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THE OUTLAND 59
Rob, Rob, get up. A familiar soft voice called out to me.Otherwise, I will be late for my first working day, for my first game death at the stake. I took a deep breath of air, expecting a flash of pain where the bloody artifact gnawed at the flesh - and coughed. There was no pain. Only the smell of a thunderstorm, only the surf and emptiness beating somewhere far, far away on the rocks.“Welcome to Limbo Island. - said the same voice, and I opened my eyes, stared at the low gray sky, felt the hard rock under my shoulder blades. “You almost succeeded, my Rob, my hero. — Agnis?"But aren't you dead?"Dead, Rob. But you also died. It happens, those are the rules. - The girl squatted down next to me, picking up the hem of a sundress that seems out of place here, in the Middle Ages, invented by some sadist.“Foma thought that he would simply kill you, suck the life out of you and send you to frighten the people in the form of a Fel creature. But it turned out that he did you a favor.“Ac
THE OUTLAND 60
DevTeam:“Dear players!It's no secret that our organization has licensed the "Far Search" engine for the game as the most fully meeting all the requirements: it is fast, compatible with the products of most modem manufacturers, perfectly scales to any perception of time and provides the best gaming experience!However, a few vulnerabilities remain in the main game core, allowing some dishonest players to take advantage of changing perception, actually speeding it up more than twice! In the current update, this annoying bug will be fixed, and the speed of perception multiplier is now fixed at five times the value of real time.Since this is our mistake and oversight, we will not block the accounts of violators, but keep in mind that we know everyone who abuses vulnerabilities! For the first time, we will limit ourselves to a warning.UPD: slows, boosts and trances will remain intact. The update only fixes classes without special reaction rolls.Alien War development team.Ferenz L:We
THE OUTLAND 61
Usually the path to the scaffold is long and thorny. You have to ruin too many people's lives, break too many laws. But here, in this rough, primitive world, everything is much simpler - one unfounded accusation, one unoccupied inquisitor, ready to interrogate an innocent one for the sake of statistics ... The cane system in all its glory.How was it in our humane and merciful history? Fortunately, the Inquisition did not get to Mother Russia, although there were enough masters of shoulder cases here. But, I remember, innocence was determined by sewing a person into a bag and throwing him into the water; if he swims out, he is guilty and is obliged to be betrayed by the purifying flame, if he drowns, then he is not guilty. The logic is amazing. "Hey, what are you going to do to me?" I asked an elderly sword-wielding swordsman I already knew.- Shut up, sorcerer. "He didn't turn to me," he muttered. “If I had my way, I would shred you into cabbages on the spot. But the Great Church is
THE OUTLAND 62
And only in my head was: “Bastards! Creatures. Reptiles." In the rhythm of stopped breathing, in time with the crossbar creaking under the blows of the wind above your head ...“So the sorcerer doesn’t want to repent. Well, then, of course, you will not see any merciful death. Master Rick, go ahead. - Augusto snapped his fingers, and the chain slipped from my feet, pulled into the ground, leaving no trace.“And they want to hang me for something like that,” I smiled bitterly. - Hypocrites. Maybe go to church?- Now. Hey, somebody bring the box. The paladin commanded. He went behind me, slightly loosened the rope that was tightening my wrists between the shoulder blades and, after unwinding a few turns, threw a free piece of barbed rope around my neck.Right hand to left...- Hey, don't sleep! Another blow from my gauntlet fist knocked my focus away. “You must be conscious when you die, otherwise…”Otherwise, I will not scream, I will not break down and I will not fall into hysterics,
THE OUTLAND 63
Something crunched in my side from the blow, the water burned with cold, clogged my nose and ears, but now I was glad about that too. Pain means you're still alive. It means that it did not end ingloriously under the lustful glances of the hooting crowd up there. It's just that one more item has been added to my list of quests issued to myself, a few more names have appeared.Master Rick, brother Augusto. One day I will come for you.I went like a stone to the bottom, writhing and unraveling the rope pulling my arms back. The impact on the water knocked the air out of my lungs, but my legitimate two minutes still remained. You just need to hurry before the hemp gets wet, making the knots unravelable. The counterweight wheel flew past me, slowly turning, silently hit the stones at the bottom and froze, gleaming in the rays of the sun breaking through the water column.I need you, my dear. My talisman of salvation - first from death on the gallows, then from drowning. Pushing off with
THE OUTLAND 64
- Froze, gas to the ring! - Accepted.— Antaeus, did you change weapons?- Yes, I found some fart. Antaeus lightly waved the rifle complex. - Cover Faye. Fey, to the elevator.- There is! - The fighters barked and, half-bending behind the armored boxes, they ran to the far wall of the hall.Bad restrictions, invented by who knows who and why, finally fell - all other things being equal, my motley, diverse company was still much better equipped and learned. In any case, it never occurred to anyone to stand at full height or lean out from behind cover without first securing a grenade or distracting fire from the flanks. The fighters of the Conquista outnumbered us, but under such conditions, the victory of the national team became only a matter of time.So in the end it happened - the barking shots of antediluvian gunpowder weapons fell silent, the oppressive impression of someone else's presence disappeared ... The elevator doors slammed shut, and Fey ascended fifty meters up - to th
THE OUTLAND 65
Antey is a psycho, that's for sure. No, I certainly could not make such a decision with a tip - and he was waiting for my answer here and now. And this is when I don’t know more than half of the team by name!“I need time to think. I shook my head. “Of course, we are all here like to stick our heads in the devil’s mouth, but ten of us against the whole planet ...- Don't think too long. Antaeus grinned as he finished his beer in one gulp. “Conquista will start counting casualties and sites, and with the KSC, it’s a matter of several hours to understand that it was not possible to take the Far Search base.“Okay, I understand you.Save the game. Go out. Unlike Tlally, where time doesn't care about you, Far Search could still be paused, figured out what was what. It definitely shouldn't have been hot. What was to be done was to visit my wet magician under the bridge. Moreover, the units on the clock have changed to zero, the time of the game session in the CV should already be reset. Ho
THE OUTLAND 66
Soon the familiar crossroads leading to the summer residence appeared. Farther. In principle, if you continue in the same spirit, this trip can become quite safe. No. Pah-pah-pah, so as not to jinx it. It's better to increase my vigilance too and pray that the session does not expire until I get to the right point.Here to the right.I started getting to know the area. About a week ago, a corpse truck was supposed to pass here, carrying an unlucky miner hitman. Hmmm, it's funny to even hear that. But let's hope that the corpse was not eaten by scavengers, not dragged away into the forest by some predators, and so on. Because if it turns out that someone carnivorous is grazing there, I’m in big trouble, because I still haven’t raised a single level, I haven’t armed myself with anything, and of all my abilities, I’ve only had a distraction that didn’t work twice. Not a magician, but a laughing stock.Here again to the right.The night forest was filled with sounds, smells and sensations
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- THE OUTLAND
Epilogue
And then ... Everything went - as it went. And may there always remain worlds where people are lonely, where it is dark, and icteric palms of maples fall from the sky. One day Avdeyka and his mother... Aunt? The devil will break his leg in their difficult relationship. One way or another, they will definitely get there. Maybe one day they will get to the chair where my reader is bent from loneliness. Who knows, the universe is merciful and loves its children. But it is not exactly. But it is known: today the very first seven testers-gods got up from sleep. Eduardo, Shelly, Alexey, Umbra, Erebus and Nyukta, Selina. Alive, absolutely. Skinny, of course, like a spring rook, but quite sane. Shelly even tried to pick up her son from the distributor, but she was quickly explained that he would definitely be better there. Astrix also did not go away, although he got out from under the dropper. From time to time he walks into other people's dreams, treats him to strange drinks and cigare
- THE OUTLAND
181
Rob, hurry up! Astrix's voice called. We won't be able to hold him back for long!The scarlet bloody whip in the air was overwhelmed by several multi-colored energy flows at once, trembling with tension. The thaumaturge, gaping, stopped bombarding me with new spells for a change and stared at the doomsday reigning in the sky.Who are you boy? Why did you decide that to treat you the same way as everyone else is the greatest injustice? Where did the thoughts in your head come from that people should be connected by feelings and affections, and not by common interests?I understood what all this battle was about, what the road had led to until now. The boy remained alone all his life, believing that he was just very unlucky, and that somewhere there must be friendly hands, a warm smile and hope for tomorrow - you just need to look properly. About the fact that the world is dying of loneliness, he learned much later, becoming much older.A world that didn't need a boy. A world that aband
- THE OUTLAND
180
- Un-life. Why don't you rein in your robbers then? - I almost believed it. Nearly. “The corruption is preparing for a massive raid on the lands of the living, which means…- I know. But I'm still an avatar, my abilities are limited. And I can't go anywhere from here. To become a goddess in the fullest sense of the word, I need...— Believers! I slapped my forehead. - Well, of course. Followers, believers, own church.“We can start with the first knights. So... How do you look... - She blushed, looked away. - Well…“Become one of those ugly strategists?— Rob! You are to blame for their appearance! You can look whatever you want!- Nevermind. But you yourself understand - there is some complexity. If I'm next to you on Limbo right now, it most likely means that I'm dead. And a corpse cannot be turned corrupted. An undead connecting rod - you can, but not with Filth.- It's true. But something has changed.- Yes?“You see, two people from the same account came into this world. And one
- THE OUTLAND
179
"I look into my eyes ... I'll touch my lips. And what to say when I'm gone?" - Asked guitar picks over the black Icelandic beach, and the night was surprisingly warm, not at all suitable for November in the northern latitudes of Limbo.Night again, beach again. Another terrible headache.“Rob, Rob…” Nervous, sensitive fingers stroked my head. “You never get used to the fact that the body is a weapon. Relaxed, believed in the brothers on opposite sides of the barricades. That's what I got. Did you get it?- I cant. I complained without opening my eyes. - I'm tired. Why do they keep killing me? We almost agreed, almost resolved the issue.“We haven’t decided, stupid Robushka. And they couldn't. Understand that from the point of view of Warcraft, it is he who overcomes fifty years of captivity, cut off from his loved one, overcomes obstacle after obstacle, trying to reunite the family. Or at least avenge their deaths. And when he wins, there will be a happy epilogue and everyone will be
- THE OUTLAND
178
He dissapeared."Spider, come on!" I pleaded.A silent prayer burst out of my chest and spread throughout the Oikumene, and when there was no space between me and the fury of the avenging god, a huge black sword, literally a millimeter above my head, was stopped by a blade of sand.“You should look for an opponent in size,” Astrix smiled white-toothed.So you helped him. Ware said slowly. "It's good that both of you are here!"- And what will you do? Ban me too?- Not.Ware waved his hand, and the glow of the font parted, releasing the already familiar crystal, which contained the powers of the defeated gods. Only this one was much larger, and not empty. Zhdan froze inside him with his mouth wide open from a tearing cry!- Oh, you're a creature. Spider said softly. “You do understand that after this you won’t leave here with your own feet?”- Don't care. I don't care at all! I will kill you both!The clapping of his hands fanned the blood around him, and the magician's body seemed to
- THE OUTLAND
177
Closed tightly, I almost completely stopped relying on the light, leaving only my new outlandish vision. It gave the picture with spots, intersecting lines, but the brain quickly adjusted itself, and from the flickering in front of the inner gaze, it independently completed a completely three-dimensional picture of the environment. The steps underfoot seemed new, almost untrodden, although the temple itself is definitely more than two thousand years old...However, this is logical. Only a couple of dozen people have walked this road. The senior pantheon came to the Font when it was still an ordinary cave in the mountain, and, of course, no staircase had yet been built. So consider it an untrodden path.Turn after turn, the levels went past - the sacrificial altar, administrative premises, the household unit, the barracks ... Soon, according to the sensations, the ground level also passed. This was told to me by my vision, since nothing has changed in all other parameters. There were n
- THE OUTLAND
176
The Christmas tree backed away, and I, sinfully squeezing past it in half, stared thoughtfully at my avatar. A savage Amri, a slave by birth, a pacifist by conviction - it was necessary to manage, in such and such a world, to get a lowered pain threshold! Laughter and sin, in general, are obviously cannon fodder, which usually does not survive even the first serious battle.But they survived. And they didn't even get scars. Unless, of course, do not count those inside. And, of course, a snowflake peeking out from under the undergarments. But this is not a scar, but rather a protective mark. Okay, good time to pull, it is already in short supply.- Hey, get up! I called.The spider said something about the reunion of soul and body. But damn, how to implement it? God somehow forgot to mention the technical details - either he really didn’t know, or for him such tricks are so in the order of things that they are not worth clarifying.No answer. Of course."Get up, motherfucker!" I shook
- THE OUTLAND
175
- What?! I barked. - What nonsense! Xolotl is alive, I personally...- Killed her? Astrix raised an eyebrow. “Finished off what little was left of her?”But you are all alive. You, Ware, other scumbags. What happened to Shelly?- She was already unstable at the time of digitization because of the child, you understand? One and a half consciousness, working out of tune. Technique then simply did not provide for such a situation ... And now, you yourself understand. Pregnancy is a vanishingly rare phenomenon these days.“But she gave birth in those two thousand years.- Both in real life and in virtual, yes. But in real life, the process of childbirth is simply the separation of one from the other without any sacrifice on the part of the psychostructure. In the virtual, everything turned out a little differently.And who did she give birth to? Gary?The spider chuckled.- Does not give you a dream of rest, I see. No, not Gary. Who cares. The main thing is that the rejection mechanism at
- THE OUTLAND
174
Agnis exhaled convulsively again, but said nothing.— In general, it all started with Haang as the very first. He went to the abyss, where he deposed the archangel. Now all the Filth is in his hands. They do not touch people yet, but they destroyed one cemetery. Guess which one.“The same thing, without the ankh!” I gasped. “So there is no longer any protection between humans and the Filth!”- Right. Khaang's troops catch all living things and turn them into Filth - they accumulate strength. As soon as they accumulate enough, they move on. We have no idea where, but it is clear now: Haang will not be the only corrupted god at the head of this army. Soon the rest will realize where the game is fatter, and against the seven demons, I'm afraid even I can't resist.- Good. What we can do?- Restore balance. Astrix shrugged. — Return the ankh to its homeland, restore the lich of the plundered cemetery. Even one lich can hold back the Filth indefinitely, and if he summons a bone dragon...-
