Chapter 9 (Patreon)

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Everyone has a job to do. And no amount of advancement in taking over the world is a barrier to this truth. Yes, I have managed to find the first clue, or rather a shadow of it, that might lead me to the solution to the problem of the Heroes summoned to this world. There was no thunder, no divine messengers descending from heaven, and no System update, none of this happened. It's just that my suffering, resulting in an unspeakably bad migraine, was finally paying off.

After I had blinked away the fog that had covered my eyes, the first thing I did was send everyone to do something useful. I was not in a good mood, and it wasn't because I didn't feel well. I could easily admit to myself that I was scared. Earlier I might not have made any move toward Yoke and its creators because I didn't know which way to go. Now I saw that way, and I was afraid to go into battle against the whole fucking world.

However, it is worth recalling the anecdote about the donkey and the dragon to show my true attitude toward the situation. Yes, I was scared. Was I going to turn back and leave my quest for someone else? Go fuck yourselves, motherfuckers! To paraphrase that same joke, I'm still going to have to look hard for a place to bury you all.

Behind the mountains, behind the valleys, behind the green forests, there is a terrible beast in the forest. Whoever enters the forest will fuck anyone. For a long time, for a short time, the fucked animals decided to go to war against it. And since they did not want to go into the forest, they called the dragon from the neighboring kingdom: "Go," they said, "make the fucker stop!" What did the dragon want? He went to the woods. He wandered and wandered, didn't find anybody, sat down on a clearing, and saw a cave. Well, he thinks that's where he's sitting. Shouted into the cave: "Come out, scary beast!" A little donkey crawled out and was trembling. "What," says the dragon, "are you scared?!" "Scared," says the donkey, "this is the first time I'm going to fuck such a scary one."

It was with that pathos thought that I fell asleep before I even had time to take off my other shoe - my strength was at its bottom, and there was no need to look for a second breath in myself. If I had a chance to rest in a friendly environment, I wouldn't have to act like a terminator trying to show my indefatigability. Sleep first, all questions afterward.

I slept for a long time, even skipping dinner and, if memory serves me correctly, throwing the only shoe I had taken off in the direction of Hans, who tried to wake me up. When I woke up, however, I was no longer willing to wreak havoc on anything, only a few quirky verbal constructions in response to my rumbling stomach.

It was late at night, and there were no moons in the sky - it was as dark as in a nigger's ass. This was to my advantage, for I was going to make the most shameless raid on the kitchen and the cellar, for I was so hungry I could not endure it. My shadowy steps took me downstairs to the kitchen, where I managed to expropriate a bowl, a set of two forks, a slightly bent knife, and a large beer mug; I couldn't find the food itself, because it had either been eaten or hidden away from the munchies.

I had to get into the cellar, where there was a real magic alarm - the first time I'd ever seen this thing in a cellar. It's understandable, though, because it's a strategic point. One infiltrator with a vial of poison could give all the inhabitants of the manor mass indigestion. Need I point out that I only approve of such paranoia?

I really approve, because such protection will not stop me, but other fans of ruining the food supply - very much so. I took a few sausages, a bottle of wine (with the resistances hanging in the Status, it's like drinking compote), and a bunch of dried fruit on a thin rope, and I went back to the kitchen and began to munch, filling the spiritual emptiness with material food. I couldn't help but hear the quiet footsteps of someone sneaking in my direction, with my perception and the permanently active sphere.

When Kasia entered the room, I had already managed to go into stealth and even clutched the remains of my supper and my beer mug (with wine) to my chest. At first, it seemed to me that she paid no attention to us (me and my mug): she managed, without looking back, to get to the door to the pantry, and then began to perform strange manipulations with the lock and the magical protection. For the first time in my life, I saw how the class skills of a buffer can perform the role of a magical burglar. However, it was the first time I had seen the benefic at work, too.

I had already set myself up for a fun movie during the meal, but it didn't work out. After a few dozen seconds, it dawned on my unwilling companion in the night meal that the smell of sausages did not seem to her from hunger. She froze for a few beats, then slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the magic crystal. I would have been nervous about throwing a magical grenade at the would-be assassin, but it was just a regular firefly.

And in that dim blue light, she saw the sausage I'd forgotten on the table. A small bite of it. A few seconds of silence followed by a panicked whisper:

"Is someone here?" It feels like she's very... not afraid, but afraid to hear an affirmative answer to her question.

I could scare her in classic "Boo!" style, but I'm still above that, especially since such an action would be at least not polite to Losius.

"There's no one here." I also whisper to reassure the night visitor.

For some reason, it seemed to me that she did not believe me, although the reason for this result is absolutely unclear. I told her directly that there was no one there! Such an unbelieving Thomas, only in a dress.

"Tin, is that you?" She had a very good memory for voices if she could tell who the whispering belonged to. I don't know if it's high perception or good hearing.

"Are you hard of hearing?" I'm indignant. "There's no one here!"

"Are you making fun of me?" I don't understand why she should be outraged. One word - a woman, she came up with something herself, and then she is offended.

"How could you think that of me? Don't I have anything else to do?" It was surprisingly easy to convey the sound of hurt anger without going from a whisper to a normal voice. "Of course, I'm mocking you!"

"Scum. Rude. Donkey." Abruptly calming down, she decided to burn me with a scornful accusation.

Unfortunately (unfortunately for her, of course), she is not Pushkin to burn people's hearts with words, and therefore, instead of remorse, I experienced only legitimate resentment.

"What's the donkey got to do with it?" I ask only to be ignored.

"Oh, leave me alone." That's all she said to me, and then she turned back to the passageway to the food storage room and started another break-in. As I realized, she was somehow using her magic, not for its effect, but to find the right frequency of this energy to open the door and turn off the alarm. A better security net would probably have reacted immediately to such an attempted break-in, but this one was too simple for any reassurance.

Instead of another quip, I simply sneak into the storeroom and ask from there, causing another fright and a barely audible scolding. And it seems, such a lady! But no, she is also our man, even though she is a woman!

"Do you want something?"

I was sure she was going to send me far away, but apparently, her hunger was stronger than her pride, so Kasia decided not to escalate our conflict to a full-fledged quarrel.

"There, to the left of the entrance, should be jam, with candied apple slices next to it." A clear lead-in followed. "That's what you take. Not the furthest ones, but the ones farther away."

"I understand, I'm not a fool. A fool wouldn't have understood." I ignore the skeptical snicker and ask again. "There are also candied berries. Should I take them, because they're tasty?"

"Barik, our cook, watches them like his own wife. We take a lot and in the morning he will complain again about the night robbers." She seemed to say no, but she did not explicitly forbid it, which means veiled permission.

"Ok."

One more step and I quietly pile the sweets on the table. Someone here doesn't know about proper nutrition, preferring the diet of old Winnie. The one who knew a thing or two about the right bees.

"Did you know that eating a lot of sweets at bedtime is bad for you?" I asked, finally chewing the sweet berry mass in my mouth. "It spoils your figure."

"You'd better not start the same song!" Another shout, expressed, paradoxically, in a whisper. "I was up all night reading Septimus Blago's new manuscript! I had waited a year and a half for it to arrive, and I owed it to an acquaintance of mine! I didn't have time for dinner."

"What does a covert operation to eliminate sweets have to do with it?" I don't fall for the attempt to divert the subject while chewing on the last two sausages. "You would have woken up the cook and demanded dinner. I doubt very much you would have been refused."

"That's dinner, and this is jam and sweets. My father believes that they should not be eaten at night." The night saboteur explains in an innocent tone, spreading jam on a slice of morning bread that she pulled out of some secluded corner. "And I'm always hungry for sweets after reading."

So we tried to tease each other, filling our stomachs at the same time. I was careful to keep my mocking soul in check, not wanting to give it a nervous tic, and Kasia herself just couldn't keep up with me at trolling.

All in all, it's almost idyllic.

Which we were both ruined by another pair of late-night ragers, who had left the twilight for an act of retaliation against the food supply. Again, I sensed them and even managed to hide the sweets under the table, where Kasia ducked right in. So much for the noble unperturbed lady, blue blood and white bone! I think if I blabbed about this night she would hire an assassin for me... a joke, I guess.

I did not jump under the table myself, because there was already too little room, and I had no intention of embarrassing the collection of sweets there with a tight embrace. Instead, I jumped to the ceiling and clung to the protruding beam, immediately turning on stealth and waiting for our guests to appear.

The guests were two young maids who, in addition, could not navigate in the dark, so they used an oil lamp with minimal light. They entered the kitchen almost crawling, trying desperately not to make any noise or attract any attention. Yes, Kasia would get a scolding for stealing food, but they might get a whipping. The clairvoyants tell me that Holan is fairly liberal about such things, as long as they don't overstep their bounds, don't affect the quality of their duties, and, most importantly, remain secret. And if they are caught doing their dirty work, they'll get a beating just for the sake of protocol and edification.

"Are you sure you got the right key, Ari?" The first one, the taller one, asks.

"Mm-hmm. I'm sure. I remember what it looks like." And the other one is the one who was licking a dancer's feet the other day. And not just feet. And not just licked.

"Are you sure the old man won't wake up?" The nervous one asks the same annoying question.

"Uh-huh. Barik sleeps so that you can't wake him up with a bell until the sun comes up." Soothes the licker. "And anyway, don't make any noise. We're already at risk."

"I'm not noisy!" Even louder objected the first. "And anyway, since it's a risk, why did you come here yourself, friend?"

"I didn't have time for dinner, so I went in. And in general, be quiet."

"I know why you didn't have time and what you had for dinner," she muttered, a little angrily, but still quietly.

"Envy in silence, my dear." The attempt at embarrassment was ignored with truly regal grace.

"I like men, you shameless girl! Why should I envy you at all?" She almost burst into flames, tilting the flickering lamp dangerously, whose flame was about to fade.

"Me too. And then there are the girls. So I have twice as much love!" Simultaneously with the answer the young follower of the ideology of a Greek island silently corrected the lamp, restoring the flame.

"Tell that to the priests of Anmar, you licker!" It's not an insult, it's not friendly banter, it's a combination of the two. "They'll have you flogged for your shame."

"Our Lord, my dear, does not care what the eunuchs of Anmar think." The girl instantly retaliates, trying to open the storeroom with a working key. "Besides, I didn't lick you, and I didn't just lick. Or are you, darling, jealous and hurt to play alone?"

"Oh, you!" Followed by the indecipherable, even for me, embarrassed grumbling of an insulted innocence.

It looked like the second, a far more cowering and modest scout might have had a light on her face at that moment. I'll vouch for that, even if I can't tell the color of her face in the dark. Kasia's ears would be steaming soon, too - she wasn't used to talking about such things, especially about, pardon the pun, same-sex relationships. And then there was the spiciness of the situation, multiplied by my presence.

"Why did you stop, open up, I'm hungry!" Maid number one started whining again (I should learn their names, I guess). "What are you standing there for?"

"Can you smell it, friend? It smells like jam. And it can only be inside, Barik always hides it." Somebody with a long nose has too sharp smell sense, and it might end up ripping it off. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

I decide to take matters into my own hands before Kasia, ashamed of her embarrassment, gives the nocturnal theft an epic scale of fucking scolding. Then she'll be okay, but the offense will stay, and why should I indulge in evil? I'm going to be tolerant and have a double standard for a woman's great and pure love. Not a man's love, after all!

"There's no one here, you can be sure of that," I said, leaning so low that my voice was breathing down the back of their necks.

Again they react inadequately! Women! I told them in a common language that there is no one here, and they just squeaked and still on all fours ran out of the kitchen! And they forgot the lamp, those fools. Who's going to think about fire safety? Me?

"You didn't hear anything!" It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and from the category of conceptual truths.

"I didn't hear what?" I interrogated Kasia, who was swearing, not aristocratically, as she crawled out from under the table, putting a clay pot of jam and a plate of sweets on it. Both containers were already empty: embarrassed or not, the appetite for overheard lewd talk was never lost.

"Exactly!" The female demon nodded contentedly and then ducked back under the table. And I, accordingly, to the ceiling, avoiding the sight of the two maids carrying lit torches and dragging sleepy Losius and Hans, who seem to have had a night feast a couple of hours earlier, before I woke up. I was in a karmic equilibrium, and they were the only ones who were still awake, the only ones who had been not asleep.

"So what? Where's your midnight thugs, my beauties?" Hans looked a little beat up and sleep-deprived, but he was holding both blades quite confidently. "I don't see bad men here."

His yawn was so infectious that I started yawning under the ceiling, too. And the sly-ass tracker easily spotted Kasia hiding under the table, but he was not going to embarrass her in front of her servants. Also, apparently, he sensed the danger coming from the self-professed disgraced sister of his friend. The brother himself, incidentally, also noticed the hidden one after Hans's indication. And even read on his lips the inaudible "your sister", from which he was now carefully keeping his face brick-like. He, too, was probably afraid of getting hit in the face with a brick, and without any kinship discounts.

"Okay. I don't see anybody. Come on, let's go to bed, my beauty!" The pathfinder summed up, and at the same time, he put his arm around the waist of the unresisting maid, who was only after men.

Well, it's only logical!

Since he was awakened while he slept alone, now let him help the poor tracker to sleep. He might be having nightmares without soft tits under his arm.

"B-but I heard that!" The other one, who was as close as possible to Taria, tried to be indignant. "I definitely heard it! I was told! There's definitely someone here!"

She's a fool, honestly, even if she is loyal to her Lord Protector (or who is Holan to his servant?). Worried for his and his kin's safety, she's the real hope and support of House Asterium. I should reassure her so she wouldn't be nervous.

"There is no one here. You can go to bed!"

In response to this argument, the two maids jumped up as if they were standing on a spring and shouted together (still in whispers, for some reason), pointing their fingers into the darkness:

"Did you hear? Did you hear that? You heard, didn't you?"

"Yes, we heard, we heard. We all heard. You were told no one was here, right, Losius?" Hans knew at once that if said "there's nobody here," then there was nobody here.

"Absolutely." My other comrade agrees, demonstrating common sense. "That's exactly what we were told - there's no one. And you raise a panic! You should be ashamed, silly girls, shame on you."

Then they led the lost and uncomprehending girls away from the kitchen. Somehow it seemed to me that both men could hardly contain their laughter, but it was just an imagination. I'm sure.

"Clown," said Kasia, whose face was no longer red as a tomato, and then gracefully followed the example of those who had left, leaving the kitchen. She stumbled down some stairs and disappeared into the darkness of the night, with no noble remark at all.

She took the utensils, evidence of the night's incident, with her.

So I went to eat.

Soaring in the Dreams: 2/7

Allows you to draw Dream energy into reality, accumulate it in a limited way, control it, and use it for a limited list of actions; the accumulated energy has low plasticity and degree of variability of influence on Reality, being limited to not too complex effects.

I didn't see anything new in the development point I received, only an improvement on what I already had. The list of permissible influences, while seemingly insignificant, was very useful. I was able to use Dream as an amplifier not only for creating and sending dreams but also for clairvoyance.

With the new skill, I was finally in control of getting information, which would have pleased me more if it hadn't had such strong consequences for my person. Yes, I got information on the obscure place where the now-dead prince was in such a hurry to break the King's monopoly on summoning Heroes, but the clue was too shaky and the consequences too painful.

This automatically leads me to a very important decision - screw the stupid economy it's time to pump class skills. As much as I'd like to save even more points, further pumping without using them would be too dangerous. Yeah, I've said that before, but now I'm emphasizing the word too dangerous. Too fucking dangerous!

By the end of the night, I'll have spent every single one of my class points, so that I won't be tempted to save them for another crisis. Even the toad didn't stifle much - my instinct for self-preservation overcame it, finally reminding me that I somehow didn't have a spare save. They didn't deliver it, the bastards.

Well.

Seventeen class points of development, three classes, and a bunch of possible upgrade options, each of which is attractive in its way. There's no way to choose everything, so I have to sacrifice something for the sake of something more useful at this moment in time. And to do this I need to answer a very tricky question - what do I actually want?

The first thing to do is to close the second rank of the shadow class. Even though I still find Shadow Summoning too dangerous, I can't deny its usefulness, even on minimal use. And I have never summoned anything but the weakest and most miserable of the Shadow Dwellers! What would more advanced summonses be capable of? I'll have to find out.

Stealing the shadow has shown its usefulness, allowing me to engage in limited healing and boosting my disguise to the sky. A perfect skill for an infiltrator, both useful in combat and capable of saving me from a fatal blow. The latter is only a guess, but since I can move my wounds from shadow to shadow now, I can probably fend off an attack on someone else, too.

So two points on the Summons and three more on the steal, that's five in all. That leaves another twelve.

Next to shadow tricks, I need to be able to get information out of someone's head, which automatically brings us to the question of Dreamwalking. I think I need to spend at least five points, spreading them evenly over all my second-rank skills.

Also, I need to beat at least three extra points out of myself by closing the first rank of Mystic Alchemist, because to leave him completely untouched would be beyond stupidity. And his potential is also mythical, no weaker than the other two.

So, it's the same as always - nothing is clear, but you can start, and then you'll get used to it. Now, where's my point button there, I want to make myself a little stronger...

Class: Lord of Shadows

Rank: 3

Basic characteristics: shadows, dexterity, perception.

Abilities:

Shadow Control: 5/5
Allows you to masterfully control shadows in your field of vision, giving them full physical embodiment; shadows can freely take solid form and are suitable for creating obstacles and barriers; the range, speed, control, and stretching of shadows is greatly increased; shadow density is greatly increased; shadows can inflict energy damage and impose effects that reduce target characteristics; wounds from shadows are worse; with maximum tension and concentration of the shadow on a certain area, you can turn the shadow into a door to another plane; increases the Shadow's characteristic by +5.

Shadow Sense: 5/5
Allows you to sense all shadows within a large radius; allows you to clearly sense shadow movement and affiliation; allows you to control shadows freely even outside your direct line of sight; allows you to sense invisible persons touching shadows; allows you to see and hear through shadows; shadows within your perception zone are easier to submit to your will; shadows can point out targets you highlight or dangerous to you; if you wish, you can hear voices of shadow inhabitants distantly and vaguely; increases the Shadow characteristic by +5; increases the perception characteristic by +5.

Steps of the shadows: 7/7
Allows the user to step into a shadow and go directly to the shadow realm at will, with the ability to linger there for a long time, depending on the user's reserve and the actions they take; allows the user to choose a shadow for back passage directly while applying the skill; the distance of movement is limited only by the user's reserve, and the effort and concentration is low; extremely effective for use in combat; while in the other plane, the user's body gets the ability to pass through unenchanted and insufficiently enchanted obstacles; allows the body to merge with the Shadow, developing great speed of movement; allows to accumulate shadow energy right in the moment of step; levitation when in the other plane is available; allows, under certain conditions, to enter the deeper layers of the Shadow; allows limited effects on the material world without falling back into reality; allows instant movement within perception; increases the Shadow characteristic by +10; increases the Dexterity characteristic by +10.

Stealing of the shadow: 7/7
Allows to take someone else's shadow, thus taking the form of a stolen shadow; allows to pass off someone else's shadow as your own, fooling most standard, exotic and unique status assessment abilities; allows to leave a subordinate shadow on the original host, exerting a wide range of effects on him; a stolen shadow is not disembodied by sudden movements; the shadow is not disembodied by any shadow manipulation, except for those that require maximum concentration; under the direct influence of enemy skills, the shadow has a high chance to preserve its integrity and not disembodied; allows to fill a stolen shadow with Shadow energy, partially incarnating the recipient as a Shadow and thus enhancing his characteristics and abilities; allows a stolen shadow to take some of the impacts on the real body, up to the application of this technique in combat; allows you to transfer some damage to the shadows of undead objects in a small radius from itself; allows you to prepare in advance up to seven stolen shadows, on whose owners can be transferred any standard and most of the unique attacks; increases the characteristic Shadow by +10; increases the characteristic concentration by +10; increases the characteristic perception by +5.

Summon of the shadow: 7/7
Allows you to summon and impose your will on several inferior, weak, full, Senior, or even Higher Shadows; the summoner's powers are spent on subduing and controlling the Shadow; a summoned Shadow can linger in reality without feeding the summoner for a significant time; allows you to force Shadows to serve as material for shadow abilities; allows you to use Shadows as anchors for using shadow abilities, as well as using their senses; allows you to easily understand Shadows and communicate your commands to them; allows you to better coordinate Shadows when working in a group and even take them under direct control; reduces Shadow aggression and increases their fear of the skill owner; allows, with luck, to enter into long-term contracts with fairly intelligent Shadows; increases the Shadow characteristic by +10; increases the Energy characteristic by +10; increases the Concentration characteristic by +5.

Form of Shadow: 1/9

Allows you to give your body some of the properties of the Shadow while in the material world; allows limited manipulation of your body shape while in the Shadow.

Aegis of Shadow:1/9
Allows you to manifest Shadow energy around yourself, using it to reduce the impact on your body, mind, and soul; slightly reduces the impact of skills designed to counter shadow classes; greatly increases stealth when applied.

Creation of Shadow: 1/9
Allows the use of lesser shadows as material, changing their essence in a very limited way; allows, with maximum concentration, to implant obtained essences into stolen shadows.

Manifestation of Shadow: 1/9
Allows you to recover faster during and after combat by drawing energy directly from the Shadow; at maximum concentration, it allows you to temporarily amplify the Shadow's effect on reality in a small area.

[undisclosed]

Bonuses:

Shadowborn: stealth skills grow five times faster; in case of danger, shadows will shelter you as their brethren.

Dexterous: Dexterity grows faster.

Shadow Seer: This allows you to apply a special type of vision that allows you to superimpose the shadow plan on reality; allows you to see through disguises, obscurations, and illusions; the power of the gaze depends on characteristics and class ability development.

Blood of Shadows: Other blood flows in your veins, giving you a piece of its power; increases the characteristic of Shadow by +5, making it easier to communicate and negotiate with the inhabitants of Shadow.

Depth of Shadows: makes it easier to move to the deep plans of the Shadow, freely navigating in these places; increases the characteristic of the Shadow by +5, makes it easier to inspire fear in the inhabitants of the Shadow.

Flesh of the Shadow: greatly simplifies and cheapens the use of class skills; can affect appearance when actively using shadow skills; increases Shadow's characteristic by +5.

Marked by Shadow: Being in the Shadow heals wounds and speeds up the removal of negative effects up to the regeneration of limbs; increases the stat of the Shadow by +5.

[undisclosed]

Here I should make a frightened face and said something sweary, but I was too sick after the eight points I'd put in. Even though I was lying in a comfy bed, even though I was ready to feel bad, I still felt terrible! And no, I couldn't just put those ill-fated glasses in one a day, or I would have put it off until tomorrow, and then some later.

And "later" has such a bad tendency to turn into "never," which is why I decided not to risk my health. Yeah, by risking it in a completely different way, you got that right! I came to my senses for an hour and a half, getting used to the new sensations of my body and mind. And the more I listened to myself, the more I wanted to roll the changes back and never use them again. Silly, wouldn't you say?

I'll tell you this: I began to feel differently. I mean, even before, every effect on my status had some effect, but it was short and not dangerous. It was even possible to skip it, especially if it was in a battle, and there was simply no time for distractions. But now it was very different.

It was as if my body, its internal structure, had changed. Not much, not enough to say with certainty what the change was, but there was a change. My breathing seemed alien as if someone was breathing instead of me, and my joints and limbs moved a little differently than they had been used to before. It wasn't painful or dangerous, at least at first glance, but the effect itself, the realization that you were an outsider in your own body, was a pleasure that I would have preferred never to experience at all.

It took me a long time to calm down, so long that the first signs of dawn began to appear over the horizon when the sun had not yet risen, but its first rays were beginning to disperse the darkness of the night. I had to pull myself together, remind myself that I was, like, a man, and take a closer look at the changes in my status.

The first thing I noticed was the most useful acquisition in my arsenal: the steal of the shadow. My guess turned out to be correct because this skill was indeed not just a camouflage, but also a defensive-healing one. Imbalanced, of course, but for mythic classes, this seems to be a perfectly normal occurrence. When I've swung the skill to its maximum, I can give my wounds and curses to other people in all seriousness, and the level of disguise makes a bald man with a barcode on the back of his head feel ashamed.

I'd rate disguise even higher than defense - the ability to ignore standard and most of the unique identification abilities is a great help if you want to remain incognito. I suspect that I will have to rely more often on mimicry than on combat.

The final improvement in the ability was also gratifying, even more so than the escape teleport that became available after closing the shadow steps. In fact, I got seven saves, as long as my "saves" didn't drop the theft, or simply die before using it. Also, I suspect it will be possible to apply the theft to more than just myself. Would I be able to make a save for the same Hans, or the overly fragile Taria? I'll have to experiment a bit more.

The branch of the summoning still disgusts me, and I'll probably never be able to get rid of it. I know too well what Shadows are, how they feel about all things, and how dangerous they are. Yes, the prospect of summoning a High Shadow looks promising, and the final reinforcement that allows me to enter into long-term contracts is also extremely useful.

But no, I just don't want it.

I just don't want to mess with that monstrosity, even though I'm becoming more and more like a goddamn Shadow myself living in the real world for some reason with every point I put in. That makes me all the more sickening, because I know I'm going to have to try this ability. At my maximum summoning level, the risks of dealing with Shadows are almost all gone, and that means that I have to work with them. Just because I can't afford to waste seven points of class improvement!

I guess I'll have to do some shadow calling this week and try to get that "long-term contract," whatever that is. I won't sell my soul, of course, because I'm not stupid, but something tells me that there are guys in the world that I wouldn't feel sorry for... I wonder if that's how you become the darkest of the hard-core isekai, easily letting anyone and everyone go to sacrifice? Because it's a dangerous attitude to have - I don't know how my "no pity" criteria will change over time.

What else have I got new?

The new rank pleased me with new class perks that I'd rather not see even in my nightmares. No, they're all useful, I don't disagree, but their nature is too ambiguous. While even the initial Shadowborn was a bit of a strain on my poor mind, things are a lot more fun now. Depth, Flesh, and Mark, of all of which I would have been happy to keep only Depth. I don't need the ability to move through the deeper layers of the Shadow yet, but the ability to swim back out (or should I use the word "surfacing" here?) is truly invaluable. I was lucky and enthusiastic enough to make it back to reality in the Shadow, but I didn't stay in the Shadow forever. Well, or until the first hungry mouth that would eat me, despite all the perks of my class.

Flesh of Shadow.

Total crap! I don't give a shit about cheapening shadow techniques, because I spend very little on them as it is, and my reserve is quite good, especially after getting the new bonuses. The funny thing about the "change in appearance" part is that it's a trick. The last thing I need is a gradual transformation into some kind of alien monster, which isn't impossible, given the nature of the Shadow Lord. I'd even say that's the most likely outcome, again, based on the nature of the class.

However, there is no way to rewind, which means that I will have to act according to the classics - to see the result, and then we'll see. There's nothing more I can do about it anyway.

The last perk is more satisfying than dissatisfying. A permanent source of healing and regeneration that requires neither sacrifice nor energy expenditure is just a dream for a single grind in the absence of a healer. The only troubling thing is its name - subconsciously I expect some sort of nastiness coming from what is called the Mark. But I can't let my suspicions go to waste, even though I'm sure there's a catch here. Again the same song-if I see it, I'll react.

The new class abilities firmly assured me that those who climbed above the third rank would be few, if any, in this world. Four skills, nine divisions each, are thirty-six points to spend on them. Even if you put them all into one class, that means sixty levels to take the fourth rank (for a Summoned Hero, not a native). You could, of course, pump yourself without investing, but that would be too cool even for me - if I was so broken at rank two that I survived on sheer stubbornness, then rank three would kill me.

And I'm still so young, I want to live a bit.

Returning to the topic of the received skills, in each of which I put a point (except for the first, the system automatically put one point there), I can only say that I very much "like" what I saw. Even at the first stages, the potential of these abilities is nerve-racking, and even with full development, I'm sure, you can demolish the city. It's not that I can't do it now, one rift into Shadow and that's it, but these skills are really creepy and scary.

I don't want to use the Shadow Form, even though I know I have to. I don't want to become even more like those creatures, but I can't ignore the possible benefits. Though I have never been able to imagine those benefits. In any case, I would have to try out this branch of the skill just to know what to be afraid of. There shouldn't be any particularly creepy transformations at the first skill level. Shouldn't it?

Unlike my version of the henshin for the magical boy, I'll probably use Aegis a lot more often. In fact, it's my pipe dream of normal shadow armor. The one I'm using now is of course a very cool defense, but I have to be constantly distracted by maintaining it, especially under enemy strikes. At the same time, Aegis not only enhances my stealth but also cuts down all incoming damage and debuffs. Add to that the ability to redirect attacks into other people's shadows, and you can start playing the tank. Naturally, I'm not going to do that while I have Ygra and her 200 and a half endurance points - I should still ask her for Status because she's really upgraded since our meeting - but the possibility is fascinating.

Creation sounds and is described too obscurely and I can hardly assume anything sensible without experimentation. At first glance, my young team and I, I mean, me and my clairvoyance, can assume that this is a kind of analog of buffs. The insertion of the shadows I've created into other people's shadows can be a very useful skill. However, I wouldn't practice it on my team for any money, except on horses, because I don't feel sorry for them.

The Manifestation also raises questions, and what is already written in the description convinces me absolutely that it is necessary to experiment with this ability far away from populated areas. What did it say? Reinforce the Shadow's effect on reality? Go to hell with that kind of stuff - I'm used to being in the Shadows, but I still feel sorry for the average person, even if I don't feel sorry for everyone! I'm sick of imagining what a melded piece of the real world and the shadow world could end up in, and if that happened in a major city... yeah. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't do such a thing - when I'm cornered, I'll do more than that for my skin, but I'll only experiment far away from humans and other sentient beings.

I think that's it now.

Oh no, not all!

The Shadow's characteristic bonuses, together with those obtained for free development, brought this stat to the inspiring number one hundred and sixty-four. That's not only a huge increase in the effectiveness of all class skills but also a new perk to choose from. And if for a hundred I was offered to choose between two legendary perks, now I, on the basis of logic, should be given... well, yes!

There was a system message hanging in front of me, telling me that I could choose one of the two bonuses of the mythical fucking rank. Of course, the mere presence of a single mythical perk or title would not make an ordinary person a legendary hero. I asked Losius, and he said that even rare classes can get a legendary perk if they focus all their energy on grinding a single stat, which, for those same mages or priests, is considered quite a workable option. Yes, such classes will be overly lopsided, like the electromage, which could fire like a howitzer but cast impermissibly long. But the very fact that it's possible doesn't cancel it out at all.

But a mythical perk for a hundred and fifty in class stats, and for a mythical class as well, is a very important choice that should be made with a cool head and thinking it through. Therefore, I put aside the class upgrade, especially since I should have taken a break after such a drastic increase, lest poor Kostya be fucked up into many little pieces.

The Shadow's characteristic has reached 150 points! Choose a perk!
- Shadow's Grip (mythical; active);
- Stolen Heart (mythical);

You know, it's only now that I realized how imbalanced the mythic perks really are. Both perks could very well replace an additional class, simply by a single bonus. And, alas, one of them has to be chosen. You got that right - this time I'm regretting that I have to touch some of that shit, not that I can't have it all. Either I'm in such a mood, after the sudden promotion, or I become a bit smarter but I don't want these bonuses.

The tastiest seemed to be Stolen Heart, but I'm not going to take it with absolute certainty. Choosing this skill would give me a one-time boost of a third of each characteristic I'd already gained. Plus a third of each, I repeat each, characteristic. But this is just the beginning, further will be steeper: faster will be replenished reserve, will be able to cast shadows in all directions without being afraid of overloading, and each level will bring one additional characteristic to a random stat. Not bad, right?

And all these wonders will be given to me at a trifling price: my own heart. Instead of my own heart. Instead, I get a lump of Shadow's embodied energy, which will pump my blood through my veins. And something tells me that it's not the only thing this new heart will do. I can declare with absolute certainty that I will not choose this option for all the promises in the world. It's not even about the next piece of humanity that will have to be sacrificed - it's not about a broken plate to worry about in an earthquake. It is the underlying understanding that this would be the wrong choice, even if it is much more profitable now and in the long run.

Wrong.

Mistake.

Danger.

It would be foolish for an Overlord to give his own heart to someone, even if that "someone" were The Shadow itself. I won't bet money on it, but I suspect that the class will change with the choice of this option. I will be some kind of Shadow Avatar, maybe even a mythical rank, but subordinate to the power that will literally hold my heart.

It was just a feeling, but what I had learned from my adventures was to trust my intuition even more than I trusted myself. It had saved me where I had gotten my ass into the swamp, so it had credibility. Though I suspect that if my intuition had been embodied in an anthropomorphic form, the first thing it would have done would have been to kick me with a wooden stick, if not a frying pan.

In any case, I had to choose the Shadow Grip, although this perk was not very inspiring in its essence either. Or rather, it is not like that. If it were in some computer game, I would have jumped at the chance to choose this perk with all my limbs, but that's a game. In real life, its application raised valid questions that are so hard to answer.

When I activated the Grip, I could pull the life and essence out of any living creature I touched in ghostly (and now, apparently, not ghostly anymore, but full shadow) form. I'm sure you'll point out that I've been able to do this before, and I even tested it on a bandit once before! And you would be right - I could do it before.

But it's much better now. First of all, it's an activatable skill that allows me not just to stick my claws in someone, but to drag them into The Shadow with me. Second, I don't have to kill, desiccate, and cripple anyone, but that's not exactly a pleasant way to travel. Yes, yes, finally the possibility of transporting someone other than myself with a shadow step!

But the most ambiguous thing is the third: the possibility of taking some of the stats, skills, or memories of someone I decide to devour. A free upgrade, some Korean gamer or Chinese cultivator would say, and a Russian isekai would back them up. A trap for greedy fools, I say myself, as someone who has experience with the Shadow and its gifts.

Pulling from someone his powers, his stats, even, the fucking soul of a loser, I will be forced to follow the instincts of the part of me that is already a Shadow. Even setting aside the danger of drowning in other people's memories and chunks of identity devoured... How soon will I begin to look at even my companions as if they were fodder? And how soon will it stop bothering me?

No, guys, I'm only going to use this skill to grind up the stats when I have no other choice but to home-run another deadly shit that I can't unknot with normal methods. Otherwise, I've got a pretty good analog to group teleport, even if I'm not sure I can haul more than one passenger.

Quite weak for a mythical perk, of course, but, to tell you the truth, I'm glad to have at least stayed with my own. I had the chance to be given such gifts that no enemies would have been needed.

Among other things, I decided to distribute the free characteristics: the thirty-third level and fifteen stats, which can be invest to any of the available to me fans. I did not think about it for a long time, because I had thought out a plan beforehand: to bring up to two hundred energy, getting a perk for it (probably a legendary one), and, if I was lucky, to add to concentration to get up to one hundred and fifty, which I had enough to do.

The energy characteristic has reached 200 points! Choose a perk!
- Breath of Magic (legendary; active);
- Aegis of Magic (Legendary);

The next bonus will be available when you reach 300 points!

Both bonuses are habitually tasty, unlike the class bonuses. This is where I'd really like to get both at once, not just one. I wonder if the System could be persuaded to take away all that mythical Grip, replacing it with an extra legendary perk. These perks aren't quite as adorable, of course, but they don't have any negative consequences for the owner, which is a nice payoff.

Breath grants, pardon the pun, a second breath, allowing me to instantly restore my reserve to the top without any debuffs. The ability applies once every twenty-four hours, but with my damage, I'll either kill the threat that made me apply this perk, or die.

An Aegis is like my class affliction, only reminiscent of a mass aura. Within the range of the Aegis, which is calculated by the Aegis holder's power, all positive effects directed at me and my allies will increase, and all negative ones, on the contrary, will weaken. And this aura also dampens some of the incoming damage, but I don't need it.

Unfortunately, the Aegis would be of too little use for my style of action, so I took the Second Breath, especially since I would have taken it anyway. I would have gladly killed for this perk in the Kraj, because then I wouldn't have to pump myself full of alchemicals. I'd probably kill the cultists, yeah

The characteristic concentration has reached 150 points! Choose a perk!
- The Cold Blood (epic);
- Full stop (epic; active);

A full stop gave the ability to instantly stop all processes in the intangible body, allowing you to fool most sensory skills, as well as greatly increase your resistance to magical attacks. Up to the point of literally stopping fireballs with my bare hands. Physical resistance also grows, allowing even a frail wizard to endure something that would make another knight whistle with envy. The price for such a miracle is, obviously, the inability to use external magic skills. I, for example, will still be able to use steps, but shadow control and all other skills will be unavailable.

This is understandable - a kind of last chance in case of a complete fuck-up, which has already covered the caster with its ass chicks. Activate and run away, or stand still, hoping that you will survive the attack and be able to hide. With that kind of temporal armor, it's quite realistic - the probability that everyone will think the classic "no one couldn't have survived there" is very high.

Alas, I have enough ways of escaping from a hit as it is, and they're much more reliable and effective. I had to choose Cold Blood, which greatly reduced the effects of curses and mental effects. My Hero status protects me from the latter, and my affinity to Shadow and Dreams protects me from the former, but the extra percentages don't hurt anyone.

I think I can look in Ygra's direction now, at least for a dozen or so minutes. It'll be at least an hour, if not more before her skills start pressing my brain through the defense. I couldn't get rid of that problem completely, but the likelihood of me getting the title of Ogrefucker against my will was reduced to a minimum. It was a different matter when I was fully consenting, but I wasn't desperate enough to seek solace in the strong embrace of green boobs.

After figuring out the stats, I went back to the problem of distributing my class points, of which there were exactly nine. It's not a small margin, but it's not nearly as impressive as I thought it would be. I don't know how much effort I had to put myself through and not put this choice off indefinitely, but it was really hard.

The only thing that made me invest my precious savings was the realization that taking the second rank in alchemy should not hit my brain as hard as taking the third in shadows. Fortunately, I was not wrong this time, for it was really quick and easy, almost painless. Almost, greed did hurt, but we do not take it into account.

Class: Mystic Alchemist

Rank: 2

Basic characteristics: inspiration, perception, energy

Abilities:

Creating a compound: 5/5
Allows you to create complex alchemical compounds from available reagents, instinctively understanding the creation process; allows you to adjust the desired result and understand the purpose for which a particular reagent is suitable; allows you to work with the aggregate state of the resulting mixtures; allows you to create exotic mixtures that can cause complex and lasting status effects; allows you to combine different effects, including exotic, in one potion, without increasing the toxicity of the compound; increases the characteristic Inspiration by +5.

Reagent breakdown: 5/5
Allows easy extraction of essences from alchemical reagents; complexity depends on the rank of the reagent, its quantity, characteristics and skills of the user; allows to hold and manipulate collected essences; allows to understand the nature and origin of essences; compositions created from pure essences are guaranteed to be of higher quality; Compositions created with essence get a higher grade or additional effects (the effect depends on the original reagents); allows to collect and analyze essence in finished compositions or their leftovers; allows to restore the recipe and effect of a composition by its leftovers or effects; increases Inspiration by +5; increases Perception by +5.

Concentration of the compound: 1/7
Allows you to slightly enhance the quality of already prepared compositions at the expense of wasting essences; allows you to enhance the quality of compositions at the expense of additional wasting of reagents and essences.

Clamping of the Effect: 1/7
Allows you to permanently create compounds whose effects can have a permanent effect on Status; at maximum concentration it allows you, if the right reagents are available, to create compounds that can permanently increase characteristics or skills from a high-grade essence.

Container of the essence: 1/7
Allows to accumulate a small amount of a single-type essence in own body; allows to create compositions from stored essence; the container cannot be detected by scanning skills of rank lower than legendary; the container cannot be emptied by specialized skills of rank lower than mythical.

[undisclosed]

Bonuses:

Understanding of the essence: the ability to see and, with reservations, understand magic in things and reagents; all craft skills related to alchemy grow five times faster.

Attentive: perception grows faster.

Touch of Mystique: Allows you to use even items that are not alchemical reagents to create alchemical compositions, endowing them with minimal mystical properties, or enhancing the already existing properties of normal reagents.

Look Inside: Your alchemical sense gives you a glimpse even inside your own body; allows you, within certain limits, depending on characteristics and skills, to decompose compounds that have entered your body or blood into essences, changing their essence; allows you to deactivate a drunk poison, nullify intoxication from a powerful potion or increase the effect of a strengthening composition; increases the Inspiration characteristic by +5.

[undisclosed]

Another minus five points, but this time I'm really satisfied. I can hardly suppress the urge to invest the rest of my treasures in this class, which are not much left at all. I can't use any of it in combat, with some reservations, but in civilian life... It takes my breath away to realize all that I will be able to create with my new abilities!

In battle, of course, it is useless, but some battles are won before they begin. I read that in a smart book and agreed with the truth I'd read at the time. And then there's the ability to create potions that permanently improve characteristics! It's the same as with Grip, only without the risk of going off the rails.

There will still be problems, and they can't help but be. At the very least I have to solve the problem of intoxication - you can't take a lot of permanent enhancement potions, or everyone would do that. Each potion would cause a prolonged and very hard to neutralize intoxication with side toxins, which would have to be somehow eliminated, but that's not the main thing. The main thing is that there is a shadow of an opportunity to become stronger without sticking his head straight under the guillotine. It's even suspicious, considering that I'm only just beginning to make progress on the "main quest line".

Also, a big tasty thing was the appearance of the container, which opens up a very interesting perspective. If this ability is used in conjunction with the class perk - looking inward - you can literally turn your own body into an alchemical laboratory. The prospects of such a spanner are not quite clear yet, but it won't be useless.

Probably.

I hope.

The latest news regarding the Mystic Alchemist class was the achievement of fifty points of Inspiration, which earned me my first perk for points gained in that trait. Admittedly, I wasn't disappointed, giving me two quite good perks to choose from. This system gift was a bit weak against the more advanced skills and perks, but only against the background. Any normal alchemist would sell his soul, his firstborn, his left kidney, and his neighbor's favorite kitten for either of these two perks.

The Inspiration characteristic has reached 50 points! Choose a perk!
- Mystic Workshop (epic; one-time);
- Inspirational Trance (epic; active);

The first one was cool, but it wasn't meant for me: by creating the Workshop, I tied myself securely to a certain place, because it would be impossible to move it, and destroying it would result in a long debuff for my characteristics, which I didn't want to experience at all. There was a lot to offer, of course, but the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

The Mystic Workshop is an ideal choice for someone who wants to devote his life to creation rather than war and battle. All potions created in the Workshop would gain at least one grade in quality, and the Workshop itself could be placed in one of the places of power, which would give even more bonuses. Moreover, over time, the effect of the Workshop would get stronger and stronger, up to the most mind-boggling heights.

Indeed, any king or other ruler would be glad to welcome the owner of such an ability in his house, surely allocating to him at least a whole wing of his palace. You can make exclusive potions for personal use and for sale, and you will live in luxury and prosperity for the rest of your life. A golden cage that you don't want to get out of, but that way doesn't suit me.

Inspired Trance is a kind of system bot. When you activate this skill, you set yourself a goal, namely the desired properties of the composition. Then, if you have the right ingredients, the composition will be made by you. It is as if you will fall into a trance, watching your actions from outside, and your bare subconscious mind and temporarily heightened intuition will do all the work. And the best part is that I can easily repeat the recipe I created afterward! I think it's pretty clear what I've chosen, isn't it?

The remaining four points I invested at the same time with the first roosters and the slowly waking manor. I wasn't too keen on developing the Dreams, which would be as bad for me as the Shadows, but once I started, I'd better finish, especially since there wasn't much left. The four points I have are not enough to take a new rank or to seriously damage my psyche, so I'm slowly and carefully investing the remaining points in the Dreamwalker class.

Soaring in the Dreams: 3/7
Allows you to draw Dream energy into reality, accumulate it in a limited way, control it, and use it for a limited list of actions; the accumulated energy has low plasticity and degree of variability of influence on Reality; allows you to use the accumulated energy as a bridge to interact with the Dreamworld while remaining in Reality.

Edge of Reflections: 2/7
Allows the use of any reflective surface as a window to observe a specified target; target selection is determined by clairvoyance skills; allows with considerable effort to penetrate various types of defenses, including exotic ones; distance to the observation target is of little importance; allows at the limit of concentration a limited effect on the observer through the reflection.

The Weaving of Dreams: 2/7
Allows you to create complex and multidimensional structures in the dream world; with the application of maximum power, allows you to generate animated Dreams within your woven dreams; allows you, at the limit of concentration, to bestow the Dreams spawn with a will; allows you, at a high cost, to subordinate weak Dreams spawns to your will by giving them a limited list of orders.

[undisclosed]

Two things pleased me the most: the way to influence other people's dreams and not sleep myself (although it is not clear what happens then with time dilation in dreams) and a huge boost to clairvoyance, which, thank tits, can finally be used for exactly what I have tolerated and developed it for.

I'd have to ask Losius for a mirror, and I'd have to check on the people I'd met in Alurei. To see the grandfather from the Kraj and his grandchildren, along with the unlucky alcoholic with damaged by me (or, on the contrary, boosted) reputation, to follow that brat and his black-assed bitch, who wanted to poke me with something sharp, I would even look at the ancient Spectre from an almost forgotten necropolis. And if there was a chance to talk to him, it would be a feast on my street.

At last, an opportunity to sass someone over the monitor screen!

Honestly, if I had any free development points right now, I wouldn't hesitate to invest them all into this skill in order to pump it up completely. This is, you might say, my life's dream!

The servants were already at work downstairs, heating breakfast for themselves and making it for us, and I realized that I was hungry again, so I'd better not stay too long and skip breakfast as well. I might make another terrorist attack on the cellar, but I could do with some normal human company after such a hot, but not in the way I wanted, night. Otherwise, I would soon start jumping on people myself.

Before I go out, I still have time to look over my Status, assessing my skills and characteristics, which have grown considerably, though not as much as I would like them to.

Name: Konstantine
Race: ?human?
Level: 33

Titles: Hero; Silent Assassin; Night Master, Thunderstruck; The Legend Seer; The Legend Killer; Withstood; Sighted Mentor; A Persistent Guy; Those who've seen a lot; Soul of a Mocker; Marathoner; Invisible Mentor; Walking Through Enemy Formation; Gifter of Fear; Holding on to Shadows; Beyond Existence; Stepping Over the Edge (Shadow); One Against Many; Anti-Hero; In the Embrace of Shadow

Characteristics Points: 0
Class Points: 0

Characteristics (standard):
Strength: 95
Dexterity: 165
Endurance: 100
Perception: 134
Concentration: 150
Energy: 204

Characteristics (class):
Shadow: 164
Dreams: 78
Inspiration: 53

Skills:

Provocation: 58 (great master)

Running: 22 (journeyman)

Stealth: 67 (great master)

Swimming: 5 (apprentice)

Alchemy: 55 (great master)

Herbalism: 35 (master)

Gathering: 30 (journeyman)

Fishing: 14 (journeyman)

Spear Mastery: 3 (apprentice)

Infiltration: 36 (master)

Danger sense: 62 (great master)

Deathstroke: 51 (great master)

Dagger Mastery: 57 (great master)

Hand-to-hand combat: 19 (journeyman)

Energy Flow Management: 52 (great master)

Two-Handed Combat: 38 (master)

Throwing Weapon: 24 (journeyman)

Clairvoyance: 54 (great master)

Disarming traps: 27 (journeyman)

Pickpocketing: 15 (journeyman)

Trap Making: 19 (journeyman)

Poisoner: 18 (apprentice)

Essentialism: 23 (journeyman)

Unexistence: 22 (apprentice)

Riding: 10 (apprentice)

Reading footprints: 16 (journeyman)

Yeah.

At the very least, I can be happy about a couple of new great masters, especially in clairvoyance and energy management. Both are, as I understand it, basic skills to pump up their class. Clairvoyance is closely related to Dreams, and energy flow control makes shadow control and all related techniques much easier.

Good.

Cool.

Even awesome.

If only it would be enough. Not even to win, but at least to survive.

* * *

Authors note:

18 pages - almost two chapters, so you could say I've paid my dues for yesterday's absence.

Done what should have been done a long time ago - Kostik overpowered Toad and Hamster, without whom no LitRPG can be.

The Dices were moderate.

That's it.

The chapter is passable but still necessary.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TR5EF_r1thHTaRt2IuAG3hfjeRmTJRul/view?usp=sharing - Lamp.