Now I had to find the right places to charge these talismans and amulets, and that was going to be quite an adventure. I could not predict where and when the right conditions would arise. So now was the perfect time to start using the Air Adept's special 'thing' - the terrain scanner. I could set up a special artifact in an any location that allowed me to scan my surroundings in a fairly large radius. I couldn't teleport to my scanners yet. Only at 10th level was this 'peaceful' skill supposed to be available to me. But even so, it should have been enough to cover the area where the most likely conditions might arise.

I bought a couple dozen scanners from NPCs, picked up a few 'bonfires' at the market so I could equip charged talismans and amulets without going back to town, and then headed to the portal platform to teleport back to the Star Forest. I planned to start installing the scanners from there. But on my way to the portal platform, a player dressed in 'gold and silk' blocked my path.

“Cheater, I invite you to join our guild, ‘The Emperor's Holy Wrath.’”

“Not interested.” - I waved him off, sidestepping the obstacle.

“Our guild is one of the strongest on the server.” - The recruiter didn't let up.

“Congratulations, but I don't care.”

“We can help you with your character development.”

“I'm fine as it is.”

“Cheater, come join our guild.” - Another player came up to me.

“Get in line. You'll be right behind him.” - I nodded at the representative of the 'strongest guild.’

“What do you mean?” - He didn't understand my message.

“I mean piss off.”

With those words, I paid to jump through the portal and escape my pursuers. The observers couldn't know where I was going, so I easily got rid of the intrusive company. And after I emerged from the portal, I immediately cast an invisibility over myself, so that no one would notice I was there.

Then I headed to the center of the Star Forest, where I set up the first scanner. After comparing the energy of the area with the 'signatures' of six talismans and two amulets, I couldn't find any suitable locations. So, I had no choice but to sigh and head for Polar Mountain. There I climbed to the very top and set up a second scanner. Two scanners covered the entire forest and the entire mountain, but so far it was useless. I wasn't upset, though, because the chances were slim anyway.

Then I moved on to the northeast. There was an area called the 'Dark Forest'. It was an area for level 8-9 players, and the closest portal to this place was just an outpost in the Star Forest. After setting up the scanner in the center of this area, I headed towards the entrance to the 'Cold Caves'. It was a huge underground location, designed to be played in a group or even a full-fledged raid. I was hoping to recharge my talismans in this particular area.

When I got into the caves, I moved more cautiously. Even though I was invisible all the time, the monsters could smell me if I got too close. And if on the surface it was common opponents, which I could kill a couple of strokes of the spear, but there were already wandering around 'bosses', which should have been beaten in five. I was only interested in charging my talismans, so it didn't make sense for me to fight them.

I slowly walked through the wide passages and headed for the first spot that was suitable for setting up a scanner. Despite the fact that all of the monsters living here were quite strong, I frequently encountered groups of 'farming' players. The Cold Caves were an extremely popular place for making money and collecting gems to make talismans.

When I got to the right place, I set the scanner and immediately found a place on the map that was perfect for charging the Ghost Leap talisman. But when I got there, I saw a not-so-happy picture. The anomaly I needed was right in the 'lair' of another boss, which was common at every corner. Fortunately, right now the lair was empty. And unfortunately, right at the entrance to the lair was a battle between the boss and a group of ten players. Considering my 'popularity', I risked being attacked by this raid. I could wait for them to kill the boss and leave, but the energy of the anomaly varied constantly, and in ten minutes I could easily lose my chance to charge the talisman with high efficiency.

After a little hesitation, I decided to solve problems as they arose. Under my invisibility, I slipped into the center of the lair and froze there, charging the talisman. When I used the appropriate ability, my invisibility was broken, and I was immediately spotted by one of the players. The lair was not an enclosed space. Rather, it was a cavity in the floor, surrounded by a wall at about 180 degrees. I had few escape routes, but there were a few, and I hoped to escape if I ran into trouble.

“There's Cheater!” - One of the players exclaimed.

“Hold the line.” - The raid leader frowned, glancing at me.

While I was charging the talisman, the players hit the boss. Finally, I got my talisman, charged at 90% efficiency, then immediately used a fire log to make a fire and create a small piece of 'peaceful' territory. Then I replaced the Discharge spell with the Ghost Leap I had just received, and put the new talisman in my spear at the same time. The weapon's damage immediately jumped up from 360 to 455.

Before I could get excited about my acquisition, the raid raid was over, and a dozen players were charging toward me with murderous intent.

“Don't let him run away.” - I heard the raid leader’s shout.

I had no time for reflection, so I immediately began to scan the options for the future, trying to find a way to escape. My escape towards the exit of the lair would end with my death in two seconds. Inside the boss's lair, on the other hand, I found a way to hide from pursuit. Now I had a skill that allowed me to teleport up to 18 meters away. I immediately noticed the presence of a small platform under the ceiling of the cave, which was impossible to reach by normal methods. Moreover, even noticing the presence of this ledge was difficult. I immediately jumped into this 'shelter', and froze virtually in front of everyone, but under the invisibility.

“Where is he? Do not let him escape!” - Immediately, the players flustered.

They began to scrutinize this part of the cave, casting occasional area-damaging spells at the same time.

“Hey, Cheater. I suggest you join our guild. If you refuse, we'll kill you.” - The leader of the group shouted. He chose a pretty lame strategy for recruiting. The name of this 'giant of thought' was Lone Phoenix.

I immediately sent him a friend request. And when he accepted it, I wrote a private message. This method allowed me to communicate with him without revealing my location.

‘Are you sure that' is what you want? If I join your pathetic guild, you'll be destroyed in a couple of hours. The whole server hates me.’ - I texted him.

“You...” - Phoenix shrieked, glancing around angrily. – “Find him and kill him.”

The players tried to find me in the cave, using area spells on the secluded corners, but since I was hunched under the ceiling, none of those spells hit me. To my disappointment, my enemies had no intention of leaving, so my mind drifted to the uncontrollable use of violence.

Right now, my spear hit for 455 physical damage and another 500 poison damage. Plus, it had a 30% buff of the God of Slaughter aura on top of it. In total, I could deal 1240 damage in one hit. The player in front of me was level 8, but he only had 1100 health. After all, he was a Demonologist, a typical 'wimp'. So, I could probably kill him with a single blow. And as I learned through experience, if an opponent dies with a single blow, my invisibility doesn't disappear.

I used the Leap and moved right behind Lone Phoenix's back. The cooldown of the jump was 5 seconds, so I just froze in place. And as soon as the spell reloaded, I immediately stabbed him in the back with my spear, and then jumped back to the ceiling. I could see in the line of the future that my strike was fatal, so I decided to act.

The leader of the raid fell to the ground as a shapeless sack. I was able to pick up the loot that had fallen out of him in a split second. It was some pebbles and resources that fell from the local bosses. Nothing particularly valuable, alas.

“What?! How did he die?” - Immediately, the fallen enemy's comrades floundered.

A 'blizzard' swept over the area near the corpse, but the spell couldn't hurt anyone. After all, I was already sitting under the ceiling of the cave. The players surrounded the corpse of their leader, and one of the Priests began to use a special game item that resurrected the dead. This was quite an expensive treat, so inwardly I was already satisfied.

But, of course, my revenge could not be that simple. The players formed a ring and looked out carefully. Inside the ring, the wizards used a couple of area-beating spells and made sure I wasn't there. I, on the other hand, jumped right into the center of this formation again and prepared to strike. As soon as the Lone Phoenix was 'resurrected', I immediately struck him with my spear, sending him into the world of the dead, then successfully evacuated, not forgetting to take the loot from the corpse.

The players shouted furiously and started striking into the void, but, of course, they couldn't reach anyone. The priest started using another resurrection item, while a couple of mages were pouring fire and a blizzard all around them. This time I didn't jump, and the raid leader was successfully resurrected. What's more, they immediately cast a shield on him that absorbs up to 500 units of physical damage.

'I wonder how many times you have to die before you realize that I'm out of your league?' - I wrote a message.