“HELLHOUNDS!” Ilyin shouted. “All unarmed individuals — head to the wall! Try to climb over to the other side! Call for backup!”
I didn’t stick my head out upon receiving the notification, preferring to spend the available seconds on preparing for the upcoming battle. The stone in my stomach was replenishing my mana, but not fast enough. I pulled out a handful of capsules with crystal powder and swallowed them, washing them down with the combat potion. Perhaps some of the energy was lost when the stones were crushed, but it was much harder to choke on a capsule. The different coatings also ensured that energy would be released gradually throughout the battle.
“Fire! Protect the civilians!”
Short bursts of gunfire, panicked screams and shrieking from above... maybe I ought to stay put? I activated Invisibility, waited a couple of seconds, and leapt out of the hole. I rolled over the snow, and took cover behind one of the coffins. The wood shuddered and splintered, and a bullet plowed through the ground. Nevertheless, the sniper had missed his chance.
“I hate this so much...” I didn’t like what I was seeing around me. There weren’t that many Hellhounds in sight, but how many more were running around? Besides, they looked much more menacing than the ones I’d met in the snowy forest. Identification.
Hellhound (63%)
Status: Monster.
Creature Rank: D.
Level: 6.
Danger: High.
Specifications:
Strength: 1+10=11.
Agility: 1+10=11.
Intelligence: 5.
Durability: 1+10=11.
Stamina: 1+15=16.
Wisdom: 25.
Perception: 10+5=15.
Instinct: 15.
Features:
— Servant of Order — the creature belongs to the System.
— Pack Member — the creature is a member of the pack. Their abilities stack to reach a new level.
— Experience Transfer — the creature is able to transfer experience directly to its master.
— Combat Form — able to transform, increasing their stats manyfold.
Temporary effects:
— Divine Protection (Great Izur) — properties are hidden.
Master: Unknown.
“They have divine protection!” I said, although this was already obvious.
The air beside me rippled, releasing another creature, and I took advantage of the opportunity. Since most of the body consisted of pseudoflesh, there was no point in striking the usual “vulnerable” places. So I struck the joint between the armor plates, where the body of the pilot should have been. Despite the active Overclocking, the spear moved slowly... Split!
I drained nearly all my mana, so the creature was practically torn in half, yet there was no message about experience points. Even worse, the halves wriggled as they tried to fuse back together. I wasn’t going to give the monster the opportunity. Once I discerned the real body, all I had to do was change the angle slightly and strike. “Die!”
I felt resistance, heard a shriek, and the combat form sagged, allowing me to lift up the six-eyed “puppy” writhing on the end of my spear. It was like a sausage on a fork. I watched the dying creature floundering in the air for several seconds, then the Invisibility field extended slightly, hiding the unsightly picture.
Attention! You have received 135 SP! (235/280)
The impressive amount of experience, together with a card and a corpse that I threw into my bag, didn’t please me in the slightest. The military were firing at the creatures, but with little effect. Well, the mutts startled and shied away, giving civilians the chance to hide behind the players, but no more than that…
“Hold the line!” Khan shouted. “Protect the civilians! Don’t let the creatures get past you!”
The habit of lugging weapons around with us had served us well, and most players were fully fitted out because today’s ceremony was a public event. There was also plenty of security, so they could both shoot and direct the crowd in the right direction. Alas, not everyone, and the creatures, disoriented at first by their arrival in a new world, had already started killing. A trio of hounds milled beside the formation, provoking the players into attacking, but not allowing them to approach.
“Hold! Do not panic! There aren’t that many of them!”
Although fighting in formation hadn’t been very relevant for us, we had practiced it among other things. The spears fighters stood in front, the mages stood behind them, while people with short weapons and non-combat skills covered the flanks and rear. It would have worked if Legion and Bri had taken care of the sniper…
Bang!
One of the newcomers — Dark Steel — fell, clutching his stomach, and dropped his spear with a roar of pain. The sniper must have aimed at the biggest person. It wasn’t a great shot, but the shooter seemed more interested in wreaking havoc and preventing us from acting, rather than killing. Some of the players immediately dived for cover, while the hounds, who had been circling at a distance, leapt forward…
“Try to get to the other side!”
The newest part of the cemetery, where burials were still permitted, was enclosed by a two-meter wall, allowing us to protect the rear and then escape. I doubted the hounds could jump over the wall. Except...
“Check if there are any monsters over there first!”
One of the soldiers jumped up and grabbed the edge of the wall, but a second later collapsed, shot down by the sniper. Then someone in the crowd collapsed, exacerbating the panic. I wasn’t sure if this was done on purpose, since it could have been just a blunder. Dragonfly screamed, creating “yellow noise” and forcing the dogs within her radius of action to stop, but it wasn’t enough. We desperately lacked long-range magic.
“Hold the line, assholes! Do not run away!”
The formation wavered, close to disintegrating, but then the hounds would rush past the players and massacre the people in the rear. The Red Queen and Eva grabbed the wounded man and dragged him away, throwing him into an empty grave.
“He’ll fucking kill us all!”
“He won’t have enough bullets!”
“One will be enough for me! Stand here yourself!”
Kostyan turned around and rushed to the wall, but no one fired at the deserter this time. A pity.
Would you like to fill the Great Healing card?
Yes/No
I drained a portion of the experience points into the card (135/280). I didn’t have enough time to deal with the wounded myself, so one of my allies would have to take over. I had to decide quickly. “Eva!” I threw her the card. “Learn the skill!”
“Alright.”
“We need more System weapons! Hand the spares out to any volunteers.” I put my hand in the bag, and summoned several spears, swords, and an axe, throwing them one after another onto the trampled snow. As long as I had the “scabbards”, I could track down the weapon, and we needed as many fighters as possible right now.
Damn, damn, damn… The enemy tactics finally became clear. While the majority of the pack kept the players back, the second group hunted down the defenseless civilians. Ordinary people were helpless against these huge wolves, especially since they chose the weakest first: old people, women, and teenagers. I hadn’t seen any children today, but this was a funeral after all, not a festival. Nevertheless, we would almost certainly be held responsible for the unfolding massacre.
“Reinforcements will arrive soon! Hold on!”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking that, since Ilyin had decided to play the hero and climb out of his cozy grave.
“Take cover! Vladimir, goddamn it... Cover the lieutenant colonel!”
Oleg immediately caught my drift and jumped, knocking our overzealous leader back into the ‘trench’. Maybe I was being overly cautious, but leaders were usually eliminated first.
“Khan has been wounded!”
I felt an unpleasant prickle in my chest this time, but I couldn’t afford to be distracted... A jump, a blow, Split.
Attention! You have gained 112 SP! (247/280)
I shoved the card in my bag without looking at it, and kicked the corpse towards the players so someone could pick it up. I was lucky. The snow here was heavily trampled, so I took advantage of the fact that the enemies couldn’t see me and accumulated enough mana for another Split. The other creatures, sensing the death of their pack member, suddenly picked up the pace, trying to understand where the threat was coming from. If I had more mana, I could have driven them away, but…
“The sniper is over there!” Ilyas pointed. His skill allowed him to predict the location of enemies. “In the tower!
About one hundred and ten meters away. Where the hell were... as if in answer to my thoughts, a pillar of fire appeared there. It looked like the raven had finally joined the game. Right now, I didn’t care about capturing the spy, I didn’t care if the temple itself burned down… most importantly, the sniper had stopped shooting.
“Eva, help Khan! Don’t let him die. Finish off the hounds and cover the civilians. I’m going to deal with the sniper!”
Although Eva initially had only divine mana, she had finished off a spider on the Battlefield, so she’d not only learned Minor Magical Ability, but had leveled it up to three, investing the parameters she had received. The card was mine, of course.
“I’m coming with you!” Rodyakha volunteered. “Let’s kill him!”
“No, stay out of this! It’ll be easier if I’m alone.”
First and foremost, to race through the cemetery gardens, where the Hellhounds still roamed. Several agents had headed for the sniper immediately after the first shot was fired, but they appeared to have run into problems.
* * *
The shots were being fired from one of the towers of the Novodevichy Monastery. Why were enemies so drawn to holy places? First the monkeys, and now this… Although it was quiet, and thus easier to hide in than the Luzhniki Stadium on the other side. Withdrawing would be a problem, though. The sniper should have fired a shot and escaped, but this hadn’t happened.
The enemy appeared to be holed up in the corner tower, but I couldn’t run to it directly. I couldn’t fly yet, nor could I scale walls. The monastery had been built at the beginning of the 16th century and had served as a place of imprisonment for female royalty for the first 200 years. In other words, it had high walls, and the complex had also been restored recently.
So I ran diagonally to the Holy Gates, which lead to the entrance of the Transfiguration Church. Wow, I remembered everything, even though I had only glanced at the architectural plans in preparation for today. A pity I’d never been here on an excursion.
“Damn it!”
When I found myself under the cover of trees, I let go of Invisibility. Of course, it was winter now, but the sniper still had to hit me... I had to save the mana as there would be plenty of fighting today.
The trees were impressive in the older part of the cemetery, but they didn’t need to worry about loggers here, in the center of the capital. Considering who was buried here, not even a shopping mall could threaten the cemetery.
There was no point in following the paths, so I cut through, jumping over the railing every now and then. The snow hadn’t been cleared properly here, but there were no knee-high snowdrifts. The several corpses spotted along the way were a reminder to stay on my toes. I spotted a hound not far away once, but it ignored me. I ignored it too. My mana bar passed 500.
Activate combat form?
Yes/No
My mana bar shrunk sharply, but it was worth it. I had loosened the straps on the suit as I ran, so I didn’t need to stop. The boots became a little tight, but I’d been wearing a larger size, and the layer of pseudoflesh protected the feet, so I wouldn’t end up with calluses. It was almost an acrobatic trick, but now I was much more confident in my own abilities. After another ten seconds, a new message arrived.
Status: effect of elixir No. 0123. Strength +0.1. Stamina +0.5. Perception +0.9. Duration: 40 minutes. Warning: Prolonged use can have negative consequences.
Good timing. The potion I’d washed the pills down with had finally kicked in, but if I hadn’t activated the combat form, its effects would have been lower due to natural limits. In addition to the surge in strength, I felt a mild euphoria, the feeling that I could dispatch any opponent. It was a pretty nasty concoction… Certainly harmful to my health, but nothing my Healing couldn’t cope with.
“Help! Ah!”
The shouting was coming from somewhere nearby, so I turned and quickly found the source of the noise. I didn’t see any point in hiding, since I doubted that my arrival would be a surprise for the sniper. If he had any brains, he’d be already expecting guests.
It was as I’d expected. One of the hounds had driven a man up a tree and, for some reason, hadn’t abandoned such nimble prey, but was trying to reach him by climbing the trunk. It was getting closer and closer each time, as if its body was adjusting to the new task.
It didn’t try to run away like its fellows had done, but crouched when it spotted me, growling menacingly. Split… I jumped after it and struck from above, while realizing that it wouldn’t be enough. Split!
Attention! You have received 135 SP! (382/280)
Attention! You have reached Level 15! (102/300)
Attention! (Intuition) You are the second person from your world to reach this level!
The second? Who was the first then? Had the Swordsman managed to overtake me?
“What took you so long? It almost got me!” The man fell from the tree like a sack of potatoes. How had he managed to climb up there?
“Don’t thank me, it’s my duty.”
“You have to help me!”
I fished out the creature’s body and threw it in the bag. Alas, I couldn’t afford to waste my time on the man.
“Run that way, there’s help available. Or to the exit, perhaps you can slip through.”
“I can’t! I’ve rolled my ankle! I’m hurt!”
Nevertheless, this didn’t stop the chubby man from trotting after me, and quite quickly at that.
“Then climb another tree and hope they don’t find you.”
“I’m Crab Flector! I’m a well-known blogger and literary critic. I have a channel with almost a thousand subscribers! If you leave me here, everyone will learn the truth!”
Was he serious? I’d never been a fan of critics, and being a blogger required a certain type of content. One couldn’t criticize movies or the government, and then suddenly start praising them. As soon as one crossed a boundary, the accumulated followers would immediately begin to wander off…
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.” I activated Invisibility and sped up, ignoring the outraged cries that quickly grew panicked. A thousand subscribers, eh? He truly was a crab.
* * *
An unpleasant surprise awaited me at the gates: many civilians had decided to seek shelter inside the monastery walls, but one of the hounds had caught up with them, resulting in slaughter. At least twenty corpses and the same number of people, rushing madly along the wall.
“You bitch…” Perhaps both figuratively and literally. The hound didn’t growl and didn’t hesitate, stalking and killing one person after another. A man rushed at the creature with a rebar he’d found somewhere, but the dog caught it and snapped it in half. First the rebar, and then the man’s throat. The creature was the size of a young bull, so it was all over in the blink of an eye.
Only speed could save the people here, but instead of scattering in different directions, most were crowded around the gate, which appeared to be closed.
“Hey, I’m here!” I sped up, coming out of Invisibility.
The hounds were clearly avoiding the players, so I would have been happy if it had simply run away. However, the monster showed no intention of running, turning to face me instead. Smeared with blood, it looked like the embodiment of evil. It also didn’t look afraid of me. Nor was I afraid of it, for my rage was much stronger.
“Grr...”
We barreled towards each other. The “dog” suddenly lit up, turning into three almost identical creatures. Obviously, only one of them was real. The one in the center? The one on the left? My life was at stake here, so relying on luck would be a stupid idea. True Sight!
Two silhouettes now shone very differently, allowing me to identify the real enemy. It was the one on the left. I hoped these were illusions, and not actual copies. I didn’t give myself away in any way, preparing to strike the central one. It ought to play the shell game, since the creatures had swapped places imperceptibly.
“Ra-a-a-a!”
I changed the direction of the blow at the last possible moment. The spear sunk into the flesh, but I let go of the weapon this time, and was flung off to the side. I flew for quite a while, and landed on my back. It felt like a ditch of some kind, dug out by the service technicians.
“How I hate all this…” There was no time to rest, so I clambered back out, ignoring the pain. A spare spear appeared in my hand. The Spider Spear. The hound wasn’t too badly hurt, but the spear had pierced it nearly all the way through, and prevented it from moving. The monster had decided to solve this problem by gnawing through the shaft, but it wasn’t doing so well.
I was glad that the crowd at the gate had taken this opportunity to run further away. I hoped they’d reach the exit, although it would be better if they waited a bit. The hound could neither resist nor run right now, and it would be safer for them inside the complex.
“Die, die, die!” Split! the creature’s head shattered into fragments of protoplasm. Yet it was still alive, and inside, I saw the six-eyed puppy looking at me. Well, more like two-eyed, since most of the eyes had burst. It whined again — I swear I saw fear and a plea for mercy in its eyes. “Die!”
The spear pierced its skull, putting an end to this duel.
Attention! You have gained 180 SP! (282/300)
For several seconds, I stood trembling from the tension and the pleasure from the absorbed energy. Damn, it was close. The Hellhounds were extremely attractive prey. For those who could handle them, which were only a few players in the department.
I hope Khan survived today… A card, a mutilated carcass. I never liked that word, but how else to call it? The dog really did turn out to be a bitch... It was the nerves, the nerves, the nerves…
None of the people lying in the snow were alive. The monsters’ ability was like a System weapon, rarely leaving behind any wounded. I sighed and headed for the gates. Even if the others couldn’t get in, I had my own “key”.
I popped another energy capsule in my mouth as I walked. My mana level was just below 50%, and I still had to check the tower. If the sniper had any brains, he would have left already.
Dear brothers and sisters! The Transfiguration Church is undergoing restoration. The entrance is closed, so please use the main gates. May God save you.
The last phrase smacked of black humor in the current situation. In any case, I had no intention of circling around the monastery, nor breaking down the gate with the spear, but a little explosive beside the lock would solve the problem. Here we go... I slipped inside, while also causing collateral damage to the historic building.