Chapter 33
Three days had passed since the prince had declared the isolation. Healers often came to Nick to examine his wounds and give him some advice on spells. He learned the advanced 2nd level spell "Accelerated Flesh Healing" and used it every day. Now he could get out of bed on his own, of course, the pain was terrible, but he was happy with even such a small success. Nick spent three days mainly in meditation, so that he would have mana for his spell later. He received about 500 MP per day, which he later spent on flesh restoration spells. He had time to get used to the spell and learn to effectively pour his will into it, and spend less mana on casting. In a spell in which his will was, he did not notice much difference from a regular spell, but he believed that it gave a better effect. Now the spell "Accelerated Flesh Healing" cost him 210 MP and a little bit of Willpower after 10 hours of work.
Nick learned from the healers that 10 people had already been infected, three of whom were not coping well with the disease. For now, the healers had enough mana to keep things under control, but Nick wasn't sure how long it would last. Nick was completely fed up with the routine he found himself in.
My god, next time I find myself in a desperate situation like this, I need to think about other options. Overtaxing my body is simply not an option, but what else can I do? If I had taken the time to learn fire magic, I would have definitely won, otherwise the beast would have run away. It would still be better than this. Sure, my magic skills are still crap compared to specialists, but I just don't have the time to close the gap with tactics. And of course, relying on artifacts doesn't help at all.
While thinking about this, he heard Teacher Elton's voice outside. A moment later, he felt mana heading towards him. Nick didn't know how to react to it, he recognized the signature of the mana and didn't resist it. The mana completely surrounded him and created a thin barrier on his skin. Nick rose into the air and flew towards the teacher. Looking around, he saw that all of his classmates were in the same situation. Teacher Elton lined them up next to him and began his speech as they floated in the air, each surrounded by their own barrier.
"I can say that you have coped with the plague infection acceptably. But of course the 10 people who were infected will not be happy with my assessment. In order to somehow make your "training" easier, I decided to give you some advice. 80 kilometers further down the river there are a large number of medicinal plants. I see how your greedy eyes sparkle. Some of you can't wait to go and take it all for yourself, but I hasten to disappoint you. The plants are looked after by a [Forest Troll] [Special] Lvl 233, with the class [Forest Druid] [Rare] Lvl 200 and the class [Axe Adept] [Rare] Lvl 200. The troll is intelligent as you understood and very strong, it was he who had to get rid of the damned Ent, but you got ahead of him. He does not know who helped him and you can use this to earn his favor. But I want to make you understand that although the troll smart, he doesn't like people, for all the obvious reasons. I hope he won't kill you if you come to him. How to deal with the troll depends only on you, you can steal the plants, or just ask him for help. In any case, it will not affect your final grade. Any questions?"
Nick thought about this situation, the Troll was very strong and could certainly help them. But without knowing his mentality, it was hard to say what exactly he would do. In this situation, the Troll could be the only way out. While he was thinking about this, Alistair spoke.
"Teacher Elton, can you tell me how the troll will react to the cursed weapon?"
"That was a stupid question, Alistair. You all should know that druids despise all magic that negatively affects the forest. The Ent, if someone didn't stop him, would eventually ruin the entire forest. And a cursed weapon that does the same thing would not be considered good at all in the eyes of a troll."
"Thank you for your answer, Teacher Elton."
"Okay, I'm not in the mood to listen to your stupid questions. You have to handle everything yourself, be grateful for the help."
Teacher Elton waved his hand and everyone he kept inside his barriers went back to where he took them from. Nick went into catharsis because he was sure that this would be a fun adventure, he hoped that the conversation with the troll would go well, since this was his chance to heal much faster.
***
An hour later, the Prince gathered all the people who had not been infected with the plague on a smooth forest glade. Even Nick was present, and a stone mage and a fire mage came in after him to carefully translate him. After waiting for everyone to gather, Evander began the meeting.
"I think many of you understand why I gathered you all here. I will say right away that we will not try to deceive the troll, or steal the plants we need. We must abide by the laws of our kingdom and therefore we will not even discuss this. We still have to decide how many people and who we will send to meet the troll. Alas, these cannot be healers, despite how useful they will be on this journey. Suggest candidates and together we will decide who can become a member of the group."
Hmm, so the two strongest of us can't take part in this. I can't because I'm injured, and Cassandra can't because she's a vampire. No matter how good I think of her, a druid will probably think of vampires as wild, insatiable monsters. It would also be stupid to send a fire mage for a pretty obvious reason. The best choice would be to send Liam, Ariana, Brandon and Alistair. But obviously they alone won't be enough, we need a strong close-range warrior. Hmm, it's definitely not that bastard Nathan Spelsword, despite my personal dislike for him, he's not suited for long journeys due to his class, of course he may know "techniques" that use only endurance, but what good will they be if they're not as effective as those of any other adept? Sending a prince might be a good decision, but without a real leader, whenever there's danger, people will think of themselves first and forget about any kind of cohesion.
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Nick decided to speak first.
"I suggest sending Liam, Brendon, Ariana and Alistair. I'm not sure about anyone else." The prince nodded at his words.
"You're right, it's a good group. Does anyone have any objections?" The prince asked and looked at the people Nick had chosen. But everyone remained silent, admitting that it wouldn't be a bad group.
"Okay, since no one wants to volunteer, what about you Matt?"
Nick turned his gaze to the guy who fought with them against Ent, Nick remembered him well, but never remembered his name.
Name: Matt Bahr 15 years old
Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 40
Class: Spear and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 4
Class: Not Selected
In principle, not a bad choice, he should easily adapt to the team and take the main place of the tank.
"It would be an honor for me Prince Evander, I would gladly take a place in the group." He said and bowed to the prince.
"Okay, okay. I think five people will be enough. Brandon will be the leader and I want you to listen to him." The chosen people stood up from their seats and approached the prince. Nick assessed everyone before such a long journey, he had to know how quickly they would level up.
Name: Liam Changeable Water 15 years old
Race: Human attuned to water mana [Rare] Lvl 31
Class: Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare] Lvl 5
Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] Lvl 2
Name: Alistair Kitherius, 15 years old
Race: Human [Unusual] Level 44
Class: Alchemist [Rare] Lvl 7
Class: Not selected
Name: Brandon Stoneshield, 15 лет
Race: Human Attuned to Stone Mana [Rare] Level 20
Class: Stone Mage [Rare] Lvl 4
Class: Spear and Shield Disciple [Uncommon] Lvl 12
Name: Ariana Kilsten, 15 years old
Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Level 31
Class: Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare] Lvl 3
Class: Not selected
Since Nick's last assessment, everyone had raised one level in the [Rare] classes. He was very curious about how their journey would go. He had deliberately not used the [Reincarnator's Madness] skill, but he would do so now. As he used the skill, various scenarios began to pop up in his head. Some had more weight in his head, which he assessed as more likely, some had less weight. There were many possibilities, some led to them activating the ring when the troll considered them a threat, some ended in a resounding success and his complete healing. There was even a version of how Teacher Elton teleported in front of them and created a barrier that withstood an unknown attack, after which he fought an unknown monster that he could not see. This seemed strange to him, before the skill either did not work or could not foresee something. A black spot in the shape of a monster never appeared in his vision.
Of course you can resist my foresight, but it shouldn't work on time, only on probabilities. It's unclear how someone can bypass it, I'm sure there are various skills, but for them to work even against something like this? That's strong! I bet that now this creature knows that someone tried to find it!
Congratulations, you have leveled up the skill [Reincarnator's Madness][Special] Lvl 402 > Lvl 403
Well of course it was damn obvious, bravo!!!
His expression changed, which he hoped no one noticed. As he sorted through the information in his head, Nick prepared to give some advice.
"Okay, let's discuss the main thing. You have to build a friendly relationship with him so that the troll wants to help us. You should not offer him something you can't give, do not deceive him, do not steal, etc. Do not be aggressive and be honest. Despite the fact that he is a troll, you must treat him as a person, explaining it in simpler terms, be friendly, do not demand what he does not want to do. I can say obvious things, but you must take them seriously. Any questions?" The Prince said, to which everyone else nodded their heads. Nick saw this as an opportunity to speak.
"Also do not forget that he [the Forest Druid] treats the forest with respect. I will explain, you can kill animals only for two reasons. The first is when you are hungry, the second is when you are defending yourself from something. Do not kill what you will not eat, if some animal attacks you, think about why it did it. Try not to kill even those who attack you, the druid may have protection in the form of animals that live on his territory and if you kill the wrong animal, the future conversation with the troll will not go well. You can safely kill anyone who has any sign of a curse, you may encounter infected animals, these can be different diseases and if the disease is incurable, you will learn this from Alistair, you can safely kill the creature. Otherwise, just do not catch their eye. Also, you should avoid places where there are no trees and few plants without an obvious reason. Take more provisions with you just in case and the new weapon that Alistair created. Hm, I think the rest will be clear from listed by me and Evander, I wish you good luck!"
"Yeah, that's good advice, thanks Dylan. You're surprisingly good at handling these situations, where did you learn that?" Evander asked as the others nodded at his words.
"Liam and I once registered with the adventurers' guild under fake names." Nick wasn't lying.
"Mmm, that was my dream too, but alas, there are no low-level adventurers with a holy core. So I would have done the same as you," Evander said with a little regret.
"Okay, prepare for the journey. You must leave as soon as possible!" The prince said with a serious face. To which the five responded with a respectful "Yes, my Prince!"
Nick laughed lightly at the overall seriousness of the situation. He couldn't help it, it was funny to him. Five teenagers with serious faces saying that to another teenager. It was really a joke to him. Coming out of his fun state, Nick called Liam over to give him some personal advice. When he approached, Nick spoke in a quiet voice.
"Liam, you should know about my skill. Now, if you come across something particularly dangerous, and I'm sure you will. Squeeze the teleportation ring with all your might." Nick leaned closer and created a barrier that prevented eavesdropping close between them.
"There is a good chance that someone could break or somehow block the ring's actions..." Nick said with a serious face.
Liam nodded silently and from the way his face darkened, Nick knew that Liam really, really didn't like this.
"Did you find out what it could be?" Liam asked.
"No, this creature is blocking my foresight, this is the happened first time. I only found out because Master Elton teleported and fought against it, but I didn't see anything. Everything was completely unreadable, including the creature's silhouette." Liam nodded and replied.
"Okay, I'll be careful."
"Good luck, my friend!"