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*This is a rough translation that requires further proofreading, but allows you to familiarize yourself with the book and understand the general idea.

**Enjoy exploring the introductory chapters, and know that they'll be continuously improved as we edit the book!

Prologue

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Game News. Today we have some good news for you: the opening date of Celestial Era is now known!

Under the header, I read an announcement about all the accounts and unique features, among which was a special offer - replacing a regular capsule with a specialized one created by the developer's company.
Then there was an insert of the developer's words, which I didn't really watch. Since the project was everything to me, I studied everything I could get my hands on: official news, leaks from testers and God knows what else.

Oh, yeah, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Nik and I'm a loser nerd who can't do anything in this life except play games. But this project made me, in its own way, a different person, it opened up opportunities that no other development in the whole world! After all, it was in him I could combine my two dreams, firmly settled in my head after reading a lot of books - I wanted to become a pirate and sailing the endless expanses of the universe. And "Celestial Era" gave such an opportunity, there everything depended only on you and your desire. Another pleasant moment was the possibility of withdrawing financial resources in the real.

The system of character parameters distribution could be called the highlight of the project. I have no idea how they managed to realize this thing, but the starting parameters of the character depended on the person's skills in reality! If there is any truth in this, it opens up absolutely unimaginable possibilities. So I spent a solid chunk of time studying two-handed pistol shooting, read a lot of books on the structure of aircraft and machinery in general, and of course, a lot of fiction. Among which there were at least a dozen books about space, where you could at least approximately learn the device of ships and what they are. In general, everything that I had once dreamed of realizing.

I have spent the last six months of my very interesting and fulfilling existence doing these simple activities. Probably, many people will wonder, where did a loser nerd get so much money? It's simple - I sold everything I had in all my projects and some things in real life. In particular, the car - one figurine hands will not reach the restoration of my, probably, the third most important dream. Sometimes I remember how much effort and money I spent on its search on all possible sources and trading sites, and in the end pulled out from under the press..... But that's in the past, now Celestial Era is waiting for me.

 
After collecting a considerable amount of money, I allocated it to purchase an account with a very interesting name - "Extinguished Star". It was the maximum, had all possible initial "pluses" and gave several unique opportunities. Among which was access to the mystical merchant "Old Man". From him you could get equipment better than in the official store, but specifically worn. There was a unique opportunity to choose the planet on which you would appear.
Dang, I'm going to have to pause here and clarify. The essence of the beginning of the CosmoEra game is that you appear on a planet in a destroyed colony. Merchants and other NPCs are the first generation to awaken after the cataclysm, and you are already the second, if not the third. To go into space, you need to find treasure and acquire (or build) a ship in a shipyard. Each planet has a few explicit and a few hidden shipyards for repairing or building ships. So, where was I? Ah yes, on choosing a unique starting location - only in a maxed out account did you get the option to choose an "obscurity" type planet for your starting position. This type of planet is considered pure madness, because the level of danger and the amount of treasure are distributed there completely randomly. Total randomness and complete lottery. And the number of shipyards is also unknown. It is guaranteed that there are only two shipyards that are in the camp.
After buying an account, I ran into a problem - my generation of capsules didn't fit the project. I was horrified, but luckily there was an opportunity to buy capsules from the developer. It was a very significant discount on the old model, which I did not fail to take advantage of.
So, a short report on readiness for the game: a new capsule - I have it, a maximum account - I have it, my body and mind are loaded to the brim with the necessary information. It remains to wait for the start of the project, which will be in a week, and for this week I need to pay for the apartment, internet and a bunch of other life stuff.
As a result, by the start of the project my fridge was full of food, all the bills were paid for a couple of months in advance, the capsule was capable of giving me a maximum of three days of full immersion without leaving the cocoon. I was eagerly counting down the last minutes to the start of the project.....

Chapter 1

The game has begun

So, the moment everyone has been waiting for for years has arrived - the start of the game.
My morning started with coffee and watching the news about her. Right after that I got busy checking the pod before the game started and loading containers of nutrient mix for three days. Because the first 72 hours would be crucial to success. After all, everyone will rush to look for treasure, and this is a super important resource, the amount of which directly depends on the time spent in the game. Of course, if luck smiles on you and you manage to quietly find and, most importantly, bring your treasure to the settlement.
The official forum has already been full of topics on recruiting people into clans and groups, as it is easier to find people and you can only achieve something really cool together. On this topic, the eternal dispute began, what is more important - the quantity or quality of people in the clan? Having studied all the pros and cons, having calculated my own feelings and way of life, I realized that it would be hard for me to be in a company. After all, I am essentially a loner who decided that he could achieve his goals in this game, which, nevertheless, is a reflection of me and my life. However, in the long run, having a group or even a clan will help me develop and face other clans, but it's been a long, long time since I've led a clan.... We'll think about our own clan later, it would be good to organize our own group first, and for that we need to find a ship and gather a team on the rights of the captain of the ship. So definitely later.
It was time to start. I was a little nervous, anticipating a new adventure. Pulling back the lid of the capsule, I looked at my bed. It was different from many designs I had seen before - there was no eco-gel from the start, it was poured in later, after fixing a special cuff with injectors. Most of the systems and mechanisms were activated when the player was already in the capsule, so now it was a pristine light-colored space. After I lay down on the bed that fixed in the space inside the capsule, it adjusted to a comfortable position for me. A connection hoop was automatically placed on my head and locked into place. The level of automation in the capsule was amazing, because in simpler models I had to adjust a lot of things by hand. My old cocoon had no automation at all! I adjusted everything by hand for myself, and put a hoop on my head every time before connecting it. But as for me, each capsule is a work of art and a triumph of engineering thought.
I won't tell you about the character creation, it's quite banal. A kind of standard with cool chips and various little things. I'd rather emphasize the choice of your race, there is a mind-boggling number of them here! You can be anything you want: elf, dwarf, orc, or even a tiefling or fairy, there are practically no restrictions. However, I decided to stay human - humans are much more favorable in terms of development, because they can pump any stats in a balanced way. Many people may disagree with this, saying that humans are the easiest way to develop, average, good at everything and nothing at the same time. Well, that's their right. After the race was the customization of the body and appearance. I didn't bother with the hairstyle - gray hair to the shoulders, beard and multicolored eyes. Since there is such an opportunity, I should definitely use it. Every corsair should have his own specialty. I'm of average build, not a jock, but not a dead man either.
So, within the game, my name will be Nevergard. My nickname is as old as the world, but still quite original. In my humble opinion, of course. As one kind person once said, the nickname can be interpreted as "defending nothing".
Launch ...
I expected to open my eyes in a capsule or cryo-chamber or some other awakening system, but that was not the case. A very strange-looking man in a suit appeared before my eyes and began to speak:
"Good afternoon, for I do not know whether you will awaken in the day, night, or morning. That is not the important thing. The important thing is that you have awakened, which means that the cycle of rebirth is working.
But don't think it's going to be easy. You are only entitled to one free resurrection in the capsule, and then you have to pay for it. And remember, in the settlement where you awakened, you are not the ones who will be greeted as saviors. You are just another mouth to feed, which means you have to work and be useful! So be prepared for hardship.
By my conservative estimate, only by the fourth generation of the Awakened will the settlements become cities. So you're not so lucky. You're in-- okay, I've been talking to you a long time. Go forth, awakened ones. It is in your power to create your own destiny and influence the development of the world!"
After those words, everything went dark for a second, and then the world filled with sounds and smells. I slowly opened my eyes...
I was in a capsule that was slowly rising to a vertical position. I felt very tired, as if I had run a marathon. I was very thirsty. A slightly pungent odor hit my nose, something reminiscent of metal and medicine. A click, half of the capsule sliding aside.
- Nevergard, condition satisfactory, vital signs normal. Awakening was successful. Exact purpose of arrival and biography unknown. Personal effects are in the container to the left of the stasis chamber. You have 10 minutes to pack, after which time the chamber and the container will be locked. - said a female voice with a metallic tinge.
- Hello to you, too. - I answered and started to pack.
When I got dressed, the first thing I did was to use my personal terminal. It was the only way to get all the necessary information about the world, players, items, and so on.
The mystery planet Infixus. It's somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. Judging by my terminal data, the least number of players decided to appear on it. The beauty of the nature that ruled the planet was breathtaking. But at times, it was also dangerous.
Okay, time is money, and I only have 7,000 credits. Where did you say the junk dealer is?
Finding the junk dealer's mark on the map, I ran to him. As I approached, I saw a line outside the modification and refinement building. Yeah, I guess a lot of people decided that the psi way was the coolest for them. Put on some implants and kill everyone with your mind. And I remember the words of developers that the management of psi abilities will be very difficult. If you put in a cool psionic module right away, it would be a waste of credits.
There was also a line at the junk shop, but it was easier there. Everyone shopped mostly at the terminals. New gear, great selection and draconian prices. I didn't just come for gear, I wanted information.
- Good day! - I began my dialog with the merchant, a man in his forties, of dense build. His face was scarred; apparently, the planet was hard on the people who inhabited it.
- And a light wake-up call to you too! - he answered me.
- And show me your goods. - I asked.
- Well, look, it's no big deal. But the terminals are all busy, maybe you're looking for something specific? - he said.
- Definitely looking for. Pair of mid-range pistols. Light to medium armor with respirator or closed breathing cycle and adaptive camouflage system, may not be new. Before the kit, pick up the rest, for a three day camping trip.
- You have very specific tastes, I must say. It's an odd combination. Yours is all about heavy armor or psionics. But that's their way, and you have this choice. - With these words he turned to me the monitor with the options of what I needed.
Yes, the choice, I'll tell you, was not that rich, but very interesting. In the end, I settled on a good-quality scout suit with an integrated camouflage system, not perfect, but in the dense foliage the system was like a chameleon. Kinetic twin pistols that looked like Colt 1911s, but were highly modified. As I understood from the description, not only the muzzle was added to them, but also the dispersal module. Good pistols, but the ammunition is small - only 12 needles in the magazine. But the variety of needles pleased, there were explosive, cryo and emi needles, as well as needles with tracking sensors. There was a bag with a 10% weight loss module, albeit a little, but nice. The only downside was that all of these things had poor durability and needed repairs, but I think they'll survive my first extended raid. Well, and of course dry rations and medicines, as well as all sorts of things necessary for survival and treasure hunting.
It is necessary to eat and drink in the game, because after waking up the brain can catch such a big dissonance. Then therapy and a rather protracted treatment. Going to the toilet is a little easier, but the situation is generally similar.
- Thanks for the gear. Really well chosen options, it was a pleasure to choose. Can you tell me if there are any interesting places to go, not for free, of course? - I asked hopefully.
- Well, why don't you tell a mortal where to go? - he said with a smirk. - I'll throw you a couple of marks on the map where the searchers went and said there's a lot to be had there if you're a lucky son of a bitch. Maybe you'll get lucky.
After these words, I received a data packet with updated map elements, where there were markings and a brief description of those places. After all the necessary purchases, I decided to sit on the square for a while. I decided to have a snack, and at the same time to warm my ears, respectively.
Almost everyone was grouped together to make the search easier. The peddler was right - there were a lot of "heavy" ones, as well as those who decided that they didn't need weapons if they had psi abilities. Big fans of playing mages, apparently. They made me feel a little weird. Although there were some people with equipment like mine, but they were clearly clan fighters, already assigned to units. So the choice of their equipment was decided in advance based on the needs of the squad.
Okay, I'm distracted, I need to work out a route based on the data the merchant sold me.
The first point is a gorge, the lowest level of danger. There are ships lying there, which can be examined for something interesting. Although there may not be anything left there, but you should check it out.
The second point is an abandoned complex. What's wrong with it and what's on it is unknown, since they couldn't get in there, only recorded the location from afar. Or they could, but didn't come back with complete data. There's a security system in place in the form of droids and active defense systems. It's possible that it's a stronghold or a secret shipyard.
And the third point, the strangest, is the dome. No one knows what's under it, what energy source it's powered by, or how to get there, nor does anyone know its true size. From the point of view of the one who discovered it, it seemed to be the size of a small village.
That's it, three points. Let's start, perhaps, with the gorge, where we can definitely find something interesting. I might even be lucky enough to find a schematic of the ship, though I'm a bit out of my depth here. That kind of luck would get me very far. Dreaming is not harmful, but treasure will not appear by itself.
All right, let's take a look at the stats before we go:
Nick: NevergardNevergard.Level: 1
Class: -
Skills:
Pair of pistols - 25
Small caliber pistols - 50
Medium caliber pistols - 25
Large caliber pistols - 15
Control of small aircraft - 15
Control of medium-sized aircraft - 15
Control of large aircraft - 15
Spacecraft management - 12
Mechanic - 20
Medic 20.
Key Features:
Strength - 8
Dexterity - 9
Intelligence - 12
Stamina - 10
Luck - 6
 
And here I am standing in front of the gate, and behind it is a huge new world full of adventures and mysteries. You know, it's quite scary to venture into the unknown alone, especially when it's full of various dangers. But my way and style of play required me to develop alone. At least in the first stages, there would only be chaos and confusion in a group. All right, let's move out. Our goal - a favorable position for tracking the gate and the opportunity to hang tags on the most tasty units - in case they fall somewhere, and the good what? Waste? I couldn't afford such a waste!
A quick march into the nearest forest thickets and inspection of everything that could be found around and underfoot, led to the fact that a notification appeared: "Level 1 Pathfinder skill gained". The next thing I knew, I found three lone psions sitting in ambush. They are funny, but they are useless for me, and if they attack a squad, they are guaranteed to kill everyone. I managed to get past them due to the camouflage mode in my armor, plus my movement style, based on the distribution of body loads and a couple of acrobatic techniques, came in handy. Still, a level 1 psionic is a pretty pathetic sight, and they couldn't smell me. All this whistling entailed, after 40 minutes of my movement, came a notification: "Open secret characteristic Acrobatics "Open secret characteristic Acrobatics "Open secret characteristic Acrobatics "Open secret characteristic Acrobatics".
Gods, I was so happy about this notification, because it gave me a lot of room for development. At least I thought so, was the hidden characteristic for nothing? But this is all in the future, and now, after running through the forest and raising acrobatics to 7 units, I climbed up a fairly tall tree. I set up a small ambush and decided to observe the paths, which there were two. My expectations were not in vain - a large group of 12 men, clearly clan-based, was moving along one of the trails. I started to think about how best to put beacons on them (you never know). In the end, I threw a tag on one member of the squad in heavy armor and with a huge bag. Actually, in the bag I threw a beacon with a shot, favor, guns with this ammunition is almost silent and no damage to it will not be. Perfect for stealth missions.
I sat in the ambush for about an hour. I watched people going off in their searches along the roads and "hovered" beacons, hoping for at least some catch. Actually after the end of the main smell of these beacons, I decided to move to my first point. The way was not close, so it was necessary to move quickly. Now that the bulk of them had scattered around, it was not difficult.
You know, I like it here. So far it seems to be quiet, it seems that nature has stupidly won, having seized power on the planet, and has gone to rest. I've been a little stressed about the lack of wildlife, though. Maybe when I get deeper on the trail I'll be able to run into them, but I guess we'll get there. I'd thrown a total of 7 beacons during the entire time I'd been on the trail, and periodically tracked them on the map. I didn't want to meet any large groups, as it would be very dangerous for me.
My path lay to the Gorge of Dead Ships, as I had marked the first point on my route. I'd like to describe my first encounter with the aggressive fauna of this planet in some exciting way, but damn, it's hard, especially when the whole encounter flew by in a flash. A creature flew at me, moving like a hare or a kangaroo, and its mouth was filled with three rows of fangs. It was like a shark-mouth jumper. I really don't know how to describe killing her in an epic way - tearing needles make life easier in that regard. Seven needles were enough to put it to rest. The creature was only quiet when its entire body was minced meat.
After 3 hours of traveling and shooting small animals, which began to appear more and more often and became more and more angry - apparently, around the camp, after all, the animals are cleaned by the NPS, I finally came to the gorge. A strange feeling, a pile of ships that once could travel between the stars, lying here dead weight and crumbling into ashes.... A terrible sight, but beautiful in its own way.
Of course, I exaggerated a bit, but the local nature and types like me are very conducive to dismantling these giants into small parts.
- I hope they didn't take everything out of here. At least they left something of value for poor me," I muttered to myself.
And moved toward the precipice to begin his descent into the gorge

Chapter 2

Dead ship ravine
 
The descent was quite difficult because the rains had eroded the edges of the gorge and there were very few "hooks". It was a sheer cliff. I tied the rope to a tree. Close enough to the edge and secure enough not to fly into the abyss. Hoping it would be long enough for me, I began my descent. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed - the rope was not long enough to reach the nearest ship.
- It's a shame," I thought, "only five meters of rope, and the jump wouldn't have been so scary. But I couldn't stay hanging like a sack of meat, because they might shoot me.
I frantically fumbled in my pockets, hoping to find a way out. When I found the scabbard in my belt, I pulled the knife.
- It is an option though. Good thing the peddler put a few of them away, for which I was very grateful. I'll have to pay him back for his concern.
I grasped the knife tighter and thrust it into the wall of the ravine, just above me, to see if it would hold. To my delight, the knife held. Although I felt the ground was about to give way and crumble under my weight, I think that if I kept moving, nothing critical would happen. In any case, I would get to the ship faster. I quickly removed the carabiner from my belt, to which the rope was attached, and grabbed the second knife, and started downward.
After about 10 minutes and 180 swear words (I'm not sure of the number, I didn't count them, and they were often repeated) I found myself on the first rusty as the world vessel. Although metals for spaceships were not supposed to corrode, but in this case something had obviously contributed to the partial destruction of the ship's plating. It seemed that the planet was unfriendly not only to humans, but also to their machinery, and was trying to restore its pristine appearance.
Why a boat? Because on closer inspection I realized that it was a barge for transporting cargo. The upper decks had probably been stripped of everything without me. But I had to try to find at least some terminal to unload the data from it.
Walking through the rusty holds and shuddering at every rustle, fearing that this hulk might go somewhere or collapse, I reached the captain's cabin. How did I recognize it? Quite simply, it was designed for one person and was quite close to the main deck from which the ship was controlled. Okay, okay, it was much simpler than that, there was a sign on the door. The cabin was still more or less intact, and his intercom was, thank the gods, intact. Relatively intact. Taking a portable power supply out of my bag (it could power many of the old systems and be used normally), I plugged into the intercom. The comp was password-protected - which was very, very bad, but to be expected. There might have been something valuable in there, but without knowing the password, I couldn't get it. There was no equipment or skill to hack into it.
As I looked around the cabin, wondering what to do next, some gibberish scrawled on the wall caught my eye. I had to take out my flashlight to get a closer look. When I turned on the light and squinted, I saw a series of symbols and numbers. It looked like a password that either the captain or the previous searcher had scrawled on the wall.
- Well, let's see what we have here. - I muttered.
After entering the password, I gave the command to copy all the data to my kpk, and I continued to look around the cabin. You know, I had already imagined that I would have a cabin like this in the future. Similar equipment, spartan but practical enough. Just not on a cargo barge.
The PDA beeped, signaling the end of copying. Let's see what I can be congratulated on.
Among all the reports and other junk, the most recent was a video file. That's where I decided to start. When I started the playback, I saw a young guy who was obviously in a hurry to make this recording.
- Hello to whoever sees this entry. We are a group of first-generation seekers from the settlement of Vyhravtor. We're here in search of treasure. From what I can tell you, there's definitely nothing on this barge anymore. We've taken everything out, so you're free to move on down. But even we don't risk going below barge 2. There's a strange ship there. It's a cargo ship too, sort of, but there's something in there. We went down inside and heard metal scraping, maybe it's just our fears. Unfortunately, we don't have any more replicas, so we're not risking going any deeper. However, in all likelihood we will have to, as orders are not negotiable. If you're watching this message, it means we haven't returned. Get this tape to the settlement, to the Seekers Guild, so they know where we found our final resting place. Please find these tokens," at this point he pulled out a token in the shape of two crossed lightning bolts from behind his back and showed it closer to the camera. - and give them to the Guild. They're personalized, they know what to do with them, and they'll find a way to thank you. Good luck on this road, and may you be luckier than we are with the Artukt Seeker Squad.
That was the end of the tape. If it hadn't been cleaned from the computer, then either they'd forgotten to do it, or the whole squad was really downstairs. Then the question is. What's down there? What easily took out an armed search party...? Okay, we'll figure it out. Let's go to the second barge and see if there's anything to eat.
The second tier was pleased to see that all the intercoms had been broken. Now it was possible to get any information about what was being transported here. But the examination of the ship itself surprised me. From time to time there were sections of corridors that spoke of heavy fighting. There were holes in the walls from shots of different diameters. Somewhere plasma was clearly fired, because the metal sweat was not from ordinary weapons. Gathering my strength and thoughts, I took out my needles and moved into the interior of the ship. Judging by the surrounding hull damage, my needles were something like a child's toy.
I crept through the shadows, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible and not waste the cloaking system's charge. I looked around every corner until I came upon the remains. They were practically bare bones in one of the corridors. When I looked closely at them, I saw a chain around their necks.
- Here, apparently, is the first fighter from the Artukt squad.
Pulled it and pulled out a token similar to the one in the video. Turns out not everyone had gone as deep as the message said. I carefully removed it and tucked it away in a secluded spot in my inventory. At that moment I was struggling with two thoughts - to get out of here or to find out what happened to the squad. Apparently, they'd been losing fighters all along the way, but that hadn't stopped them. Why? Was their goal so valuable that it cost the lives of their team members? And where are the remains of their opponents? There were a lot of questions, and no answers at all. In general, the desire to find out as much as possible about these guys overpowered me, and I decided to keep on my way. I looked around and found the fighter's rifle. It was all dusty and a little corroded, so it was not worth firing it without repair.
Tucking the weapon into my bag, I moved on. Deep into the dark corridors. Honestly, I was already regretting that I had decided to take these needles, and I was beginning to understand why most people preferred rifles, preferably of large caliber. But it was too late to go back, and a small stock of bursting needles inspired a shaky, but still self-confidence. So we go forward and hope that at least I will always be able to escape. The main thing is to notice the potential source of danger in time.
As I walked deeper into the compartments, I found scattered shell casings and the hulk of some kind of droid. It seemed to be the cause of the carnage here. A body lay against one of the walls, apparently also from the Seekers' squad. The heavy armor was pierced in many places. Which would suggest the quality of whatever the local merchants are trying to sell us-- or that droids should be kept away from us, which we'll try to do. It seems the squad has encountered an automated defense system, so I may encounter some of these tin cans. I repeated the ritual with the token, and then my gaze locked on the long handle.
- This is already very interesting. - I thought.
Pulling on it, I pulled out a medium-length sword with a single-edged blade with a melted tip. The metal was blued and surprisingly intact. There was no sign of rust, the blade even seemed to have retained its sharpening. This was definitely not a simple piece. After rummaging around, I found the scabbard from it. Great, now it's a set, and that's a great find. So I became the owner of a blade, whose properties I have yet to learn when I get to the camp.
The further path led me to a storage bay where containers of cargo stood. Most of them were broken or damaged. But I was lucky enough to find a couple of relatively intact pieces in the ruin. They even still had the tags of the companies they belonged to. I wonder if the last team never came here, or if they didn't need to. If they didn't need to, then why were they hunting? They definitely had information on the value of what they were looking for, and it's sure as hell expensive and important. Well, there would be time to speculate, and it was time to fill the backpack with everything that could be sold or used.
I found armor and weapons in a few damaged containers. It wasn't a complete set, of course, but it was better than what I was wearing. So I had no qualms about assembling a similar set out of junk, which turned out to be even stronger than my previous one. Having searched around, I could find a box, in which the backpacks of the special reconnaissance team were transported, with a capacity of up to 350 kg. On the back of such a thing is almost not felt until the upper weight limit is not overcome. But if you cross this threshold - you begin to feel the weight. However, these bags were a bit shabby, but I managed to pick 5 more or less intact items for sale out of this devastation.
There were a lot of guns, all different and in different degrees of disrepair, but I couldn't find a single complete barrel. Most of them were damaged or unusable, and not all of them had magazines. As I later learned, they weren't kinetic rifles, but pulse rifles. Which use very rare energy cells, so to me they were just scrap metal now. But I didn't realize it at the time, I just took a couple with me for evaluation and that was it. Maybe I could sell them for a good price. In one container I found a case, poked around with it for about 20 minutes and got a brand new sniper rifle with a very telling name - "Ice Ray". It came with a full spec sheet. Turns out it was a prototype and was being taken for testing, so the case even had blueprints and spare parts.
- Here comes my first treasure! - I rejoiced.
Finding the blueprints of a rifle that was not available for sale, and even spare parts for it - I could definitely say that this find paid off my trip. And if I added the weapons and armor to it, it was a solid income from the first trip. Lucky me. In case the rifle can be reproduced, I can start to consider that I've earned a fistful of money. The main thing is that there would be no one who would bring such a thing faster than me.
But damn it, I was driven forward by the mystery and mystery of the third ship in this dump. And also the fact that there was another one underneath it, on which I really expected to find something super valuable. It looked like an aircraft carrier or something similar, so surely it had to contain something interesting.
The third ship greeted me with silence. You know, the kind of unhealthy silence where there's no sound at all. The words of the guy in the video came to mind, his last words....
- I don't like it here at all. - I thought.
I took out both pistols and loaded them with different kinds of needles (I don't know what I'll encounter, but this way I'll at least have a chance to see what's more effective against the enemy). Trying to make as little noise as possible, I moved forward. And still I missed the attack. Suddenly there was a "whoosh," and a projectile mark drew a line down the corridor.
- Holy shit! Bitch! - I shrieked, as the unknown enemy pierced my side through and through.
- Scum! - I shouted and fired a burst of needles into the darkness, hoping to catch the enemy, but I slumped into a side corridor and fell into the cabin. I frantically search for loaded magazines for my needle, and at the same time I need to get some Regrenol to treat the wound. Otherwise, I don't know where this is going to go. I'm just gonna lie here. Filled the wound with special foam, lucky I got blown right through. In a minute, it'll form like a patch of artificial skin that'll stimulate regeneration of body tissue.
A second later, the hallway filled with the sounds of pops and discharges. Apparently my needles had found their target, and she must be in a bad way. I hoped so. What I heard a few moments later, though, I really didn't like. It was a metallic scraping sound, as if someone was dragging a large piece of iron behind them. I started frantically looking for loaded magazines and realized there were none! Holy shit, how could I screw up so badly on my first hike? I had about 2 minutes, no more than 2 minutes, to load the magazines. But what the hell kind of monster is out there that doesn't give a shit about explosive needles? They could easily tear apart medium armor, even heavy infantry armor, if they hit the joints.
And then I saw this....
A strange and rather scary looking droid. It had once traveled on four "legs". Now, however, one of them was disintegrated, and one of them was dragging behind it, partially non-functional, making that awful grinding sound. Apparently the needles had done their job, as the damage looked quite fresh. In any case, his armor was the envy of many heavy infantrymen, especially those whose remains I'd seen earlier.
- This is my death," I thought, and even threw my head back and closed my eyes, accepting my fate. At this distance, the droid's pulse weapon would rip me in half. - Too bad, because it was starting out so cool. Although.... Stop! Don't just give up.
I opened my eyes and saw the handle of a pistol sticking out of a pile of junk very close by; it looked like a large-caliber pistol.
I grabbed the grip and pulled the barrel as fast as I could; it was a small, but still a chance of escape. I could only hope that the gun wouldn't jam, that the caliber would be strong enough to penetrate the armor, that the cartridge would be in working order and that it wouldn't burst in the barrel.
- Too many whats, but there was clearly no other chance offered.
I said a prayer to all the gods I knew, and as soon as a part of the droid came crashing through the doorway, I squeezed the trigger so hard my knuckles turned white.
A shot. The gun rumbled throughout the ship, creating a deafening ringing in my ears and numbness in my arm from the powerful recoil. The gun flew out of my hand, nearly dislocating my shoulder. The droid that was almost in front of me was thrown against the wall, and its head was left dangling on a couple of cables. Luck was on my side. I came out of the fight victorious and, if you believe the statistics, upgraded as much as 4 levels for this iron. It's scary to imagine what kind of beast it was. If I had gotten a whole one, I would probably have kept company with the fighters whose remains I came across on the way.
After recovering a bit, picking up the gun that had flown out, I went to see what I could get out of my opponent. After searching the droid, I found it to be a perfectly serviceable weapon system, but the only pity was that I had taken out its brains. I destroyed the most valuable part of it myself. Wait, what did I shoot him with that blew his head off? Taking the gun in my hands, I looked at it closely and saw something resembling a revolver. A massive barrel and a perfectly round drum, which I opened and saw bullets with a very interesting stuffing. Tungsten or its local counterpart, an armor destroyer and generally a terrible cartridge, especially considering its power. I should search the cabin, there should definitely be more of these bullets here.
After looking around the cabin, I found a system for attaching weapons to the hips, something like a holster, but more convenient and with the ability to adjust to different barrels of the same class. I also found the native holster of this "little guy", who helped me turn the droid's brains around, with an interesting variant of mounting on the back. After some more digging I found some empty gun mounts, quite normal quality. After loading the revolver and filling my side with sealant so that I wouldn't catch any contagion while the recovery process was underway, I moved on.
- Gods, that hurts! Why couldn't they make the recovery process less painful? - I muttered to myself.
After ten minutes of wandering I found a working intercom, a regular warehouse intercom. I unloaded all the cargo specs from it. I wandered into the nearest cabin and, huddled in a dark corner, began to sort through the information I'd received.
There were many cargoes, all of them very specific, indicating that the ship had a military purpose rather than a commercial one.
- Why didn't I think of that on the droid? They wouldn't keep what's essentially a military patrol bot on a merchant ship.
Psi implants, special armor, weapon sets, special elements for fortification! Gods, the stuff in there, it was really scary. If all this is delivered to the camp, it will jump in development by several steps. There was only one question - how to realize it all and how intact was the cargo. And whether the cargo was still in place. My eyes fell on the container, it was a one-of-a-kind item, and it was a special order for the army from PsySecurityArms. It was definitely what I needed. At first I wondered where I'd seen that name before, and then my gaze fell on the handle of the gun I'd found in the cabin. The name of this company was engraved on it.
- They make good guns. - I thought and moved on.
My way lay deep inside the ship to the cargo hold. I had already realized that the needles were useless, so I threw them into my backpack. At first I thought to throw away this useless junk, but I was greedy. After all, they could be sold for relatively good money. A tour of the cabins along the way brought me another Seeker token. It was hard to tell what had happened to the body of the person it belonged to, since the token was just lying on the floor. Thankfully, the system had illuminated it for me, or I wouldn't have noticed it.
After about 30 minutes of wandering in complete silence, I finally came to the cargo hold. There was a hole in the side of the ship, and some of the containers had obviously fallen into it, or had been pulled out, for the space around the hole was empty. Some of the containers were overturned or broken, their contents scattered across the deck. I quietly began to move forward, surveying the space around me, especially what lay beneath my feet. It was as I did so that I noticed a black box labeled "SecurityArms." My hands reached out to open it, revealing a set of weapons. Three revolvers: two standard revolvers with the possibility of using bullets of different caliber, medium and large. And the third, a monstrous one, more like a rifle from the real world. Everything was in perfect condition and with a small supply of ammunition.
I was as excited about the find as a child who saw presents under the tree on New Year's Eve. Forgetting all precautions, I grabbed the box and, dragging it to a dark corner, began loading the weapon. At the same time, I shoved it into the fasteners I had so successfully found and tucked additional cartridges into the belt sections. I was saved by the fact that while loading a monstrous revolver with an interesting name "SP-23 Destroyer", I dropped a cartridge and bent down to it. It was at that moment that a bolt whizzed over my head that could have easily blown my head off. My reaction was instantaneous, well almost instantaneous. I picked up the cartridge and put it in the drum, and on the run I raised the monster barrel and shot at close range in the direction from which the shell came.
This time I was ready for the recoil and held the gun with both hands. A loud gunshot rang out. The recoil shifted me a little to the side. When the echo of the shot faded, I heard an unpleasant metallic noise.
- Missed! Damn, that's not enough ammo. Is that droid on guard again? - I thought, and started to move away, covering myself with containers and hoping that I could get behind the supposed enemy. My side was whimpering, regeneration didn't work instantly, and I needed sleep to fully recover.
How naive that was. Moving around the compartment, I saw more bodies. Most likely a group of searchers who had been here before me and stayed here. Judging by the location of the remains, they were confident in their armor and firepower. Very misguided, as it turns out. Eternal rest to you, brothers, and good loot in your new life.
Gods, what am I talking about! They were just a bunch of pixels, but I empathized with their stories as if they were real people. I was a little too much for the three days I'd been out of the house, and it could be mind-blowing, especially on my own.
I headed deeper into the compartment, hoping to make a big detour and bypass the enemy. At the same time, I hoped that this group had crushed him and I would have a chance to finish him off. While I was sneaking around, I found 3 more droid hulks, apparently the whole security system is tied to them. The next moment I was attracted by some strange sound - a low rumble with crackling, you know, like scenes in movies, where it is about accumulation of a very large amount of energy, ready to burst out into the surrounding space.
This time, my reaction failed me. Actually, it didn't. Not that it failed me, but I couldn't get out of the shot completely.
- Fucking over my knee! Same side! Bitch! That son of a bitch couldn't have shot the other side, you rusty tin can! - I shouted, falling behind the container and examining what was left of my side. The armor didn't hold up, or rather, a big chunk of it just evaporated! It had been shot with plasma, so a good bit of skin and some meat had been vaporized along with the armor, and the remaining melted parts of the armor added to the thrill.
I didn't have much time before I was thrown out of the game because of pain shock, I had to calm down a bit and let the system realize that I'm not going to die from pain. Still, 100% sensation is still shit, but so the development is faster and skills will be easier to manage in the future. Taking out the first aid kit, I injected some painkillers. I opened a tube of foam fire extinguisher and poured it all on my side, it cooled down the burn. Then I took out the last bottle of regrenol and poured it all over the wound.
- Shit, if there's nothing here to replenish my medical supplies, I might not make it back. And all the treasures I find will go to the next lucky guy for next to nothing," I muttered. - I muttered.
My armor is destroyed, my body has a lot of damage, which means it's easier for me to respawn than to come back. It's easier, but it's expensive, plus I'll lose time and someone might beat me to it. I need a normal first aid kit with a normal set of medicines, not what I had. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to find a medical bay with the necessary equipment and medicines. Okay, I think there should be some army medical kits for field medicine. They couldn't have just brought weapons and armor and left out the meds, could they?
I was pissed. Just when I thought things were getting better and the raid was going to be easy enough, a piece of metal with electronic brains fell on my head. Although, to be honest, what kind of easy raid was I talking about when I had a mountain of corpses from previous teams in front of me? Stop being so naive, or you might as well die.
- All right, you canned dick, you're pissing me off! Come here, you piece of rusty shit! - I shouted, climbing out of hiding with the Destroyer in my hand.
You know, part of me felt like I was in a Western and I was having a duel with this ironclad. We were on the same line, his gun was filling up again. I was seconds away from death. A shot, another shot, another shot. Each shot made it harder to keep my balance, the recoil and the deafening rumble hurting everything. Blank click. Holy shit! It wasn't a full drum. Trying to jump aside, I turn and look in the direction of the enemy. Hoping I'd see a pile of metal and not a flash of plasma. Luckily, the effect of the shots was good, I managed to shoot out the cannon and damage the running gear.
- I'm going to dismember you while you live out your pixel-metal life! - I shouted, grabbing the sword I'd found earlier and walking toward the practically immobile droid. Yes, I was jammed, I was angry, and my anger needed an outlet. My anger was mostly at myself, my plan to prepare for the raid had failed. My choice of weapons and skills had gone badly wrong. I'd been too careless and naive, and if my luck had run out, my trip would have ended in that cabin.
After 30 minutes of slashing at the droid, I managed to calm down a bit. And my side was starting to feel a little sore. The funny thing was, his cannon couldn't fire anymore after he'd burned my side.
I could continue my quiet study of the compartment in more detail. If there were more droids here, they would have torn my mortal body to shreds by now. Tokens first, that's my quest and my first priority. I need a reputation with the village, in case something interesting opens up. There were 7 tokens in total - the standard group size in the game. After that I opened the cargo specification and noted the names of containers with weapons like the ones on my belt, medicines, armor and other joys. I planned to take all of this stuff to sell and make a cool profit. The cherry on the cake, my dessert and only treasure, was a special container with a special order.
After I found everything I needed, reloaded my weapons, and added a couple of sets of both weapons and armor to my backpack, my cargo limit was almost full. And this was despite the fact that I tried to select the most interesting and the least shabby things. I had to concentrate on the special order and move back. When I got to the special container, I saw that the container doors had been damaged by the explosions.
- I really hope the cargo is intact. - I mumbled and climbed inside. The picture surprised me. A container cabinet with three sections, locked with special locks, activated only with a tablet, and the tablet itself....
- Bitch, it couldn't have been that easy! - I said angrily, looking at the tablet with the broken screen.
- Okay, I'll take it with me in case someone can fix it," I thought and put it in my bag.
There's no point in going lower, I'm loaded to the brim now, my armor's a wreck, and my health is barely enough to carry the load. I'll have to pick up a new one when I get higher, or I don't know what kind of fight I'll have on the way to the village. There's a hole in my side, so there's a big risk of dying, leaving all my stuff to the damn droids or even worse - to other searchers.
Having set up milestones so that I wouldn't have to wander around the ships for a long time, and having updated some of my armor, I made my way to the beginning of my journey. By this time, the army medical packs had patched up my side and given me some strength. So I reached the dangling rope with relative ease, using my knives, and began my ascent to the top.
It was time to head back to the settlement.

Chapter 3

The journey home. The reunion. First glory.
 
After getting out of the ravine, I decided to spread the stats and see what skills I can take to pump. Here is not quite a typical system of pumping, for points you can only open this or that skill. And development goes at the expense of its constant use. There is one more nuance - running and jumping for days on end in a safe camp will not work, so the skill can not pump. A kind of protection from cheaters with automatic pumping system. In this game you can become a master of this or that skill, only honing and polishing it in real combat conditions, far beyond the safe zone of the camp.
So, stats. For all our adventures we have upgraded level 9 and almost reached level 10, we should already think about the choice of class, or continue in the same way and find a special one. There's a lot to think about. And frankly, there's no hurry. For all my apes I was entitled to 8 skill points and 32 characteristics. After scattering and taking into account that some skills themselves have grown, the characteristics of the character began to look like this:
 
Nick: Nevergard
Level: 9
Class: -
Key Features:
Strength, 15.
Dexterity 22
Intelligence - 15
Stamina - 15
Luck is 10.
Hidden Characteristics:
Acrobatics - 18
Skills:
Pair of pistols - 25
Small caliber pistols - 50
Medium caliber pistols - 30
Large caliber pistols - 25
Control of small aircraft - 15
Control of medium-sized aircraft - 15
Control of large aircraft - 15
Spacecraft management - 12
Mechanic - 21
Medic 27.
Sniper rifles - 1
Hacking - 1
Ground transportation management - 1
Swordsman - 1
Medium armored spacesuits - 1
Psionic armor - 1
Light class armored spacesuits - 1
Field repair - 1
Something like that, I thought as I finished with the stats. As I realized, hidden characteristics also grow in the manner of skills depending on the frequency of use. The skill "Sniper Rifles" I took simply because it could be useful in the future, and I already have a rifle for practice. Hacking - extremely necessary for information extraction. Managing ground transportation - skill is necessary, of course, there are similar ones for managing other types of transportation, but I chose this one as the easiest. I hope it will be more than enough for me. Swordsman - it's sacred, just a childhood dream, especially with that "pick" that I have behind my back, I really liked it. Armorscaphs and psionic armor - in general, quite complex skills, it would seem, are needed only for special classes. But I had a couple of sets of just such a class of armor in my inventory, albeit pretty basic. You can't use it without practicing it. All this hinted at a rather complex and branched system of using things and equipment. The last of the skills was "field repair", weapons and armor wear out. They require care and repair, there is no money to pay for it all the time. But to fix with improvised means and repair kits in a critical situation is invaluable.
The way back to the camp I decided to change and on the way to try out new skills, get used to the updated characteristics. It's not very clear yet how all these numbers affect the use of weapons in real combat. Maybe the system helps or hinders with certain stats. That remains a mystery for now. Okay, in the process I will understand, while it is better to train, who knows, maybe swordsman will be able to swing swordsman. That'd be awesome.
Jumping and cutting branches on the fly, sometimes cutting small animals, for which the experience was almost no experience, I swung the swordsman to 5 units. Solid, maybe if I chop wood, I can become a master at all? "It can't be that easy though," I thought.
So, marching and waving my favorite iron right and left, quite silently, I must say, I walked towards the camp. My way lay a little to the south of my previous path to the gorge. After another masterfully chopped toothy beast that was gnawing on a branch, I came upon the ruins of a building. From its appearance it was hard to tell anything about its purpose. It was just a gray concrete box with several floors, and it looked like a warehouse, but it was hard to guess what was inside. A couple of adjoining buildings were destroyed, but the main building was relatively intact. We decided to investigate. See if there were any working terminals? I'll upload the documents from them to the kpk, and then I'll get a hacker.
As I approached the building, I heard some noises and decided to be on the safe side. I didn't want to be ambushed with a backpack full of trophies, so I stashed it in the woods surrounding the building.
- And now I could take a chance, because my side was already healed and the armor I found was obviously better than the last one. - I thought, and I crept toward the building.
I climbed up to the second floor, using the remains of the side extension, so I could see as much of the space in front of me as possible. I pulled out a large-caliber revolver to be sure. I doubted there could be armored droids here, but such firepower gave me courage and confidence. The second floor was completely empty. No traces or hints of what had been here before. The floor was caved in in some places, the walls cracked. It looked like an ordinary warehouse or hangar. I decided to take a better look around and continued deeper into the building. As I moved forward, I saw another break in the floor, and voices were clearly coming from it.
- Well, where did you run to? - said some guy. - They wouldn't have gotten away anyway, we should have surrendered, and then we would have all been alive.
When I crept up to the breach, I saw the expected picture - raiders and their victims. No matter what game project you go to, you'll find such a picture. Either people are the same in their lowly desires to dominate others, or games are full of scum who assert themselves at the expense of others. Well, that's all lyrical, we need to figure out the situation and plan of action. In the hall, closer to the center, there were two corpses of guys in armor with armor pierced in many places and without helmets. Three other guys were standing, one of them clearly addressing the surviving girl, huddled in the corner of the room with no visible weapons.
- Aha, the guys decided to "play" and find out how accurately the pleasant, for them, of course, the sensations in this game are transmitted. - I sighed.
Yeah, a game with no rules and no limits except your own morals and principles is a tough one. I'd forgotten about it, and the girl and her squad must have forgotten about it, too. That's the result.
Their intentions were clear even to a hedgehog, they had her cornered, two of them grabbing her and holding her by the arms. The third, already anticipating a chance to eat the girl's charms, tried to tear off her light armor and everything underneath. The program's defense mechanism in such cases is triggered only if there is a risk of getting a strong shock with subsequent trauma to the psyche. Apparently, not everyone pays attention to the small text in the license agreement and signs it in a completely offhand manner, especially in R games, because the girl was screaming with all her might. Her screams were accompanied by roaring and vulgarities let loose by the guys. The eternal situation, both in life and in the game - the strong scum mocking the weak. I'm so sick of it.
Afraid of hurting the girl, I didn't dare to shoot from above-it was a rather awkward angle, and in case of a ricochet, the bullet might hit the wrong place. So I climbed down to the first floor and hid in the shadow of a column. The hole in the floor was relatively far away from the drama unfolding, and the boys were too busy with their prey. Taking aim with my revolver, I shot the scumbag who was molesting the girl in the head. Large caliber is large caliber, the head exploded in a cloud of blood. The two men who were holding the girl were splattered with bits of their comrade's stupid head. The girl was splattered, too. I was jammed again - I don't like maniacs and those who mock girls.
The effect was perfect. Everything seemed to freeze, the girl, covered in blood, froze with her mouth open in a silent scream. The guys' eyes bulged and, apparently, they just couldn't realize what had happened. They were all in shock, this was my chance
- It's game over, you bastards, and you're going to get hurt," I whispered and lunged forward, drawing my sword from its sheath.
Anger was clouding my eyes, but suddenly my mind was clear and clear, the anger gone.
- Yep, so the medical elements of the capsule worked, giving me an injection of sedative. - I thought.
Let me get this straight. The capsule not only protects your psyche from traumatic shock, but also makes sure that you don't go crazy. Like, for example, in a strong psychosis associated with rage or something else. In this case, the program will not throw you out of the game the first few times, but will administer a sedative. But if the situation is repeated, the program will immediately return the player to reality and block access for some time.
As I flew toward the first of the two rapists, I struck him from the bottom to the top. I wasn't much of a swordsman, but I cut him almost in half. A fountain of blood spurted from the cut, splattering everything around me. The next moment I was rushing toward the remaining enemy. He'd already regained consciousness, decided to find cover and dig in, or just scramble away. I couldn't reach him with my blade, so I put my sword in its sheath behind my back and reached for my revolver.
- Aaah! Freak! Motherfucker! Bitch, we're gonna find you and kill you until you quit the game! I remember you! - he yelled, pulling out his gun.
There were four rounds left in the large-caliber drum, so I used them up. My first shot hit him squarely in the forearm and tore his arm off just before he pulled the trigger. The force of the blow was so great that the guy spun on the spot. The severed one fell to the concrete floor, my finger squeezed the trigger, and the line from the assault rifle went a little to the side of me. That's when the second bullet hit me in the collarbone, almost near the shoulder, tearing off a solid piece of flesh. Against that caliber and armor-piercing bullets, their defenses were paper-thin. With the rest of the shots, I was just unleashing my fury. Unfortunately, they missed, blowing two bigger holes in the wall.
Inserting another round, I took aim at his head and pulled the trigger. It was torn to shreds, and I stood over the corpse, watching the blood drain from the stumps. I can imagine how it looked from the outside - covered in blood, with a huge revolver in my hand. The adrenaline was off the charts.
I turned around and ran towards the girl, regaining my composure a bit. The elf with the nickname Sanctuary. My first shot grazed the girl's shoulder a bit. The piece of wall the bullet flew into, crushing the scum's head, was no worse than a normal bullet for the girl's unprotected shoulder. Running up to her, I had already opened the army medical kit, and immediately started treating the wound.
- Be patient, beautiful, you'll be fine," I said, tending to her wound. She was still in shock. Her pupils were dilated and she was shaking, but she was slowly pulling herself together and beginning to realize what had happened. And her capsule should have kicked in and helped her calm down and return to normal.
I filled the wound with Regrenol and tightened the cuff on my arm with auto-injectors who inject the right drugs to speed healing in a strict sequence.
- Thank you," she said with difficulty. - We were on our way back from the raid, our loot, small though it was, would have repulsed the campaign.
It was hard for the girl to speak, the healing process hurt, but she needed to talk.
- And then we were attacked and shot at. We ran here," she continued. - The guys fought back as long as they could, but eventually they died. I fell for it and got myself psionic modules, thinking I'd be useful and my abilities would save everyone. I ended up being a liability.
You could see she was having a hard time with the story. It was definitely necessary to help her get to the camp, and we had a long way to go.
- Calm down, it's okay now. Your friends will be waiting for you at the camp after replication. You can definitely say that they were luckier than you, they only got credits and delay before the new rep. But something worse could have happened to you.
- It's strange that I didn't get thrown out of the game, I thought the shock was strong enough. - I thought, and continued. - In the meantime, let's gather what we can of value and go to the village. - I said, handing her a set of simple armor that I had taken on the ship. Then I went to inspect the corpses for valuables and other goodies.
Unfortunately, they didn't give experience for killing players, or I think I would have upgraded.
The search of the building gave me documentation on some kind of transportation. I didn't know what kind, but from the diagrams, it looked like some kind of train for land use, or a subway.
- What the hell do they need such an ungainly-looking giant for? Maybe for communication between settlements and delivery of cargo? Well, it's still a long way from that level. All right, I'll sell it to the merchant and let him find its own use. - I muttered.
I helped her out of the building, and we walked toward the camp. Although her wound was healing quickly enough, we were still moving at a slow pace. The path was through a dense forest. I sincerely hoped that it would cover our movement and we wouldn't encounter the enemy. It would not be easy to escape at such a snail's pace, and it would be risky to take the fight in this situation.
But my dreams were not to be realized. I don't know what asshole sense I had that sensed danger. Maybe it was intuition, or maybe it was just luck, because I had invested in her for a reason. Grabbing the girl, I dragged her into the thicket and turned on the video recording. Letsplays can be monetized and bring in their own money to the player for views. Given the atrocious price for replications beyond the minimum provided - I should have taken any chance I could to make money both in-game and in real life. I wish I'd realized it a little earlier, saving the girl would have topped the game, as well as the battle with the droids. At that moment, a powerful single shot hit the tree where we had been a moment before.
- Sniper! - I thought, and then I heard a scream.
- What's up, asshole, you got a girl? We got paid good money to take her into that building and let the guys play with her. And you bastard fucked it all up, and now we're the ones to blame, and that's not good! - shouted someone from the other side.
- What? So they sold me out? I trusted them, and they did it on purpose! - the girl muttered.
The girl's face expressed a whole range of feelings: confusion, shock, resentment, and refusal to accept reality. The girl's face expressed a whole range of feelings: confusion, shock, resentment, and refusal to accept reality.
- How do such naive people even get into games with the highest level of realism? - I thought.
When you sit in games of this kind for a long time, you start to lose touch with the real world, and it becomes very difficult to perceive what is happening as a game. Cruel and harsh, but still a game, which gradually turns into a nightmare. It is not without reason that such projects are very strictly controlled. If there are cases of real harm to the health and psyche of players, the company itself pays for rehabilitation. And if this continues, there is a risk of closing the project.
- Stay here, I'll take care of it. - I said, plotting my way up the tree so I could climb higher and stay out of the line of direct fire.
Darting away from the enemy's intended position, I began jumping and pushing off the trunks to reach the right branch.
- I wouldn't be able to do that in real life," I thought in my head.
As I pulled myself up onto another branch, I heard the loud pop of an explosion behind me. Once I was in a stable position, I turned around. There was a small crater from the explosion where I had left the elf. There wasn't a lot of remains, so the shot must have been aimed and hit the hull, so it was instantaneous. I don't think she felt any pain. Even though I knew she'd gone into replication, I was in for a real treat. Drawing both revolvers, I waited for my opponents to show up. They would surely come to check what was left of us and collect anything more or less valuable.
- So where's the misunderstanding that killed those young men? - I heard a voice that was different from the first.
- I don't see his remains, except that pointy-eared whore is dead. Probably ran away when he realized he was with the pros. - came the first voice.
- The bastard ruined our whole plan. A new project and it's such a mess. The loser decided to ruin our business. - said the first one.
That's when I saw them-- a sniper and a heavy infantryman. They're wearing new armor, obviously off the beaten path. It looked like trophy armor, something from other searchers' finds.
- And when did they get their hands on it. - I thought.
They walked slowly and carefully around the crater from the explosion. I jumped onto a thicker branch, made myself comfortable, and rested my back against the tree trunk. This position gave me an excellent opportunity to start firing.
- It's hard to be the first, or I'll have a hard time running around. - I muttered to myself and started shooting.
Immediately after the first shots I had to jump down so that I wouldn't be hit by return fire. In flight I managed to fire a couple more bullets. Immediately after landing, I added what was left in the drums. The infantryman's helmet was tougher than I thought, I managed to penetrate it only after the 5th hit. Some of the bullets passed by, the drums were empty.
- You asshole! - The second one shouted, raising his rifle at me.
I jerked to the side, moving out of the shot's trajectory and frantically trying to figure out what to do now. Pulling out the large caliber, I tried to fire. There was a deafening click.
- A fucking misfire! - I had a thought.
I had to get out of my seat again before I got my brains blown out. The muffled sound of gunfire and the bullet left a deep groove in the armor on my side, tangentially passing through. I was filled with anger. I was slowly losing control of myself, this could be a threat and cause me to crash out of the game. Any emotional instability was a signal to the system, especially prolonged periods or too frequent repetitions. This was not to be allowed now. I took aim once more and fired. This time the cartridge worked properly, thundering its power with a deafening shot. I even hit the enemy in the leg!
If the shot had hit the center of his leg, it would have been blown off, even in such good armor. But I hit the thigh, just left of center. The bullet split the armor plate and tore it off with a decent chunk of meat.
- You bitch! - I heard a shout and shifted out of position again.
A shot rang out across where I was, followed by a series of quieter shots.
- So he has a gun, too," I thought.
I was pounding with anger, needing to finish this. I stepped out of my hiding place behind the tree and walked toward the enemy. My eyes were starting to blur, a sure sign that I was losing control and was about to crash. I started firing. Out of three shots, only one was fired, and that one missed.
The enemy by this point, slumped on the ground and was frantically trying to treat the wound, trying to prevent death from blood loss.
- Okay, the hell with you, I can't shoot you, but no one can stop me from stabbing you," I said, pulling out my sword.
I darted over to him, swung my sword, thrust it at his throat, and slowly twisted the blade. It wasn't easy because of the melted tip, but the rage gave me strength.
- Burn in hell, asshole! - was my last words, and then the red emergency light flashed, and I was kicked out of the game.
I crawled out of the capsule with great difficulty. I was shaking with emotion, adrenaline, and anger. I was very dry. I managed to crawl to the kitchen. There I got a bottle of water from the refrigerator, sucked on it and drained it in one go. I felt a little less shaky. I took a couple of sedatives to bring myself back to normal.
A moment later, the phone rang. It was my mom. I answered:
- Hey, mom. Is something wrong?
- No, it's nothing. I just haven't been able to reach you all day, so I was starting to worry that something was wrong," she said.
"Oh shit, I forgot to warn her I'd be in the game," I thought and said:
- It's all right. You know, when there's a new start, I can disappear for days in the capsule, only coming out to eat or get a decent night's sleep.
- Start again, when are you going to get smart and start changing something in your life? All you do is play games. - she said.
- Mom, you know that games can bring money. And the main thing is that you see the result - I live in an apartment, which I bought with the money received from games. - I answered.
- Yes, I see and I know, but it's time to grow out of the games. You got a place to live, but you're all alone. You don't get out much. Your father and I will soon forget what you look like. - she said.
- I'll think about it after this project. - I said.
- You're in CosmoEra, aren't you? - she replied.
- How do you know about her? - I was surprised that she knew about this project, she wasn't interested in games before.
- It's all over the news channels right now. The very loud statements of the creators and the first videos have made it the most talked about game. Even the evening news is talking about it all the time. - she said.
- Wow, I'm surprised the game has gotten so popular so quickly. Okay mom, I need to get some rest and get back into the game. - I replied.
After the emergency shutdown, you can't get back into the game immediately, the resolution timer stopped at 30 minutes. This is how much time I was obliged to spend in real life the first time. If the emergency exits will be repeated, the time on the timer will also grow. And at one "beautiful" moment you can catch a permanent block and a referral to a psychiatrist. So you have to learn to control yourself better. In addition, I had used up my supply of sedatives in the capsule, as indicated by the blinking of a special indicator. Without a full set of drugs, the capsule wouldn't work, a kind of defense mechanism.
- Okay, good luck. When are you coming to visit? - she asked.
- I think early next month, I'll be there this weekend. - I replied.
- Well, come, we'd love to have you. You don't come here at all. - she rebuked me.
That's just the way it is, I've been living on my own for a long time now and rarely visit my family. We should show up once in a while. When the first month is over and many people are out in space, you can come by for a couple of days.
- Okay, Mom, I'll be there. Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye. - she replied.
That was the end of our conversation. I crawled back to the kitchen, made a couple of sandwiches and went to my laptop to look at the game forum. And there is already a hotbed of topics on the first moments, impressions, information on selling treasures and, of course, clans. A bunch of other topics, among which there was a section yearsplay and I, to my great surprise, found a topic with my nickname, which was uploaded record of the battle in the building where I saved the elf. And it was uploaded by the very same elf.
- Oh, boy! Quick girl. Who'd have thought she'd be recording. - I thought.
I also decided to upload my recording of that fight, when she and I were walking to the camp through the woods and we were attacked by her "bandmates". And while it was uploading and going through moderation, I read the comments to the first clip. There, of course, shit all and from all sides - and me, and grief rapists and, most unexpectedly, the girl for her gullibility and thoughtlessness. The usual thing, though. Although there were enough positive comments with words of gratitude that did not pass by and helped. And this is already pleasant, and some reputation will be.
After uploading my clip, I posted it in the same thread and looked at the timer on the pod. Eight more minutes to go.
- After all, I need a partner with a proven track record of time and projects. - I thought.
I opened the communication software and started to see who was online and who was in the game. And most importantly, in what kind of game. There were a couple of people who matched me on all counts, and both of them played CosmoEra. I wrote to both of them that we need to talk, and started waiting. The first to respond with a call was Vita, an old acquaintance from fantasy projects, who always played shooters.
- Hey, Whit. What's up, how's life in CosmoEra? - I cast my fishing rod at random.
- Hi, Nick. It's great, we're working with the clan on the planet, we've already found the first technique, we're thinking about how to fix it so we can drive around," Vita answered, and I thought about it. They're lucky to have the equipment, I would have to have what kind of ram now, I would have dragged everything I could from the ships. Otherwise, sooner or later, someone will stumble upon them too.
- I see, so you're already racing with the clan, too bad," I said in a sad voice.
- Do you have any better suggestions? - she replied, as if to feign indifference.
It was our standard game of interest, not our first project anymore. She knew that I wouldn't just yank her around, which meant that I either needed her help now or in the near future. Vita was not a poor girl, so if she wanted to, she could get more than one account, but the question of the clan was still open.
- You know there were riddle planets, right? - I began, as if from afar.
- Well, let's say yes, but there's a big question there. - she replied.
- Knowing your passion for arrows, I want to show you one thing, in case you're interested. - I replied in a mysterious voice and sent her a screenshot of the Ice Shard.
- You're messing with me, aren't you? - she said after a few minutes of silence. - Why is it that I'm the only one who can get such a beautiful girl, and I'm running around with nothing?
- Well, the answer to your first question is both yes and no. Because I found it, but I don't know the specifics yet. And to the second one, I'd say I got lucky. - When I said that, I was starting to get excited. She's hooked, which means that I can hope for a reroll to me, and I'll have long-range support.
- When I get some information on the rifle, I'll consider your offer. I'm not really in a clan. I just found one. It seems to be tops, but I feel that the real tops on the mystery planets, in fact. - replied Vita.
- Okay, it's a deal. I'll send you everything I've got when I have it, then we'll talk about it. I gotta get back. - I said and disconnected the connection.
I also briefly described the situation to the second applicant and offered him a reroll if he has such an opportunity. To connect to me, and then we'll swing quickly. I threw messages to a couple of friends, after all, the planet is rich, there is enough for everyone, so we need to gather our gang and start mining. And then we'll see who agrees with them and we'll make plans further.
I downloaded a new batch of sedatives and ordered another set of meds online, because the way they're going, I don't think I'll have enough for a week. And then I'm guaranteed compulsory treatment, so I have to be careful.
Climbing into the capsule.
- Hello, CosmoEra, it's me again. - I said and started the connection.
I ended up right back where I was. It was a good thing I hadn't been killed in all the time I'd spent in real life. After picking up the corpses and finding the elf's backpack, I overloaded a little, but confidently walked towards the camp. It was more convenient to use the forest as a shelter alone. An hour later I was already there and decided to message the elf that I had her backpack and all her belongings and I wanted to return them to her. I sent a message, the system gave out that the player is not online and the message will come when the player is back online. My soul was at peace, so I went to the seekers guild building to give the tokens and see what I would get for them.
The village was bustling with life, with crowds of people wandering the streets, of which there were only a few, trading and socializing. A couple of buildings had even started to be repaired, probably because of the number of players and the volume of trade, the village began to grow. Things were happening fast, very fast.
The building was small, but well-made. When I went inside, I found a counter where a beastly girl was sitting and chatting with visitors. When she saw me, she said:
- Good afternoon. What brings you here? Would you like to join the guild?
- No, I'm here on another case. Though I might sign up, but later," I began my dialog. - You once had an Artukt squad, which is probably missing in action. So, I have come to give you their tokens. Unfortunately, their journey ended on the last mission.
Having said that, I took out the tokens and handed them to the girl.
- You come to us with sad news. We were hoping someone would come back. - the girl was saddened and clutched the tokens to her chest. - We will send them on their final journey, as is our guild custom. Their tokens will sing their song in the wind. Come with me, you must perform this ritual yourself. - she said.
We walked to the backyard of the guild. There was a tall and branchy tree with tokens hanging on it. As they clashed with each other, they made a melodious ringing sound that blended into a beautiful and slightly sad melody.
- I wonder if this tradition originated with the guild or later? Would love to know the stories of the tokens on this tree, I'm sure they are very exciting and epic events. - I thought.
As I got a little closer, I found a branch where there were no tokens yet. I tied them there, close enough together as I had done in other places. Finishing the ritual, I bowed to the tree and stepped back.
The notice came next:
Secret mission: The Fate of the Artooct Squad.
Bring squad tokens to the seekers guild. Done.
Experience gained: 3600
It is possible to join the seekers' guild without an entrance exam. Reputation among the guild members has been increased.
- Ho-ho, little secret. There must be a lot of moments like that in the game. - I thought.
I was a bit surprised by the reward, but I still lacked some 700 units of experience. It's a weird system with experience, apparently it's very non-linear. I'll get to the next level quickly in the process. For now, it would be good to visit the Old Man to sell some goodies and maybe he could fix my tablet.
- Good day, hon. - I said. - I will think about joining your guild.
- Good day, we'll be waiting. - the girl answered me. - We are very short of talented searchers.
Walking out of the guild, I headed straight for him.

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• Update #3 - The book is 100% ready! March 16, 2024

  I'm thrilled to announce that I have a draft translation of the entire book! I can't wait to bring this fascinating story to readers everywhere.

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• Update #2 - Chapter 3 is available March 2, 2024

  I'm thrilled to share Chapter 3 with you all! Translating this story has been challenging but so rewarding (even as a draft!). I'd love for …

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• Update #1 - Chapter 2 is available Feb. 19, 2024

  I'm thrilled to share Chapter 2 with you all! It's been a labor of love to translate this story (remember that this is still a …

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