PoV Dan

-Uh. Mirad? Do you have any free time? -I turned to Mirad, who had just finished training.

-Of course. Did something happen?

It’s been a long time since Murad and Nick went missing. The boss ordered me, as the one who was close to Mirad, to tell him about it. But what can I say?

Heya, your brother was probably eaten by wolves? Disappeared in the forest? From where should I start

and how can I comfort someone with whom I have barely known for a month?

- Ahem... in general... your brother… Murad... he... he died... My condolences.

- Hmm? Did he die? Okay. It happens.

What? It happens? It sounds as if he is saying that a person broke his leg, didn't die. Or maybe Murad is alive? But if he was alive, he would have returned. Okay. Most likely, he just has such a character.

-Uh ... well ... then I... go...?

-I'm not detaining you. I need to continue training.

When I heard this, I just turned around in silence and went to the boss. During this month, Murad did not show any noticeable results from his studies, but a couple of days ago, for no reason at all, he just started fighting as skillfully as the experienced fighters of the gang. After hearing this, the boss was very happy and wanted to test his survival abilities later. But everything was overshadowed by two incidents. The first is the death of the youngest son of the Brainless and Murad. The second is…

- Boss. Can I come in?

- Of course. Did you tell Mirad about Murad's death?

-Yes. His answer was: Okay. It happens.

- It happens? He just said it happens? There are no signs that he is trying to hide his feelings?

-No.

-Hm. It seems that he, like Murad, is not very emotional in this regard. They are very similar to each other. The way they perceive life and the way they behave. I can't imagine what happened to them that they became like this. Maybe some crazy shaman prepared them as servants and deprived them of their souls in advance?

-But no shamans are living here. They live only on the steppes.

-You're right about that. Well, let's not try to find out their past. What's there today? No one died?

-One of them had a hand failure. He hasn't felt it since morning. The other went blind. Several people can't talk anymore. And one died clutching his heart.

- Oh... God. What's happening?

People in our gang have been dying for a week now. Most of them got off with mild symptoms such as loss of feeling of a limb for a while, others lost their sense of smell for a while. But such lucky people are only 10% of those who get sick. Or perhaps the cursed. Others have hearing loss, vision and a sense of balance, and many other symptoms. Some have recovered, others are still ill. But these are still small things in comparison with the most unsuccessful. My friend caught his breath and died gasping for breath. Others received a heart attack. And one of them went out for no reason and started cutting others. When we caught him and asked him why he did it, he said that the voice forced him. It was the voice of his late father.

Even remembering this, I was trembling with fear. Have we been cursed by some spirit?

- Boss, can we hire a priest?

-I would like to. But I don't have the money to heal all the people. You know how expensive their services are. They will have to rely on themselves and us. To those who can't fight anymore because of it, tell the most skilled to train beginners. And if they are not experienced enough. I'll figure out where to put them later.

It warmed my heart. That's why I have so much respect for my boss. He cares about us. Not like the nobles who see only the cattle in us. Although he is a warrior, he diligently takes care of each of us. I hope the day will come when he will become a level 5 warrior and overthrow the Brainless One. I am sure Mirad will also play an important role in this. After all, he is a very skilled fighter, when he grows up he will become one of the strongest fighters in the gang.

…

PoV Murad

I was walking with my squad to my destination. In our squad 4 clones. According to the plan of the head, we will divide into separate groups at the intersection and each of us will go to a certain city to gather more volunteers.

As we walked along the road, I couldn't help but think about the memories of me from Gorta that I received. In the city of Gorta, I lost contact with my Head. From the memories I received, I can say that it was terrible. I shudder every time I think about life without a connection with my Head. Fortunately, then I felt a connection with Nick and was able to restrain myself and not reveal myself.

Thinking about what I learned next from Andre, I understand that I would not have had a chance then. But still, being close to Andre every time is very difficult for me. However, I need to somehow cope with this. This is a very safe place for Nick where he seems to be able to realize himself.

- Indeed. Nick is better off there. -The other me said to me. We can understand what we are thinking just by looking at each other. I can say with confidence that both the Head and others think the same way as I do. We are all part of something big and united. I hope one day both Nevi and Nick will understand this feeling.

- It's time to split up.

Following the plan, I will go to Demike city. Walking along the road is less likely to encounter danger and therefore a higher chance of getting to the city safely.

…

It's been a week now. I'm in the Gorta still trying to feel mana. Nick's studies are not going well. He doesn't know how to fight yet, even though I gave him the necessary memories.

So. It's already night. I found a place to sleep and lit a fire. I created small birds for observation and was already preparing to start restoring the strength of the body when I noticed someone's silhouette. I have prepared a dagger in case of an attack. I have taken a bow as a weapon, so I don't have a good melee weapon.

-*Ding* *Ding* - The sound of jewelry ringing was clearly audible. A woman appeared to my gaze. She was dressed in beautiful clothes made of gold and silver. Countless ornaments rang colliding with each other like bells. She had very wide sleeves in which it was difficult to see the hands.

-I'm sorry. Do you have any meat? - she asked, looking me straight in the eye. Hm. What is a person doing here in such clothes? Well, after she eats, I can ask her.

- Of course. -I handed her a piece of rabbit meat. She carefully raised her hand and quickly took the meat. From her actions, it seemed like she wanted to hide her hands.

- Thank you. -Even though she thanked me, I didn't feel any feelings from her.

-Why are you in the forest at this time?

- Well... I have my problems. -As she spoke, she turned away from me and began to eat meat. After a couple of moments, there was nothing left of the meat. Even the bones.

After that, the woman left as if nothing had happened. Weird. Oh, well. It doesn't look like it will be a dangerous situation. I went to bed.

People dream during sleep. But what is it? During sleep, my speed of thought only slows down. According to the memories of the volunteers, I can see that they remembered some of the dreams and found them interesting. I want to have a dream one day.

*The silhouette is quickly straining towards you. Humanoid in appearance*

When I heard the warning from the bird, I immediately stand up with a dagger in my hand.

It's that woman. She seemed surprised but still decided not to back down and start running

-*Ding* *Ding* - A familiar ringing sounded. She ran very fast and deftly avoided the trees. Looks like it will be difficult. I quickly took a bow from a bag nearby and fired. The arrow hit her right in the nose.

-*Clang* - A thin layer of skin fell off from the nose. Under it was a copper-colored nose. It's a pity I only have bone arrows.

I picked up the dagger again and prepared myself. At a distance of 10 meters, the woman looked into my eyes with hatred and screamed shrilly. The sound was very unpleasant. I felt like I had lost touch with the bird. The closer one bird is dead. It seems that her scream kills small animals.

At a distance of 4 meters, I clearly saw her hands. Instead of fingernails, it had claws. Also copper-colored. They were about 10-15 cm in length. Raising my dagger, I made a sweeping blow. She raised her claws and defended herself, but I noticed that her claws were slightly damaged. She attacked with both hands at once. It is impossible to defend yourself without a shield. Instead, I decided to attack her. I grabbed the dagger with both hands and stabbed her in the heart. In response, she stabbed me in both breasts.

My heart got serious damage. I don't have enough biomaterial to restore! The woman in front of me slowly began to lose strength, I immediately took out my dagger and attacked this time in the eye.

- Ahhh! You! You dare to! Kill me! Die! Die! - With the rest of her strength, she wanted to take out her claws and pierce me again. However, some of her claws got stuck in my bones. -Ah!! My Husband! He will avenge me! Bastard! «Жан Жарым Менім, Мен Үшін Кек Ал! Қош Бол» (Avenge me, my dear. Goodbye)

Having said this, the Woman fell dead. How strange. Although I didn't understand the language, I understood what she wanted to say. Is this the language of the world? I examined the woman's body. the nose and claws are copper-colored. It looks like she is a spirit. Suddenly, I felt like I had become a little stronger. My senses have become a little more acute. Somewhere by 5%. Is it ... profitable for me to kill spirits? Anyway, I decided to absorb the body to recover, otherwise, this body will die.

Turning into a lump of meat, I began to absorb the body. It wasn't very nutritious. If we compare the density and nutritional value of the biomaterial, it is like half of a Nick. Very non-nutritious. But there should be enough for the healing of the body.

There are no memories. No. Even from corpses, I get memories. Even with those that have managed to rot a little. Although then the memories become abrupt, I get at least something. Her last words never leave my head. Does she have a husband? Who is he? And who is this woman? What kind of spirit is she?

A woman with claws and a copper-colored nose. It was in some stories. But in whose memories? Although I have memories of many people, they are like books with memories for me. If I want to find something, I need to open the book and search the memories, I start looking for the right moment. If I don't find it, I go to another one. It seems that if the number of memories continues to increase, I need to start dividing people according to some characteristics.