A Drowning Hope [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104553448/821a46eb3d3c48e08c7a83d66ab50be2/eyJ3Ijo2MjB9/1.png?token-time=1717459200&token-hash=PFojD9ShenJmptU9tTn4un3ZvMH2_ZArRLvLSfS8MGc%3D]
Masha gazed at the broad back of this courageous young man who had saved her, and recalled the first time she had seen Alex in the trauma ward of the capital's hospital. He had been brought in with a head injury, and the orderlies were placing bets on how long he would stay this time, arguing over who would take care of him. Back then, she had only laughed at the young, naive orderlies. With such an injury, it would take at least a month to recover! And how could anyone argue over working overtime?
As it turned out, they could. And one could leave the hospital with a concussion after a week, argue for extra shifts, and even pay colleagues to take the day off. But that would come later. At that time, he was just another patient who needed to be examined.
The door to the ward opened silently, and the young nurse stepped onto the threshold, ready to meet yet another patient. But what she saw made her freeze, her heart beating faster, breaking its usual rhythm.
On the hospital bed, sinking into the white sheets, lay a young man who resembled a hero from ancient Greek legends. His dark hair, tousled and slightly damp, spilled across the pillow, contrasting with the paleness of his skin. Clearly defined cheekbones, a straight nose, a high forehead – everything about his face was perfect, as if sculpted by a skilled artist. Even unconscious, his lips were curved in a slight smile, as if in his dreams he saw something pleasant, something that caused him a quiet, inner laughter.
image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/PyCyLxd-WvWxEaDZ39xaQOynT-Dpt-iYR_pGhcOUYmGzsBoQDMSR94GigNeko3GTV_4AZteBl7EDxkSACVs6CEpoHlan4Ba9Jy6TQlxiFcsO4TbQ5-SyId4dmx_WJLpIlyCF5PmHEodUREy1GPL-FOA]
The nurse unconsciously lingered on his body, feeling her cheeks begin to burn. Broad shoulders, strong arms that lay on top of the sheet – every line of his figure spoke of strength and courage. Even the sheet covering his torso couldn't hide his athletic build, which testified to an active life full of movement and adventure.
A sarcastic thought flashed through her head: "With a body like that, it's no wonder he constantly ends up in a hospital bed. He's probably too self-confident." But this inner commentary couldn't drown out the excitement that spread through her body like a warm wave. Something about this young man, in his calm yet masculine face, in the hidden strength of his body, drew her in like a magnet.
"Focus!" she tried to tame her own emotions. "He's just a patient. You need to do your job."
But somewhere deep inside, under a layer of professional indifference, a premonition was already born that she would be a frequent visitor to this ward, and forgetting this young man, his strange, almost magical attractiveness, would not be easy.
The head physician only laughed about it. She said if they put a photo of her patient in the newspaper, they could buy a new X-ray machine with the fees from those wanting to take care of him.
Each time Alex ended up in the hospital, it echoed with both anxiety and joy in Maria's heart. On the one hand, she feared for his life, and on the other, she wanted to see him again. As the inquisitive hospital worker found out, Alex was a digger, a lover of thrills and unusual places, constantly finding himself in trouble and with injuries of varying degrees of complexity.
To connect your life with such a person is like sitting on a slow-motion landmine, sooner or later it will explode and drag you down with it - that's what all her friends said. If only they knew how right they would be. It was on one of the days when Alex received another injury that the air raid siren sounded, followed by explosions. A completely different nurse was supposed to be on duty that day, but how could Masha leave this handsome man unattended?
Once in the caves, the young woman's first thoughts were: "Did Alex survive? And if he did, did he end up here?"
There were three other men in the cave where the girl ended up. One was a professor from some famous university in England, who put forward amazing theories about a superintelligence that had been implanted in their brains. The other was a kind uncle who was eager to explore everything around, tried to reach the creators of the system, and constantly reassured the others. But the third companion was not so lucky. The young man was rude, pushy, and tried to harass the girl. It was when the guy became completely insolent and started groping her in the darkness that Masha remembered the staff in the coin. Not only did she remember it, but she also used it, hitting the insolent one on the nose. Oh, how he cursed...
And then the monsters came. Masha heard her new acquaintances scream, heard their bones crack and veins tear under the teeth of the ruthless invisible enemy, and all that was left was to wave the staff in front of her in the vain hope that it would scare the enemy.
It didn't. After another swing of the staff, something rushed at Maria, knocked her down, and pressed her to the floor. The only thing between the monster and the human's throat was the shaft of her weapon, which she had timely placed in front of her.
Strength was already leaving her body - the staff trembled, and her face was splattered with warm, sticky, stinking liquid. How the newly-made mage didn't throw up, only heaven knows.
And then she heard his voice and fell into a trance...
How they wandered through the flooded catacombs was poorly preserved in her memory. The mage began to perceive her surroundings normally only when they reached a dry cave and met new acquaintances.
And again, Alex saved her. First from monsters with fish heads, and then from Damon's betrayal.
And now, they are combing the third tunnel in search of an exit. The first two ended in flooded passages. The only hope is for the last one.
***
With each step, hope dwindled as the water rose. Two side tunnels led to flooded catacombs, where water raged. The middle tunnel, the one we were following, was long and winding, with cold, damp walls and heavy, stale air. We walked in silence, lost in our thoughts. I tried to plan our next move, while Masha, it seemed to me, was simply trying to forget the horrors she had endured.
Finally, the tunnel led us to another fork. Three passages diverged again, each promising new dangers and trials.
"What will we do?" Masha asked quietly, her voice trembling.
"We need to check all three passages before it's too late," I replied, trying to sound confident. "Maybe one of them will lead us to the surface, or to a place where we can wait out the remaining hour and a half we have."
We split up. The possibility of drowning in the caves was more frightening than the claws and teeth of monsters. Masha went into the left passage, and I went into the right. We decided to leave the middle one for later.
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My passage turned out to be short and narrow. It led me to a small cave that was completely flooded with water. The cold, smelly liquid slowly rose, threatening to flood the entire cave.
image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/MWllMMRS-99XjznC2CzxgKLcZbx2XQaNskm4wRxtXH53Vnxe76TbNGA9OBL8gdVWUPSwGiGXyEe6EFfVZdzMW44pM6WdLO4wiGYvG-P24k_huH_dPyrbJwFJyzwEWdMFRDlsLbSlFv_kjCaTtPytTKw]
I returned to the fork and met Masha. Her face was pale, and her eyes held despair.
"There's water there too," she whispered.
We looked at the middle passage. It was our last hope.
I stepped into the darkness of the passage, feeling the cold water reach my knees. The passage was long and winding, it led down, and with each step the water level rose.
Finally, the passage led us to a large cave that resembled a giant bowl. Its walls were smooth and slippery, and a whirlpool swirled in the center. The water in the cave was rising at an alarming rate, threatening to flood everything around.
image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/5a83GvWXQrgMKk1EGHscSA3alOPV77Z8Ne-Uljo9N-rel7vjd-3iGsxUrLFeGRRQiYBjRgHLwGQ0t2ukyssht-aKBKJYd7sgi8xXReQIomimt-5eMzYsO3DSv_mnRqlQoCsbO26wwdKYpdCdwbQLdzo]
I turned to Masha. "We're trapped," I said. "All three passages lead to water-filled caves. And it's too late to turn back."
Masha wordlessly threw herself into my arms, her body trembling with fear. Embracing her, I felt despair and fear engulf me. The water was rising relentlessly, threatening to flood the cave. There was no chance for both of us to get out.
"We need to get as high as possible," I whispered quietly in the girl's ear. "The more time we gain, the more chances we have to return home alive. I will raise the staff, on outstretched arms, you will stand on my shoulders and using the staff as a step, climb onto that ledge in the cave wall."
Holding the staff in my hands and lifting the girl, my gaze fell on the black obsidian stone embedded in the base of the staff, and a plan was born. Risky, ghostly, and very unpleasant, but it was my only chance of survival.
Having climbed onto the ledge, Masha helped me climb up too, and we climbed further. The girl scraped her fingers to the bone, but clung and climbed after me. Our goal was a small recess in the wall of the cave, under the very ceiling.
We managed to reach the small recess before the water reached it, and that was good for my plan.
"I hope you will forgive me for this someday." I whispered, hugging the girl tightly and enveloping her in a warm cocoon of my prana.
"Your soul is mine," I shouted the age-old ritual words and, abruptly stepping aside and snatching the staff from the ring, plunged its spike into the area of the girl's heart.
A silent scream escaped Masha's mouth, the sound of which was absorbed by the prana cocoon. A wild cocktail of fear, disappointment, despair, resentment, and something else elusive froze in her eyes.
Finally, the system issued the long-awaited message:
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Do you want to imprison the soul of player Mary in the staff?
Yes / No
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Clicking "Yes", I sighed with relief. It worked! I was subconsciously afraid that the staff would simply absorb the shells of the girl's soul, as it did with monsters, and would not offer to capture her soul.
Wasting no time, and without removing the prana cocoon, I placed the girl's body in the ring. Done. Now it remains to survive myself and hope that the plan will work as it should.
First of all, I cast the spell "Water Protection", an unfilled layout of which hung in my aura, and began to form the spell "Air Cocoon". It would be better to use "Underwater Breathing", but I don't have enough mana for it. I won't have enough for anything else, after these two spells I will be left with an empty mana pool.
The water hit me with a swift current, trying to squeeze me down, twist me, and drag me into its rapid whirlpool. I pressed deeper into the crack in the cave wall and curled up to reduce the area of the magical water dome field. This will help it last longer.
The wave covered me with its head, and I held my breath. There was about a minute and a half left until the spell was completed, but I had to hold on.
Whew. Finally, the air cocoon was formed, and I could breathe freely. A weak spell that I did not consider it necessary to practice to automatism in my past life saved me in this one. The irony of fate, no less. Although, I'm rushing. Not saved yet. When created, the air cocoon collects oxygen scattered in the water into a layer around the caster's or his target's head, rather than generating air inside the sphere, and this is its main disadvantage. I may simply not have enough oxygen until the end of the mission. Therefore, I will have to immerse myself in deep meditation and slow down some of the processes of life. And I will try to replenish the reserve at the same time.
I was pulled out of meditation by a sharp outflow of mana from my reservoir. Something large and strong was pounding on the protective barrier of the spell. Opening my eyes, I saw a huge maw in front of my eyes. Sharp, huge teeth were clenching and unclenching, trying to grab their prey and tear it out of the recess!
"Cthulhu take you," flashed through my head, how untimely. Only 5 minutes left, and with such pressure, this creature has every chance to reach my tender body. The mana that I so carefully collected is leaking away like through a sieve. Damn, there's nothing else to do but borrow a little energy from my captive. Her reserve was small, about a hundred units of mana, but it will be enough for my plan. Focusing on the water dome, I let an additional flow of my mana into it, and from the ring, I took out a coin with a katana. A simple universal mage would not be able to do such a trick, they are usually unable to change their spell when it has already been released, and it did not have a control module built in, but my element is water! And even though our connection is weakened, the experience of working with it has not gone anywhere. For a second, I formed a small gap opposite my hand and released the sword from the coin, which pierced the maw of the annoying creature. Closing the hole in my protection, I did not have time to pull the sword out of the fish, and it jerked its head, and the katana broke.
"It's a pity, it was a beautiful sword," flashed through my head as soon as I finished closing my shield and put the remains of the sword in the coin.
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image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ihT54c6VDPHqy1oBwpi2wgnPqXwEx-vCSpkuQFplDZ5Jy7s9OsUIHhv97I3Ln3tVAf6xv4DrfA1hFUU00qmZrorQOtY95KwNzrhc856S7WzXSluH2Go0PlBDafJKJUuIjshn4pi7dqtyZzYVC5VElq8]image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/9mHVasCXeMYqKsmbfBFcCOxKb8WvET5p7M_hLaZDqBKwI4pj_paqOKIwbJ-162Wshdg7NGxM59xLW97j9FnCKkXv3cFOyNPsw98F7mG3sLGeVEzoMkIonv1710fOrkc31NWAT7Tw1yyS0EhV7CfyAyA]
Equipment coin
(contains)
Katana Moonlight
(Damaged)
Description
A system sword made of high-quality steel and cast in the light of the full moon. It is said that the spirit of a warrior who died defending his honor lives in it.
Properties
· System weapon of rare rank. Allows you to absorb the shells of the victim's soul, transferring 50% of the energy received to the owner of the weapon.
· Possessed artifact. The sword contains an energy structure that saturates it with energy.
· Spell "Moon Blade". The sword contains the built-in spell "Moon Blade". Number of uses 5/5. The speed of spell recovery depends on the presence of mana in the artifact.
· Self-recovery. The weapon can recover while in the coin. The recovery speed depends on the degree of damage and XP directed into the coin.
Artifact Rank:
Rare (E)
Materials: moon steel, wood.
Weight: 1.1 kg.
Time to restore equipment: 50 years
EXP saturation for recovery: 0/1000 XP
Do you want to restore the equipment?
Yes / No
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And I can no longer take the sword out of the coin without restoration. I can't spend 1000 XP. I simply don't have that many.
Oh, and here the timer has reached the end.
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Attention!
You have completed your individual mission.
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Do you want to return to your home planet?
Yes / No
Finally! Yes, I do!
image [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/104553448/69f25e2569b64a448551cf2a228bfa32/e30%3D/1.png?token-time=1717459200&token-hash=eUjyuRUF4cb7J4eElmjsoqPjn4-WKACcfViM2uN83YI%3D]