dragged out onto a huge platform. There were stands all around, where the crowd roa