The NPC chose seven players, who reached for him. After some quiet chatting, the group of seven left, and the NPC chose the next batch. I ended up in the last third group. Judging by the clothes, there was one Assassin, four Warriors of different professions, and one Destroyer. While the NPC was talking to the second group, an Assassin named Flying Dagger approached me.
“How did you manage to put the Healer's Clothing on yourself? You're a Killer or a Hypnotist, aren't you?”
He seemed to notice that I had come out of invisibility. Only Ninja and his descendants, Assassin and Hypnotist, had the Stealth ability. The Hunter and Sniper had their own class talent, which allowed them to sit indefinitely under the camouflage in an ambush. In opposition to this, it was possible to move around under the Stealth, but it constantly consumes energy.
“It's a camouflage, a Druid camouflage.” - I shrugged it off, laughing inwardly.
“Yes, deceiving the enemy is an important part of a Ninja's abilities.” - The NPC, who had already returned to us, encouraged me. He looked at me with an unreadable look, and then turned to the rest of the group. – “So, you have the most important task. Not far from the Star Forest lies Polar Mountain, home to the Snow Gremlins. These creatures have been among the Dark Lord's most loyal supporters, so they're probably planning something nasty now. You'll need to sneak into the Snow Gremlins' camp and learn about their plans to attack us. Remember that Ninjas are Scouts who specialize in stealthy infiltration and espionage. As a rule, they act alone, and their enemies only discover of their existence just before they die. You must prove to me that you are capable of becoming a true Ninja. Now, go!”
With that advice, the NPC suddenly disappeared under the invisibility and headed toward the Scout Camp to recruit the next batch of players.
I looked at the map and headed toward Polar Mountain. The rest of the squad followed me. The assassin immediately put the Stealth on himself and ran forward, while I decided to keep a low profile for now, staying with the group.
“Cheater, how did you destroy the Evil Seed?” - One of the Warriors spoke to me. Judging by the shield in his hand, he was a Palladin or a Fanatic.
“I did it with a pompous swing of my hand.” - I made a 'heroic' move.
“What?” - The earth adept didn't get my joke.
“You asked 'how’. I answered the question.”
This time the people around me got it, and they started laughing.
“I'm serious! Everyone has tried to get to the First Seed of Evil many times. It was the only Seed whose position was known to everyone.”
“Well, you heard what Ninja Master said.” - I started talking nonsense. – “Only a follower of the Dark Forces could destroy the Evil Seed. That's the whole point.”
“Ah... that's it... How do you become a follower of the Dark Forces?” - A player fell for my trick.
“That's... secret!” - I answered mysteriously, and then laughed with ''The Dark Lord's Laugh''. – “Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!”
My conversation partner puffed up like a chipmunk. The 'comrades' immediately pulled him aside and whispered excitedly, glancing at me.
After a couple of minutes we reached a wide path that led in the direction we wanted to go. Polar Mountain grew next to the Star Forest. This area was considered pretty high level. But most importantly, it was a typical ‘farming area’ with no outposts or revival circles. If a player died there, he had to go back to the mountain from the very portal of the City of Crab. And since the way to the mountain was not a short one, death was equivalent to the loss of at least an hour of time.
As a rule, such areas were the background for all sorts of tasks. Also, there were two dungeons in the central area of Polar Mountain. In addition, you could also just hunt the local fauna in order to get all kinds of resources out of them.
The main inhabitants of the mountain were Snow Gremlins. But besides them, there were also Ice Trolls, Wild Yetis, Polar Wolves, and a few other types of rare monsters. In addition, there was the occasional 'wandering boss' the Frost Spirit of the Mountain. In fact, that was the end of my knowledge of the mountain. I only glanced at the descriptions of the zones where the quests for additional professions could take place.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The road led us out of the Starlight Forest and into the foothills. The weather here was far from summer. There were drifts of snow, from beneath which sparse flowers and... polar cactuses. The last flora flaunted long, icy needles and were a valuable, but extremely troublesome resource.
Finally, we emerged from the supposedly peaceful area, and the Ice Troll appeared in front of us, guarding the path. I immediately hid under my invisibility and went around. The assassin, who also walked under invisibility quite often, followed my example. But the other five members of our team were dumbfounded and started beating the innocent Troll. After a few seconds of the fight, Destroyer joined the battle. As soon as he threw a 'Fire Bomb' it scorched not only the Troll, but four of the warriors as well. After that, the Mage began to receive threats and was forced to limit his attacks to the weakest of spells.
When the Troll fell in the unequal battle, the group of five moved on, swearing at the Destroyer.
“Yeah, just group up and get on with it.” - I gave them some advice.
This proposal made the Assassin glare at me angrily, but he didn't say anything.
“That's right, accept the invitation.” - One of the warriors inspired.
In a few seconds, five of our people were in the same group. I received an invitation, too, but declined it.
“I have invisibility. It's only weaklings like you who need to crowd up.” - I declined this 'generous' offer.
In fact, my advice was a 'bearish favor'. The guides said to pay attention to the words of the NPC who gives out the mission. There could be hints and all sorts of 'hidden conditions'. Ninja Mentor said that ninjas act alone. That is, joining a group is likely to be perceived by him as a violation of rules of the task. The assassin obviously realized that my advice was a covert diversion, but was not in a hurry to tell the others. After all, everyone was on their own here, and the more trouble the others had, the easier it would be for you to get ahead. There was a whole crowd of people in the square at the Scout Camp, but no one there wanted to go back and tell them how to find the right NPC.
The road to the gremlins' camp was long but unremarkable. While I and the Assassin scattered under the invisibility, the others brazenly lunged forward, slaughtering everyone they met. The opponents were designed for single-player killing, so they were powerless against the five. When we saw the gate leading to our desired village ahead, our whole team gathered for a meeting.
“What shall we do?” - Asked one of the warriors.
“I see two ways.” - I gave my valuable opinion. – “You can split up, sneak up on certain groups of gremlins, and listen to what they're saying. Or you can simply break into the chief's hut in a group and beat a conviction out of him by force.”
“Fighting our way through is not an option.” - Destroyer protested. – “We're on a mission to be a ninja, aren't we?”
“But we don't have invisibility. How are we supposed to sneak up on gremlins? They'll attack us when they see us.” - One of the warriors became indignant.
I looked at him in astonishment, and then at the snow gremlins sitting nearby. To me, these foes were 'yellow,' which indicated a neutral attitude. It seemed that killing all those gremlins we'd met along the way had made them the enemy of these five.
“You can hide behind rocks and trees.” - Assassin gave an unexpectedly useful tip. – “If you don't break like rhinoceroses and pant like steam engines, you can get within a hearing distance.”
I did not continue this discussion, but put on an invisibility and went to the camp. Although the village was surrounded by a sort of fence, there were plenty of places where I could get through that fence with a minimum of effort. I started walking around the camp under invisibility, listening to the gremlins talk. Surprisingly, all they did was sit around the fires and talk over each other and everyone around them.
From these conversations I learned that a couple of gremlins would soon have a 'wedding', that the snow foxes were hiding again, that tomorrow they would have to go to the foot of the mountain to catch fish, and that the yeti were out of control, and that a truce should be sent to their leader. Anyway, the gremlins were discussing everything except destroying the Seed of Evil and planning an attack on anyone. I even managed to sneak into the local chief's 'wigwam', but even there the 'hottest' news was the failure of the ice hollow blossom.
After an hour I finally lost hope of hearing anything useful, so I left the camp and fairly quickly found my allies, who had set up camp in the most prominent place, which, however, was at a distance from all the snow gremlins' patrols.
“How's it going?” - I asked, coming out of invisibility. – “Did you learn anything?”
“Yeah.” - Destroyer nodded. – “The Gremlins are going fishing tomorrow. They're getting married the day after tomorrow. What about you?”
“Heh! And I was able to get to important strategic information.” - Everyone present sharply changed. – “This year's ice-cold chowder didn't grow.”
“Ugh!” - One of the warriors expressed a common opinion. – “Strategic information. You say that too.”
“The gremlins don't seem eager to rebuild the Dark Lord's empire.” - Destroyer sighed bitterly.
“Yes, something has to be done about that.” - The group leader agreed. – “Or we won't be Ninjas.”
“All right.” - I said smugly, switching on my God of Slaughter aura. – “Watch and learn!”