Chapter 14


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    The system knows how to persuade.


    It just turned off the display of the return path. The tab became inactive as if hinting at the consequences of failure. Out of sheer stubbornness, I tried to poke somewhere, yelled "abort!" in different voices, and generally behaved indecently. Then I sat down on a fallen tree and wondered.


    No, on the one hand, I don''t have to go anywhere. I''ll stay here, settle in, get naturalized. I already have a status, and I''ll go around the local towns and sell small things. And in three days, on the fourth, in strict accordance with the contract, I will be disconnected from the system, I was warned. Although I have a head and it even works, I will not disappear. But anyway...


    I got up, sighed, and glanced at the description of the quest. I was supposed to walk through some strange places, and the recommendation was to button my cape and raise my hood. So I did. And I poked resolutely at the screen.


    Warranty is connected.


    I didn''t get any calmer, and I didn''t feel any difference. Maybe, though, if I turned it off, I would know right away. But no, not this time.


    Point the scanner at the nearest bushes and follow the indicated path.


    Picked up the phone, caught the bushes with the lens; the app, blinking, drew the trail. How did delivery guys walk in the days when phones were wired? Did they hold on to the wire? Or were there none at all? That inter-world couriers have only now appeared, I don''t believe. It''s more likely that they just had different names. The Abstineсу, he''s a Warlock, so there could have been.


    Something was tingling in my head, just like that, on the very edge. At first I tried to catch the thought, then I pretended not to be interested in it at all, and when the fugitive froze, I thought it over sharply.


    Damn it.


    I am a "Messenger" of the fifth level.


    Messenger of the damn Delivery System!


    She is not human, she has no names, she has terms!


    I am a messenger. That''s my status, I chose it myself. I used to be a "courier" and lived peacefully, but when I changed it to something more resounding, everything started to turn around! Or did it? No, that''s when I was given a system housing with a surprise, and in general, all hell began. And after all, I could have guessed something when I looked at my colleagues - the "sage", for example, sitting and sharing his wisdom. Instead of wandering around in the wilderness! Or Brute, he''s a "slacker" in his class, isn''t he? That is the reason to sit and do nothing - strict compliance with the title. It''s not clear with "beginner succu," but here I may just not know something.


    Thirteen steps along the ridge, drive right down the slope...


    Yeah, it''s right there, in that cleft between the dunes.


    I looked around, saw myself in the middle of the desert, standing on a sand dune, shrugged, and began to count my steps - one, two, three...


    Why does the System need Succubi? Sub - under, cubare - to lie down. If my Latin is correct... Cursed be classical education forever and ever, with its bloody Latin and Greek!


    Now, what was I talking about?


    Follow the dried up stream to the fallen rocks.


    It''s a rough terrain here. The sun burns with such force that it almost drives me into the sand. Aha - did my colleagues know the nature of the names? No, I could be wrong, of course, but something tells me they did. Classic succubi are genderless, and Tomboy... she''s either a girl or a boy. Who knows what she was before she came into the System? Or what.


    Wait out a gust of dark wind.


    I leaned against the boulder and immediately jumped away - it was hot, the bastard! It even burned through my sleeve! And was it just me, or did that whirlwind really slow down as it flew by?


    Move on, trying to look up at the sky.


    With a doubtful look at the trail, though flat but still with stones, I moved.


    So, I''m a "messenger" and I''m being sent. What do I know about messengers? Well, the first and textbook one is "angelos," which is exactly what it means. Somehow I''m wrong, though; they''re supposed to be sexless, hairy anorexics with wings if you believe the artists. Or incomprehensible crap of ineffable appearance, if the primary sources are to be believed. May be invisible. Can be transported instantly. Can see things that aren''t there. Capable of destroying cities and peoples... It''s a work in progress, but I don''t think it''s that complicated. After another year of work, I''ll save up points and buy a flaming sword at the Auction.


    There are also angels who have fallen...


    However, I may not be Abrahamic kind, right?


    Okay, to hell with the mystique.


    Buzz.


    Try to think less about evil forces


    Okay, fuck the mistique.


    A messenger is also an ambassador. A power too great to interfere. Since there are so few of us, the work is not for everyone, and our work is dangerous. What does that mean? That we can demand higher wages!


    I listened, but the phone pretended not to overhear my thoughts. O-ok.


    Destination reached.


    I wiped the sweat from my face and wished I could pull my shirt off and wiggle it around to cool out my belly, so I turned my head. Apparently, the "point" was those rocks over there? They are very different from the rest, standing like... like... Menhirs? Stonehenge, only ten times bigger, half the stones fell and some kind of grove growing inside. It''s the kind of African vegetation where there are a lot of branches and not much greenery.


    And among the menhirs people...


    Shaking a drop of sweat off my nose and wiping my face once again, I regretted the two half-liters I had sold at such a bad time, and moved forward over the rocky ground.


    There was a movement among the rocks, some shouting and waving of hands. I looked around: the surface was as flat as a table, with stones, sparse stiff bushes up to my waist, and gray-brown earth. No grass, no life, only a haze of hot air rising. Apparently, it was from this haze that I emerged.


    "Over here! Come to us!"


    Just to be sure, I pointed scanner and looked closely. No, they were ordinary people, and they were normal. I was looking at the scanner for a dozen or twenty people, but there were half a hundred of them, and they all looked just right. Their heads are wrapped in rags, they keep in the shade, and the lady over there has an umbrella made of a jacket on a stick.


    Well, where do we start?


    I stopped before I reached the rocks, about ten paces away.


    Even in that office, where I brought twenty free pizzas, I was not greeted as cheerfully.


    "Come here, by the stones! It''s not safe there!"


    I looked around at the man in his forties in a suit, who was screaming and moved toward him.


    "Hello!"


    It is mandatory, the instructions say that any communication begins with a greeting to the client.


    "Who ordered delivery?"


    People even froze somehow. I understand - they are clearly not here of their own free will, fell into an inter-world hole. We may be somewhere in inland Yemen or around the Sahara, but something tells me it''s unreal. And it''s all the more unrealistic looking for the average courier here. I would have suspected something amiss.


    "I did!"


    An adult of my age jumped up to the older one: "I ordered it! Are you from D.S.? Delivery service?"


    "System. not service."


    "That''s right! That''s me!"


    For some reason, I didn''t want to go into the circle of stones. But they certainly didn''t want to get out of it.


    "So, what''s the stuff, where do I take it?"


    The older one suddenly coughed: "Young man, can you tell us where we are?"


    People were getting closer to us, crowding the aisles, looking at me eagerly, whispering. So, at a glance, there were about a hundred people. And completely different - men, women, children of different ages. Just that there were no old people, but everyone was different.


    "By the way, could you do one thing?"


    He spoke with some uncertainty, though it was clear from his voice and figure that this one was used to leading. He reminded me of one of my father''s pals.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Which one?"


    "Come in here, behind the rocks."


    That sounded pretty ominous. I was suddenly reminded of desert spirits luring caravans.


    "I don''t feel like it. Would you tell me why first?"


    The people whispered and the leader calmly explained: "We can''t go out for them."


    Indeed, the leader. People looked over at him, but no one interfered, no one interrupted, although the "client" over there was almost jumping with impatience.


    "You can''t do it at all?"


    He grinned wryly: "If we have to, we can. But we know for sure that it''s not safe on the other side. Suddenly you''re standing there quietly, like this," he emphasized in his voice. "Doesn''t affect you."


    So they think I''m the demon, and I suspect them. What to do? Considering I was sent here by the System... although I''ve been sent to the inadequates before. This one can pretend, too.


    Well, seven woes, one answer. Two, to be exact.


    Poke, poke...


    The exit point is behind me, and the entry point is a meter from the main one. They last about a minute, enough just in case..


    Step, step, step-another drop of sweat hung on my nose. People looked at me tensely, and I looked at them. The usual ones, no fangs, no claws... that would calm me down. No titles, nothing. Step, step...


    "Well, as you can see."


    I stopped exactly above the point of entry and pretended it was nothing. I even stroked the hot, wind-scraped stone, showing my materiality. The leader suddenly took a deep breath:


    "Welcome... how do I address you?"


    "Marius."


    "Welcome, Marius!"


    People came to me, and they didn''t know why. Some tried to pat me on the shoulder, some asked obvious nonsense, as if I could know how "Lydochka" was and why she was not here. Finally, the leader somehow very quickly quieted everyone, the people crowded among the stones dispersed, giving me space, and I was finally able to talk to the client.


    "Here, look - a "nourishing dew"! The guy shook a bottle from the pills. "We''re sitting here without any food, so we can only eat bark or rocks. We try to drink dew in the morning, but it''ll satisfy our hunger till the next sunrise. Collected, and then suddenly the phone worked and offered to download this very "DS". Nothing else works, but the delivery works! Can you believe it?!"


    I looked at the leader, who put his hand on my client''s shoulder and began to tell me in order: "Five days ago we woke up here in the grove. A hundred and forty people, then. Maybe a little more, we didn''t start counting right away. The last thing I remember was getting in the car to go to work."


    "And I was on my way to Roman''s for a party!"


    Some began to express their options, but the Leader reassured them: "Yes, yes, everyone has their own memories. Totally ordinary. What''s unusual is that I remember myself twenty years older than I look now."


    His voice was muffled, but distinctly commanding. And even now he smelled a little like a man''s perfume, though his clothes were obviously frayed.


    "Then a moment of darkness and here we are, some under a tree, some by a menhir."


    I just nodded silently. There was nothing to say for now.


    "We started exploring the place and found out an unpleasant peculiarity - apart from trees, inedible leaves and needles and stones, there is nothing here. We tried digging, but the soil was dry up to three meters."


    How did they dig - with their hands? The people listened with silent attention, without interrupting.


    "We walked beyond the line of menhirs, but it was deserted, no shelter. In the morning Alexei discovered that before dawn the patterned stones were covered with dew."


    "I licked it, man!"


    "Someone was trying to get behind the rocks; how many made it before we noticed what was happening is unknown. But we definitely lost a dozen or two."


    "I have a solar charger, but it doesn''t work from this sun. Everything is not at all what it seems!"


    The leader nodded again, confirming: "And then three hours ago, Alexei decided for some reason to take a picture of the few drops he was able to collect."


    "And then, suddenly, the Internet will start working!"


    "After installing the application we were able to put these drops up for auction. The lot was immediately purchased, after which we were asked to wait for a messenger..."


    I interrupted: "Courier or messenger? This is important!"


    Leader and Alexei looked at each other, and the younger one thoughtfully stretched out: "Kind of like a messenger? I was surprised, I thought it was an auto-translation."


    It didn''t get any clearer.


    "How much were you offered for the goods?"


    "Well, we agreed right away, we got three coins for the vial. I thought that there would be a chat with the buyer, and we could signal our own, but no."


    I pulled out my phone and looked at the price of the "quest". Three coins were six hundred points, and I was promised four thousand for delivery alone, plus double for five days. If I grind "E" rank quest, I''ll make an extra fifty thousand in that time. If the courier''s share is almost two orders of magnitude more than what the collectors were paid, how much will the buyer get? And how much will the System rake in?


    "And where are the goods?"


    The goods were presented at once. A oblong plastic bottle of pills, in which there was splashing on the bottom.


    Water of Life (32 ml).


    Saturation 22/1


    Without thinking, I opened the auction, paid the minimum session.


    "Water of Life" was a fairly popular ingredient, but the price depended on saturation. The most expensive lots showed "thirty to one" saturation, here it is still less. Not epic, but a top-of-the-line blue. Bought at three coins.


    Someone is sniping the auction, I bet.


    "So why don''t you go beyond the menhirs?"


    The people murmured: "Beasts. There are big ones, they have paws like that, made of smoke or something."


    "And they eat people."


    "One and a half meters in the withers, skinny and unearthly. They''re fuming."


    "And they''re afraid to go over the rocks!"


    "There are also small, knee-deep ones."


    "Local jackals, also made of smoke! If you kill them, they melt!"


    Leader, after letting everyone talk, added: "Then the big ones somehow turned into the ones they ate. We didn''t realize right away, they were trying to lure us out where we couldn''t see anymore."


    "It was like something pushed me - don''t go! And this fool came along. The beast was showing her the water, you know! And then, bang, her guts just spilled out on the ground."


    "But the big ones do not go into the circle of stones. They don''t even dare to come close, although when they caught up with me they almost broke in."


    "We threw rocks, but they are the size of tigers! The little ones are cowardly, but we have to take turns sleeping at night."


    Finally, everyone fell silent. The silence didn''t last long, and some woman half-demanding, half-pitying asked: "Will you help us?"


    Leader raised his hand, restraining everyone, and asked himself: "Do you have a way out of here?"


    "Get you out?"


    He nodded silently. I can get through, the system will pave the way. But will others be able to walk it? And a hundred more people, without courier''s capes, without weapons, without artifacts, in the desert?


    "Let you pass the letters with me. I''ll be able to deliver them for sure..."


    "You''ll get us out of here!"


    Some man jumped up to me and tried to grab my hood.


    "Have a good day!"


    Poke, poke, step.


    I listened as people murmured, someone cursed. From fifty paces I could hear, though not really see. Shit, the goods were left at the vendor''s place. I have to get it, or I''ll stay here.


    "Hey!"


    They finally spotted me, and the people took their places in the openings between the menhirs again, but no one was waving their hands. I sighed, and walked back, stopping ten paces away.


    "I have a delivery order, so I''m leaving now anyway. The System will fine me if I stay."


    Leader turned to his men and began to explain something convincingly. He even shouted at someone. Finally, the noise died down.


    "Okay, how do we proceed?"


    "Collect more dew, do not spend system points. Create an order on the bulletin board for "Messenger Marius", that''s me. There will be an order - they will pave the way for me to you. I''ll come, we''ll earn some coins, and then we''ll see. Why don''t you prepare the letters now..."


    Buzz.


    Dear Messenger!


    System reminds you that deliveries must be made on time.


    Showing the phone, I explained: "The bosses are nervous. I''m leaving. Letters next time... Oh, and here''s another thing - you''ll be safer that way."


    With a sigh, I walked over to the rocks, took the bag off my back, and began to pull the "weapons" out of it. Apparently, these had been collected in the lairs of the monsters and belonged to those who had failed the monster. My idea, i.e., trading in heroic antiques at the Comicon, the junk was appropriate, but Alex trying to put it on standing among the rocks didn''t look like an adventurer - more like something out of a post-ap B movie barbarian. Considering that the armor had already failed once to withstand a mortal blow, he shouldn''t have counted on it much. I did, however, have spearheads, knives, some kind of weights on chains, and bits of armor. If the police had caught me with it, there might have been trouble. But they would be good for defending themselves against jackals.


    "Have a..."


    "Wait!"


    Leader stepped beyond the line of stones, pulling his business card from his pocket as he went.


    "Here, take it."


    I just put it in my pocket. The phone buzzed again, and I felt worse by the minute. As a matter of fact, even though Leader was squinting in the sun, he wasn''t sweating much.


    "Have a... Goodbye. Collect the dew, create an order, I''ll use it to find you!"


    "We''ll be waiting!"


    Make your way to the black rock, staying to the left.


    Poke, poke, step... I don''t have time to stomp my feet.


    The way back merged into some kind of stuffy, crushing nightmare. I worked off every point of that reward, watered it down with sweat, and cursed the System at least twenty times. Twice I was led to the shore of some lake or sea, but the waters were so unnatural in the color that the thought of "refreshing myself" never even occurred to me. I walked on the sand, on the rocks, on the sand again. I climbed over the dried corpses of trees, walked between the huge skulls of unknown horned creatures, oriented myself on strange objects, passed through mirages. Finally, a familiar, and more importantly, moist scent wafted into my face.


    After standing there, breathing in the almost wet air with pleasure, I looked around.


    "Hey, you, fatty! Where are you going, eh?! Get out of there, ara-ara!"


    What followed was an untranslatable play on words. I smiled at the mustachioed road worker and stepped off the not scaldingly hot, but only pleasantly warm strip of freshly rolled asphalt and looked around.


    The phone showed that I was ten minutes away from the base. The first thing I did, of course, was not to hand over the goods, but to do something else entirely:


    "Mineral water! Without gas! Two... three bottles! Which one is healthier in the heat?"


    Would I ever go out on another shift without a water supply? Never!


    I always knew that I was a very strong-willed man. I didn''t suck up the water in one gulp. I took it in tiny, unbearably small sips. And when I couldn''t stand it, I just poured another bottle over my head, blissfully feeling the trickles roll down my cheeks, my back, and my chest. I just looked at the giggling girls who were filming it with a smile and turned away. What did they know about happiness?


    I sat down on the bench and threw open my cloak and sighed contentedly. The sky above me was so fresh!


    The storekeeper in the seventh hall took the box and carried it somewhere into the mysterious depths. I looked around the empty room and sat down, reaching for the water again. It was already bubbling inside, and I should be careful, but I only take one, small sip!


    Of course, I was immediately ruined for all the fun.


    Task completed! You get a bonus - double the reward for system tasks for 120 hours!


    That "120 hours!" didn''t sound right. I work during the day, don''t talk to me about 24 hours shifts!


    You get a reward.


    A semblance of a game drum flashed.


    Not new assignments! Not new assignments!


    Discounts in the System bonus store!


    I exhaled. It wasn''t as good as it could have been, but it wasn''t as bad. If the System gives me a discount, it means I should arm myself or protect myself urgently. I would earn points, the rates would double.


    I was so wasted in the chair that I couldn''t bring myself to get up. My eyes flashed back to memories, then to living whirlwinds, then to the eyes of all those men in the menhir ring. Would I have walked away from them so easily if not for the guarantee? Would I have made it home if I had lingered there? The System knows.


    Already in the room, after half an hour of showering, holding aromatic tea of the brand "two bags per mug," I tried to remember what I had forgotten to do? My legs, and in general everything ached so that my greed, which had yelled about the fact that I could do a couple of simple quests, was embarrassingly silent. That''s good, or strangle the hell out of it. I''ll buy on auction incarnate and strangle. Only what did I forget?


    I couldn''t help but look around in my bag and cape, rummaging through my pockets. I stared at the business card. Yeah, that''s right.


    I didn''t call, but first I looked up the name on the Internet.


    We regret to inform you... a talented scientist and organizer have passed away... the staff mourns...


    Leader, professor, and so on. In the photo in the note, Leader was indeed much older, but it was definitely him. And the news was exactly five days ago.


    I turned my phone off, first I put it under my pillow, then I took it out again, and opened the app. Now the phone was on the table, and the business card was on top.


    The score counter fluttered, added a point, half a minute later, two more, then one more. In ten minutes, the score was three times more than that of the umrun who had given the tips.


    Of course, this one has fallen into a deep unreal.


    So what am I supposed to do about it now?


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