Cyberserk

Chapter 35 - New Opportunities and old enemy

Dan was on his way to the Temple to receive an opportunity for the Rebirth. The all-important Registration procedure was over. Now the player could think about the information the clone had learned.

For a moment Dan was confused that the phantom didn't join him. But then the player thought that it was not necessary to disturb the experienced soldier with the presence of a strange creature. No need to demonstrate their abilities in the territory of the most important place in the city for human players.

The young man walked slowly towards a low building with a beautiful light green dome. Dan pondered the news he would face and live with for a long time.

The most important change in the Game was the possibility of Rebirth. Death was no longer a threat to players. After death, the player would lose 1 level and leave at the place of death all the belongings from the inventory.

Do you want your belongings to be safe? Keep your supplies in a chest in the inn room or the bank!

An important point was that the player's equipment, which he had placed on his body, was not lost as a result of his death. Dan could not worry about the safety of his secret precious. On the other hand, stealing is the oldest bad profession. Only the artifact's Binding to a Character property provides a guarantee.

Karma did not go anywhere and remained to serve the purpose of limiting violence. But it became possible to carry out a daily action of violence in the city.

Players gained the ability to play a Duel. The winner received all of the loser's stock of experience. Loser did not lose a level, but lost items from the inventory. Each player could duel once a day with one citizen who corresponds to the level of the aggressor. Refusing a duel reduces the city's reputation by 1 point.

Reputation! It has become a new and necessary condition for successful play in Grossroads. Reputation was necessary for most contact with the citizens.

Gold. In the city, players encountered new opportunities. The player's store became a vendor of low-quality, unassuming goods.

The craftsmen of Grossroads traded items that gave extra attributes and properties to the character! Any novice student craftsman could make the cheapest item with a +1 attribute property. A cheap ring cost 2 gold coins. The novice Cook could bake a loaf of bread that added +1 to the Body for 4 hours. A loaf of bread cost 1 gold coin.

Players rushed out to search for gold. It turned out that killing most monsters did not bring trophies in the form of coins! Monsters left raw materials and ingredients for the crafters. But people had a limited right to legally trade in the city of Grossroads! Every citizen was part of the Guild. Do you want to trade? Join the Merchants' Guild and forget about playing as a warrior or mage.

Once you have joined the Adventurer's Guild you may not join any other Guilds. A warrior is not a merchant! A warrior is a fighter against monsters. A character can learn one craft as a hobby. The player can become a blacksmith and make his weapons and equipment. Warrior can save well on repairing equipment. But a member of the Adventurer's Guild is not allowed to sell his craft to other citizens.

There was an Auction in Grossroads! What's a game without an auction? Rats in the Sewers and Auction is a classic of any game with sword and magic elements.

At this time, players did not have enough reputation to put their resources in the auction. And in the future, the auction did not allow cheating and anonymous trading. Any item made by a craftsman is branded by the maker. You can't auction off an item if you made it. You can find yourself a trusted middleman with great skill in Merchanting. But if you are a warrior you can't trade like a craftsman.

Dan frowned. He and the phantom were planning to start a successful business. They had an epic Drawing! But in this nightmare place, there were limits to enrichment all around.

People did not put up with the orders of the Grossroads and immediately began looking for a quick way to gain power and independence. Most of the players reached the city in small consolidated groups that began to merge into in-game Clans and Player Guilds.

The reaction of the citizens was swift and harsh. The citizens were well aware of the state of affairs in their city. Members of the new Guilds and Clans lost their reputations! Some players were forced to kill rabbits for two days to regain the minimum level of reputation needed to enter Grossroads.

Tom heard a lot of angry words about Gold and Reputation and the nasty citizens.

Dan came to the Temple with the face of a man who is unhappy with his fate and expects nothing good from life.

"Young Dan, I am pleased to welcome you to the Temple of All Protectors," the short, fat priest smiled as if he had met a beloved relative. "I see the stamp of care on your face. Rejoice, young Dan. The temple is ready to pay for your future Rebirth! We know how hard the first steps of a novice warrior are."

Dan Raven smiled. He liked the man. The priest had a pleasant voice and didn't seem like an insincere charlatan.

The young man did not examine the priest's face closely. Suddenly lines of information appeared above the character's head. Dan was pleased to see for the first time in his life the name of the citizen and his level.

[Karl. Priest of the Temple of All Protectors. Level 19]

"I am grateful to you, worthy Karl. I am not rich, but I am willing to pay a fee of 1 gold to pay homage to the Patrons," Den Raven was easily able to express his respect in the intricate language of a noble warrior.

[Reputation with the city of Grossroads +1. Reputation with the Temple of All Patrons + 1]

The new information cooled the solemnity of the situation a bit.

Dan held out a coin to the priest. The young man had had time to look at the coins long ago and he liked them very much. All the coins were of excellent quality. Coins were smooth and with a magnificent pattern on the sides, which made any sentient person genuinely feel greedy and unwilling to part with them.

Priest Karl took the coin and asked the question.

"Would young Dan like to donate to the treasury of the Temple of All Protectors?"

Dan knew perfectly well that he had only three gold coins left. One coin he had to give to Snotty Mouse for renting a room for the night. Ahead of joining the Guild. The player didn't know where to get the 8 coins to become a respected part of the citizens of Grossroads.

"Unfortunately I can't donate to the Temple's treasury right now," the player answered honestly.

The priest smiled understandingly and stepped away from the young man. The game responded more severely.

[Reputation with the Temple of All Protectors - 1. Current reputation level: 0. Neutral]

Dan Raven shook his head and wanted to leave this place. It was as if he'd heard Tom say that they could only rely on themselves in this world. What are these Mighty Protectors who resent a poor young warrior?

The player walked out of the Temple. Dan wanted to leave the palace grounds quickly and meet the clone. Until they joined the Adventurer's Guild, even wearing armor can cause a negative reaction from nervous citizens. They urgently need to get eight gold coins!

"Hello again dude, Dirty Mouse Lover," the young man was met at the entrance to the Temple by a familiar player who was rude to Snif the mousy. "Congratulations on your registration. We will now celebrate the event. Darth Vader challenge this sucker to a Duel."

"Dan, I challenge you to a Duel," came Darth Vader's mocking voice.

[Player Darth Vader challenges you to a duel. Do you accept? Yes/No.]

Dan Raven looked at the two men who had decided to ruin his day. The rude man turned out to be a level 12 Swordsman named Cool MacLeod. The challenge was made by a level 10 warrior named Darth Vader.

The young man sighed and decided to decline the challenge. He couldn't foolishly risk it. In his inventory were an epic drawing and a supply of valuable ingredients from two dungeons.

"Hey, dudes!" Tom came out from around the corner of the Temple and winked at Dan. "Take the challenge. Ice Arrows Storm and finish it off with your sword."

"Who are you? Why no level?" Cool MacLeod looked with interest at the unknown type who was in no way defined by the game system.

"I accept the challenge," Dan smiled. He was curious to test his abilities.

The question of confrontation with strong enemies they had long ago calculated. The friends concluded that the magic ring gave too powerful a boost to magical attacks.

A level 9 Ice arrow cost 3 mana and did 10 points of damage. With a 16% chance, the spell did 20 points of damage. An Ice arrow froze an enemy and interrupted enemy movement. A Piece of Ice cost 6 mana points and dealt 12 points of damage. Dan had 50 mana points. The arrow cooldown was less than a second and the spell could not miss! Archery in this game required mastery and practice. The magic always hit the target the wizard wanted to hit.

The guys knew that Dan was capable of doing about 180 points of damage in 14 seconds. A normal player would spend at least 3 points in his body over 9 levels. If you take away more than half of the opponent's health it would be a good base to win a sword fight.  In contrast to all players in the world, Tom and Dan practiced often. They didn't care about Karma's demand that they not hurt each other. The young man no longer felt like a dumb newbie who was picking up a sword for the first time in his life.

Dan looked at the new gift from the game that he received after registering. Accepting the patronage brought a visible effect to the player's skill collection.

[Rage of Ars.

Level 3.

Required level: 10

Requirement: Swordsman

Mana cost: 0. Applying the spell adds +32 points of damage to the attack. Increases attack power by 320%. A 320% weakening of Defense for 2.7 seconds.

Cooldown: 20.2 hours]

Suddenly Dan was in a new area. There were stone steps on two sides on different flanks. Raven stood on a strip of dense earth. In the distance stood his opponent. In the sky, he could see the timer counting down the last seconds before the fight began.