World of Karik: A Game of Villains 42 Nightmares

That night I woke up from a nightmare. It suddenly dawned on me that in addition to a powerful weapon, Petrovich received a bunch of levels for killing the Earth Dragon. This meant even more stats and, accordingly, a bigger gap between him and everyone else. Still, the fact that the lancer was able to summon and kill a legendary monster was impressive. As usual, it turned out that the one who possessed information was almost always one step ahead of everyone else. I focused on my development, while someone else tried to learn more about the world around them and make it work in their favor. Which one of us was the winner in the end? You couldn't tell right away.

Anyway, Petrovich had a solid plan, while mine was not yet complete. I was sure that the lancer would somehow try to restore the stat points spent on the fire potion. It was certainly good to have such a weapon, but the lack of attributes in the long run could prove deadly. I could see why those dragons were rarely hunted. For beginners, legendary monsters were invincible; and for those who had weapons and strength, it was easier and more profitable to fight them in the distant forest. That would net more experience, and one could get something really valuable. This way of leveling-up, of course, came at a much greater cost than following the path of the Reapers and their followers. So what Petrovich did was risky indeed, but everything had gone. If gaining the lead was what he wanted, he undoubtedly succeeded.

As Dmitri had suddenly said, even Igor was not that crazy. I thought that the blacksmith started to admire our leader after that night; he even told me the details about what had happened back then. As it turned out, if 13 squad members were all at the base at the same time, a legendary monster would appear to deal with the enlarged settlement. This doesn't happen in the distant forest, but the cities there don't have the protection that we have here. This usually doesn't occur with larger squads as they're usually divided; some of their members, those above level 20 and not ready to move on, live outside of the settlements, while the lower levels stay inside. As the settlement grows in numbers, it usually moves to a different place and its members advance further in groups. This, of course, gives them an advantage over those who go solo.

In the end, I couldn't sleep; new thoughts constantly formed in my head, and I couldn't calm down. I spent the rest of the night trying to get my inhalation tubes into proper shape. I managed to make them fit into my pocket. One could, if necessary, quickly unfold them and insert them into their nose. I used someone's old, black scarf for this experiment. After trying several times to remove and insert the device, I decided to go and try to get at least one more hour of rest. However, the cave suddenly dully rang, like if it were a cracked bell.

Awakened by the strange noise, and with weapons in their hands, everyone ran out of the cave. A strange and frightening sight unraveled before us — Petrovich swung his lance and hit the air, causing the strange hum to reach our ears again.

"You'd better be careful," the redhead moaned reproachfully. He was calm, so I relaxed a little. "I understand that you're above the level twenty, and that you can't come to the base, but would you please let people sleep?"

"It's time for breakfast. We'll start moving soon," said Petrovich, copying Dmitri's intonation. He was just being mean; it seemed that he couldn't fully believe that he had succeeded.

"What do you mean — he can't come to the base?" the cop said with astonishment. "He could yesterday."

"What do you mean by 'start moving'?" the Major asked at the same time. What's up with everyone copying each other?

"He could come yesterday, and today he can't." Since I learned everything from Dmitri yesterday, it would be nice to share my wisdom. An appetite for cheap fame was comforting, and I was already being treated with suspicion, so I'd better try to be a nice guy. "Yesterday's dragon was the guardian of our base; as long as it's dead, the rules don't apply. But it resurrected an hour ago; so, if you don't want to face it again, you'd better not gather at the base. Be grateful that someone willingly stayed outside so that you could all rest in the warm and cozy cave."

Why is everyone looking at me like that? Is it because this is the first time that I'm openly and obviously supporting Petrovich? Officially, I admit his power; unofficially, I couldn't wait for him to show me his back. No deception points? Seems no one believes me yet. That's okay; I know how to be persistent.

"We should act now. Why waste time?" Petrovich decided to answer the second question himself, while intently staring at me.

We failed to immediately go on a "campaign of conquest", as I called it. First we had breakfast and had to drag the dining table and all cooking utensils from the base, and then we held a meeting with our saboteurs.

"Well, have you persuaded him?" Members of the armless five looked around for support, caught my gaze and then hurried to answer Petrovich's question. Never thought that I could be more frightening than the old man. I even felt flattered. The lancer also noticed that and frowned. "I agree," Innokenty decided to break the silence. "We've discussed it, and I realized that it makes no sense to fight the inevitable."

Petrovich smiled. What a speech, Innokenty. You've buttered him up better than me. I'd better watch him. Although, given the glances that the leader and the redhead exchanged, things weren't so simple.

"You think that they're lying?" I went up to them while the others went off to go camping. Today everyone was to fight.

"Of course," the redhead answered after a short pause and a nod from Petrovich, thereby recognizing my right to enter the rank of leaders of our settlement. This time, it seemed, there weren't any beautiful stories and omissions. "I heard them talking last night. As it turns out, they didn't convince Innokenty; it was the other way around. After his heartfelt story and appeals to duty, conscience and fear of the new, all five agreed to pretend that they were going to make a deal, and as soon as we killed them, they were going to return to their base and tell everything."

"Well, not exactly all of them," Petrovich grinned. "That night, two of them came to me and told me about this plan. So, minus the hero and a couple of wingmen, there are two quite reasonable people in that group."

I didn't have the time to find out how the betrayal or, more precisely, the honesty of our prisoners won't stand in our way. It was time to move. And, I must say, everybody looked rather enthusiastic. The war campaign, the belief in victory and in your strength truly inspired.

Chapter end