The clock struck nine and Blake went into the VR pod and chose Guns and Magic. He appeared online after a two-minute loading and found himself in the blacksmith's workshop on the bed and rubbed his eyes as if he was still in reality and sleepy, he looked at the cheerful Doffersnoah.

"Has it become a habit already?" The blacksmith asked.

"What?"

"Rubbing your eyes."

Ronnie nodded and yawned.

"Dreamed what?"

Ronnie did not answer.

"Sometimes it's better to talk. Believe me. What happened to you there?"

Ronnie rubbed his nose and looked up from the anvil and said:

"Today, so many people try to force me to open myself."

Doffersnoah let out a terrible laugh and tapped his fingers on his breast apron, bared his teeth, and asked:

"Veterans' Aid group?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, you don't have any friends except me."

"If I didn't like your directness, I would have sent you to fuck yourself a long time ago."

"I like you for the same thing."

Ronnie leaned on the table and began:

"Okay, I'll tell you. In my dream, I was walking along a deep canyon. I saw myself from the outside. I was holding a torch in my hands. Darkness was behind, darkness was ahead. On the sides, in the dim yellow light of the fire, statues of giants, the size of a fifty-story house, were exposed. Everyone was dressed in robes, and instead of faces, some skulls were wearing crowns. Someone was standing in a prayer pose, someone raised his hand as if controlling puppets, another clutched his head, and another looked into the distance. I was walking along this endless corridor, and at the end, my father was sitting with my mother by the fire. I felt them waiting for me. When I woke up, everything that was in the dream seemed so real. Shit. In short, I went to visit them at the cemetery. In the end, it calmed me down."

"Bloody hell, does it even leave you?" Doffersnoah asked and brewed herbal tea and handed the mug to Ronnie.

"Have a drink, boy."

"I wanted to ask…"

The blacksmith suddenly jerked in fright, Ronnie looked at him and asked:

"What happened?"

"Someone is trying to break through the protective field. His name is Latludious. Do you know someone like that?"

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A second later, there was a knock on the door. The blacksmith walked up to the entrance with an imposing step, turned the key in the lock, and saw a little guy in front of him, who introduced himself, took a step forward, and saw Ronnie inside.

"It's time for us to move out," he said.

"What an honor," Ronnie replied and bowed casually.

"He'll go when he wants to, kid."

"We have a contract with him."

"I'll come to the Otron's airport this afternoon."

"We need to go now."

"Now my guest is drinking tea. As for you, you passed through my protective field without permission, and I'll find out how."

"And what will you do? Draw a picture about it?"

"Yeah. With you and a hoe stuck in your head."

Latludious grinned and snapped his fingers and turned into little butterflies that flew apart, and after five seconds gathered together.

"I didn't come to fight. Ronnie?"

"Beautiful butterflies," he replied and sipped some hot tea.

"We have to go."

"Why are you called "Bishop"?" - Ronnie continued, looking sideways at his gun.

The blacksmith took a chair and sat right in front of Latludious.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I don't have a place for uninvited guests."

"I'm good at chess," the magician replied, looking at Ronnie like a collector at a debtor.

"It's time to leave this place," Doffersnoah said.

Latludious examined the room, found a secret trapdoor to the basement. He wondered what was there. On the walls, he saw several katars and swords of excellent quality, as well as small, medium, and large shields. In the end, his attention was attracted by the SVDK on the forge table and the silencer for Barrett.

"You're finished, aren't you?" the magician said to Ronnie, not looking at Doffersnoah.

"I'll be there in the afternoon."

"You heard him."

The surf exploded outside the window and foam hissed. A clock was ticking on the wall. Ronnie put the cup on the table and walked up to the magician and said:

"Latludious, I still have things to do here. As soon as I finish them, I'll come."

"Two o'clock in the afternoon, game time. We'll be waiting. Don't be late."

The magician left. Doffersnoah turned to Ronnie and said:

"Do you see that?"

"What?

"Firstly, that he has magic."

"He's not alone."

"Not alone?"

"In the city, I met another one, less circumspect. His nickname is Fremaho. In the center of the square, he was shooting fire until his head flew off his shoulders."

"For anvil's sake, what the fuck is going on in this game. I wonder what players will write on the forum. Whatever, Latludious did not pass through the protective field with this spell. It's a mile up the hills from the closed entrance to here, if not more. Besides, I would have learned about the movement of even an uninvited grasshopper in the grass."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to tell you about the fact that the brat thinks he's smarter than us. He teleported, I'll bet my head. Be careful with him. If a person tries to fuck you over small things from the doorstep, then be sure, he'll fuck you over on a larger scale, just give him some time."

Ronnie went to the silencer, attached it to the Barrett and hung the rifle back on his shoulder, and said:

"Then the lie will cost him more than he can imagine."

The blacksmith cleared his throat and said:

"Before you leave. We were interrupted. What did you want to ask me?"

"I take it you went to group therapy?"

"There was a case."

"How was it?"

"There were people who went through the same thing as me. They understood me. We talked a lot, not only about the past but also about pressing matters, politics, cooking. It was a good time. You're still young and stubborn, you don't understand the benefits. I was the same as you. I was furious every time someone asked me something."

"Do you think I should trust them?"

"I think it's up to you to decide. I gave you some advice."

"See you Doffersnoah."

The blacksmith put his hands on his knees, got up, held out his hand to him, and said:

"Let the bullet do your will, see you later."

They shook hands, and Ronnie went to his workshop to get everything he needed. He took one last look at the ocean, at its dead calm and the fish jumping in an arc. It's nice here, he thought, even too much.