Hearing hurried footsteps and shouts that he couldn't have gotten far, he felt fear.
– He turned in here!
Hearing this, his heart began beating at a frantic rhythm. He could only hope that they would simply pass by.
– He couldn't have gotten far! Aisha said they found him on the twelfth floor. So he's level two. But even so, he couldn't have gotten far.
«The twelfth floor… I descended that deep?» – The loss of control had turned out to be more dangerous than he had thought.
– Maybe he hid somewhere?
At these words, cold sweat broke out over him.
«They won't find me.» – He hoped, for the first time relying on luck. Hearing the receding footsteps and voices, he exhaled calmly. Time passed; Kopii did not know how much had gone by, but he knew for sure that it had been more than an hour. His limbs had gone numb.
«Maybe everything has calmed down already?»
Slowly climbing out of the dumpster, Kopii thought:
«Lucky that no one came to throw out the trash.»
Stretching his numb limbs, Kopii examined the place where he was. He had not had time when they were chasing him. Everything was so bright even at night – lanterns adorned the streets.
Coming out of the alley, still looking around the district, Kopii noticed that there were a lot of girls in revealing outfits here.
«Only one district comes to mind, the entertainment district.»
He could, of course, be mistaken, for he had never been here. But if this was true, then it meant that the Ishtar Familia had saved him.
People shied away from Kopii, and he looked at them with understanding. He was all dirty, and the main thing – the smell. But Kopii did not care; it only played to his advantage. Walking in the direction where, in his opinion, the exit was, he walked for quite a long time, but still did not get out. Not knowing the district made itself felt.
«I've already been here. How could I have made a circle?»
He had moved carefully, but because of that, without noticing it himself, he had made a big circle.
«I shouldn't have turned there; I should have gone straight.»
Regretting his choice, he picked another route. He would not turn anywhere now. – «I won't make that mistake again.»
And with time, there were more and more prostitutes. He immediately understood that he was on the right path. After all, where could there be the most prostitutes? Naturally, it was the entrance to the district. It was logical. And at last, he managed to leave the entertainment district.
«Thank you for saving me, but my body belongs to me.»
He had been taught since childhood that one can only love once in a lifetime. So he must save himself for the one.
Kopii quickened his pace; he wanted to bathe as soon as possible. And most importantly, he had to solve the problem with his thirst; from this moment on, he would take it more seriously; he could no longer descend into the dungeon so foolishly. He needed to change his tactics. So trying to suppress the thirst was pointless and, at the same time, risky.
Kopii stopped in a daze.
«Since when did I start underestimating the dungeon?»
He had already descended into the dungeon twice, and if the first time he had been lucky and quickly come to his senses, the second time he had been saved. If it was so risky, why did he keep descending?
«Before, I wouldn't have done that, so recklessly and dangerously. Maybe during the three weeks I didn't descend, I relaxed?»
Resuming his former pace, coming closer and closer to the Blue Pharmacy, he realized that he would again have to buy new equipment. At such thoughts, Kopii frowned: they already had problems with money, and lately, there had been little use from him.
With such thoughts, entering the Blue Pharmacy, he quickly took a shower. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder what he could do about the thirst. How many times had he already thought about it, but he had never come closer to understanding the thirst, to its mystery, or how to fight it. But Kopii knew how, theoretically, it could be suppressed, but he could not carry it out.
For the first time in a long while, he did not know what to do. He was at a dead end. An absolute lack of understanding of what to do next. He had tried so many hypotheses that he did not know where to strive next. Until he solved the question of the thirst, he would not descend into the dungeon from this day on.
He understood one thing: that the thirst was a one-way ticket. Well, with high probability. Kopii had been lucky so far; either he quickly regained control, or he was saved. Yes, the thirst had saved him twice, but that was an exception to the rule. Just luck. Kopii knew one thing: that always relying on luck was the peak of foolishness. And especially for him, who was almost always unlucky.
He decided to cast these thoughts aside and go to sleep. But however hard he tried, the thoughts still crept into his head, disturbing his sleep. But even so, Kopii began to fall asleep quickly.
Kopii woke from the bright sunlight breaking through the gaps in the curtains. His head throbbed, and his body ached from the uncomfortable position in which he had fallen asleep. Thoughts about the thirst returned again. About how useless he was, that he couldn't even handle this.
He exhaled, getting out of bed, quickly dressed, and left the room. He headed for Miach's room; he hoped that he was still here and had not gone somewhere. Knocking on Miach's door, Kopii thought:
«He's probably not here.» – But Kopii's thoughts were interrupted by Miach's voice.
– Come in, Kopii.
Entering the room, seeing how Miach was at his work desk, Kopii asked:
– How did you know it was me?
– I just guessed, – he said with a smile, tapping his fingers on the table. – But to tell the truth, Naaza rarely comes into my room. She's up to her ears in work. But anyway, Kopii, that's not what matters now; did you want something?
– Yes, – Kopii nodded, approaching Miach and taking off his upper clothing. – I haven't updated my stats in a long time. – Sitting on the chair, turning his back to Miach.
– Oh, so soon? You're such an impatient boy, my child.
«What?»
The words that flew out of Miach's mouth sounded somehow strange. But before he could understand it, he spoke again.
– Oh, indeed. We haven't updated in a long time, – walking up to Kopii and pricking his finger, Kopii felt the cold of a drop of blood.
– Very unexpected, Kopii. – Walking to his desk, taking a sheet of paper, writing quickly and holding it out to him, Miach said: – Take a look, Kopii, I didn't even expect it; I thought the journey would slow your growth. But apparently, I was wrong. You've grown too quickly.
Taking the sheet from Miach's hands, Kopii read:
Level 1.
Strength: S 956
Endurance: SS 1067
Dexterity: S 903
Agility: S 923
Magic Power: I 0
«Magic»
[ ]
«Skills»
[Copying] "You can be whoever you want, but not yourself."
He froze in shock; his hands began to tremble involuntarily, and his lips rose higher and higher; he could not believe his eyes; this was not fast, it was impossibly fast.
«How is this to be understood; is this even possible?»
He clearly remembered that he had gone into the dungeon only twice since the last update. Looking at Miach's face, there was the same smile on it, but he felt that something had changed in Miach's aura.
– Miach-sama, are you not surprised? – Kopii said enthusiastically; his mood lifted from what he saw.
– No, Kopii, I am surprised, but not that much. I didn't expect your stats to jump so quickly… But…
– What "but"? – He hurried him.
– I think that your rapid growth is somehow connected with your skill. That is, in truth, the only way I can explain why your growth is so fast. I don't understand what your skill does, but I think it somehow influences the rise of your stats.
Having listened to Miach without interrupting, he fell into deep thought.
«Maybe my rapid growth really is only thanks to the skill, but that is my talent, isn't it? Wasn't I born with this skill? Then it means I was special from birth?»
– You know, Kopii, you could rise to the second level. You will set a new record for leveling up. Right now.
– You know, Miach-sama, I look at this sheet and don't understand one thing. Is it really possible for SS to exceed a thousand?
– Yes, Kopii, it's possible. It determines how strong you will be at the second level.
– In what sense? Well, look, Kopii, I'm encountering this for the first time, such rapid growth, and the fact that you have all S's. I've seen when someone had only one S, for example, Naaza. She had S in strength. Well, Kopii, she raised her first level when she had only one S. But you have almost all S's, except for magic. And you even have SS. Do you understand how amazing that is?
– And what of it, Miach-sama?
– Well, if you. – He pointed his finger at him. – Were to move to the second level right now, you would be stronger than Naaza was when she moved to the second level. Understood?
– Stronger? – he pondered. – So, the stats you have when you move to the next level also greatly influence how strong you will be?
– Well, you could say that. – Folding his arms, not taking his gaze off Kopii for a second.
After Miach's confirmation, Kopii fell into thought. His endurance was SS, so he could raise his other stats to that mark as well.