Princess & Cyberserk

Features of Duels

Dan suddenly realized that he needed to finish the question with those who had expressed an interest in duels. Tom didn't explain much to him. The clone spent time in the library and read the features of the place. Dan had gained some of his clone's knowledge after the summoning but didn't understand anything important.

Now the young man was preparing to have a duel with his new opponents. He was interested in these swordmasters. He was interested in the consequences after their death. The man did not doubt his victory. It would be the killing of a strong opponent. No dueling.  The young man cast the Walk of Caution spell and prepared to face his first opponent. He thought he should start with the elf.

Tom walked out of the establishment and shook his head. Dan disappeared. At that moment the young man cast the Phantom spell and the clone appeared beside him. There was a sword lying on the ground. Tom nodded and picked up the weapon. Then the phantom also became invisible and began to wait for his opponent.

The elf stepped outside and was immediately attacked by the clone. A flash of scarlet glimmered and the blow was delivered to the unprotected part of the body. The elf was a skilled master and instantly put on his armor.

Dan Raven summoned a new phantom and thought that now the killing would take a few extra strikes. The light of the patron's skill application flashed before him. The clone struck and became visible to the elf's attack. The master reacted quickly and pierced the phantom's body. Tom wasted no time in equipping himself. The elf's sword struck the body precisely. But it didn't matter now. In the very next moment, the new phantom cast an invisibility spell and bent down to pick up the sword from the ground. Then the clone rushed to attack.

There weren't many townspeople on the street. Some realized that something strange was going on. Not everyone realized there was a duel going on. The Community had never seen a duel like this. One duelist was receiving blow after blow. Some of the townsfolk saw what was going on and hurried on past them.

By the time two vampires emerged from the establishment, the elf was already dead. In a couple of dozen seconds, Dan managed to summon ten clones and destroyed the ancient creature's health reserve.

Tom hit the first vampire and at that moment the rivals behaved differently.

One vampire instantly showed his unwillingness to participate in the duel. The vampire's belongings fell on the stones of the street. The clone and the young man paid no attention to this. Again and again, Dan summoned the phantom to strike at his opponent. The vampire tried to repel the attacks and performed skillful swordsmanship techniques. But the invisible clone behaved like an experienced combatant. It didn't matter where to strike. The main thing was to hit the opponent's body. And the vampire took damage from his invisible opponent.

When this vampire died, there was nothing left on the ground. The victim died and disappeared to be reborn in a special room of the vampire castle.

Tom approached the belongings of the vampire who had fled the scene of the duel. He knew that the invisible Dan was standing nearby.

"I wonder what valuables the deceased had. Fleeing the scene of a duel completely strips you of all your belongings. The first vampire had nothing of value," the clone remarked.

Dan tapped his friend on the shoulder and appeared beside him. He was looking at several artifacts with a smile.

"These are level thirty-nine things. These are valuable artifacts. But I'm curious, too. One of the vampires had something very valuable and decided to keep his item in his inventory," the young man said. "Is there something like our valuable rings in this place?"

"There are many interesting things in this world," the clone agreed. "Do you understand the part about death? I'm talking about moving to a new world."

Dan Raven froze. He didn't understand his friend's words. The clone shook his head.

"I think you need to get up to level 39. Then I'll become a level 39 phantom. You'll be able to get more information and understanding from me."

"No! Nineteenth-level monsters are weak and excellent opponents to develop our mastery of techniques. There's no need to rush it. I'm ready to feel like a dumbass. What did you learn about moving?"

The clone snorted with laughter.

"Lazy and cowardly. Still looking for the easy way out. Many think that Death is the transition to the new world. There are no towers of destiny in this world. But sometimes the inhabitants disappear from the world. They are not reborn. Many believe that Death gives entrance to the new world."

"Reincarnation? That's strange. I hadn't thought of that," Dan admitted.

"It's not reincarnation. It's just speculation. Players come into this world. They spend a few years perfecting their skills. But then everyone is confronted with the fact that there is no transition to a new place. Everyone is limited to level 39. And everyone understands that there should be an opportunity to get new degrees of perfection. Dueling is normal. It's a way to die with dignity and beauty. It's a chance to get to a new place for perfection," the clone said. He looked at several of the citizens and grinned. "Only a duel with you has nothing beautiful or dignified about it. You've shown that you're willing to kill but not to duel."

"I don't have time for all sorts of beautiful competition. Besides, my skills have dropped very low," laughed Dan.

Tom quickly tossed a set of valuables over to his friend.

"That's enough dueling for today. These gentlemen have realized that we are not interested to deal with. Let's get to the dungeon. We need to develop our skills," the clone suggested.

Dan nodded his head and walked in the direction of the adventurer's guild. He felt good about himself. He didn't have to hide and no one was paying attention to him. Dan waited for outraged townsfolk of the vampire kind or an elf to show up at any moment. But no one disturbed him.

At the guild building, Dan asked that Tom take the assignment. It turned out to be possible. The strange creature again demonstrated its mysterious nature. Tom did not go through any registrations and could still use the services of the new city.

The friends went to the new dungeon. They were not worried about the princess. Elina warned that she would take care of her quest to establish the kingdom.

The dungeon was a couple of hours from Community Hill. The friends were happy to walk at a rapid pace so they could begin their training as soon as possible. In one pass, they could only develop the skill of the Cut of Kornelius by one percent. That was very little! Dan thought it was impossible to spend three months perfecting one skill. He had five skills that he liked and were undoubtedly useful in destroying monsters. The wizardry of magic as a weapon was of no interest to the young man. Tom was frustrated but calmer. He felt there was no point in worrying about the demands of the new world. Need to spend a couple of years? Fine. They'll do the training for a couple of years. During that time there would be something in this world that would be interesting to them.

Dungeons were not interesting. But the swordsmen were happy to go about their usual business. Fighting monsters seemed like a pleasant pastime for young swordsmen. There was no question of mortal injury. No one worried about death that would force them to be in an unknown world for a few days. Dan fought against goblins who suited him completely as opponents.

Monsters that had a human-like build often used conventional weapons. Goblins did not wear heavy armor. In the tunnels of the dungeon, swordsmen encountered warriors who preferred light and medium armor. Archers and wizards gave the usual trouble. Such monsters had to be approached quickly to impose a melee. Assassins and melee masters used a variety of magic to weaken humans. The goblins wielded different magic with equal skill. Slowing and Speeding were not the main obstacles. Many goblins possessed the magic of the Water School. Sometimes goblins managed to apply healing to themselves and attacked people with renewed vigor.

Dan wasn't worried and was happy to engage in a fair fight. He was too superior to his opponents and used his speed to defeat the next monster.

The hobbits were around and contributed their share to the fun. These warriors were happily wasting their supply of stones and were unhappy that they were not doing enough damage.

Dan had already realized that these brave creatures were only of a supporting nature. The mage who created the ring of My Precious counted only on the spell Sacrifice. As mana regenerators, the hobbits were very important. But as fighters, they were only supporting functions. Each hobbit dealt a small amount of damage of forty points. Monsters had good defense and such damage could not harm goblins, who wore medium armor. Only the magic skill Lucky Strike increased the damage, and then hobbits annoyed enemies. Otherwise, these short warriors diverted the monsters' attention away from their main opponents.

After a few hours of passing through the dungeon, the friends encountered the main boss. They looked at each other and Tom laughed.

"I've had enough duels for today. Let's try to destroy this boss quickly. If we're lucky we'll get a particularly valuable trophy."

Dan nodded his head and held out his sword to the clone. Killing bosses had long ago become the most uninteresting part of his life.