The Council of Hunters listened to news from the city and Nick's proposal to conduct recon to find a large concentration of monsters.

After the winners returned from Galatea, they discovered that a new low relief had appeared in the castle. On one of the walls of the castle, a picture of the new hunters' victories appeared from stone. The red-haired sorceress was doing her sorcery and many skeletons at her feet plunged into the ground. Ranger was killing monsters with precision bow shots. The warrior turned into a large formidable figure of a fighter and smashed his enemies with precise sword strokes. The shaggy assassin pushed his daggers into the enemy in a deadly blow. A strange dark figure with dark wings behind his back and a two-handed sword in his hands was also on this low relief.

Players understood that to make mass extermination of monsters is what is needed for a breakthrough in development.

Nick proposed to the clan:

"In the east, we have a strange location with a cemetery of former hunters. According to the village, there's never been an attack on civilians from those places. We won't be disturbing this location. The South is useless to us in terms of development. It's where the more populated land begins. It's where other players can put things in order. West and north, these are the two directions of our quest for adventure.

The North is a very unpleasant place. There's a huge swamp in the north-east. There's nothing to look for. In case of danger, we can't count on powerful scrolls. Anna is not a Master of Water. Earth's magic spells are almost useless in a battle in the Swamp. We will not climb into the swamp. In the event of monster invasion, we'll survive on solid ground under our feet.

But John and I looked a little outside our territory, we were heading north of Galatea. Swamp monsters can be found there, but most monsters are dangerous creatures on levels 20 and 30.

The West is the most convenient place for us to recon. There are a lot of dead people out there, we can count on Dan to help us. Somewhere in the west there's a large congregation of the undead, and we can find and destroy it."

Players were thinking about the terms. Alexander decided to give his opinion:

"I don't agree with you, Nick. We'll meet a familiar opponent on the west side. That wouldn't give Dan a chance for development. Meeting new monsters is the perfect job for the Inquisitor. Let's not go the easy way, it's not right."

"I agree with that," said Dan. "I'm more interested in the North. I'm not thrilled with the features of my Sinner class, but I need to develop it. Fighting the dead is not the best way for me."

"Is there no way I can join your group?" asked Kate.

"Mistress Inquisitor, the clan needs you on a major mission," said Nick.

"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry, but I was wondering if I could join the intelligence team," said Kate.

"It's not interesting, Kate. We'll be quiet and slow on the road. We'll apply our invisibility and camouflage skills and be ready to run away from danger at any moment. Dan's at great risk, I don't think the artifacts of stealth will help him. And his status as a living dead player won't work against dangerous animals either. A boring walk through unknown places," smiled John.

"He's got a good look at the forest and the area we own. John may seem to be a brave and confident expert on his land. But in intelligence, he's careful and slow," said Nick.

"I am very careful, brother, and too slow compared to you," corrected the Assassin.

Alexander smiled and summed up the council:

"The three of you are going on a reconnaissance mission. The clan is not relaxing and continues to perform the main quest. When are you ready to go on a mission?"

"Tomorrow morning, we'll go towards Galatea. We'll visit our redheaded thief, who is so pleased the clan with his findings," said Nick.

Red Nick rarely came to the castle. But he did bring great trophies. He found a great place to develop his skills and was delighted. He even met the traps in the cellars of the ruins! The future burglar had a lot of work to do.

*

In the morning, the scouts left the castle. On the ruins of Galatea, they met with Nick and heard the news. Nick met some high-ranking dead but managed to get through. The skeletons were 20 levels and appeared one by one. The victory wasn't easy for a thief. But the unique club did wonder! The thief could lurk in the shadow and attack unexpectedly and strike several quick blows. Sometimes, he received wounds, but so far his life reserve was enough to survive. But the redhead did not worry. He had a rebirth point under his side. That's great! He's happy to work in this place. One quarter of the city hasn't been explored by a ginger thief.

The guys shared food with him and wished him good luck. Nick learned about the purpose of their trip and was happy to learn about the opportunity to gain a lot of experience.

The road from Galatea was destroyed by time and resembled a path surrounded by woodland. Nick felt confident in those places. They were not afraid of animal attacks. Players were moving slowly.

On the first day, they walked a few miles and in the evening they found a good place to sleep. By the bank of a small river that flowed out of the big swamp, they found a big empty hole in the hill. The owner of the hole was a bear, it was a den. Nick recognized the former owner with confidence from the few woolens he found in the den.

The ranger was able to shoot a small boar on the way, and a piece of meat was waiting for his fate.

"I'm not taking a chef specialty! It develops dexterity and spirit. I agree with increased agility, but I don't need the spirit! I lack intellect," said John.

The guys talked him into cooking. The opportunity to eat delicious food on the road was nice for everyone.

"You don't read enough books! You're not interested in this world at all."

"I'm listening to Betty. It's not hard for her to read out loud. But you're right, brother, she's getting more intellect points. I already warned Richard."

"The lazy and the weak," concluded Nick. "If you like a girl, propose to her. Dan will marry you."

"I'd be happy to help and connect loving hearts," smiled the sinner.

John was embarrassed and twisted that not everyone is as brave as Nick and his girlfriend are happy with his attention. The assassin looked at Dan and laughed:

"Our Inquisitor will surely catch you! There's no escape from the skill of Autodafe."

Dan smiled sadly and admitted he was embarrassed. He doesn't want to ruin a girl's life. He's afraid of what might happen to him when he changes his status for 24 hours and stops being a live player forever.

"You're not afraid to develop your spirit anymore? Betty, Bella and Kate are already ahead of you in that direction."

"Newcomers have proven to be great players. Their reputation stock is fantastic! They'll soon outpace us all in terms of performance," replied Dan.

They sat by the fire of a small fire and ate roast meat. The food tasted disgusting, and it was impossible to eat meat without a stock of dwarf spices. But it was a great way to quench the hunger and keep playing. The guys ate and went to bed. The pets went to guard their master's sleep.

In the morning, everyone washed up and went further north. In these places it was difficult to move, many small rivers blocked the way. There were no bridges left. Players did not risk and did not enter the water of the rivers. One day they saw a monster that immediately repulsed the desire to risk their lives. Dan calmly reads the scouts a description of the monster.

*

River Beast

Type: normal

Level: 30

Life: 40000

Damage: 1900-3300

Description: This animal is a species of aquatic reptiles living in river waters. Travelers must be extremely careful, especially when water bodies, streams and rivers are close by. Bubbles rippling on the water surface, this is a sure sign that River Beast is waiting for you. It emits poisonous saliva, which it spits from its mouth with incredible force, often knocking anyone down. Sometimes River Beast's groups work together, one of the monsters spits out the victim, pushing him into the mouth of the other.

*

The incomprehensible monster did not surrender to the skills of a ranger who admitted to his friends that he could not control fish and other inhabitants of rivers and reservoirs. In a strange likeness of an octopus, they noticed scales and a few tentacles with powerful claws at the ends of each tentacle. The poisoning and the ability to hit at a distance killed any desire to get in touch with such an opponent. The scouts found a place where everyone could run away and jump over the river.

They continued moving on the barely visible remains of the ancient road. The road always connects the two inhabited places. If they find a new dead city, that would be a great end to their journey.

On the evening of the second day of the journey, the scouts stopped away from the river, but the meadow in the forest seemed to them to be a good place to sleep. Nick assured that there were no paths near the glade and the local animals would not disturb the players' sleep. The local animals were on levels 20 and 30. The skill of the 'Friend of the Beasts' ranger was a terrible advantage. Each skill level gave power over a stronger animal. Nick could command the animals on level 38! Of course, he couldn't command a pack of animals but confessed that he was able to make a good acquaintance with several wolves near the castle. These wolves were the leaders of the herd and Nick managed to leave his image in the leaders' minds. Right next to the castle, he could count on the whole herd to come to the rescue of the ranger.

The guys dug a hole in the ground and started a fire in it, they didn't want to draw attention to themselves. The players were going to have dinner with another batch of disgusting roast meat. They had a little talk about their adventures, the girls and the specifics of the area.

Nick didn't like the woods. He admitted that the proximity of a large swamp spoiled the forest. This forest wasn't a jungle, it had the usual big trees. But there was no shrubbery in the forest. The trees stood at a small distance from each other and were seen with a thick carpet of lianas. Nick said there was no need to get close to the trees. These lianas didn't inspire confidence in him. Beautiful flowers were often found on large and thick stems. The forest was very beautiful from an artistic point of view. But everyone knew that everything about the swamp was about poison. The most dangerous enemy for players was insects! They did not encounter swarms of small insects. But they had already faced air attacks by the Swamp Bloodsuckers. Large flying monsters were covered in red wool and had a strange proboscis. The players were lucky! These overgrown mosquitoes made a loud noise as they flew, warning of an attack. The monsters were a pitiful resemblance to vampires, they were 30 and 32 levels and could restore their health by feeding on the blood of their victims. The guys easily handled the bloodsuckers' attacks, which were captured by the 'Autodafe' skill and became easy prey for three players. Nick didn't even intervene in the fight to avoid spoiling the trophies. Being able to please his wife with new ingredients instantly reduced his desire to enjoy the fight.

Nights in this world were more enjoyable than days. The nights were never raining. It was strange, but it made the players happy. There was an almost ordinary moon shining in the sky, the moonlight illuminating the terrain well.

They missed the attack.

Dan felt weird. His head was blurred and he suddenly wanted to sleep. It wasn't normal. He looked at his friends and saw that John was already lying by the pit with the fire and that Nick was up and walking towards the trees. Dan jumped up on his feet and followed the ranger. He didn't see the enemy immediately, the moonlight wasn't enough to see a gray figure at the trunk of one of the trees. But one glance was enough for the Inquisitor to know that they had gotten into trouble.

*

Succubus

Type: normal

Level: 32

Life: 36000

Damage: 900-1700

Overview: A pitiful resemblance to a powerful demoness who was killed during the battle. The succubus has a constant craving for blood, especially male blood. It is particularly beneficial for her development. A Succubus is weak in attack, but very fast in combat, usually a Succubus weakens his victim by a curse from a distance. The curse makes the victim fall asleep and quickly lose their lives. After weakening the victim, Succubus kills the victim with its long curved claws.

Attention! The succubus can cause a variety of magical damage.

The succubus can cause magical damage. Succubus also uses a variety of curses. A curse can take lives [35% at Succubus level]. The succubus can use a special curse that takes mana and lives when used. When this terrible curse is cast on you, try to find a priest faster to break the curse.

In its development Succubus passes through Harlot and Temptress levels, and turns into the most dangerous opponent. Kill the succubus the first chance you get, so don't give it a chance to become the most dangerous enemy of all living creatures.

*

"You're not like them. Stop, or I'll curse your friend even harder," said the monster.

Dan stopped and took a close look at the enemy. The naked woman had long red hair. The body was covered with only two shoulder pads and handcuffs. She was beautiful and her body shapes were good, but the succubus did not cause any erotic desire in the sinner. The skin was an unpleasant grey color. And the voice and expression of the face expressed cold, insensitivity and calm indifference. But it was certainly not a kind of undead. She attacked a sinner. And Dan didn't want to put his friend in new danger.

The sinner instantly activated 'Autodafe' and went into Draugr's form.

"Kill the goddamn thing! I hate those filthy weaklings who can't fight fair and use nasty magic!"

Dan was in complete agreement with his cursed sword. He struck a quick blow and immediately used the skill of 'Cutting the Void'.

[Critical damage! You caused 11.200 damage]

The Succubus could do nothing to counter the dead warrior's onslaught as a fighter, she tried to dodge it and put the most powerful curse on the enemy. She knew that this enemy would kill her very quickly.

Dan struck a few more blows and managed to finish off the Succubus. But she was able to do her dying curse.

*

[You cursed! You will lose 190 health points every second for 24 hours. Seek the help of a priest to break the curse. You've gained 6.000 points of experience.]

*

Dan stood and laughed.

I don't know what that naked stupid girl was counting on. But she certainly wasn't dealing with the players. And she definitely didn't meet any followers of the Spirit's way, thought an insolent sinner.

1 point Endurance regenerates 1 point HP per minute. 1 Point Spirit regenerates 1 Point HP and 1 MP per minute.

Dan was restoring 222 health points per minute. And it was a simple sum of his characteristics, for healing he used his skills for a momentary increase in Spirit!

He did not deny himself the pleasure and kicked a Ranger who fell to the ground and kept sleeping and smiling silly. Dan realized that the guy was dreaming about a nice erotic scene.

"Wake up, you disgust traitor! I'll tell Anna everything!"

"Don't tell Anna anything!"

Nick knelt down and crawled towards the faint light of the fire flame. Dan woke John up. The scouts already lost two-thirds of their health and immediately took a small healing potion and an excellent regeneration potion. Dan talked about the properties of a dangerous monster that attacked them suddenly. The sinner looked at the cat with a quick look:

"Pussy! I understand that these two shaggy dodgers could have amused themselves to the charms of a fallen woman. But you're a girl! How could you have missed the attack of that insolent bastard?"

The cat turned its back on the sinner, and he saw a picture of the cat sleeping in it.

"Very clever creature. Guys, it even enchanted pets!"

"And managed to sneak up unnoticed. I don't like this one," wince, Nick.

"And if we get attacked by a few of those succubuses, we'll wake up in Galatea! Two days to get back to this place! Nasty opponents," noticed John.

"No, they don't like to share their prey. These creatures are very clever and are eager to gain new power and new rank. She gave me a clear and competent order," said the sinner.

"Dan. You will guard our dreams. You'll get a penalty from the game, but I hope that damn road leads us to someplace tomorrow with a rebirth point," said Nick.

"I won't do anything like that, and I'll sleep like normal people. We're going to eat now, and then we're going to take the daggers in our hands and start digging. Relax at all. We're going to dig ourselves some shelter and go to bed. I didn't see any wings on that thing. I hope Harlot or Temptress doesn't come to see us. Pathetic demons can grow into strong ones. Demons sure have wings. I remember that for sure," said Dan.

"Kill, you let me down, you definitely ate during the day, get to work now," said the ranger. Two werewolves and a cat wouldn't argue and started digging a hole in the ground. When the players ate, they saw the pets digging a big hole. The players didn't waste time talking, put out the fire and went straight to bed.

And in the morning, they walked only two hours along the path and met their reward. Nick was the first person to see the big news.

*

[Attention! Location Nazgor Ruins detected. Location type: normal]

*

Big trees surrounded the ancient ruins of the city. Small remains of buildings were covered with vines, walls of ancient houses were covered with a solid green moss carpet. The ancient gates were destroyed, but from the gates began a wide alley covered with stone, which in rare places gave way to spots of greenery.

The sight of strange monsters pleased Dan, he felt that the skill of 'Cognition of Evil' was a good opportunity for development.

On the ruins of the city and the remains of his streets players noticed worthy monsters 30 levels.

'Mana stealers' were strange monsters who were weak in physical attack, but could steal the player's entire mana supply and make life much harder. These monsters looked like very large size bats sparkling with the red light.

Ordinary warriors were the 'Lords of War'. They were not skeletons, but tall and powerful creatures that looked like a mixture of man and frog.

The most dangerous opponents seemed to be the 'Swamp Knights'. They looked like drowned men, but Dan said they weren't exactly dead or like zombies. These monsters were made of drowned trees, mud and algae. They're very weak against fire magic attacks. Dangerous because they have healing skills and can successfully rebuild their lives in battle. Strong enemies of close combat who use magic to enhance defense and attack.

Then Dan notices an even scarier opponent. It was a large creature that moved on four limbs and looked like a skinny, hungry animal. The monster was called the Abyss and was dangerous because it could create several larvae. No larvae were noticed by the players, but they refused to contact this opponent.

Players were careful and, above all, went around the ruins of the city in a circle. The city turned out to be a big location, the guys spent 8 hours to bypass its border. Players found four entrances to the city, but they didn't find a temporary renaissance point. They had to start battles with monsters, and the players worked on an old and proven battle pattern.

First, Dan called the enemy to fight, and then the enemy was attacked by six opponents. A life reserve of 40,000 HP and armor could not save the monsters from death. All participants in the battle began the battle with the skill with the much powerful damage. They did not go far towards the city center. They spent one hour on the first gate and clearing the street from the monsters. Then they went back to the gate and walked to the next entrance to the city, where they started the battle in the street again. The time of exploring this area was coming to an end when the hunters were happy with the message from the game.

*

[Attention! A temporary rebirth point has been detected. Do you wish to make a binding? Yes/No]

*

The guys made binding, but they met an unpleasant opponent. In the ruins of the house with the point of revival sat the Abyss.

*

Abyss

Type: normal

Level: 31

Life: 38000

Damage: 1900-3600

Combat skill: Call larvae. The monster summons 6 larvae that serve as assistants in combat and strengthen their master. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Description: No one knows where this monster came from. As if there wasn't enough damage with its sharp razor claws, the monster is also breeding at an incredible speed.

Attention! Kill the Abyss as soon as possible to prevent rapid reproduction. The larvae of this monster are very dangerous.

*

Dan was able to read the monster's description and warned the guys to attack quickly. The sinner used 'Autodafe' and the whole team rushed to the Abyss. At this moment disgusting creatures appeared around the monster, which stank and looked like scrawny big dogs, which immediately shone to the mouth and threw the whole pack at the sinner. Dan noticed the description of the lousy little dogs while he struck a wide sword in front of him.

[You caused 3100 damage]

[You have done 3500 damage]

[Critical damage! You caused 5200 damage!]

[You caused 2950 damage]

And at that moment he felt his body pierced with pain from biting several creatures at once.

[You have sustained 300 damage]

[You took 320 damage]

[You got 360 damage]

[You took 280 damage]

[You took 310 damage]

[You took 270 damage]

The cursed creatures almost destroyed a third of the sinner's life in one attack! He struck a new blow and at that moment was already ready to activate the transformation into Draugr to increase his chances of victory and survival.

But he did not have to do that.

Two jaws of evil werewolves got caught in two larvae. Pussy struck just one blow and suddenly Dan felt great, all the weakness was gone from his body, and he struck another nasty creature.

[You caused 3100 damage]

[You took 340 damage]

[You got 300 damage]

[You got 360 damage]

[You took 270 damage]

Precise ranger shots and assassin dagger strikes came to the rescue. Dan took another round of damage from three little monsters and killed one creature.

When he calmed down and didn't see a pet nearby, He understood everything. Pussy sacrificed herself and gave him her health stock. So, he was able to survive. Dan wasn't too upset, he knew the cat would be reborn in 24 hours, but there was an unpleasant thing left on his mind.

He immediately explained to the scouts how dangerous the abyss was. These larvae turned out to be unpleasant rivals, they must have acted on the orders of the creator and attacked all together one enemy.

*

Abyss Larvae.

Type: normal

Level: 31

Life: 11000

Damage: 900-1600

Overview: Insatiable since its birth, this stinking beast immediately finds a victim and attacks with several more of the same.

The larvae are very dangerous, so you must start with their owner, otherwise, they will appear forever.

*

The guys took a look at their new safe house. They didn't notice any flying monsters. The ceiling of the large hall was undamaged. The stairs, they put up rocks just in case. Dan managed to draw some new symbols and found the basement entrance. The players wouldn't go down into the basement. Dan already figured out he was lucky to be in the ruins of Galatea. Red Nick said he met 28 traps! And each trap dealt 12.000 points of purely physical damage and could have additional magical and poison damage properties.

Scouts and the sinner looked closely at nearby homes and cleared the street until they saw a new Abyss and retreated to their shelter. The monster did not follow them, perhaps he did not notice his enemies.

Go back to the road and spend the night in the woods or spend the night in the shelter?

Players knew one simple rule of the game. There's a safe zone near the rebirth point. They built a small fire in the remains of the fireplace and pleased themselves with a supply of food from the castle.

These ruins were interesting. The scouts have not yet tried to sneak into the depths of the city unnoticed. That's the operation they decided to do the next day.