I was finally able to more and less solve all the innuendo with my "family". Russell made me happy too. Of course, the fact that he was now a Paladin does not mean that he will always adhere to his current alignment, but at least right now I could totally trust him.

However, the overall situation did not look very optimistic. There were many casualties, and it was unsafe outside the village. Rent was far from the village, and adventurers did not come here often. Thanks to the huge crowd of villagers, the local forest dwellers stayed away from us and so far no serious problems have arisen, but not the fact that it will be so in the future.

The innkeeper and Raf were missing, so the local Priest and the head of the village were in charge of the people. The Priest's name was Raphael, he was around 30 years old. Now he looked more like an ordinary warrior. Leather armor, shield, mace. And all because, unlike the arcane magic of the same Sorcerers, divine magic could be used in any armor and equipment. In fact, divine magic is the use of a kind of prayer to obtain power, it is obvious that it was only available to believers. True, the criteria for this faith were extremely vague, there were many religions and everyone believed in something different. However, religion was unambiguously very popular given that there was divine magic in the class system.

Raphael essentially led the villagers' retreat and helped them as much as he could along the way. His healing spells were long over. Given the number of victims, he could save one or two dozen from the force, and the rest were content with field medical assistance. Some villagers even managed to yell hysterically at him for refusing to heal their loved ones, although they probably knew that spells were extremely limited. Raphael was not angry, but only listened to the reproaches with his head down. Of course, not everyone was as generous as he was and fiercely defended the Priest. He really did a lot, but there was still tension and fear in the air.

I didn't know what class the head of the village had, but he was a mage or one of the variations. His name was Zif and he was in his forties. They were both weaker than Raf, of which I was sure, although I did not know how much weaker exacly.

After some time, I saw that Raphael finally sat down to rest at the border of the camp. I moved towards him, although I knew that he was probably already tired after all that had happened. Previously, I could not really talk to him, he did not appear in the tavern, but I rarely looked into the church. He raised his head, looked at me and found the strength to show a slight, friendly smile.

- What worries you young man.

- Hello Priest. My name is Jack, recently became a Monk. Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask if you still have any buff-type spells. Perhaps I could go hunting and take part in the exploration.

- "Sigh". Some spells did remain, although not many. But there are no more healing spells, and I left the remnants of other spells as a last resort and cannot spend them without a good reason. In any case, you are still young, do not rush into battle until you are strong enough.

- I understand. Then I will confine myself to some questions. For example, everyone saw how Raf summoned a bear, and then you put a lot of enhancements on him and sent him into battle. Why not, for example, do the same with one of the village warriors so that he goes hunting and quickly becomes stronger?

- Not so simple. The system has many limitations. For example, if I use power-ups on you, you can't get too far away from me. At a certain distance, my spells will lose their power, all my spells will simply dissipate. Moreover, I also cannot say at what distance you will lose these buffs. Maybe in the area of hundreds of meters, but it happens in different ways. It can even play a cruel joke on you at a crucial moment. In addition, the greater the difference in our levels, the higher the penalties for the experience gained. And here it does not matter whether I am nearby or far away, if you have my spells on you, then you are unlikely to get experience for enemies of your own level. It didn't matter to the bear as a summoning creature. Well, in conclusion, it is worth saying that although various buffs are really very useful, they do not make you invulnerable. The system is difficult to deceive, even if a high-level warrior disables a strong creature and puts it in front of you, you will hardly get any experience.

- But how those nobles and the offspring of wealthy families become stronger then?

Raphael smiled slightly. - Well, they can use a whole team of different classes to support their offspring and they will all be approximately at the same level, and when their child outgrows this team, they just pick another team for him. Often such teams are accompanied by strong warriors for safety, although they do not intervene if they do not see a threat. Of course, the effect of the spells of such a team will not be so strong, but in combination with good equipment, this gives a pretty good result. Even they cannot fool the system, so in spite of these advantages, noble ones also have to work hard for the sake of strength. Let there are many more strong warriors among the rich and noble due to these advantages, but not all of them dare to pursue strength. Despite all the insurances, often such sorties end in their death.

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- Such limitations of the system are one of the reasons why small groups of different classes are popular. Among adventurers, this is an extremely common phenomenon, they help each other and pave the way forward together, help the laggards in the level. Of course, this is not always the case and the cases are different, but this is the most popular option.

Something I already knew, but some things became news to me. While I was pondering the information I received, Zif and a scout approached us. I was still too small to participate in any serious discussions, but I still wasn't going to leave until I was kicked out. Perhaps I might hear something interesting.

- Raphael, another scout has arrived, this time with news. The summoned Balor disappeared. Apparently the cast time has ended. No more enemies were seen in the village. The summoner was never seen. We need to decide what to do next.

They didn't pay attention to me. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who could see through the system that this creature was summoned.

- I wonder who we offended to deserve this. Raf was too stubborn, neither he nor we had ever met such a high-level being before and had no idea how strong he was. Raf did not believe that a hundred arrows could not harm him ... We realized our mistake too late and because of this, many lost their lives. If only we would have retreated immediately. - said Priest.

“Now is not the time for that. We need to choose one of the lesser evils. Or we risk staying here in the forest to spend the night. Or we risk returning to the village, in the hope that the summoner has left. I cannot make such a decision on my own. What do you think?

“I think that if this magician really wanted to destroy our village, he would have done it with ease. I don't know what kind of summoning circle he used, but since we could not stop this creature, then we simply would not have a chance against the summoner. I don’t know which choice would be correct, but I would prefer to return to the village. Surely there are still many victims who need help.

They discussed this issue for some time, after which they decided to go back. Evening was approaching and it was impossible to delay. On the way here, the animals scattered away from such a crowd, but now, with the approach of evening, the howling of wolves was heard. A couple of times the archers fired a volley to scare away the hungry animals, but there were no serious problems along the way.

When we got to the village, it was already dark. The gate was destroyed and burned, there were a heap of corpses around and there was devastation. Of course, Balor alone could not destroy the entire village, but a good third suffered. All people were tired both mentally and physically after today, so they decided to postpone the funeral and restoration work until tomorrow. A couple of dozen were chosen among the fighters, they barricaded the gates as best they could and began to carry out night watch while the rest of the residents were sent home.

Raphael went to the remains of the library. Although this modest building was also damaged and burned, he soon found what he was looking for. The manual remained intact. The same was true for several scrolls. He took one of the scrolls and began to write a message. Soon, he put his hands on the scroll and cast a spell. The scroll burst into flames and turned to ash.

Rent. Mages Guild.

The messagе department clerk sat at his desk, drinking tea and looking out the window. Once again, the bell began to play softly. He turned his attention to the table and saw that another message had arrived. On the table were laid out and sorted many rolled scrolls, each village or strategic facility under the control of the lord of this city sent messages from time to time. This usually happened once a season or even less, since the scrolls were quite expensive, these were the usual messages that the clerk had to send to the database of his mages guild, or the warrior's guild or the local lord in the castle, depending on the content. Usually the seal on the scroll remained colorless, however this time the seal turned red. Clerk suddenly became nervous, he had no right to open messages with a red seal. Grabbing the scroll and putting it in his bosom, he left the office.

Going up to the second floor, he knocked on the office. Hearing permission to enter, he flung open the doors and entered. Inside was his direct boss, who is also the archivist of the local branch of the Mages Guild.

- Great magician! An urgent message has arrived with a red stamp.

Of course, the archivist was not a Great Magician, but the clerk did not deny himself the opportunity to flatter the superior while they were alone.

The archivist accepted the scroll, smiled slightly, and sent the clerk to his workplace. However, he did not open the scroll, going up to the third floor. On the third floor, the floors are carpeted, and the walls are hung with tapestries with symbols of the Mages Guild and various paintings. On one side was the office of the local guild master, and on the other, his deputy. The archivist moved towards the deputy.

A soldier in plate armor was on duty at the entrance, vigilantly watching the archivist. In the middle of a wide corridor, not reaching the office, there was a pedestal. The archivist put his hand on it, after which the warrior relaxed and stopped paying attention to him. Approaching the beautiful doors, he knocked and, after hearing the answer, went inside.

The deputy of the Mages Guild was named McCain. He sat at his desk with various parchments and books.

- Great Archmage! An urgent message has arrived with a red stamp.

Of course McCain was not an Archmage, let alone a great one, but the Archivist readily called him this way while they were alone. McCain smiled slightly and accepted the parchment, then thanked the archivist and sent him off at his workplace.

Opening the scroll, McCain began to read. The rest of the smile disappeared from his face, after which he got up and decided to personally go to the Lord's castle with a message. The lord of Rent and surrounding territories was earl Desset.