OUT OF RANK

Three

Pavel, don't worry, everything is fine. Sorry, it's time for us to go, while you rest. I think in half an hour you will be able to get up. - After the spoken words, the whole trio turned around and left the ward.

As soon as they walked out the door, I lay on my side and began to digest the information received. So, while I was passed out, some “healers” appeared in the world, and if I still didn’t go crazy, then adventurers too ... Also this evaporated bottle. There is clearly something wrong, I think I still have to learn a lot of new things.

Now it is more important to understand something else. Of course, they do not want to immediately dump information on me that might shock me. And if you follow this logic, it means that I have been here for quite a long time. But then what happened to my mom? I hope she is alive.

With such thoughts, I lay for about half an hour. Surprisingly, I began to feel much better. Looking at my hands, I saw that they no longer looked like the horror that I had seen before. Of course, they remained very thin, but at least they were not scary to look at. Hmmm, apparently, the weight will be difficult to regain.

Realizing that the "potion" was working, I decided to try to get up. Oddly enough, I did it, albeit with great difficulty. An attempt to take a step towards the window was unsuccessful. As soon as I shifted the weight of my body forward, I immediately collapsed to the floor, giving myself a good bump on my forehead. Apparently not all at once. But I definitely need to try again. I caught my breath a little, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bedside table next to me and, grabbing it with my hand, got up. So, I can stand, it pleases, but there are problems with coordination, I will try to take a step, leaning on the bedside table. Great, I made it. True, getting to the window without support has not yet come out, and the nightstand clearly does not reach the window. After a little thought, I decided to walk around the bed in order to restore the functions of my body at least a little.

So the next ten minutes of my life passed, I was already quite firmly on my feet, but it was still far from a confident gait. Although I still managed to take a couple of steps without support. I really wanted to look at myself from the side, but, as luck would have it, there were no mirrors in the room, I wonder why? Okay, something I allow myself too much. The “potion”, of course, helps, but I am sure that it is not omnipotent and will not get me from the next world. I'll wait better for the experts, they will clarify everything for me.

Four hours later.

Pavel, good afternoon again. - Arkady Anatolyevich came into my ward, accompanied by two people I did not know. “As I promised, I have invited two specialists to help you get back on your feet. Do not worry, nothing is required of you, except that you sit quietly.

“Ahem, first we would like to introduce ourselves.

The first to speak was a guy who looked more like a monk, that's how he was dressed. A long robe, some kind of staff in his hands, and surprisingly everything looks very expensive. I wonder how old he is? Looks like no more than twenty.

— Good afternoon, Pavel. My name is Vadim, although you can’t tell by me, but in our guild I am one of the leading healers and my rank at the moment is B,” this guy said proudly in his voice.

“Wait, wait, what ranks are we talking about?” What other guild are you in?

“Our guild is proudly called INFINITY, because we have no limits and we are capable of anything! - Fuck, how much pathos is in this kid? Can he really be trusted to heal people? Looks like he could use some therapy himself.

“Listen, I just came out of a coma, I don’t understand what you are talking about at all.

Having said this, I definitely shocked them, because after my words, they began to discuss something vigorously. In fact, I didn't hear a word.

Pavel, you don't remember anything, do you? the doctor asked with surprise.

- No, should you?

- Hm…. Strange, because this is not your first awakening, and you have already received all the information about the changes in our world.

"Not the first awakening?" Got all the information? Why don't you tell me how long I've been here and what's wrong with my mother? I asked with anger in my voice.

“Understand, you have come to your senses ten times already, and with each new awakening you have become weaker and weaker. Also, the interval between your awakenings increased each time. It's very strange that you don't remember anything. You used to remember previous times. As for your mother and the amount of time you spent at the base, I can't give you any information yet. Well, why exactly you are here - you should know.

From what I heard, I fell into a stupor. How did I come to my senses ten times already? Why don't I remember anything about it? Exactly, I heard a voice at the moment of awakening, could this be due to memory loss? It turns out that this situation is different from the previous ones, since the memory did not disappear before. Maybe because this is the final awakening. Hope…. The main thing is not to panic and calmly figure everything out.

“Okay, we’ll clear that up later, first I need to get back to normal.”

“Of course we will,” said the doctor. "Let me go, it's time for me to go." I leave everything to the guys, and yes, Eric, don't forget to introduce yourself.

“Pf,” snorted the guy whose name I already knew.

As soon as the doctor left, Vadim asked me not to move and lie still. Then they came to my bunk, stood on opposite sides and stretched out their arms right above me.

“What are you going to do with me?” I asked with a note of concern in my voice.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re just using a mage…. Oh yeah, you don't remember anything. Do you want me to tell you? The process is still slow,” Vadim answered with a smile on his face. As soon as he finished the sentence, his hands lit up with a bright light and warmth began to spread through my body.

- Let's do it, otherwise I have too many questions this day.

For the next hour, I listened to a story that began three years ago. As it turned out, that's how long I lay here. Not that it really shocked me, rather surprised. It turns out that I'm already twenty-three years old, that's how it is.

And about this nonsense about adventurers, guilds and ranks, I heard even more than I wanted to. Still, the guy turned out to be a talker. In short, about three years ago, a kind of “transitions” to other dimensions began to appear around the world. People dubbed them "dungeons", translated into Russian - dungeons. They appeared all over the world, and in the beginning it became a huge problem for everyone. After all, the very concept of "adventurer" did not exist then, people simply did not know what they were dealing with.

Naturally, the military got involved. They began to occupy the crossings, but the evacuation of the population was out of the question. The guy said that a lot of people died then. With "transitions" everything was not so simple. Each of these "dungeons" has its own timer, then its inhabitants begin to leave the dungeon. No one could have expected this, so in the beginning there were casualties among the civilian population. People realized too late that all gates have their own characteristics and their own level of power.

The military stopped dealing with the monsters outside and decided to send teams inside to destroy the monsters right there, avoiding loss of population. Nothing good came of the first "raids", only some lucky ones got out of there alive. Then the countries united and decided to gather large groups of mercenaries who would clear the dungeons. And, as it turned out, it was the right decision.

After successful clears, the survivors brought artifacts with them, some of which helped to measure the power level of each individual and to conduct a competent selection of people for clearing the dungeons. This is how the first adventurers appeared. Then they began to assign ranks to both adventurers and dungeons in order to avoid unnecessary victims and roughly represent the size of the group for clearing one or another dungeon. In total, six ranks were allocated: E, D, C, B, A, S - gradation from smallest to largest.

At first, everything seemed much simpler, but then the consequences of rash decisions began to be revealed. The number of those wishing to become adventurers tended to zero due to too much mortality. Then the government decided to officially assign them a salary and give them serious privileges. Here it started: most of the poor population of the country rushed for "easy", as they thought, profit. The number of deaths did not decrease, as even adventurers of rank B or higher found it very difficult to survive alone. And then people began to create a kind of clans, and then full-fledged guilds, in order to increase their power through joint efforts. At the moment, the number of guilds has exceeded one thousand, and this is only in Russia.

Right now, many of the top guilds are on par with the world's largest corporations, if not higher. There were people capable of destroying entire districts and more with the snap of a finger. The government has to spend huge resources to keep them in check. Fortunately, there are few such people, and they all have an S rank.

While I was listening to this story, the healers were done with my treatment.

“Fuh, well, it seems to be ready, it took a lot of strength for you,” Vadim said and leaned back in his chair. “Now everything will be fine with you, you don’t have to worry, but if you get more wounds, then come in, we’ll patch it up.”

"Thanks, I won't forget," I said, and looked at my hands. Damn it, they became the same as I remembered.

“Don’t be so surprised, there are craftsmen who can restore your severed hand, and this is nonsense,” Vadim smiled.

- Directly restore? Either you're crazy or the world is crazy.

- Most likely, the world, but I'm still far from a psychiatric hospital, ha ha. Listen, have you thought about becoming an adventurer? The salary is not bad, you seem like a strong guy, maybe even get a B-class. How about you? he asked hopefully.

- No, I don’t really want to, it’s not mine.

- Well, look, but I would do it in your place. Still, the treatment of your mother is expensive, and you can earn good money, ”Vadim said and turned pale sharply.

— VADIM! What are you?! It was said - to be silent! Eric shouted.

What does "treatment" mean? What are you talking about?!

“Boy, just don’t boil! Foolishly blurted out ahead of time, I'm sorry. We wanted to prepare you for this first,” the healer replied and looked away.

“Yes, what are you going to prepare me for?” I blurted out.

“Then listen…