Epilogue
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The camera flashed, the image flashed white, then the filters triggered.
The lens looked down on an ordinary room about twenty-five meters square, maybe a little larger, almost empty - a chair to the side, a bracket with a keyboard, a light treadmill. A man in a tracksuit appeared in the frame.
"Can you see me? You can. So, dear viewers, forgive my nervousness. This is my first appearance in front of such a large audience. As the computer tells me, a hundred and forty thousand people are already watching my attempts to appear a relaxed and seasoned presenter. As a reminder, this is being broadcast simultaneously from the camera and the virt sensors, so you can choose the format that suits you best.
The man stepped to the middle of the room, coughed, and continued:
"All of you are here for one reason - curiosity drove you. Well, most of you, because some of you were driven by greed. Don't be embarrassed. iI's a natural feeling! As I'm sure you know, two days ago, it was reported on the Creators of Destiny offsite that one player had completed a quest that no one had yet managed to complete in its entirety. A quest to gain a Hero Class as a Paladin! That player is me!"
The man grinned, spread his arms, and made an ironic grimace.
"I'll be honest - I don't even know what the new heroic class is called! The end of the quest was so dramatic that I literally fell out of the game in prostration and only had time to see congratulations! To be honest," he lowered his voice, "I'm very, very interested too! And rest assured, I won't let you down and reveal all the secrets! Yes, as stated in the article on the page of my media partner, the largest online magazine Main Protagonist, I intend to fully reveal all the nuances, all the secrets, and all the specifics of my journey to becoming a Hero! This will be a series in which I will tell you about the paladin who could! But, so you don't get bored, I'll reveal one little secret right now."
He lowered his voice and looked around.
"As I was lying around trying to figure out how I managed it, the Support guys contacted me and advised me to look at the account page. As I'm sure you all know, each newly discovered quest has an increased reward for the first completion. And the more difficult the quest, the longer no one has been able to complete it, the bigger this bonus is. Now let's remember, what is the paladin archetype? It's the second-hardest class in the game! And I did this quest. The second hardest quest in the game that no one has been able to complete for nearly three years. What do you think I got for doing it the first time? An artifact? A lot of free points? A huge amount of reputation? Well, while the Main Protagonist commercials are going on, think about the fact that there are "small power rings" in the game, but no one has heard of medium... or large. And now the commercials!"
A minute-long clip from a popular magazine went on the screen, with glimpses of new games, announcements, and broadcast schedules.
"Now, where were we?" The man put his finger to his forehead, thought about it, and then looked sneeringly at the camera. "Oh, how I'm being scolded now... by those one hundred and sixty thousand people in the audience. Students have an omen that those who are scolded firmly and sincerely will pass their exams. I think I have a good chance of getting two or three university degrees in one fell swoop! But I won't bore you with it! Introducing a new in-game item - the "Ring of Power"! Yes, you heard right, if a "Small Ring" is bought for real money and therefore can not be transferred between players, the simple ring is quite possible to pass from person to person. All it takes is the will... And now, a moment's attention."
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The man held his hand up and pointed at the monitor with a rising number. Finally, the time was up.
"So we see that one thousand two hundred and forty... eighty... three hundred and twenty personal messages. These were the greediest! They don't even know what they can get for this ring, but they've already sent their requests. And you can get... it's nothing. You can't buy a spell with it. You can't add a stat or boost your reputation. All they're good for is a rank upgrade. One ring, one rank. No more than that."
He looked seriously at the audience and then winked.
"Say, raise the Camp skill from first to second rank. Or raise a guild from rank nine to ten. There's not much they can do... and now, another minute of waiting!"
The man was silent again, glancing at the monitor, occasionally snickering and saying "Wow!" or "So-ka!" a couple of times.
"Time's up! Four thousand... and a little. And... five thousand already. Alas, I must disappoint them all. I no longer have the Rings of Power. I spent two on myself, and now, in addition to the "rings" I've bought with the accumulated since the game's release, I have a sixth-ranked Scribing and a sixth-ranked Spell Grasp. I like to scribble something in my free time, you know. I also gave two more to Main Protagonist magazine... you have no idea what kind of monsters they are. They almost tortured me! But now my two remaining rings have been transferred to the editorial account of the Main Protagonist, so keep a close eye on their news. A competition will be announced no later than a month from now, and the reward for winning will be one of the rings! Fighting for your best interests, my dear viewers, I managed to squeeze out a promise that any, literally any player, regardless of level, could win the Grand Prize! The fate of the second ring, I was promised, would be decided in a guild dispute, and what that would be - I dread to think!"
The man sighed sadly and folded his palms in front of him:
"Also, as a Paladin, I hate to inform you that an influx of Death Knights... as well as Guardian of Portls and Merchants are expected in the game. These three classes require precise and careful browsing for Heroic Classes! If four rings were given for the paladin quest, then how many are given to the Death Knight? Oh-ho... well, watch my story carefully, and maybe you or your co-guildmate will manage to become the main protagonist after all! By the way, shall we get started already? Can't wait!"
The man walked over to a chair and carefully put on the Virt harness and modules. He fastened a crossbow behind his back. Holding his helmet in his hands, he turned towards the camera:
"And that's how it is every day! What to do - if you want to achieve something seriously, you have to devote yourself wholeheartedly to it. So, are you ready? By the way, do you know about the "Big Power Rings"? I asked a CODs employee who communicated with me in preparation for this broadcast. Would you like to know what he told me?" The man winked at the camera and then said sadly: "That's classified information, he said. No, what do you call that?! And that's how they treat a man who has come such a hard way? Comp - the launch of the Creators of Destiny!"
He put on his helmet and lowered his visor.
"So, loading... here I am standing at the altar, in the very spot where the quest was completed. The log icon flashes. Do we click? See how my hands are shaking? I drank some tea with a sedative before the performance! Well, do we click? And that's it - a Heroic Class is available to you! Shall I press I agree? Or Refuse?" The hand in the virt glove moved several times between the buttons. "I can hear you screaming from thousands of miles away, my friends! But I will not refuse! So, the new heroic class is called..."
He fell silent. Then he chuckled and said in a completely serious voice, clearly to himself:
"Yes, this is really interesting." With another chuckle, he returned to his old manner of reporting. "The new Heroic Class of Creators of Destiny is called the Inquisitor."
First, let's take a look at the changes in characteristics...
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The End