Chapter 16

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I didn't know that I snore.

Or snored when I was young, about three years ago.

Maybe it was a defective dummy?

Delivery has the lowest earnings, apparently because it is the furthest from unreal. SD is a service that transfers resources to the rest of the structures. On the other hand, it is the safest of the Systems. Currency is the system's point. One way or another is integrated into all the other S. and, by virtue of its features, has connections with most trade associations. The main requirement is the plasticity of perception, good luck.

The notebook I found turned out to be something like an outline of a future System Guide. The first page contained advice most reminiscent of that given by the staff Sage of the Seventh Hall. The second began with a description of the Systems.

At first glance, the Skills seem to be the safest, in addition, they have no problems at all, even if the prices at the initial levels there are quite low, but when you see the work of an experienced creator, you understand a lot. For example the slyness of the name of their System. Provide everyone with the necessary tools, the closest to the unreal, and therefore know how to look for sources. Currency is a coin (it's at the same time a tool). The smallest System, due to the rarity of talent. The most common representatives are some of the magical races, tied to creation: dwarves and humans. Requirement - the ability to create.

Wait, people are a magical race? Who wrote this notebook? Where did he get his information?

Development (clarify, supplement). Probably the "body" of the whole structure? The strangest of all, is that the rules are created by the players themselves. An experienced player is a thoroughly cuckoo-headed demigod, requiring caution in communication. The weak point is their places of power, you can negotiate there. Currency - nominally crystals, but in fact all kinds of saturation. Requirement - gravitation to structures, hierarchy.

Junior, asleep on the floor, sighed and scratched noisily. I stared at him, but I didn't follow up. Sleeping next to someone like that was a little creepy... but what else could I do? So I started translating. I didn't know if it would come out and eat me.

Hunters are the nastiest of the Systems, a fate in some ways worse than death. But it is also the most undemanding. The Hunt takes everyone in, creating amazing monsters that can hunt demons and gods. On the other hand, it is the most honest of the Systems, with not a single word of deceit. It is not worth contacting, it is better to roll up the order when you meet it on the trail. Ensures the safety of the aggregate S. Currency, for obvious reasons, has no - what they find, then theirs.

Hmm, I didn't know that the order could somehow be "rolled up". Too bad it's not clear how to identify these very hunters. The writer obviously has something personal to them.

Translation and transcription session - 500 points.

Pay for it?

Yes/no

I looked wistfully at the selection and clicked "no". The next five spreads of the notebook were three-quarters blank, and the lines that were there were almost certainly something to be added later. That's why I decided the whole notebook was a blueprint for the guide.

Closer to the middle of the sheets are filled out entirely, in some places, even across in the margins completed, but without knowing what should be there, it will be a lottery. And points are scarce now, I need to save. I'm looking for the pages with the most scuff marks, the ones with the most additions. But that's in the morning. Maybe not even today.

I looked at Marius Junior again. The dummy was lying there like a normal person, or was he?

When I took out the warranty for the first time - it seemed like a year ago, but it wasn't that long ago! - then I was overwhelmed. This time the shock of realization was already familiar, and so I could not burn it off on adrenaline.

I had a little supper when I came to my senses. And noticing Junior's interested gaze, I fed him, too. The mannequin behaved almost like an animal: he reacted to the food, then quieted down. Now he lay down and sniffed, as I would lie in his place, that is, covered with the cloak of the deliveryman and with a hand under his head. I was told to lie down and sleep, so I did. But before I did so, I decided to cover myself with another cloak.

As long as miracles happen to someone else it can be tolerated and even laughed at, but when they start to divide you in two at their discretion...

What to do now? Even after reading the guide, it's hard to believe that everything...

"Boss?"

I jumped up, Junior staring dumbly and calmly, standing by the bed. It was morning, the birds were chirping outside the window. I didn't notice how I fell asleep. But the fact that he was awake was a plus. The fact that I woke up in one piece was a double plus.

I rubbed my eyes, pushed Junior off the bed, got dressed, and went to the bathroom. I didn't meet anyone on the way, as usual, though I could hear noises outside the dorm doors, and there was the clinking of dishes on the stairs. Who the hell knows, maybe it's the way it works here, so the delivery guys never bump into each other.

"Hungry?"

"Ugu."

"Do you want a sandwich?"

"Ugu."

He acted like a human being, though he was different in some ways. He finished and stared out the window with patient boredom. Was he stupid, or did I give him such a character? I can't remember exactly where the Golem of Prague had the paper with the coveted name on it. But my Junior (I can't call this moron a mannequin) wears it on his forehead. To be exact, just above the hairline. If you don't look closely, it's just a bump, but if you look closely, it's a poncey implant. Who knows how many weirdos are around? This one has a ring embedded under his scalp.

In comparison with the disembodied body parts, it is practically a model of normality. Even though it is inflatable.

"Do you know what you're going to do?"

"Whatever you say, Boss."

Now he was looking at me just as stupidly and calmly. Okay: "What do couriers do, you know?"

"They walk and deliver."

You'll walk around and deliver. You don't get into any unreal things, you do what I would do and how I would do it. You just carry orders from morning till night. No orders - you sit and wait. In the evening you come back here.

"Yes, Boss."

The cheeked sleepy face showed no emotion, he just sits there and listens.

"You record everything you do. How do you do that?"

"I'll take a picture, Boss."

He answered at once, without thinking. That is, he has a pool of knowledge and intelligence. I don't have to teach him how to walk.

"Now we're going to Delivery, I'm going to pick up the daily quest, and we're going to buy you a phone. Why, do you understand?"

"To receive orders, Boss."

At least it was "sucked" out of me in clothes. The cloak and bag are from my predecessor, I have money for the phone.

"How do you behave with everyone?"

"As you say, Boss."

"Polite. You're a courier, you're happy with life, and you try to fulfill orders quickly, but not to your own detriment. You take a slot so that you don't get tired out. You try to make money by avoiding problems."

"Got it, Boss."

We took turns going outside, him first, me second. I checked him with the scanner, and Junior was identified as "Marius Delivery Courier, 1 lv," which was suspicious, though acceptable. He put on the mask without my prompting, slipped the money into the metro ticket office without reminding me, and the only thing that distinguished him from me was the sleepy, indifferent expression in his eyes. If I did not know who it was, could take him for a doppelganger. Although he casts a shadow, is reflected in the mirror, and is generally a normal person, just not quite awake in the morning, like every other person in the subway.

I hope he doesn't get caught by the police and my dad doesn't come running to get him out.

He got the simplest phone, but the app worked. On mine, at the same time, the "dummy" tab became active in the Delivery, showing his "running a job" status.

Junior looked at his phone almost immediately, jabbed his finger, and headed confidently toward the bus stop. I stood there for a while, trying to figure out what to do in such cases, and then I waved and headed for the seventh hall.

"Hello, folks."

Sage, Brute, and Glasses-kid responded in unison, and I plunged under the airflow from the air conditioner and once again checked the status of the "dummy".

The Skills System app was suspiciously similar to the one in the Delivery System. Mainly because almost all the tabs were activated for points. That is, for coins, but converted automatically. There is an auction, but it is called a "marketplace" and the functionality is slightly different. Instead of a delivery mascot - a table of character skills, that is, no cartoons.

But I was more interested in the "skills" tab.

"Active", "Working", "Adding a skill" and "Improving a skill".

The first are the ones I'm using right now. The second one is still empty, it's probably going to be what I'm grinding with Junior. Adding and Improving is also without a single line, it's not even clear what should be there.

I wonder what the mannequin will have pumped up by tonight, other than his tired feet?

How about turning off the warranty and screaming in terror for a while? Well, there's still be a time for that.

I sat there, looking at my phone, tracking the position of the "dummy" on the map. I couldn't stand it, got into the settings, and changed his name to "Junior", which made me feel more relaxed. Got there, calling the client. The mail blinks, pictures of packages standing by the door come in, and the status of the order changes to "done". A minute later, Junior picked up a new one.

Cool, it's like a bot is farming for me.

But it is not clear what Systems gets out of it. But I won't ask, because why should my colleagues know that a bot is doing the most painful part of our work for me? I guess it's more profitable for the Delivery to have me running around unreal and gathering energy than wandering around the city and distributing fast food. I don't understand why my other self is younger than me, though. What would a psychologist say about this?

Okay, now we can work!

"Look what I shot!"

I waved Glasses-kid off, showed the storekeeper the day-quest for delivery to the pharmacy, and only when I put another package in my bag did I see what he was showing me. I sighed, took the phone away from him, pulled out my own, and dialed the number:

"Inspector? Am I disturbing you too much? Hello," Glasses-kid looked at me perplexed, and I held up my hand to indicate that I would explain. "I'm not entirely sure, but is the presence of demons in the city your department?"

The receiver cursed, Sage put the paper down sharply, and Brute groaned.

The rest of the day went wrong. The police broke into the hall in ten minutes, took the phone from Goggles-kid, and passed it around to make sure that our young genius had managed to film the very thing I had seen at the Guild of Adventurers yesterday. Everyone who received the phone and saw the "twisted" in the picture was cursing. However, there were only four of them.

Goggles-kid was taken aside, where he was interrogated about where he had met the horror. I wanted to eavesdrop, but I was taken over by Rainin personally, convincing me to confess without torture how I knew about demons and to repent. The honest story did not please him, I was ordered to sit and wait. I had to sit, and I also had to call the pharmacy to arrange a postponement.

An hour later, the commotion finally died down, and I decided to take the opportunity. Rainin, listening to the story of the recent quest and turning the business card in his hands, shook his head: "Nav' is not people. Remember the folk tales of all the dead that came back. And how it ended."

"Is there anyone I can ask? If not to bring them back here, at least help them in some way?"

Rainin grew dark: "Do you think anyone needs it?"

The question was obviously a trick, but I didn't want to think about the intonation, so I just nodded: "I think so. I can't just leave people without hope. Killing is all right, but just leaving, without help and without hope... well, that sort of thing."

The inspector silently took out his notebook, wrote something, and turned it toward me: "Memorized?"

I read it to myself three times and nodded. Rainin tore out the page demonstratively, lit it with a lighter, and made sure it burned to ashes, which he carefully trampled down.

He seems a little too serious.

"If they say you can, you can. If they don't and you decide to disobey, then... don't. You just shouldn't."

Definitely too serious.

And here's another thing - don't forget to bring a gift. They're women of old upbringing, they won't move without the right approach. That's it, goodbye. In fact, you'd better get out of town for a week, or there's a reason for all this.

Goggles-kid was dragged away under escort, and I was the only one left in the hall. What a life, just thought I'd run around normally, score some points, and all sorts of things came out. Well, to hell with them, I'd really better get to the Setting, I have guild quests are waiting there. And the girl with a tail, which could be taken to a restaurant, for starters. There are places where they take girls to rest, aren't there?

Buzz.

Junior? Shit, what happened to this one?!

Boss, I got the mattress for free. May I leave it?

Oh, that's it. I should have given him money to settle in.

"You can. Well done."

I put my finger over the phone when it bleeped again.

Created a skill of the first level - Trade

Oh, that fast? Well, that's not bad. But now I'm much more interested in something else. The auction, paying for the session, the request - an unusual gift for a woman, the range of prices - from zero... uh... okay, how much do I have? So - up to five thousand Delivering points.

After all, I'm going to ask people, I have to try.

Even if they are slightly dead.

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