Chapter 22

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Shot! Crossbow behind my back, sword out of its sheath. Dodge. Duck under the sparkling paw of the tree standing on the roots cut the resigned root, bounce off the staggering foe.

Dash! The shield struck a tangle of branches, behind which flashed two lights that were the elemental's eyes.

Strike! The sword cuts through the wooden ribs, and the cold fire flares up and goes out. The elemental begins to disintegrate, losing its "woody" appearance on the fly, becoming nothing more than a mist of magic, taking the form of an Ent.

Another one.

The foggy whirlwind left behind a rainbow cloud, not a pile from which to pick the loot. That was the "otherworldly substance," the one you couldn't put in your pocket. But you can put it on yourself. I stepped into the center of the cloud and turned clockwise, "winding" the light multicolored smoke around me. In player lingo, collecting the substance is called "sniffing the gas." And that pretty much accurately describes the process. After my first fights, I was just standing in the cloud, waiting for it to envelop me, and then I noticed that one turn speeds up the collection of substances threefold. So here I am, spinning as fast as I can.

The Mist Field is a place where strange creatures emerge from the rifts of space and where players come to get their share of experience in the never-ceasing brawl.

I'm afraid to go into the crypts, because either the half-orc or his mercenaries are probably waiting there. It's too early to go to the higher levels of the dungeons, so I'm here for the next six or seven levels.

The Mist Fields is near the city, and you can almost see the watchtowers at the gate from here. There are always guards here since the script suggests that this rift is permanent, and the local authorities could not leave it unattended. A little further away are the tents of the mobile hospital (packed with NPC guards, treatment is paid for by players), the campfires of the guards' camp, and the tables of the fence-keepers.

The substance, which now appears dim and iridescent ribbons of mist wrapped around me, is a valuable magical ingredient. Though from one elemental, it's not very valuable, if you wrap a layer of half a hundred slain mist around you, you'll glow with even rainbow light, and then you'll have to go to the collectors. They'll give you a token for each "peace of the rainbow," and you're welcome to the guards' tent if you collect those tokens. Local superstition - only light strangers can wear things from other worlds. The natives do not risk, they have some creepy legends about what happens to sapient people who risk using clothing from other worlds.

Equipment is exchanged for tokens - usually without any bonuses, but sometimes you can get something interesting. The more "wrapped up," the more you get, all as in a normal dungeon. They say that the chance of a successful purchase affects the reputation, but this is a rumor.

True, not everyone runs to the stores, because the more wraps of mist, the less aggressive the monsters are. And the farther you can go into the depths, to the center of the field - to the place where the fog monsters are really strong and dangerous, and thus give more experience. Near the center now stood a group of six or seven, barely visible in the fog floating out of the rift. I would have joined them, but...

According to my estimation, I will be noticed on the second day. And I would be evaluated on the third or fourth day when I would have to prove myself as a valuable member of the group.

In the meantime, I should cock my crossbow and take aim at that foggy bird over there: judging by the glow of the aura, it's higher than Ent.

"Paladin!"

Why do you have to yell?

"How are you? How's it going?"

I turned around and looked at the cheerful elf with the bow in his hands. Above his head glowed a green friend-list name.

"Hello, Elariel. What are you doing here, aren't you level 27?"

"Already on the twenty-ninth! I raised it in a raid and got a bow there too! But I had to work hard for it!"

I noted to myself that the half elf was adhering to the treaty. That's commendable.

"Paladin, would you like to join our group?"

I imitated thoughtfulness.

"I could, I guess. But I "sniffing the gas" here."

"Come with us! You're like a level twenty, aren't you? I'm helping some friends. A girl has started playing Druid Healer, so I need to pump her up real quick."

"Well, if you go to the center, I would join. I want to go where the mobs are more fat, to get through."

"No problem, the guys will agree. We've got a good party, and we'll make it to the center! Hey, come on, everybody!"

From the edge of the field, three players began to approach cautiously, avoiding the elementals.

A guy in heavy armor with a shield and axe, a mage, a girl in a green cape, and with staff.

A balanced group - a tank, two DD, and a healer-buffer.

A player invites you to the party. Accept the invitation?

Yes.

Let's see what I can do in the group.

"Hello, everyone. I won't reveal my name because I took a vow. You may call me Paladin."

"Ellie, are you sure we need another one? We went well, didn't we?" There was a note of jealousy in the armored man's voice, apparently reluctant to give up his role as sole protector.

"Her blessing be with us!" Blue sparks flew from my hand and enveloped the players around me in an instant, disappearing glow. "May Her light be our armor!" Now the sparks enveloped my sword, and as they flew off, they were left to burn on the armor of my fellow players. "And I could also heal and stun evil mobs."

"I've always said that a buffer in a group is very useful!" The armored guy nodded to me. "Mine's on the right side, yours is on the left, and Ila's in the aisle, she's got the slower spells. Ellie and Ticha are hitting from behind us. Have you ever had to tank?"

"There was an experience," I answered evasively, without specifying that the experience was fifteen years ago.

"Good. Don't get too obsessed away with the damage... though how does a paladin can do damage... Come on, Ellie, let's go!"

Well, that's how my future life will go. In a line of fighters or alone protecting mages and healers. My main strike force is behind me, all I have to do is stand, occasionally heal those fighting nearby, and make a lunge or two at a mob, forcing it to pay attention to me while the archers and mages prepare a deadly blow. The squad healer takes care of my life, while the monsters' lives are taken care of by the Damage Dealers. Stay and eat the EXP...

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Boredom.

The group worked like clockwork. The elf lured the monsters toward us, the druidess slowed them down, the armored guy and I kept them from getting to the mage, and the mage gave out killer spells. We took turns bathing in the fog, the druidess looked like a ghost, and she got more than the others, so the monsters wouldn't jump on the level fourteen player.

Still, I didn't like it. I was used to waiting in crypts for the right moment, so I couldn't accept the fact that the group was working there and not me alone.

The elf began to aim at the distant spirit, wandering slowly in a circle. It was a good idea of the developers - since incorporeal spirits come out of the breaches, here, in the creature world, they each get their own body, and no two are the same at the same time on the field. Everyone's skills and abilities are, of course, different. That's why we need the archer - it would draw out the spirits that the armored guy and I could distract, and leave out the ones that could strike remotely. In the foggy fields of the high levels, the monsters shuffled so bizarrely that it was hard to predict the outcome of even a single fight.

"Darn! It's a mage!" The elf's voice distracted me from my thoughts. Thirty paces away, a three-legged tornado-like fog column arched the top of the funnel toward us and threw a green lightning bolt at Elariel. For some reason, the lightning was moving at the speed of a running man, and I sprinted toward it.

Strike! The shield on my arm flinched, and I slashed along it. The tentacle, which turned out to be a lightning bolt, jerked away. The druidess connected, and the tornado's legs began to entangle the grasses, but it did not affect the spirit's speed; it simply dissolved the tangles and grew new ones.

The funnel leaned toward us, and two tongues darted out, toward me and the armored guy. I managed to jump, leaning over, under the flying tentacle, but my partner was knocked down. The mage immediately struck with a fireball, but the fire did little damage to the fog vortex. He paid no attention to the elf's arrows or my Evil Exorcism. The girl finally figured it out and, after she'd stopped cupping her footman, she waved her hands, summoning some kind of Nature magic. The vortex faded, became less swift, and finally, my attacks began to lower his health. The mage connected, summoning lightning, and with a loud pop the vortex scattered into a dozen small whirlwinds, scattered with mist.

"Ugh... I used up all my mana. I'm going to drink up now." Ila crouched on the ground, taking a flask from her bag. The mage and the swordsman joined her.

Boring. I was just warming up.

"Guys, while the mages are recovering, I'll try to kill that one myself. When you're rested, you're welcome to join in." And I moved toward the six-legged bear wandering nearby, pulling my crossbow from behind my back as I went.

I started to shoot at maximum range and managed to get two shots off, then jumped around the clumsy carcass. I ducked, catching the spirit in a wide sweep. I struck a paw, severed it, ducked again, severed the other paw, took the blow on my shield, slashed at its belly... The spirit scattered. I stepped into the cloud and spun around. The misty blanket of substance around me was now so dense that it was hard to see the fabric's pattern.

The next one looks something like a bird-dinosaur. Shot in the leg, dash, kick! I jerked back, missing the clawed foot strike. A fireball flew from behind me, knocking the smoky spirit onto its back, and I struck one twitching leg, the armored guy on the other: the spirit scattered.

"Ila, collect the gas."

Another spirit, another, another. I changed the rhythm of the battle, choosing the monsters myself. Spells and arrows flew from behind me, and often I left the armored guy to finish off the helpless wretches and move on.

"Hey, Paladin! Stop it, you damn terminator!"

I distracted myself from the spirit that had taken the form of a winged deer.

"We're almost in the center."

Indeed. Nearby, standing in a circle, they were methodically slaying the elementals and judging by their identical cloaks, there was a guild team - two fighters, two mages, an archer, and a priest. They didn't get carried away, acting with the efficiency of a meat grinder. The mist enveloped them enough to confuse the adventurers with monsters. I turned, surveying the field and choosing a new target.

"Spawn." The elf's voice was somehow unhappy. "There, look, in the center."

The mist began to darken near the guilders' group, and bright lightning flashed through the darkness. The guildmates hesitated noticeably, broke formation, and began to retreat.

"And what is a spawn?" I really didn't know, but it must be something unpleasant.

"Now the aliens are coming out of there. As if the hole to the other world had widened, and not only the spirits but also the inhabitants of that world were able to get through. There would be several waves, each time stronger."

So not spirits, then?

"Are there any loot from them?"

Ellie perked up.

"Only from the bosses. But a good one. And if you kill the boss itself, the gas is blue, they give rare things for it." The voice of the elf dropped again. "But we are unlikely to kill it, even a simple warrior of the spawn is stronger than spirits by twice."

Blue loot, huh? Tempting.

"Ellie, pass the leadership."

Now you're the leader of the group.

"Hey, guilders! Together?" They looked at each other and nodded.

A player offers you to create a raid. Do you agree?

Yes.

General channel.

"Everyone to the field! We're going to clean up the spawn! Those who are with us, go on the raid. If you're chickening out, go to the guards, it's going to be hot!"

Almost immediately, requests for invitations poured in, so I dumped the officer's duties on the elf and went to the guilders myself.

"Hi. I'm Paladin, I help people I know. I want to kill the boss. Are you in?"

"Yes. Do you have a name, paladin?" The tall orc fighter, wearing the same armor as mine, stepped forward.

"I have. But I took a vow not to reveal it until I'd done something worthy. So just call me a Paladin."

There was laughter.

Judging by the statuses, there were already two dozen players in the raid.

"Attention, everyone, this is the leader speaking! Those in armor - the first line, facing the spawn. Thieves, monks, and another melee - on the sides! Mages and archers are second lines, targets for rangers are enemy mages, soldiers in our line, and only then - the commanders of the enemy. If I see someone pounding on his own target, I'll drive him out. Only together, then we'll kill them all!"

My experience may have been outdated, but the logic of using classes probably hasn't changed.

"Ellie, are there any volunteers?"

"No, those who are afraid have gone to the guards."

"Good. The scroll of blessing may give us strength!"

The raid was shrouded in a white-blue haze, and happy cries were heard.

"Buffers, don't sleep!"

The formation murmured, arms waved, and a multicolored glow and shadows of varying degrees of density enveloped the formation. It was thin, to tell you the truth. Seven heavy-armed men, four lightly-armed men, a dozen mages, and only three healers. And me, of course.

"Paladin, aren't you going to join the line?"

With a shrug, I, on the contrary, stepped even farther out.

"No. I'm playing from the virt, the formation will only hold me back."

The mist cloud finally parted, and tall figures resembling elves began to emerge on the field in front of us. Three meters tall, shrouded in black smoke, eyeless elves.

"I'm a little nervous, Pal."

"The only thing to be afraid of is defeat!"

"Damn! There are thirtieth levels! And I have the twenty-second level only!"

"Life is not measured in years; it is measured by the accomplishments of real men."

"I'm a girl, by the way!"

I turned to the formation and looked around at the girl who was speaking.

"And a healer? Could you give me your number?" I was beginning to shake with excitement and anticipation.

The formation laughed, and I turned to the enemy again.

The first of the enemies was almost there.

"Mages, salvo on the nearest one!"

The tall figure raised his hand with the weapon and immediately shuddered with a dozen hits, recoiling. On second thought, I took three steps forward.

"Dash! Let evil retreat! A strike of faith!"

First victory!

But immediately I had to move back to the line - five more figures were coming toward me, gradually speeding up.

"Ellie! You're on target selection, mark it!" It's not a good idea to trust this kind of work to an untested fighter, too much depends on coordination, but I just don't have time to mark targets.

"Roger that."

Fire, sparks, and lightning. The figure closest to us staggered, leveled out, and came toward me again. A step to the side, a kick under the knee, back. Let the heavy fighters take it.

The next target is in armor, with a huge hammer. My shield won't help.

"Arrow!" I turned and ran along the line from the slowed monster to the other, who was fighting off two of our lighter fighters, stabbed him in the back, severed his foot, and glanced at the tracking monitor - the slowed one by me had already been finished off.

The last three of this wave arrived almost simultaneously.

The mages concentrated their fire on the rear, casting something, and the armored soldiers took the blows of the closer one on their shields. Eh, if I had a reliable command, I could rush with light fighters quickly finish off the last, but if I now command an attack - all will rush, forgetting about the line, and that losses and fuss.

I had to act alone, only some mage decided to help.

That's it, this wave is done.

"Raid, ten steps back. Hold the line, don't scatter!"

The point was not to break the distance but to allow each fighter to look back and take the place he had left in the heat of battle.

"Now the second wave is coming. Healers, have you drunk the potions? All right." I sheathed my sword, pulled off my helmet, and rushed into the kitchen. Drink! Even from the tap, but to drink! Coughing up the mineral water that had gone down the wrong throat, I returned to the room and got ready for the fight again.

"Here they come! We made the first ones easy, we'll stick together, and we'll take them down. Raid, ready?!"

"Yes! Ready! Let's do it! Yeah!"

Well, morale is high, healers healed everyone, formation is holding, and buffs are updated.

Maybe we can do it.

"Ellie, the mark! Mages, salvo!"

Let's rumble!

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