Slowly but steadily, Rey's mood crept up. I almost didn’t feel like drinking, eating - and even more so, and during a short run, instead of getting tired, he somehow even freshened up.

“It seems that the body of this animal is able to move much faster than I can. That's why fatigue doesn't come." — Curing's nose sucked in the smell of tree bark, greenery and something sweet. This absolutely unique fragrance hovered in the forest all the time and therefore the impression turned out to be rather ambiguous. On the one hand, quite recently he almost died from cold and hunger, and on the other hand, he did not want to leave here at all. Especially when you consider that that strange bird over there, with two pairs of wings, can give him the cherished opportunity to fly. She is already the third in a row and Ray really hoped that this time the nest would not be empty.

The blue dot that the bird looked like in the eyes of the curing finally soared up and, as Rey hoped, went to look for food for his offspring. He had already managed to make out the nest before that, but was there anything besides the bird itself? Already twice the house of feathered representatives of the local fauna turned out to be empty, and therefore one had to rely only on luck.

After making sure that the bird had really flown away, Ray moved along the previously noted branches to the nest. Not to say that the chick found there caused great delight. And not because the result was natural to the efforts made. It’s just that the bird that has not yet had time to properly fledge will now have to be killed ...

“If I hesitate for a long time, it will only get harder. After all, I can change my mind ... ”- Having leaned on the nest with the whole small body of couring, Ray did not immediately, but managed to break several branches out of it. This was enough to make the ingenious structure fall apart almost immediately. The chick didn't even seem to understand what was going on. He traveled all the way to a distant land without making a sound.

Ray realized with a certain disgust that the first deliberate murder in his life happened in the game. Over the moral side of the issue, he argued already briskly going down. And the closer the earth got, the easier it became.

“He's not real. Yes, and I will live a little longer than this chick. - And without that, a small feeling of guilt completely evaporated at the sight of a small gray haze that had already managed to leave the body of the chick.

Without a second's hesitation, Rey took on the form of a human again and grabbed what the developers called the "soul". He did not know how long it would last and did not want to experiment now.

As with curing before, the chick's soul made its way from the palm to the center of the chest in a matter of moments, and Rey opened the Status to confirm the success of his first hunt. If it could be called that.

_____________________________

Name: Ray???

Race: ???

RACIAL FEATURES:

[Immortal]

[Many Faces Level 1] (Man, curing, Heavenly tildas)

[Soul Lord Lv1]

[???]

______________________________

“I wonder who names these animals? I would like to have time to find out, but ... I hardly have time. The surging melancholy turned into a sigh full of annoyance. And Ray understood why. It would seem that he had long ago come to terms with his unenviable fate, but he wanted to prolong the new, unusual sensations. Nevermind, most of them were pretty nasty. - "Okay. I will discuss this topic already in the sky.

Stepping into a looser seat, Rei focused on the new soul and almost immediately fell to the ground. But already in the form of a small bird.

Having some experience in mastering the unusual motor skills of the body, the guy was in no hurry. It was not possible to stand on his feet, but when falling from a rather small height, nothing seemed to be damaged. Turning his head, the first thing Ray noticed was that the tildas' eyesight was noticeably better. Even the colors are brighter. From the rich blue plumage, the color reminiscent of the spring sky, it rippled in the eyes, but it turned out to get used to pretty quickly.

But it didn't take long to get back on your feet. The center of gravity of the body of the tildas was greatly displaced, and it took some time to guess what the secret was. But a few minutes of experimentation and a bit of perseverance paid off. The extra pair of wings stopped pulling back like a dead weight, and Rei finally took the first step in the bird's body.

But the jubilation did not last long:

"I have a problem's. It seems that having wings and being able to fly are slightly different concepts. - Awareness came at the first attempt to move the wings. It was impossible to move them at the same time, and every careless movement inevitably ended in a fall. “But there is also a tail. And then you can’t just forget about him, as with the same curing ... "

Oddly enough, Rei didn't despair. He was to some extent familiar with the problem of simultaneous, filigree control of several limbs at once. Still, in his profession, this was indispensable, and he already knew a little trick.

“You don't have to try to control every wing. The main thing is to memorize the basic movements. And I even know who will help me with this. Turning back to curing, he hurriedly rushed to the very tree where the nest had been before.

As he climbed the tree, Rey noticed that his front paws were a little sore. And he understood the reason for a long time:

“The wounds are transferred. That's why even in curing form my back and paws ache a little - I scratched while climbing trees naked. Tildas is even worse. The bones of the birds are fragile, apparently, these few falls did not go without a trace. “Ray had known about this for a long time, so he wasn’t particularly upset. I just took note that in the form of a bird, you should be more careful. And to start flying only being completely confident.

If only this confidence had time to appear. Not much time left...

When he reached the place where the nest used to be, Ray reasoned that he should still move to another tree - the parent of the newly hatched chick would obviously be in a bad mood when he appeared.

“It’s also worth finding a thicker branch. In curing form, I can’t really see anything.” - A clear plan of action made Ray cheer up a little and, picking up another leaf with his claw, he moved in search of a branch suitable for observation.

Ray climbed a tall tree, next to which there was a nest, and began to patiently wait for the return of the bird. Previously, he had followed her only to find a place where she nested, but now he was going to devote all his attention to the technique of her movements.

In anticipation, he did not notice how almost an hour passed before the tildas appeared in his field of vision. Even on approaching the nest, the bird noticed that something was wrong and accelerated. Ray saw only how the beats of the front pair of wings smoothly flow to the rear, how the bird tilts its entire body when turning, how it straightens up almost to a vertical position for landing. Even before this, the general principle of flight was known to Ray from the real world, but now, having directly seen how the four-winged bird moves in the air, he clarified all the unclear points for himself.

After waiting a little longer and carefully considering how tildas takes off, Rey once again scrolled through everything he saw in his memory and was slightly surprised. It was no different from watching a video, he remembered everything so clearly that he could even tell how many wing flaps the bird had made in the entire time he was looking at it.

“I wonder if this is also a function of the game?” With a shake of his head, Rey drove away the distracting thoughts and, descending to the ground, took on the form of a tildas. Now he wanted to try to move in the same manner as the bird he was following did.

It turned out surprisingly easy, which was incredibly pleasing. Now that he knew exactly at what angle to tilt his body and how to properly hold his wings, walking and even leisurely running did not amount to special labor. True, it was only until he had to move his wings, but Rei understood that one could not learn such a complex thing as flying overnight. Fortunately, even despite the time slipping through his fingers, he had enough patience.

Fascinated, the guy did not notice at all that the same tildas, which had recently lost its offspring, had been flying nearby all this time, announcing the surroundings with a pitiful cry. And it was not strange that the bird's gaze fell on another relative. He did not react to the screams, only strangely flapping his wings.

Without becoming to understand what was happening, tildas identified in a strange relative the culprit of the death of his baby and went into an obviously suicidal peak.

If it weren't for the piercing scream the tildas made during the attack, Rei certainly wouldn't have noticed him. But now, he raised his head and watched the blue bird literally fall on him from the sky. And at the moment, this attack could well end in success - Rei was also in the form of a bird.

But the solution to the problem lay on the surface.

Ray even felt a little like a hunter as he patiently allowed the bird to get closer.

"Just a little more..." After waiting for a moment, Rei mentally focused on the human soul within him.

The body of the tildas, tiny against the background of a man, hit the guy's leg helplessly. He didn’t even feel much pain, apparently, just before the blow, the stunned bird decided to retreat. But didn't have time...

Coming closer, Ray was convinced of the death of the tildas. However, it was hard to believe that life could still glimmer in a broken blue body. And the gray haze that emerged from the remains only confirmed this.

“What happens if I take this one too? I already have the soul of a tildas.”

It was not difficult to satisfy curiosity, and in a second the soul sank into Rey's palms. He waited a little, but both the Status and his own feelings suggested that nothing had changed.

"Well, okay". The guy wasn't too upset. It was only a little uncomfortable in front of the birds. First a chick, now its parent...

But the self-flagellation did not last long. After only a few steps, Rei stood up in surprise.

“Walking seems to be easier ... And the thirst has receded a little.” — The reason, in fact, could be only one – a just absorbed soul.

He seemed to be even more tired, practicing to control the body of the tildas, but now Rei felt a little better. The thirst was still present, but perceptibly weakened.

“So the souls I already have, when reabsorbed, turn into energy?” - Quite a logical conclusion, Ray was very pleased. Although he was sure that he could live the rest of the day calmly in the body of curing, it was undoubtedly more pleasant to live it without discomfort.

Returning to the clearing, Ray again turned into a tildas. The next change was also quite imperceptible. But now the bird's body felt a little different. No, it has not become easier to manage, but the tildas itself seems to have grown a little. Or even stronger.

In his own thoughts, Rei sighed rather bitterly.

“Amazing ability. It is a pity that there is not much time left to understand it better ... "

***

The sun was already setting. On the upper branch of a tall tree, motionless, like a weather vane in a week's calm, stood a blue bird. And she stayed that way for a long time.

"I can. If you don't try, you won't succeed." - The guy repeated this mantra to himself, as if not for the hundredth time, but so far he has not moved.

Ray took a long time to choose this particular tree. Tall even against the background of other forest giants, it should give him an extra second to get comfortable in the air.

But the problem arose in order to be in this very air. Each time Rey looked down, he remembered the broken body of the tildas he had seen before. He remembered, as if evil, clearly, in all colors and completely unnecessary details now. There was clearly something wrong with the memory.

But most of all, the pain that was also vividly burned in the memory, which happened to be experienced after death, frightened me the most.

"Damn, I hope I don't screw up." With a mental sigh, Rei spread his wings. Now it was quite easy for him. Several hours of training were clearly not in vain.

A second fluctuation, a wave, and now he is already in the air.

Boy He tried to take off from the ground, but he did not succeed. It seems that in the movements of the bird he saw there was some other feature that he simply could not see.

Ray tried to remain calm in order to respond in a timely manner to any wrong movement of the body. Now he slowly alternating strokes, in short jerks, has already risen a few meters above the top of the tree. Once again mentally returning to the image of a bird from memories, Rey tilted his body and left in a dive, from which he came out with one smooth flap of wings, gaining good speed.

Joy swept through his mind, but the guy tried to stay focused. And only when he was convinced that he was confidently gaining and decreasing speed, he allowed himself to simply spread his wings to the sides, soaring. Only occasionally did I have to level the body that was starting to fall down. As for the rest, the feeling of free flight completely captivated the consciousness of a person, obviously unprepared for such tricks.

All hearing was filled with a sonorous whistle of the wind. He drowned out the rustle of leaves, drove any thoughts out of his head. Both bad and good. The wind sounded unexpectedly light and pleasant. Not much like music, at that moment he seemed exactly like it.

In the distance, the sun was setting, which served as the only guideline, because nothing more remarkable could be seen. All around was an endless ocean of trees. Its end could not be seen even from a height of almost a hundred meters. Rey remembered his own joke that there were only trees in this world and the tildas squealed in delight.

"However, it doesn't matter to me." The bird's eyes converged on the sun that had lost its brightness, ready to retire. The second day that Rey had spent in this world was coming to an end. “I think I have one more day. No. The doctor said that excessive stress on the nervous system worsens the condition. And there must be a lot of these loads in the capsule ... I wonder if I can last until the morning?

I managed to come to my senses after it got completely dark, and fatigue began to give off an aching feeling in the wings. Realizing that the time has come to sit on the ground, Ray was a little upset. He did not sleep last night and was going to repeat this feat today. Sleep is clearly not what I wanted to spend the remaining time on.

“Still, it’s worth taking a break. If I get even more tired, the landing may not be very successful. - And it was the landing that bothered me the most now. It was not possible to train him for obvious reasons.

But Ray had no intention of sitting down in the form of a bird. He assessed his strength quite soberly and it was clear as day that he would not be able to land the first time. Fortunately, you could just hover in the air as low as possible and turn into curing. A dexterous animal will easily cling to a branch. And if you manage to find a clearing more spacious - even better. You don’t have to demonstrate the miracles of acrobatics, the local grass will pick up the curing carcass no worse than a pillow.

Rey took a simple turn, gradually slowing down. It’s a pity, but the darkness that descended on the forest greatly worsened the eyesight of the tildas and it was not possible to notice an open place for landing.

The trees were getting closer and closer. The gloom has turned their upper branches into menacing, now black spiers. It was one such “spire” that Ray chose for his landing site.

Only a few meters remained before the tree, when a slight wind blew from the side. However, for a tiny bird it was quite sufficient. The whole body collapsed on its side and if Rei was a real bird, he would have known that in such a situation it was not worth hurrying, but the nervous flapping of all wings at once only aggravated the situation.

For some reason, the earth and sky changed places, and the wind, as if deciding to betray the guy completely, blew again. Before Ray's eyes, in a swift round dance, a whirlwind of branches, a blurred line of the sky and an ever-approaching earth ran.

And then there was a blow and everything faded.

The fright was momentarily interrupted by a flash of agony. Exactly for a moment. Consciousness flared up, as if a red-hot poker had been applied to it, and the pain immediately receded. Disappeared without a trace, as if it never existed.

And then everything happened again. Ray, as after the first death, drew in the cold night air, tried to turn his head around, but the muscles obeyed reluctantly. The whole forehead felt squeezed dry, drained. And any attempt to move gave off an unpleasant tingling, because Rei just lay motionless, continuing to breathe noisily.

This time the pain was very short. Which, however, did not stop her from making her head buzz until now. A kind of hint that you should be more careful. But Ray mentally prepared himself for the fact that the first flight could end just like that. What's the point? All self-hypnosis crumbled to dust at the same moment when he realized that he was about to break.

It was not immediately possible to recognize the very glade on which he appeared in this world for the first time. Still, at night Rei hadn't seen her yet, but the swamp hadn't gone away. One foot guy even lay in it. And after all, the water is not cold at all, even though it is night around.

"I'll try not to die again. Luckily, I don't have to wait long." “Even though the pain had shortened, that didn't mean it was worth checking out next time. Ray finally tucked up his legs, which had come to his senses a little, and sat down on the grass, which had not yet had time to take on dew.

For a few seconds he wondered why the pain lasted longer the first time. Most likely, the point was that then he himself jumped from the tree. Or maybe over time it should have disappeared altogether?

"Okay". Ray shrugged his shoulders in annoyance. — “I don't care. This pain should not have been there from the beginning, and there is no point in wondering how everything works with it. ”

The boy was in no hurry to get up. The body was still aching. Well, not much time has passed since his revival, so you can wait. Without hesitation, Ray again stretched out on the grass. She was unexpectedly warm. Just like water in a swamp.

“There is some kind of thermal spring here..? Although… It doesn’t matter.” Sitting comfortably, he stared at the dark velvet of the night sky.

The stars were strewn. Bright. Brighter than in the previous world, they gave quite a lot of light. Not so that you can freely walk through the forest, but not pitch darkness either. The moon was not visible - she hid behind the trees and from this clearing she could not be seen.

“I wonder what other players are doing now? There should be a lot of people... Probably, in the starting cities now uniform madness. Thoughts flowed easily and calmly. Gradually poured from one topic to another. Ray imagined other players in his place. Or was there someone else in the forest? True, it is unlikely that they will be able to meet, even if there were several thousand players here, the forest was so huge. At least for the remaining few hours, no one will definitely be found.

Unpleasant thoughts came to mind by themselves, and to brush them aside, Rei closed his eyes.

"Status".

_____________________________

Name: Ray???

Race: ???

RACIAL FEATURES:

[Immortal]

[Many Faces Level 1] (Human, Heavenly tildas)

[Soul Lord Lv1]

[???]

_____________________________

What he saw did not surprise him, but it was still not pleasant.

"It seems that instead of Specializations, I lose souls when I die." Rey nodded at his own conclusion, but the questions only grew. Is it possible for him to get Specializations at all? If so, will they disappear upon death? Or souls? And what will happen if the human soul disappears?

Fatigue slowly passed, but unnoticed by himself, exhausted by death and many hours without sleep, Rey slowly dozed off. The warm grass regularly warmed and for some reason there was no wind here.

After a couple of minutes, the human consciousness plunged into a deep, sound sleep