PahaVol Omakes (canon)

* * *

"And what are we gonna do about it, your nobility?" Hans asked the nobleman after draining a large mug of not the lousiest beer. For a small village, it's a splendid one. "I suspected something like that, of course, but I couldn't quite believe it."

Losius twitched his cheek irritably in response. He was, unlike his comrade in arms, sober as a whistle and, to all appearances, not at all happy about it. Their appearance in this remote village had caused quite a stir. But the young man's thoughts were not occupied with pleasant thoughts about a bright and prosperous future.

He stroked his trusty weapon almost minute by minute, glancing at his status, where special attention was paid not to the long-awaited twenty-fifth level and the choice of the next class. But the epic title he had received - Hero's Companion. And Hans had the same thing.

"What should we do? Leave the civilized lands and go to the frontier lands, if we don't want to screw Tin," he muttered muffled, exhaling a stiff answer. And, without waiting for Hans, who was startled, to question him, he explained. "What I am about to tell you is a secret that even my noble kind cannot know. But, as it happens, my glorious grandfather was a squire to the youngest prince and quite by chance was able to learn something."

The grandfather was lucky, not only was he unnoticed in the case, but the snot-nosed young man at the time showed great wisdom and didn't give away his knowledge with a word or a look. Otherwise, Losius would never have been born. The squire would have had an accident.

Grandpa lived a long and full life and died surrounded by few but loving relatives. However, at the very end of his life, he told his secret to his favorite grandson. Along with a promise of honor to stay away from that shithole.

... Forgive me, Grandpa, but the wayward grandson got himself into this mess even while he was still in the middle of nowhere. Is it the fate of their kind to cross paths with Summoned Heroes all the time? Powerful men, who are endowed with almost unlimited power and potential. Wordless cattle, in a card game of the mighty...

Losius explained all this briefly and lucidly to Hans on his way out of the hospitable village. For the aristocrat paranoia had reared its head again. What a twist of fate! A couple of months ago he would have considered it an insult and a good reason to challenge him to a duel if anyone suggested that he would do such intimate data with a crude soldier! But after all that had happened, there was no way of calling Hans anything but the respectful "comrade-in-arms". And after all, this wild adventure would beat the snobbery and arrogance out of anyone.

He explained this not only to better understand his situation by Hans but also because he was once again in the same boat as him. Yes, the current situation did not threaten immediate death, but it was frightening to think what would happen if anyone informed of their title found out! That Tin was very different from the other Summoned Heroes Losius could understand, even from the sketchy information from his ancestor, which meant it was vital that he not get caught and reveal his status.

Hans reacted to the news in a typical fashion, namely, with strong and inventive swearing. But he was sympathetic to the situation. So was the idea of going to the border zones with the Wildlands. There was such chaos and confusion that getting lost was not so much easy as elemental. Besides, Losius was sure that Tin would prefer to hide there, too.

"Hey, was Tin's joke about the three mythical classes, not a joke?' Hans's first question after the curse ejection was over.

"I don't know, Mythical classes are almost godlike power, I can't even imagine their potency..." To be honest, the duelist had already forgotten all about that episode. "But do you remember the way he nailed all those undead in that last fight? And the death knight after that? I'd swear on my honor that that was at least a legendary class ability, maybe even a mythical one. Wouldn't be surprised at all..."

"Yeah," Hans thought long and deep, obviously wishing he had ordered something stronger in the village. At least he was sobering up quickly from the revelations. "I repeat the question. And what are we going to do about it?"

"Personally, I will look for Tin. I have a debt of honor to him, and I owe it to him to at least try," he smiled as he adjusted his sword and touched the family amulet with his family insignia. "As for you... You are not constrained by my standards and principles, Hans. I won't hold you back, and if you tire of it all, you can stay in any city on the frontier. Far enough from the center of civilization, and your level and your share of trophies and gold will allow you to live without denying yourself anything."

For a moment it seemed that Hans would not stand it and hit him. Well, at least try to do it, after all, the duelist's level of perception and dexterity was much higher than that of the pathfinder. But the man restrained himself, only sending his companion's suggestions by an obvious route.

"....! .........! ... Losius! I swore I'd get drunk with that badass, and I'm going to keep my word!" I finally got something constructive out of Hans' yelling. "Especially since after all, I have been through, I highly doubt that I will not go crazy from the quiet city life. And even more so in the countryside! But how are we going to find him?"

"My inattentive friend, didn't you read the description of the title? Or was the title and its benefits enough for you?" For the first time in hours, Losius smiled sincerely. "I'll explain, it's the title that allows us to find him, no matter where he's hiding. We'll find him quickly, even if he's half a continent away from our portal if we search for him with purpose."

"It's not hard to find! Just follow the trail of bits and pieces of legendary shit," the pathfinder grumbled, smoothing out the heavy sack that held much of his loot. "I'd better get some horses in the next settlement, or else there are no horses in this neck of the woods!"

Losius was no longer listening to his companion's grumbling. Having solved the main question, he delved into another cornerstone choice for himself and for many other people who had taken the twenty-fifth level. Choice of class... A very serious choice, especially since there was plenty to choose from.

The Phantom

The Master of the Dueling Weapon

The Guardsman

The Witcher.

The Chosen One of Sky

Every class offered was not even rare, but epic! And that spoke a lot. Losius knew full well that he was not up to any of the above, either in characteristics or skills, except perhaps a Weapon Master. And yet he was given a choice of five great classes, all of them is great power in their own way.

Is this also a benefit of the Title? Very likely so. And this once again signals why heroes should be feared. If their companions received such bonuses, it is scary to imagine what the status of an established hero is like.

* * *

Avada Kadavra: The beginning of a parallel series about Losius and his squire?

PahaVol: Not really. It just seemed to me that after all the misadventures, this couple should get this particular Title, and the consequences of such a "reward". Plus, I think the title itself makes the System a little more... loyal to the person. Not as much as a full Hero, but six (at least five) epic classes to choose from for the average aristocrat - it's a lot, I think the author agrees with me. Well, plus, I think the adventures will now begin to love this duo with more force, though not as perverted as Kostik, and some other changes should be.

* * *

"And why did we agree to this job in the first place?" Hans grimly asked his comrade-in-arms, gloomily surveying the guts hanging artistically on the trees and the gutted corpses. "There was no problem with the gold."

"I need to test the new class and see what it can do," said Losius ironically, not without shuddering as he stared into the meat grinder and made his sword ready for battle. "You? I'm not judging, but I think you've got your eye on the widow of a shopkeeper who passed away not so long ago."

"And that's what I like about the lady," Hans exhaled dreamily, and there was a reason for that, for the woman was indeed quite enviable... in physique, a pleasant face, and a honeyed voice. However, he did not let his dreams obscure his view, instead, he put an arrow on the bowstring of his newly purchased hunting bow. "Still, what the fuck had done this?"

The question was rhetorical; of the two, Hans was the pathfinder, though it was hard to make out anything in this mess. In fact, the five missing loggers should not have been such easy targets; the locals claimed they were strong men, and a couple of them even had combat experience. What could have torn them apart like that?

"Not beasts and hardly people. Not the green-faced ones, they would either eat them, drag them away, or just kill them." In a whisper, the tracker began to list the possible killers, and he began to sweep them away. "They were literally torn to pieces, but that doesn't sound like most monsters. Maybe it's... Beastfolk!

As he shouted, several tall but hunched figures rose into the forest thickets and managed to sneak up on the two adventurers unnoticed. And though one was immediately shot with an arrow through a bloodshot eye, the others hurled their primitive spears at the men, and, roaring loudly and out of stealth, they all launched themselves at the attack.

Losius whirled around, deflecting most of the well-aimed projectiles away from himself and Hans. The pathfinder, on the other hand, managed to fire three shots in a tiny fraction of a second. The last arrow, though, he fired at point-blank range, piercing the creature through and into the mouth of the beastfolk on his trail. Two more of the terrifying screaming creatures were already in agony with their throats slit, and the third, the fastest, was headless.

The pathfinder dropped his bow and drew his short sword, literally thrusting the next creature on his blade and kicking the dead carcass away from him. He dodged another blow from the clawed paw and severed it, then cracked the aggressor's skull on impact. Losius stepped forward, showering the main throng of frenzied creatures with a hail of stabbing blows, so fast that his movements were blurred, and his sword seemed to be in five places at once.

"Behind his back," he said briefly to the pathfinder, taking another step forward and killing five more animals. Hans, realizing at once what the idea was, backed up the aristocrat's back, preventing all slyly twisted creatures from getting behind. This particular pack of beastfolk wasn't much different from the animals, but even they quickly realized that going head-on into such a meat grinder was a bad idea.

In general, there was a sea of varieties among Beastfolk. From entire populations, relatively peaceful and nomadic, to militant and territorial but mostly intelligent. There was even rumored to be a civilization of Beastfolk in the East, and the only difference between them and humans was a cat's ears, tail, and eyes. But wild packs were far more common. And they looked more like beasts than beasts or people. Another thing was that they preferred not to go out to civilization, and lived in places where civilization had not taken root.

It was unclear what prompted these wolf-like and primitive creatures to leave their habitat. But given the animal rage with which they tried to tear people apart without a second thought, it was unlikely that they had peaceful intentions. It was to be hoped that this was just an individual pack and not a mass exodus, or the local county would be drowning in blood.

The beastfolk, and the savage species, in particular, were stronger and faster than the average human. They used only the most rudimentary weapons, but they often fought without them, claws and teeth allowing. They wore no armor either, but their hide was good defense on its own. In short, even a small pack was a serious threat to any village without paling and a regular militia.

However, neither Hans nor Losius, could be called ordinary people. The hardships and misfortunes they had endured had hardened them, not to mention the levels and epic titles they had taken. All of this allowed the two men, even if caught off guard, to quickly convert an entire flock of beastfolk to fertilizer without risking much in the process.

And the next moment, Hans, already relaxed, nearly paid the price for such thoughts. The monsters, already thinning in numbers, suddenly scattered, and a tall and lean beast with a [censored] pelt, a grinning mouth, powerful fangs, and claws... The leader of the local gang, the most dangerous foe of all.

His first blow would have almost killed Hans if it hadn't been for Losius. Losius, somehow inexplicably standing with his back to him, managed to react to the lightning attack. He kicked the pathfinder out of harm's way in one swift movement, setting his dull glowing blade on top of it. The clang of the monster's claws and sword clashing together made Hans sick. After that, the leader, completely oblivious to his prey, turned his attention to the nobleman.

Its brute strength, speed, and obvious experience made it a dangerous opponent for any fighter. Losius had to retreat from a hail of counterstrikes, barely dodging a few particularly successful ones, his rare counterattacks bogged down in the creature's hide, which was clearly of the same protective quality as a good knight's armor.

Fortunately, the rest of the beastfolk had dispersed quickly, letting their leader show his prowess, and they didn't seem to want to get hit by him. But that helped Hans come to his senses and grab his bow, lying on the ground and miraculously unbroken in the carnage. The first arrows fired hastily at the creature had no effect, but they knocked him off his pace and distracted him from Losius, allowing him to concentrate properly.

His sword flashed brightly for a moment, and at the same moment, the beast's body was cut across by a deep wound, made diagonally across the body. Dark blood gushed from the creature, it fell to its knees, unable to withstand the force of the blow, and Losius rushed to finish off his fallen foe.

...The deafening howl knocked the duelist out of step and forced him to stand still for a moment, giving the monster precious time. The carcass rose on its hind legs and howled once more, spewing all its anger and pain into the howl. At the same time, it began to grow wide and tall, adding muscle and regenerating the grievous wound on sight.

"Werewolf!" Hans shouted, no time left for any of the foul languages that were begging to come out. And it was understandable, an epic class for a beastfolk, especially one so suited to the task. Instead, he took out another arrow, put it on his bowstring, used some inspiration from nowhere, fed it generously with his energy, and shot the dimly glowing arrow straight into the muzzle of the transforming creature.

It hit... The arrow, spreading a green plume, went straight into the creature's blood-red eye, and only by some miracle did it not reach his brain. But the werewolf's howl was interrupted, and with it the nobleman, who had fallen into a daze, regained consciousness. Without giving himself time to rest, Losius darted toward the beast like lightning and, once again imbuing his sword with Sky, neither allowed the leader of the beastfolk to yank the pathfinder's gift nor to howl again, but simply thrust his sword with all his might into the beast's open mouth.

The screech of death, the bright light pulsing from the mouth, and the carcass crashing to the ground, to the accompaniment of the rest of the pack howling cowardly and fleeing, made it clear that they had got the monster. Losius, who had been tossed aside by the monster's death throes, staggered to the stricken creature and, with considerable effort, plucked his sword from its jaws.

"Goddamn it, Losius, where did we get so guilty that we're always getting so fucked up," Hans moaned tiredly, throwing back his bow and not even being able to get up on his feet. The last shot drank him literally to the bone. "Let's make a deal, next time I hit on the next skirt and want to do something stupid, you hit me over the head with something heavy."

"Come on, we'd have run into that pack anyway. I've read of the habits of such packs, they'd have surrounded the village and wouldn't let anyone leave, slowly devouring the population." Losius brushed his gaze away from his blade, still glowing but dulling. "Imagine what would happen when you came into that village with a trophy like that hide on your shoulders. I think you'll have all the widows in the village, and some of the married ones, too."

"You know, there's a certain sense in what you're saying," Hans leaned forward, looking at the defeated carcass with more interest, and thinking of ways to cut it up. "I always knew that you despite your love for colorful rags, are a normal man!"

"Thanks for the kind word, for that exquisite compliment," said Losius sarcastically, but the tracker did not even catch the sarcasm, already approaching the carcass with quite understandable intentions. Deciding not to watch his comrade gut the creature and swear to cut off its hide, the nobleman turned his attention to his status.

Class: Chosen by the Sky

Rank: 1

Basic characteristics: charisma, dexterity, concentration.

Abilities:

Sky Power: 2/5

Allows you to use the energy of the sky to some very small degree. Allows you to amplify yourself with this energy for a short time. Allows you to saturate your weapon with power in a very limited way, giving it a weak and short-lived effect of a weapon of light. Allows you to heal scratches with a great deal of time and energy.

Sky Aura: 0/5

[undisclosed]

Bonuses:

Sky's Favorite: The Chosen by the Sky class allows you to use and develop abilities and skills equivalent to the Paladin class without being bound to a divine patron.

Charisma Shield: The higher the Charisma trait, the better the resistance to various control effects. From a certain threshold will increase resistance to curses and resistance to Magic.

[undisclosed]

* * *

The second episode of the misadventures of Losius and Hans. This time, by the way, I used dice for the first time. It's an interesting experience, though not everywhere, but it's fun and interesting. The most brutal and powerful crit was delivered by Hans, who nearly finished off the boss in one go.

* * *

It was... starting to become a habit.

"Tell me, Losius. Is it normal that I'm starting to feel very calm about all the shit that happens to us?" Hans asked his friend with sincere hopelessness in his voice.

"Yes, quite normal. I have a healthy amount of fatalism about it, too," the aristocrat replied in a relaxed voice, swinging his rapier to shake the boiling demon blood off his blade.

"Awefucksome, if you're going crazy, it's best in a company," snorted the pathfinder back, gripping his short sword and dagger more comfortably.

This supremely friendly conversation took place in front of a small stone chapel where two friends had only recently slain an infernal creature. And this deed resonated strongly with the bright and pure hearts of the locals. And to be even more precise, the brainwashed people and the cultists directing this herd, seeing the death of their idol, were so eager to introduce the guests to their rich inner world and unique culture.

More specifically, they were about to kill and devour... And now, beastly howls, armed with whatever they could find, were streaming toward the crumbling chapel. The unwilling duo of demon fighters had no choice but to stand back to back as usual and prepare to repel the onslaught of the human wave...

And everything started out so well...

The settlement itself inspired hope for good rest, sound sleep, useful acquaintances, and replenishing supplies. It was a small but sturdy farmstead with a population of about three hundred. With a stone house and chapel, a sturdy tavern, a few shops and a militia barracks, pretty women, and a high, wooden fence. A normal, upstanding settlement. Hans himself had come from a similar place and had a certain weakness for such places.

However, as soon as they arrived, both Losius and Hans began to sense that something was far from right. And the first bell was the sincere enthusiasm of the villagers when they met the two high-level travelers. Normally such settlements were warier of newcomers. Who knows what kind of troublemakers might have gotten into this neck of the woods?

The experienced eye of the pathfinder immediately noted the absence of children and the elderly in the streets. He also noted the empty fields, although most of the strong men were supposed to be already harvesting crops. And in general, some desolation. Aristocrat, due to his lack of experience of life in the village, paid attention to the strange reservations of the locals, the mysterious thirst in the eyes of the encounters, and determined on the fly that over the village thick fog dominated very unpleasant energy.

Alas, they realized this as soon as they entered the settlement, otherwise, they would most likely have gone around it in a wide arc. But no such luck, so Losius advised Hans to keep his ears open and look around, and he headed for the headman's house to talk about it. Hans, on the other hand, did go on a scouting trip.

So that after a measly dozen minutes, I could smell the decomposed bodies, walk into the mill, and watch the bloodbath inside. There were unnoticed before old men and children, or rather what was left of them. Even he got a kick out of it... And then to kill the miller, who in no way wanted to die. Even on his sword obese man continued to move forward, trying to get to the pathfinder. Only a blow of a dagger under the chin, which reached to the brain stopped this lunatic.

No sooner had Hans caught his breath and wondered when the sounds of a fierce fight came from the center of the village. As it turned out, Losius had quickly brought to light the locals who had tried to feed him human flesh, put two and two together, discovered the demonic cult, and essentially slaughtered its entire apex, so fortunate to be in the headman's house.

The locals couldn't help but appreciate it. What's more, they were absolutely delighted! They tried to kill the nobleman, but he was very successful in hiding in a captured house and held his ground there. But this could not last long, for there were so many enemies, and Losius himself could not be everywhere at once. In the course of the defense, he had to move first to the second floor, then to the attic, and then to the roof. The locals lost several dozen of their own during the assault, but that did nothing to diminish their determination.

It was then that Hans came to his aid. Soberly calculating that it was not his ability to try to get through to his friend. For he had no trump cards against the crowd, the pathfinder instead climbed up into a nearby chapel, right under the roof where the bell was, and began to fire from there.

It was a long way off, and he had always been an average archer, but a bunch of stats from titles and levels as well as a tailwind and serious motivation, did the trick. Almost all of the arrows hit the target and most of them hit the head, which was important because most of the villagers were Possessed.

And the Possessed, in addition to their stupidity and fanaticism, received a twofold increase in Strength and Endurance, a complete insensitivity to pain and fear, so they could continue to fight even with mortal wounds. That's why they had to be beaten to the punch. A very unpleasant opponent, much more scarce than the Greenskins.

Perhaps at first, the idea of climbing up to the chapel seemed reasonable. The highest point, a good view, and at the same time difficult to catch by surprise. At least with the last point, Hans had shamefully failed, for he had not even thought that in this fucking village the priests would be appropriate.

Or rather, the local priest, as they found out later, could not be converted and instead was tortured for a long time before he was devoured. But the cultist who had taken his place was a little smarter than the others. He took advantage of the fact that Hans was completely distracted by the showering of arrows on the Possessed, and he struck the bell as hard as he could before he attacked the shooter.

He went down with a broken head, of course, for there was no need to disturb busy people. But he had done his dirty work, for the entire population of that village had vividly forgotten about Losius, already standing on a natural mountain of corpses, and in one rush had rushed to the chapel.

But even that wasn't the lousy part... The lousy part was that as soon as Hans grabbed his bow and cursed, he was hit hard on the floor and dragged into the chapel itself by an unknowing force. What happened later he remembers only in bits and pieces. He remembers the sweet voice that promised much, he remembers the most beautiful maiden stretching out her arms to him, he remembers taking the first uncertain step toward this angel...

... And then he remembers with particular vividness how a fierce light came crashing down on her through the roof. He remembers a scream that had little humanity in it. And he also remembers that instead of a maiden he suddenly saw a hideous creature with four arms, three pairs of breasts, a hideous face, clawed and weak wings, and six legs, but they were joined into one.

And Losius, with an extremely furious grimace uncharacteristic of him, covered in Sky Light, strikes the creature with blow after blow. Like the pathfinder before him, the nobleman also came to his friend's aid in time, literally saving him at the very last moment.

Alas, despite the extremely painful blows the creatures received, they wouldn't die and snapped at them dangerously. It was fortunate that the local lunatics had stayed out of the chapel while the fight was going on. They were either forbidden to do so, or they seemed to believe in its ability to crush the two sacrilegious ones.

In the end, their faith failed them. After a few minutes of literal dancing with death. Dodging whole cascades of dark scarlet spheres, multiple abyssal eruptions, and other tainted demonic attacks that the creature literally flooded them with, Losius managed to seize the moment and unleash another Blow from Above on the creature, erasing all its attacks while expelling several lower demons that the creature had pulled out near the end of the fight for support.

And Hans, following a hurried plan made right on the battlefield, smashed an incomprehensible white vial with red veins and exuding [censored] and red smoke. And that was the last straw without that receptacle the creature was obliged to leave this realm, but Losius just wouldn't let it, keeping it in this world and literally ironing it with a continuous stream of celestial power. Three minutes later, a handful of scorched white ash was left of the creature.

What's worse, when they came to their senses and came out of the ruined chapel, the locals had no intention of thanking them and wanted to destroy them for all the good they had done. So the two tired and angry men had to take up arms again and put an end to what remained of the cult.

* * *

It was a complete surprise that the cultists, coming in a continuous wave, suddenly ended, leaving the two utterly exhausted friends in the middle of a real bloodbath and with absolutely no idea what to do next. However, both Losius and Hans had their own ideas, which in many ways coincided...

"My middle brother, always distinguished by an enviable religiosity, at his tenth level he received a class of Inquisitor and for several months nagged me with his scriptures and codes, until the people from the Order came," shared with his comrade Losius, shivering in his cloak and with a quiet sadness watching the torched mill, where the old, children and those who were strong enough will to reject promises of the infernal creature. "And now I could use it. If it hadn't been for his lectures on possession, demonic cults, and dealing with those things... Who knows, maybe I wouldn't have brought them out so quickly and tasted something I shouldn't have. And I wouldn't have known that in this case, you have to look for an artifact and not just cut up that abomination."

The aristocrat shrugged shakily; after the desperate fight, the generous use of his powers in the battle with the demon, and the equally strenuous battle with the distraught remnants of the locals, he was starting to faint. But that did not temper his grim triumph over the creature's death, and Hans fully shared it; it shouldn't happen under this sky.

"Who would have thought it!" The nobleman laughed dryly and somewhat nervously, his hand trembling as he tried to fix his lank, bright red hair. "My brother would be proud of me right now, his good-for-nothing junior didn't just take an epic class equal to that of a paladin! And he's also destroyed a demon that wasn't the weakest!"

"And there's a reason for that, believe me, Losius. To kill such a bastard is not a pissing in the bushes," Hans gloomily confirmed, taking his eyes off the burning mill and just to occupy his thoughts asking his friend about something else. "By the way, you hardly ever talk about your family, but looking at you, I think they are decent people... If you don't want to, you don't have to."

Hans said the last words after Losius threw a sharp look at him, obviously remembering his past story involving his family, in that fucking necropolis. But after a second the duelist smiled softly and relaxed.

"What is there to say? My family is, for ... certain reasons, hardly poor by the standards of the aristocracy. A small estate, not a full-fledged castle, but a well-fortified estate with a few villages. A typical rural setting. Father Knight, rise us in these ideals. My older brother, the heir to the family, absorbed the father's ideals with mother's milk. Same a Knight and the hope of the family. You've already heard about the middle one. And I, as the [censored] sheep in the family, more like my grandfather, as my grandmother told me, inherited many of his qualities and hair color. And then there's my sister..."

"Wow! That's a good place to start! Isn't she pretty?" Hans perked up but immediately retreated. "Don't take it seriously, I'm just kidding! I'm not sick enough to flirt with an aristocrat, much less your sister."

"You can try," Losius said with a surprised chuckle. "She's a sharp and prickly lady, and my brothers and I preferred not to test her sharp tongue. She's also an extremely talented girl with a serious talent for light magic, especially blessings... If we're ever in the neighborhood, I'll be sure to stop by and introduce you to the family."

"Oh, come on! I understand you, we've been through a lot together. But your family, I'm just a commoner to them," Hans was indignant, vigorously warning himself never to pursue a sorceress, as many tales suggested it could only lead to trouble.

"My word is enough for them," Losius cut off the objection, and then he smiled warmly in surprise. "Of all my family, up to a certain point, I've been the most arrogant and snooty. My father and older brother generally prefer the company of soldiers to the neighboring nobles. They are said to be much better and more honest. My middle brother is like my father, too, but in his case it's all overlaid with religious dogma. My sister is aloof from it all, and mages in general have their own way of doing things. Only for me, it took an epic adventure to share the ordeal with ordinary people to realize that everyone's blood is still the same color."

"Hmm, I think I might even agree to come and see it for myself," said Hans, a little dazed, who could hardly imagine such aristocracy at all. "Oh, You have such a family!"

"The best," continued to smile warmly Losius, and then with a grunt began to rise to his feet. "Come on, I think we need to scatter the ashes of the beast and put a landmark for future travelers and a possible patrol from the local baron. Not the safest place to be, after all."

The title of Losius and Hans. Back to Back (Epic) - You, working as a duo, had to fight against an enemy outnumbering you by a factor of tens, if not hundreds. Not only that, but at one point, you faced an enemy outnumbering both of you combined. And won in both cases. Your combat skills were a serious help, but no less supportive was your comrade, always ready to back you up and support you. Bonus: +3 to all characteristics except class, fighting in a small group your combat cohesion gives bonuses to all squad members. The synergy of several titles increases the effect of cohesion and interaction.

Losius title. The Extinguisher of Abomination (unique, class) - Few people, even among paladins, can boast of having fought an incarnate demon. Even fewer can boast a victory over this creature. And only a few can rightfully claim totally destroyed the infernal creature, erasing it from the universe. And now you are among those few. Bonus: +5 to a class stat, now you can use sky energy to banish creatures not of this layer of existence with greatly increased efficiency, increased effect on Demons and Undead.

* * *

"And yet, Losius, how do you intend to find Tin in all this chaos?" Hans asked what was perhaps the most burning question of all, taking one gulp from his mug of beer.

"I have no idea," the aristocrat answered in complete honesty and without any internal doubts, carefully but quickly wielding his fork to finish his order. "I just expect to get on his trail someday. I'll be on the lookout for news and check out the loudest ones. A guy like Tin can hardly hide for long, he's bound to get caught up in some high-profile story."

"It's an awesome plan, foolproof as a dwarf's watch. I do not even know where to begin," said Hans, who, unlike his companion, was not bothered by the rules of etiquette, so his portion decreased much faster. "Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with the whole bundle of gold? Or being a fucking plug in every barrel. God, it's like we're really cursed! Everywhere we go, we're gonna get in trouble!"

And he wasn't even joking much. Everywhere they went, they had to fight. A memorable fight with a pack of Beastfolk was the first of many. Then there were the bandits, several gangs in a row, a pack of rabid wolves, the undead raised in their path by a demon, the necromancer himself, who had the faintest idea that Losius had come for his nasty little soul... And a whole bunch of equally disgusting situations.

The apotheosis of their adventure was an entire village of disturbed cultists, worshippers of some kind of fallacy who had decided to sacrifice them and then devour the corpses. The children and the elderly weren't in the village; they were the first to be mauled. They had to slaughter the whole settlement and in the end, they had to deal with an infernal creature that jumped out of a cute little urn in the local temple, which provided insanity for everyone. After the creature was laid to rest, Losius was sure to scorch its remains with a skylight (five minutes of ironing, then three days of recovering), and then scatter the ashes over the lake.

Anyway, when they were approaching another village, this time with an inn and a palisade, they were attacked by simple goblins for a change. Honestly, after all the crap that had fallen on their heads, meeting these little freaks was nothing short of a relief. I think the goblins themselves had time to be surprised when their arrival was greeted with joyful, anticipatory smiles and the glint of steel. Though Hans wouldn't have vouched for it, they were dead fast.

There was something positive about it all, though. Levels and skills grew by leaps and bounds. Losius raised level twenty-seven and took some class abilities without putting points into them, Hans simply crossed the threshold of level twenty and was now confidently aiming for level twenty-second.

And for a village with fucking villagers and a demon instead of a priest, they got a whole epic title. Of course, his bonuses weren't even close to what they got for the legendary scum, but it was still an epic fucking title that they got on their own for specific actions without sitting in the stalls! Losius so still earned a unique class title that made it easier to work with Sky Energy and generally allowed him to use some sort of Paladin Exile against these kinds of creatures.

There were some funny moments, though Hans still remembered them with a shudder. In that same village near which the goblins had the worst luck, he was nearly castrated in a tavern by a dark-skinned beastie with a distinct admixture of non-human blood. For innocent fucking flirting! Wild bitch, it would have been a lot sadder if it hadn't been for Losius.

Fortunately, the little brat, who was served by the [censored]-hearted scum, decided not to aggravate the situation and pacified her with one word. He even apologized(!!!) for his bodyguard's intemperance himself(!!!). Hans had long suspected that something had gone wrong in his life because in this month he had managed to see two adequate aristocrats!

The conversation did not last long, for the odd company was in a hurry. Losius chatted with the lad for five minutes anyway, while Hans suffered under the derogatory gaze of the [censored] bitch, who managed to silently threaten him with every earthly torment. Talent, fuck, let the goblins fuck her with the whole tribe!

Then they parted, and in this strange company, there was an elderly servant who looked abnormally normal in this wild society. Losius servant himself said a little later that he had not expected to meet the future Crown Duke the only heir, with such a small entourage. However, he did not care much about the story, and they went their separate ways.

The aristocrat and his two servants to civilization. Losius and Hans are as close to the wilderness as possible. To the last more or less civilized city before the frontier. To Ostmark.

Ostmark gave the impression of a buzzing but calming beehive. Whatever was going on here was resolved without their active participation, and Hans was incredibly happy about it. He was almost as glad for a decent tavern, a drink, pretty women in walking distance, and the pleasant heaviness of the gold in his pockets.

Suddenly, Losius, who was lost in his own thoughts, woke up and gestured to listen to the conversation in the tavern. Hans did so, listening to the closest conversation between two men dressed in plain but neat clothes with the insignia of a small trading house. They were clearly servants from the mercantile district.

"Did you hear that? Little Jerome finally got that bitch Lenda!"

"No way! No way! It's a rock, not a woman!"

"I swear! My little sister works for that bitch. One night she's going into the cellar, and there's these two. One of them's fucking her like a goddamn whore, and the other one's scolding him out for some credit deficiency! Lucky my sister wasn't spotted..."

"Hehe, well, who would have thought! It's true what they say: water cuts stones! Maybe now, with regular fucking, the bitch won't be such a bitch anymore."

"Yeah..."

"So, what's the point of listening to some brat's love triumphs?" Hans became disgruntled when the discussion turned into the usual muttering of the two servants.

"Hans you... is simply you. You only hear what you're interested in," dolefully covered his eyes Losius mussed his hair and poked a fork in the direction of the seated a little further and also something animatedly discussing, though not a much quieter, traveling merchants. "So, I'll inform the horny ones... In the city of Kraj, a powerful dark cult has been uncovered and an epic massacre has occurred. And there's some rumor going around about some "shadowy faceless monster." Which means what? It means we need to clarify some things."

And Losius, picking up a barely half-full mug of beer, strode confidently toward the gossipers who had interested him. Hans watched as the aristocrat quickly drove a wedge into the tense but quickly relaxing men, Hans only covered his eyes.

This is not the first time an aristocrat has taken to traveling after hearing such rumors. So far without any effect, unless you count the trouble on their asses. So even without any fortune-tellers, the pathfinder knew for sure that the next morning, if not this night, they would be traveling to this town, where the cult had taken a party and was clearly in turmoil.

And they will definitely get into trouble there...

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Another excerpt about Losius and Hans. written just under the impression of the end of the episode with the cult. We can say that now this couple is really on the trail. But whether they will meet Kostik or whether he will walk off into the sunset beautifully, I don't know yet. I'll see from the storyline. Perhaps the author would like to use this passage...

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Avada Kadavra: Nyaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!

In principle, it could also be considered canonized. There's nothing strongly against the lore and my plans here, so it's all good.

Thank you.

It's at times like this that I realize I'm not writing in vain. -_-

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