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Fortress of Hope 25
The first artifact and at what cost.The team reached the mobs reflected on the map with orange dots in a few minutes. They turned out to be strange creatures, the size of a good dog, with the lean torso of a hound. A head with bright red-blue plumage was crowned with a powerful beak. The forelimbs ended in paws, and the hind limbs ended in cock-like ones, with impressive spurs.Clumsy animals did not cause a sense of danger.The team carefully examined them from around the corner of the house, not risking being caught by mobs.- That's why the stats on mobs do not open? Ehan fiddled with his interface, but to no avail.- And you touch the mob with your hand, then they will probably open, - Fox suggested mockingly, remembering how easily the data on the crystal in her hand opened."Ridiculous," Ehan snapped.“I'll distract them to myself, and you run after the artifact,” Sionel suggested, taking out a crossbow from behind his back.- Accepted, - agreed with his plan Tark.And the team
Fortress of Hope 26
Another location or what's going on?“Oh, and the little white one is fine, cutie,” a purring sonorous voice rang out over a bunch of small ones that formed from the team.While the team was helping each other up from the floor, a fairly dense crowd had gathered around them. There was pleasant music. Onlookers overdressed to smithereens were interested, but who are they?“What, I don’t understand, where are we?” - Sionel, as always, was the first to utter the question that tormented everyone.“You are in the palace of the Emperor himself, young man,” they heard an obviously old voice and turned around.Against the backdrop of a motley crowd of richly dressed elves, werewolves and fairies, the old man looked like an alien spot in his completely black suit.– Emperor? - Tark asked in confusion, feverishly thinking where in Arkoland the emperor could be. In theory, the game country was ruled by a king.“Come with me, young people,” the old man commanded and turned around.The motley crow
Fortress of Hope 27
No matter how you throw it - everything is a wedge.Going out into the corridor in real life, Mark still couldn’t switch, he still felt like he was in the game. Sharp jumps from one location to another in a short period of time had an effect.Friends were already waiting in the dining room.- How are you? Kim looked confused."Shit," Tark admitted. - Completely confused.But friends, who competed separately from them, distracted me with stories about their problems. And absolutely everyone had problems today.Seemingly easy quests received in the temple of the goddess, in fact, were not so simple. And at the moment there was not one who did not lose his life at least once.But that was not all.You had to return to the game at the starting point, which was considered the central square of the city. The last city they had time to visit before losing their lives. And many were thrown far back. There were those who returned to the starting point.Nick was not the only one who managed to
Fortress of Hope 28
Impromptu or steeplechase.The last minutes before entering were incredibly painful. Uncertainty gnawed like a hungry beast.Tark in the game was again the first. And he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw how Sionel and Ehan, playful Persians Nick and Kim, lay quietly nearby.He jumped up and ran to check on his sister.“Brother, you can’t break into the ladies like that,” she sarcastically met him.His brother's relief turned to surprise.- Where did this one come from?“He can’t live without a mistress,” Lisa hooted in response, squeezing the red dog. - Can you imagine, I wake up and who I see first? she whispered, kissing him on the nose."Woof," the dog replied happily, wagging his tail.“Listen,” said Tark, illumined by the idea. - He's a bot. Ask Ty to find the portal back so we can return to the previous location.“I’ll try,” the sister happily seized the thought and fixed Ty’s muzzle so as to look into his eyes.At the same time, Ehan and Sionel appeared from behind Tark an
Fortress of Hope 29
And Iskin has problems.…- How did they disappear? At the same time, at the other end of the palace, the Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace, Sir Ruald, and part-time Iskin vipigry “Taste of Life” frowned.It was Sir Ruald's duty to oversee the orderly life of the Empire. Eliminate all kinds of crises and problems. And there were plenty of them. And all through the fault of the mysterious guests of the Emperor.They came through mysterious rock crystal portals. But no matter how many times Sir Ruald himself tried to pass through the crystal portal, nothing came of it. And it pissed him off incredibly.And then strange guests that arose out of nowhere. Right in the middle of the hall. And they talk about some strange portal running on a lamer.It is logical that Iskin had a ghostly hope to break into the world of mysterious aliens. And for this he had his own reason, in his opinion, very, very significant.Sir Ruald was convinced that if he knew the secret that the aliens kept the Em
Fortress of Hope 30
Subtotal or what to do next.Falling out into the blinding light, the team desperately screwed up their eyes, which had become accustomed to the dim lighting of the dungeons.- Let there be light! groaned Sionel, blissfully stretched out on the soft silky grass at the entrance.“Woof,” Ty said, urging him not to relax and to follow him.– Lisa, why didn’t you put a speech block on your bot? Tark couldn't resist. He was beginning to realize how much easier it would be if his sister's bot could talk to them instead of just barking.You think I didn't try? Lisa snapped suddenly. - Nothing works. And what is the problem - I will not understand.“Hmm,” his brother said in surprise, but did not comment. It was clear from her sister's voice that she was offended by this. And he understood her. What kind of specialist is she after that if she cannot solve such a simple problem?But Sionel could not remain silent by default.“Strange,” he decided not to hide the depth of his insight. - The bot
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Nothing goes smoothly.…- Give me a grain! boomed the old man's magically amplified voice as soon as he was informed that the lock had been broken from the secret underground passage. - Full combat readiness!“But, Sir Ruald, the graan hasn't had time to recharge since the last time,” his secretary tried to protest.The fugitives didn't get far. The charge should be enough,” Iskin disagreed, opening the door to his office.No one else dared to argue with him. And ten minutes was enough for the colossus to soar into the sky from the top tower.The silver likeness of a huge bird of prey was the latest development of imperial magicians. Graan glided like a silent shadow over the palace, spreading his wings in the air. Due to the lack of charge, they looked like a gray shadow that enveloped the body of a huge bird.Graan, slowly picking up speed, floated through the air towards the river.“If we don’t have enough energy, we will fall down and completely ruin the graan,” the staff magicia
Fortress of Hope 32
Hit, hit like that.…Is that what I think? Sionel looked around curiously.Or rather, it was Nick himself. Sionel's face fell off like autumn leaves. Growth immediately decreased, and the face became young and perky. And there was not an ounce of elf in him. In short, Nick became himself. Except in a funny virgin white children's set: a T-shirt plus shorts.- Watch out! - a piercing female cry sharply ripped through the ears and a neon-blue ebike with a slender beauty on its back, in a bright blue-black overalls, whistled past the friends.In surprise, the team succumbed back, tightly pressed against the wall. The portal threw them onto an observation deck at the very top of an unrealistically high skyscraper. These were simply not built on Earth.Consciousness understood that this was another virtual world. That's just the awareness of this fact did not prevent the senses from responding to what is happening, as to reality.And for consciousness, a strong piercing wind whistled very