“Hello guys… I hope you don’t screw up like yesterday.
“Hello, teacher,” I answered him with the same smile, “this will not happen again, but so far only with your subordinates, I’m not sure about you.”
- You are funny. Good. Team number one, which one of you is the leader? Yesterday I told everyone to choose a leader.
- The leader of the first team - Alester Lambert! Aran answered for everyone.
- Then proceed, - nodded Amedeo and pointed where to look, - this is my Renegade. Defeat him or die.
In the center of the training ground, out of nowhere, stood a man in his thirties, all in torn clothes. His skin color was as gray as if he had died long ago.
- Renegade? What?! I was surprised.
Yes, it's mine and I manage it. We have a couple of them to train beginners.
The renegades have only tremendous physical strength, it is possible to slaughter him with our tactics, but it will be more difficult than with a person. But the main difference between the Renegades from man and God is that they eventually lose their minds. And this frame is just that. Reason is zero, of this I am sure, the main thing is to act according to the plan that we have been developing for so long in the infirmary. Hope it works against the undead!
Guys, let's do it.
We stood opposite the Renegade. Surprisingly, this one still looked decent, usually they look like a rotten corpse.
- To battle!!! I shouted.
Aran and I quickly ran up to the Renegade, who stood motionless. Weird. I went first, swung my sword horizontally, and right behind me Aran — vertically. Having made a kind of crosswise blow, we only scratched him. But while we were distracting, Eva and Vanya quickly approached the monster from behind and tried to pierce the Renegade through, but it didn’t work: the swords entered his back by about five centimeters. Looking closely at his body, I saw small black particles.
“Amedeo protects him with his energy. Let's try plan B! I called out to my comrades.
Aran, Eva and Vanya ran up and lined up behind me in one line. No one had fear in their eyes, they all had only determination.
We ran in a line to the Renegade, but now he did not stand still, but rushed towards me with inhuman speed. I tried to parry his blow with my sword. A loud clang and the weapon broke in half. The fist hit me in the ribs. The attack was so strong that my ribs cracked, but I survived without breaking the formation. Vanya and Eva ran out of the line and plunged their swords into his feet to the very foundation. The blades went deep into the ground, thereby immobilizing the enemy.
Overcoming the pain, I, together with Aran, grabbed a two-handed sword, which we hid at the training ground specifically for Plan B. With a sharp, powerful jerk, they approached the Renegade and pierced his chest through and through. Black blood covered our faces. The corpse fell down, and the black energy in the form of a flame disappeared.
- First team, victory! shouted Amedeo.
"Alastair, we did it!" Vanya exclaimed happily.
“Yes, that’s right, victory… take me to the infirmary,” I fell, and a sharp pain in my ribs immediately knocked me out.
The world began to disappear, and I fell into a dream ... I will finally get some sleep ...
***
When I woke up, I saw the infirmary again. There are a bunch of guys and girls in the neighboring beds. But there is joy in my soul. We won. We were able to defeat the Renegade even without magic.
As I lay there, I eavesdropped on conversations. Eight teams were able to win. Everyone else died without killing the Renegade.After listening to the stories, I got dressed and thanked the doctors. Yet they heal us. They should leave a present next time.
I left the infirmary, and quickly reached the almost empty dorm. There, of course, Aran was waiting for me. Sitting on the bed with a wide smile. When he saw me, he jumped up.“Hey, are you feeling better already?” You are damn strong! Few can withstand a direct blow from the Renegade to the body.
“Yes, much better,” I collapsed onto the bed. “I just sacrificed eight ribs, otherwise I am a super strong person of our race.
"Alester, Eve's magic has awakened," Aran said cryptically.
“Just great,” I said, “no, really, now we can let Amedeo on a barbecue.” However, we are no match for him.
“Yes, and Albertine summoned you to her place.
- Uh-uh. What does this barbershop queen want?
"I don't know," Aran chuckled. But she told you to come to her immediately.
“Shit… well, see you then.”
- Yeah.
I left our room and went to Albertina. She lived in the tower where Hilarion maintains the barrier, where all the Gods lived. This huge building looks like a huge pin. The building looked like it wanted to pierce the heavens.
I entered the realm of the gods. The porter immediately met me and pointed to a long staircase that went high up. I felt uneasy when he said that Albertine's office was in the middle of the building. How long do I have to go...
There was no choice. After all, there is no elevator, and I don’t see any device to alleviate my fate. And the gatekeeper didn't say anything about it.
Going further and rising higher, I noticed one oddity. There are no free passages. Closed doors everywhere, and next to them are signs with the names of the residents. That's how I passed the tablet of teacher David. I wanted to do something nasty, but immediately stopped myself.
Taking a breath, I looked up.
Why is there no call for our magnificent Albertine? This woman can jump off the tower and nothing will happen to her. Is this a punishment for an opening speech? For the fact that I fell asleep ... If so, then I will remember and double my revenge!*After 1 hour and 45 minutes*
— Your something mother!
I was breathing heavily. All in sweat, as if I had been dipped into a river. My heart is beating like crazy. And I'm finally at the right door. What does she want, I wonder? Maybe he wants to punish me? Although, she already did. My legs are cramping, at any moment I can collapse to the floor. Or maybe she wants to give me a fashionable hairstyle? It’s also unlikely ... That’s it, stop guessing, I already went to her door, it remains to enter and find out.
“Come in,” the Goddess of Wisdom called me.
It surprised me. After all, I didn’t even have time to knock. She must have heard my animal breathing.
“Hello, Torturer,” I went into her room. - Why are you doing this to me? I rested as best I could.
The Goddess's study was decorated with paintings, and for some reason there were mirrors everywhere. She sat at a table of pure gold, and next to her, on a thick branch that grew out of the building, sat a huge eagle.
“Yes, I didn’t expect the sixth God Slayer to be such a fool.” But it's not about that. I want to ask you. Have you noticed anything strange about yourself lately?
AwakeningTwo months have passed since I entered the Academy. During this time, my friends and I died eight times. Killed us, as always, Amedeo. I also went to the Goddess of Wisdom... or, I'm beginning to suspect, stupidity. Indeed, after my negative answer to the question “did I notice anything strange behind me,” she simply sent me back to the hostel. I went up to her for almost two hours ... I won’t forgive! I will pick up the right moment and take revenge! .. Well, okay, I digress. Everyone on my team was able to awaken their magic except for me. This is sad. I don't understand why my magic doesn't awaken. What am I doing wrong? After all, the catalyst for magic is the fear of death ... maybe I'm not afraid of it? It makes me feel like I'm dragging my comrades back. Amedeo did not order the use of power outside the training ground, even if they could acquire it. If the whole team could wake up, then she rested until the end of training with the God of death and the beginning of
“Nothing shines for you,” I put my hand on Aran's shoulder. “Now KEEP WASHING THE FUCKING WALLS!” Fucking fireball!***I'm on the stairs. I'm covered in sweat and suffocating. I was again summoned to the tower of the Gods... only now I'm standing in front of the door with the sign "Amedeo - God of Death". And the funny thing is, Albertine's room is opposite.There is only disappointment in my heart. Amedeo killed us again, and all because of me. How many times do I and my friends have to die for my power to awaken? What the hell am I doing wrong?!Alester, come on in.No sooner had I knocked than they called me. Do the Gods have cameras built in somewhere?Opening the door, I went in. His room is luxurious, everything is decorated with paintings, Persian carpets. The golden statues of the Griffins were pleasing to the eye. Social life in all its glory.God was sitting at a wide table, covered with papers and seals. He didn't have the usual snake smile on his face. Why did I feel unea
Her hands were shaking from adrenaline, and a crazy smile appeared on her face. Joy, happiness, that I could. I managed.“I didn’t expect this,” God said in complete confusion, but immediately coming to his senses, he looked at me. - You're awake. And now. - Amedeo broke my ice spike, as if nothing had happened - it's time for me to revive your comrades.- What does it mean?God dusted himself off and went to my comrades. The barrier was asleep, the doctors are already there. As if they knew everything in advance.- Was it a performance? Full of anger, I asked.“Yes and no,” Amedeo gave an incomprehensible answer.The God of Death took his severed hand and pressed it against the stump, the limb immediately fused. Not even a scar left.“If you hadn’t awakened, your comrades would indeed have died. You're a Godslayer, do you think we'd kick you out of the academy just like that? Moreover, do you think you could easily defeat me, the second generation of Gods?- Of course not. But not by
We entered the classroom and collapsed on a free desk. All the candidates were whining in pain, and I could see in their eyes how they were cursing everything.“Al, if I die, don't send my corpse in this armor to my parents. If they also bury me in them, my spirit will definitely not rest,” my friend asked me.— Aran, calm down, we will survive. Look, it's hard for Vanya and Eve too, but they hold on. We will endure everything, brother,” I said with hope in my voice.The Goddess entered the classroom. Her black hair was blowing in the wind even though we were indoors. Some kind of magic...Hello candidates! Let's start the lesson." Minerva smiled at the whole class.Ah, a ray of light in pitch darkness. We listened carefully, this knowledge will keep us alive. She explained that she would teach with us for five months and would hammer all the necessary knowledge into our heads. Today's lesson was dedicated to the Renegades and the fourth generation. Everyone knows everything she said
The New WorldThe sun lazily rolled over the huge massive mountains. It was damn hot, so Aran and I crawled into our room and lay silently on our beds. A month passed, and we got tired of suffering garbage. I was ready in a week to go to either Amedeo or David. I even already missed the blue armor that woke us up every morning. The body was filled with energy that you no longer know where to put. After all, the God of War clearly specified that magic cannot be used. Dot.There was a knock on the room. Aran rushed like lightning to an unknown guest. I opened one eye and watched. A man in blue armor stood in the aisle. He gave two bags to Aran and closed the door.Rising up, I inquired about the contents of the package.- It's armor! Aran shouted joyfully and threw one of the two packages in my face. - They said to put on and go to the second training ground.Frowning, he thought of swearing at his friend, but finally he wanted to see his armor more.- Let's see ... Wow, how light, I ca
“Okay, but your friend won’t come with you?” she looked at me.Aran, oh you are a semi-finished store product. That's betrayal! No, this is different, this moron laid eyes on her, you can immediately see how he sticks to her. At the same time, winking at me so that I would go to him, and not refuse ... Okay, what to do with him, I won’t leave him."Oh, I'll be right there.Here is our trio from the second squad of Elementalists assembled again. Catherine stood before us like a teacher before the youths.“Show me a couple of times, and that’s enough for us,” I sighed. “Otherwise one comrade forgot the word friendship,” I looked at Aran.- I have one question - how to control the flow of magic in the legs? Because I took quite a bit, but it didn’t turn out the way I wanted.Amedeo kept looking askance at our trinity. But apparently, he understood that Ekaterina would teach us. So, it makes no sense to come up to us and show how it's done. After all, the first detachment was just as scre
“I don’t even know… It’s okay to make Space with your feet, but with your hands?! It’s impossible, your fists simply can’t handle it,” Ekaterina began to reason. "Maybe you could try something else?"“No, I decided that I would do it,” I gave my answer."Then," the girl shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not your helper." I'm sorry, I have more people to help.As soon as she started to leave, she turned around and said goodbye:Tip: Come up with something new. Do not stay on the same place.Yes, and now I'm in a complete stupor. Even Catherine can't help me.Assuming the posture of a sage, I began to reason. What will help me do this? I cover my hand, and I am carried away into the distance ... and if you pour in magic and envelop not my fists, but my whole hand with ice! Let's try...Approaching the column, I began to pour magic up to the shoulder blade and cover it with ice. The ice was flexible, but hard, and it exuded magic.Hit! There was an explosion, like a cannon being fired. The co
Van, are you all right?" - moving away from Eve with Aran, I asked the drooping Vanya. “Don’t worry, everything will be chirp-chirp, I assure you. And about corpses and bones, accept it, because now the whole world is like that. The sooner you understand it, the sooner you'll get used to it.“You're right, you have to accept it,” Vanya said with a small smile. “It's just…everything was fine until we left the forest and headed for the city.We need to find a home for us so that we can rest in it, and preferably in several cities. And it is necessary to distribute who will do what. This will distract them.“Vanya, you will get food,” I began to distribute duties. “Eva, you will cook,” the girl immediately wanted to argue, but I managed to interrupt her. Don't mind, it's women's work. Aran and I will be on the lookout for enemies, and send you Gadget messages to gather. We will change. Today I'm with Aran, tomorrow with Vanya, then with Eva. And we start now. No objections, you need to c
The Rancia empire prospered. Those terrible times when the Ransians fearfully expected the birth of their own children are far behind. With the accession to the throne of the new emperor Claude re Tigras the First and Empress Daisyre re Tigras, the people stopped living in fear and excitement. Now every Ransian, human or not, had the same right to life and happiness. The persecution of non-humans stopped, because the ruling family also did not belong to the human race, mixed marriages began to appear more often, and cities grew. Life became calmer, now the imperials were not afraid to travel between cities, risking being in the mouth of some monster. All creatures, of course, did not disappear, but as a result of a number of innovations introduced by Claude from the experience of his mercenary life, they greatly facilitate the fight against these creatures, forced them to go away from human habitation or hide deep in their holes. Man again became the dominant race on the planet, and e
- Oh, those boys. Alita purred as she slid off her man's lap and sat down on Claude's bed. “In general, sweetheart, when we burst into the hall, we only made it to the finale, when you, with completely wild eyes, rushed towards the door until you stretched out on the floor, not having reached us a few steps. And then Alexander quickly stepped forward, ordering that you be lifted and taken to the imperial chambers and called for a doctor, and then he explained to everyone present that according to some ancient law, I don’t know where he dug it up, you become the next emperor, taking the place of the deposed you ruler. We didn't even believe what we heard. You are Claude and the emperor. It sounded kind of unbelievable. And to be honest, they also managed to catch this cold, so they thought it was the result of a fever. But as it turned out, no, they heard right and you were really glorified as the future emperor. He cleverly organized everything here. So even the few dissatisfied witne
- Infections... It's people like me that you call an infection?- Yes. To be honest, I even liked you a little, not often non-humans managed to hide from my eye for so long, and your stupid principles ... naive, frankly childish, but noble, made me smile. However, the fact that you are a monster cannot be changed and you have no other destiny than to die.“It’s like seeing which one of us is a monster.— Ha! Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?“Appearance says nothing about a person. Yes, my eyes and ears are different from human, but there is much less blood on my hands than on yours.- What are you talking about. Turn around. All these people could live if not for you.“My fault for their death is no less than the one who set them on me. At least I was only defending myself, not sending them to their deaths.They died because they were doing their duty.Or because they were left with no choice.This conversation did not lead them anywhere, without bringing clarity or sat
And now only three of them remained, the horses carried the tired mercenaries forward, whipping dust into the air and crumbling the age-old stone into the sand. Two hot streams of steam escaped the air from the wide, nervously quivering nostrils of the driven horses. No one believed that they would catch up with the warrior, only hoping that the emperor would not realize his terrifying plan immediately upon the arrival of his assistant. On the horizon in front of them rose the towers of San Pen, brightening up the dull landscape with each kilometer growing higher and higher, delighting and frightening at the same time. Claude did not know what awaited them in the capital, for the first time he did not have at least some slightly thought-out plan, only one desire to be in time, not to be late, to stop. Inside, everything was shrinking from a bad premonition, but the guy drove away uninvited thoughts. You should never take on a job with a gloomy attitude to its failure, otherwise, every
Leata's voice broke through her rage-clouded consciousness. "Finally!" the guy exhaled, looking at the best thing to do in order to retreat without consequences for his health and life. It was not far to go, the creatures had already almost pressed him to the failure, from which the mercenary was separated by several steps, he needed only a couple of three seconds to get the coveted vial and jump over to the other side. Taking a step back, he seized the sword more comfortably and threw the dagger at the creature closest to him, slashing the blade across the entire expanse available to him and forcing the creatures to retreat a couple of steps. Here are his seconds. Rushing back, he removed the blade with one hand, and with the other he felt for the coveted cork. Which is specially marked so as not to be confused with others. The previous experience of using this remedy in the battle with sectroses taught him decently, but there was no time to sip drop by drop. Let it be what will be.
Aiyana, hurry up. Something is not happening.- One more second. Here it is! - the girl purred enthusiastically, pressing the lever near the capsule, and completely not noticing what was happening around.- We have no time. It's time to go.- Not! Until I find it, I won't leave.- Crap! Is it worth your life?- Yes!Discouraged by the answer, the mercenary fell silent for a few seconds. That's devotion! She could be admired if he and his comrades of life did not depend on her.Tell me what to look for! - finally, unable to stand it, he grunted, finally entering the room and feeling the cold enveloping from all sides.- You don't know the language.But I can see. I'll find it by sight. Show me or we'll all stay here.She did not argue further, obediently showing what symbols she had to find. There were few of them, at most four, of which one was a letter, and the rest resembled modern numbers. It was not even a name, but rather a code. He moved along the nearest shelving unit, running
At Leata's remark, Claude only shook his head, as they approached the ruins, Leatrice became more and more irritable and angry. He did not know what was eating her, most likely she was also afraid. After a quick bite, they hit the road. The sounds that accompanied their breakfast didn't help their appetite, and neither did their conversation. In anticipation of a meeting with the owners of these voices, people unanimously grew gloomy, but walked, carefully looking around. It gradually began to get light around, mischievous rays gently ran across the grass, reflected in drops of dew, flashed on people's weapons, playfully looking into their eyes and blossomed with a gloomy rainbow, reflected from the surface of the lake. The one that Leata called the "Lake of the Dead". For what it received such a name, no one knew, but the assumptions were different. Maybe the ancients drowned their dead in it, or maybe this is due to some mysterious story, since the lake was no different from its cou
- What the hell! cried Claude with a loud splash as he went under the water. The turbulent river picked up its prey with the joy of a small child who discovered in his power a toy he had long desired. The big man was twisted and twisted, sometimes hitting the side of the shell. Water clogged in his mouth, nose, forcing him to spit, smearing haze before his eyes. You can't give up! Claude remembered that he was not alone in the water, but he did not have time to really see the creature that had so cleverly discounted him. However, this did not give a reason to underestimate her. Ripping up the water with powerful strokes, he forced himself to swim up. Thank the Gods, he did not have time to take aside. The shell, like a native, clung to him, dragging him along, trying in vain to pull him under him. The body already almost did not obey him, bound by a terrible cold. Pushing off from the surface of the water, Claude desperately jumped up in an unsuccessful attempt to grab the edge, feeli
— Falcon. Daisyra prompted, following his gaze. For her, this distance was not a problem. - Beautiful.- Yes. And lonely.- How are you!- What did you get?“This is how we met you in that tavern.- When it was. Seems like another life.- Yes. And I'm glad we met.- And I.They had a strange conversation, they seemed to be talking and at the same time not. Pictures of their meeting floated before his eyes, taken apart by the words of the girl, and seeing himself, he looked and did not recognize. Now he was no longer the same person. Claude has changed. Becoming somehow something ... more integral, but still in his chest did not want to melt a tight lump that appeared there in childhood, as if not allowing him to free himself from the cage created by himself.- For me, he is not alone, but strong. Rolk muttered thoughtfully.— Who are you talking about? Caer joined in, also following his eyes sparkling in the rays of the sun, following the bird circling above them.- About both.“We wi