Cyberserk & Vampiress

A dangerous proposal for a vampiress

"It's not proper to stare at a young girl's booty," grinned the princess.

"That's not for me to make those claims. I was interested in another object. Does the sword in its sheath on your leg prevent you from walking?" Dan quickly asked his question. He noticed Koreima in the room. He was pleased to see the vampiress.

"Rude and sassy. But I'll forgive you if you tell me how you managed to defeat the dragon," laughed Elina.

"I don't know how to tell interesting stories. I know how to ask interesting questions. Koreima, I want to ask you a question," the young man smiled.

"I hope the question will interest me," the vampiress braced herself for the young man's statement. He did not disappoint her.

"Can you support me in the management of Zangar Castle?"

The vampiress wagged her finger at Dan.

"My clan won't let me do that," Koreima answered honestly.

"Too bad," the young man frowned. "Tell Elder Kornelius my deepest disappointment."

"You can talk to your swordsmanship teacher yourself. Don't put me in the position of the mediator," remarked the vampiress in a stern tone.

Dan heard something in her words and wanted to clarify that moment.

"I was hoping to hear your answer. But I got words about the influence of Kor clan elders. I don't care about your clan's business. I want to know. Do you want to give me support in the management of Zangar Castle?"

"You have begun to make unpleasant and difficult suggestions all the time," sighed Koreima. "A very difficult question. Do you have any idea what piece of pie you've managed to cut off? You would choke if you tried to eat it. I want to think about your question."

"Zangar Castle is a gold mine and several other mines with valuable resources," boasted the princess of her knowledge. "A foolish baron is incapable of managing such complex things."

"I agree with you. I am a warrior but not a manager. The problem is that no one can conduct business in Zangar territory without my consent. The Lord of Fear proved to be a wise and ancient creature. He appreciated my strength and now acts as my ally. The ancient dragon has no interest in the city folk. He's been eating the citizens for thousands of years. And he is ready to devour them again if anyone doubts my right to own the castle."

"A strong ally," the vampiress grinned. "I could use such an ally."

"I'm willing to introduce you to a dragon. That's a rude hint that you should think well about my offer."

"Rude and sassy," sighed the vampiress. "Talk to Kornelius."

Dan looked at Elina and allowed himself a wink at the princess. The king's daughter didn't have time to express her reprimand to the insolent man because she heard the outrageous words from the strange baron.

"Koreima, I've already talked to you and proposed to you. Tom offered this solution to the problem. We have been acquainted with the state of affairs of Zangar and understand nothing. We have to manage some mines and neglected farms. How to mine gold? How to turn this gold into gold coins? I don't understand it all and I'm not interested. I am a warrior. My position is simple. Grossroads lived for about two thousand years without the resources of Zangar. The Grossroads will live just fine without the resources of Zangar. You don't want to do Zangar's business? No one will do them."

The vampiress and the princess couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"You won't get resources from your new domain either," Koreima said.

"I'll be fine without those resources," Dan smiled.

"An aristocrat doesn't have to think for himself. You must take care of the kingdom," the princess reminded him.

"I can enter the Tower of Destiny and reach the top floor. Then I will step into the Ancestral Portal and leave the kingdom behind," the man looked at the princess and finished his confession. "No one has come back from the other side yet. That's the rub."

"You can't just take things like that," the vampiress shook her head.

"I'm new in the city. Koreima, you don't want to understand a simple fact. I've been to places that are different from your world. To me, your world is just a stopover in an interesting place. As soon as I lose interest in Grossroads I will move on," Raven looked into the girl's eyes and confessed the main thing. "I'm beginning to lose interest in your city. The number of unpleasant experiences is beginning to prevail over the small fraction of sympathetic moments."

The girls were not expecting such an abrupt and bold confession. Koreima suddenly realized that this unusual young man was capable of disappearing from the city at any moment. He could already have retired to his castle at any moment! Apart from Swordsman Den, no one has access to Zangar.

"I will speak to the council of elders of the Kor clan," the vampiress looked at her apprentice. "The lesson is over. I have important business to attend to."

Elina waved her hand and turned to the baron.

"I want you to take me with you on a guild mission," said the princess.

"Why would I do that? You're inexperienced and could get yourself killed. I don't want any trouble with your parents. Get their permission and join any guild in the city. Then I can invite a colleague into the proceedings."

"I'm not allowed to join a guild. It would be an insult to the other guilds. But I am not allowed to join all guilds at once. Princesses don't join guilds," Elina sighed.

"Even princesses can't join all guilds at once," Dan smiled. "Nothing is interesting or fun about fighting monsters. I'm sure your training with Algrin is much more useful and interesting."

"Just one training session a day. I want more," the princess resented.

"Everybody wants something more," Dan sighed. He looked at Koreima. The sly vampiress was in no hurry to leave the room. "I'm going to the Snotty Mouse establishment. I feel like taking a break from visiting the castle."

Dan wanted to go back to his cozy room and take up blacksmithing. He enjoyed practicing the profession. Even in this business, the phantom's summoning was beneficial. Tom's experience always added crumbs to the young man's growing skill.

The man left the room and the girls hurriedly expressed their outrage at his behavior.

"He's not brave and he's not a hero. Doesn't want to invite me to fight monsters," the princess threatened her fist toward the door.

"He visited Zangar in vain," Koreima agreed. "It will lead to more trouble in the city. And the human has made it clear that he is not interested in problems."

"Can the Baron just go to the Tower and leave forever?" Elina could not believe such an act on the part of the young man.

"People are strange creatures. Dan told the truth. He could leave Grossroads at any time. A sass and a fool," sighed the vampiress. She nodded to her apprentice and immediately used her aristocrat ring to get into Cor's castle. The human gave the vampires a serious subject to contemplate.

Dan and Tom took a little time to do some serious contemplating. Before leaving the castle, the friends took time to talk about new problems. Tom didn't like the fact that they were now obligated to deal with economic and political matters. Dan also didn't want to engage in uninteresting nonsense. The friends couldn't get any information about the properties of the various mines and farms. It turned out that one player could not do such things.

Players understood the meaning of the words of the ancient gnome. Access to the mines will have to be given to the ancient organizations of the city. In return, the organizations would give gold and useful favors.

The problem was that the friends had enough funds for development. They might have been interested in special skills, but they didn't have access to those skills.

Tom offered to start the game under new conditions. To take full control of character development, one must play at the highest level available in Grossroads. Level 19 proved to be a common occurrence in the city. 430,000 experience points proved to be an easily attainable resource in the new world. Dan was willing to pay 50 gold coins for half a million experience points.

As a result of the conversation, the friends once again cursed the persistent gnome who interferes with the peaceful play of the man. They decided to use the services of the Lord of Fear. If the gamers are not satisfied with the city's offer they will refuse to resolve the issue with Zangar Castle. The Lord of Fear is not happy and all issues with the castle are off the table! Does anyone want to meet the dragon? Viscount Zangar can grant access to the castle walls. The most cunning and greedy citizens can go and try to deal with the ancient monster.

The most important point became completely clear to the friends. With each passing day, the number of problems grew. They needed to prepare to leave Grossroads at any moment. Outside of this amazing place, there are many new places of interest.