The once glorious city of E-Asenaru was ablaze with endless fires, adding to the already unpleasant smell of burnt bodies. Few things could stir the public's minds more than the transformation of memorable buildings into ruins. Thick, dense, and dark smoke engulfed every street, permeating the wooden buildings with its acrid existence.
The powerful blows from the falling buildings drowned out the screams of the few surviving creatures. But the screams were filled not only with fear, but also with complete horror. The city guards, those who still remained conscious, looked in shock at the giant Ainnash tree that had sprouted in the center of the city.
The vile creature can hardly be compared to the same fir or oak. The tree grew in a matter of minutes to a gigantic size - exceeding an eight-story building. Instead of bark, it was covered with human skin, hiding the flesh of various creatures, and in place of branches there were long and writhing tentacles. Working together with endless roots, the tentacles presented a double danger to any viewer.
The Chimera-type monster devoured and destroyed the city faster than the Demon King could. The Demon King might have had doubts, but the Chimera had no conscience or reason, only the desire to consume for its own gain.
"Wonderful," said a tall man in a Victorian suit and a long coat on top, slowly clapping his dark gloves.
He might look like an aristocrat, with his upright posture and firm demeanor in the midst of the raging flames. But what made him stand out from the rest was his black helmet, with a slit in the middle through which a violet light shone. However, few people lingered their gaze on the violet glow, or on the creature that the merciless fire tried to avoid.
Absolutely all attention has long been drawn to the giant monster.
"Simply amazing. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Murphy's Law at its finest," finishing his disgruntled applause at the ongoing madness, the Lord of Dawn felt the activation of the item that detected teleportation.
Behind him, right on the hot ground, another spectator appeared. A tall demon with Asian features, tanned skin and well-groomed hair. He looked quite respectable. An expensive suit only emphasized his elegant appearance, behind which hid a ruthless sadist and sociopath.
"Mister Bondrewd, on behalf of myself and all the guardians of Nazarick, I humbly apologize for Shalltear Bloodfallen's misdeed. You may rest assured that I have personally ensured that your order is carried out. For at least a week, no living being in Nazarick will have contact with her," the archdevil reported with his head bowed low, kneeling in the middle of the flames.
The fire from the magic did not harm his clothes or himself at all. On the contrary, the comfortable temperature helped to reduce the level of tension. The Demiurge, of course, wanted to ask the master a question - should writing a hundred explanatory notes be considered a worthy punishment for a true vampire. But he did not dare, out of deep respect for the best friend of his creator.
The creator who left him.
"Wonderful, but she is nothing more than a foolish child. Making a mistake is the first step to gaining experience. Shalltear has a chance to stand on the first step of the ladder leading to adulthood. Blame those who do not learn from their mistakes, stopping their development. Those who overcome weakness gain what people call intelligence." Turning to the arriving companion, the Lord of Dawn joyfully spread his arms to the sides, greeting his friend's creation. "Welcome!"
*
A beautiful sunny day, not at all foreshadowing trouble.
Hundreds of citizens wandered the wide streets of the city, going in the morning to fulfill their assigned role in society. I met mostly weak individuals, the same city guards are hardly capable of repelling an attack of a mid-level chimera. Of course, if we take the usual medieval world as an example, there these guards have the opportunity to become mighty heroes. But in my eyes they are nothing more than dust. As long as the dirt does not interfere, I have no desire to remove it from sight.
"The Wyvern of the Mist" tavern. Walking past a strange establishment with a shabby sign, I came across a rather interesting name.
In Yggdrasil, dragons were considered the strongest race. I only have a heart from them, but even so, one organ gave a significant increase to the characteristics, coupled with a couple of penalties to weapons. There are no pluses without minuses. Magic and weapons deal additional damage to me - effective against monsters like wyvern/dragon/dragonid.
"An amazing find, what would the Middle Ages be without wyverns," I said thoughtfully, heading towards the inn. If the owner had not chosen the name out of inspiration from local mythology, then Nazarick would have to put more effort into finding and capturing dragons.
These creatures have extremely valuable ingredients. You can't buy something like this on the Yggdrasil market even for five hundred million gold, so catching strong beasts is a priority. Rather, my goal in this matter is far from enhancing my own capabilities. What appeals most is the process of learning something new, something never seen before.
Ha... accidentally, with each new hour I begin to think better, like an experienced chimerologist. It can be said that only the inhabitants of Nazarick have complete safety from me, and as for the rest of the world... everything is complicated.
It's best to put off all unsolvable problems for later, so as not to go into empty self-digging. Do you like to research and dissect monsters? Please, who will be worse off from this? That's the thing, creatures that I don't care about.
- Good afternoon, - I approached the bar counter, under the shadow illusion, trying not to bump into anyone and sit down at a distance from the other customers. A normal attack or push would instantly dispel the illusion, so it was advisable to be careful when sitting in front of the innkeeper. - Is there any news? - I laid a couple of gold coins on the table in a very friendly manner. The innkeeper's eyes widened in disbelief from such a gesture, and his hand hid the fee for the information in the blink of an eye.
The man is quite tall. He has well-developed muscles. Good nutrition helped him develop, making him stronger than ordinary people. He has the image of a bouncer, but at the same time his appearance is quite neat. An amazing phenomenon. White teeth and a well-groomed beard are quite difficult to find at such a difficult stage in the history of mankind. In this world, there are special cares for appearance, but I do not know what exactly.
- Heh, buddy, your voice is strange, just like you are, - the man greeted me with a grin, examining the fake appearance with a close look. He also looked around the entire room, since there are few people during the daytime, but an estimate of the number of extra ears would be useful. - Information... well, the most interesting is related to the extermination of several villages in our kingdom. You know, there are all sorts of rumors going around. Some think that this is a regular sabotage by the imperial bastards, and some are calling for a dangerous beast. You can't tell who is lying and who is telling the truth.
— How long have there been rumors of mass murders? — Putting another gold coin on the wooden counter, my mood began to drop like sand from my hands. Finally, an interesting clue that could lead me to a player from Yggdrasil, if he exists. So why did my mood drop? It felt like they wanted to lead me into a trap.
I have come up with two main PK strategies in this world: The first involves catching players who do strange and dangerous things by working with their stupidity, such as my search for players based on their feats and gold from Yggdrasil. The second strategy involves creating the illusion of stupidity, such as deliberately spreading a suspicious rumor to lure people like me into a trap.
Lately, I have excluded the existence of all players nearby, on whom the first strategy can work. Therefore, only the second version, the most disgusting and unpredictable, remains to be processed. The second group can be detected only by using their own weapon - to create Hell in the Flesh. A situation in which all cautious individuals will definitely show up, if they have eyes, ears and brains.
- A couple of days ago, - the innkeeper shrugged and poured me some fermented ale, handing me a wooden mug as if I were a good friend. - And you're one of those adventurers? - looking intently at my chest, the man was most likely trying to find an identification mark based on the wrinkles that had formed on his face. - O-o-o, silver rank, - the interlocutor muttered in surprise, quickly replacing my mug with an empty one, but pouring a completely different brew into it.
More pleasant smelling.
Shalltear went on a mission, and that's great, otherwise for disrespecting a visitor - the man's head would not have stayed on his shoulders for long. As for the reason for her departure, I think I made the right decision.
The life detection showed the location of several bandit hideouts. Good people don't hide away from crowded places. I don't want to dirty my hands with small change, so I decided to entrust this mission to the vampire. She is the most balanced guardian of Nazarick, capable of playing the role of a melee and ranged fighter, and also retraining as a tank, healer or assassin.
Exterminating the dark side of the city is very profitable after collecting information about their powers and structure. The corpses will make excellent chimeras, working on the dark side, exclusively for me. The semi-intelligent pieces of flesh will continue to collect information about any potential threat in my absence. If I'm lucky, they will be passed on the experience and knowledge gained during life. Everything depends on the integrity of the brain and body.
"I have two questions," my hand rose with two fingers extended, continuing to ignore the drink. "Where did the murders take place, and why is the inn called the Wyvern?" I asked the straightforward questions, bending my fingers one by one. I see no reason to beat around the bush.
- Huh? - the man raised an eyebrow in confusion. - The Baharuth Empire is nearby, where else would the bastards operate? An inn, you don't care? - the double question caused mixed emotions in me, forcing me to throw in another gold coin.
In Yggdrasil, gold could not be shoveled, instead hundreds of combines and trucks were used. While gold is amazing in this world, in the game world, a single gold is comparable to garbage. The value of anything useful started with gold, but to interest me, the cost of an item had to have at least a "millions" appendix.
- Any information is more valuable than gold, - indifferently shrugging my shoulders, I was not at all bothered by the rude attitude of the new informant. The mentality in the new world can be completely different from mine. Rudeness in each time was different, divided into categories of what was allowed. At one time, women were not considered people, and then after the twentieth century they received many rights. By 2138, all people were truly made equal. Taking away rights from women and men - good equality.
- Ha-ha, I like your approach, - putting his hands on the wooden counter, the interlocutor leaned slightly on it, preparing for a long story. - Well, to be honest, my ancestor once also walked the path of adventure, and was a very famous adventurer. According to him, he personally met a wyvern, and did not even die. Managed to avoid death. Considering it, well, a sign from above or something like that. So he opened an inn, and gave it the name of the monster he met. Hell, maybe as a reminder of the past, or maybe the story is a lie. I have no idea, to be honest, - grinning, as if telling a children's story, the man returned to his work.
In general, excluding history without facts, it is already something new.
Consider that a quest for exploring an area fell out, of which there were a lot in Yggdrasil. Also popular there were quests for escorting and gathering. Few people took long story chains, which often led to a meager reward. Mostly, they farmed easy tasks, and used the money they earned to resell expensive items at auction. I did not belong to this category, rather, because of me, random quests for researching the defeat appeared, stronger escorts were needed for caravans, and the prices for paying for gathering also increased.
Extermination is a class skill. It took over a thousand hours of grinding to get it, far from monsters or farm spots. Destroying cities and villages, as well as surrounding areas. If someone from Yggdrasil was transferred to this world, who also decided to continue my gaming path, but in this world...
Ha, we need to get rid of these first.
I don't need competitors.
- Oh, have you heard? - a young guy dressed in a ranger's outfit with a bow at the ready, having remembered something, decided to tell the news to a group of three people. The company was sitting in the far corner, but due to my good hearing, I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation. - The Captain of the Guard Gazef Stronoff himself left the capital to resolve the issue of attacking the villages. If the strongest warrior of the kingdom has taken on the task of repelling the threat, then nothing can be done. There will be absolutely no work left after him. Except for working as corpse collectors. Ha-ha, - laughing joyfully, the adventurer drained the mug of ale in one go.
The skeleton of the quest slowly became covered with flesh.
The Kingdom sent the strongest warrior, but regarding strength, the opinion is subjective. However, it was not refuted by the listeners, it is worth considering this point. I myself would do well to sort out the information received, so there is a risk that Gazef and I will cross paths. If we manage to capture and examine him, then we will have information not only about the body structure of strong people from this world, but also all the knowledge of the captain of the guard.
Perfect.
- Save yourself! There's a monster inside the city!
- Urgently, call for reinforcements!
- Damn it, to arms!
Well, it's not perfect anymore.
The sounds and shouts outside the tavern were far from cheerful, but rather panicked and desperate. All the people inside the building jumped up from their seats and rushed out onto the city street to better understand what was going on. My movements differed from the zeal of the other customers in their leisurely pace. Probably, except for a pair of underpants squeezed into the corner, I was the last to leave the tavern.
From what I saw, I could see that the knights were running closer to the city center, from where the fire was spreading, throwing fire between wooden buildings. Could this be a random event, like a dangerous monster attacking the city? If so, should I intervene? The most logical thing to do would be to simply watch from the sidelines, collecting information about the city's defenses and the strength of the outgoing threat. Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone strong will show up, deciding to come out of the shadows. Heroes appear at the last moment, or so they say.
"Shit, it's a vampire!" the guy screamed in panic across the street, running in the opposite direction as if the devil himself was chasing him.
"During the day?" the girl asked hysterically, from whom crumbs of magical energy emanated.
"Silver your weapons! Don't attack with regular iron! Damn it, where are the mages?" A man in full armor, whose appearance I copied, running past, addressed a group of frightened warriors with advice.
Attack of a dangerous vampire? I have vague doubts.
Amazing, simply amazing, if I understood everything correctly.
More chapters on my P@treon: https://patreon.com/OOOTEN