World of Karik: A Game of Villains 47 Magic Tricks

Maybe I should risk it? Cut off his hand with the artifact and just walk away? I had some chances of success. And these people... They meant nothing to me. So many attributes in one person opened up a lot of possibilities. Of course, no one knew what else Petrovich was capable of. Was it worth the risking everything now, when he was on a roll and seemed capable of anything? Assessing my options, I glanced at my stats and simply froze. It seemed that all of my adventures were to be postponed; my endurance was at zero, and I would be lying exhausted on the ground if it weren't for the twenty-two points from Stone Skin. What the hell happened to me?!

Okay, Cat, keep calm, you have to calm down and analyze the situation. Apart from Petrovich's performance, what other unusual thing has happened lately?

It was unlikely that he was involved in this. In that moment, the answer became obvious — my new ability, Arcobaleno. It seemed that it didn't give me the opportunity to manipulate the enemy's actions and hide my magic for free. One needs to pay for everything, and in this case, the price was all of my endurance. This significantly complicated things. I lost the possibility of Mental Suppression, as well as the bonuses gained from reaching twenty and fifty points on this attribute, and my health! I had a measly three hundred points instead of the usual eight hundred. I should think everything through before using this skill next time.

"Cat," Semyon came up to me while I was lost in thought., "I saw your fight. It was impressive. Igor was, indeed, a great master, if he had taught you so much in just a couple of days. Also, it looked like you were using fire, how did you do that?"

A trap! I was so focused on my new and, more importantly, untested skill that I forgot about caution! However, even this situation could be taken advantage of. Who would be the last to be suspected of being a mage? The one who is pretending to be one!

"I love magic tricks, so I couldn't resist," the redhead and Petrovich were both attentively listening to me. The latter even got distracted from the artifact. Right, on the way here we all went through the place where I fought with the five locals… They must've carefully examined everything there. "I set cones on fire and threw them at these heroes. They got confused. They were practically sitting ducks."

Toss some meaningless, but truthful details, and you could hide the most monstrous lie. My former opponents blushed in embarrassment.

Deception: +100 (x6)

That's too little. There were two more listeners; someone did not believe me.

"After some serious training with the scythe I can use it almost reflexively. I used the extra seconds to make a small fire." I pulled out an old Zippo lighter that had been in my pocket for months and showed it to the cop. I was going to fill it, and clean the rusted wheel, but I never got around to doing it. Fortunately, a demonstration of it efficiency was not required. I received two hundred points of deception.

Luckily, this distraction proved successful. However, I'll have to be more careful next time. Everyone makes mistakes, but a smart person tries to make them as seldom as possible. I should leave, go back to the swamp and continue training and exploring my skills. Only by thinking ahead could I avoid complicated situations and go back. At this point, Petrovich had finished receiving the attributes and ordered the belongings be collected and we be on our way.

"We'll gather tonight and discuss how we're going to live together. I'm sure that we'll have to come back here at some point, but try to take everything you need right now," his voice was peaceful and calm again, as if no blackmailing or threats had been done recently.

"Then I'll be leaving you," I seized the moment to intervene, "Olga and Dasha, too. I need them to help me with gathering herbs."

Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt about what I planned to use the girls for, but I couldn't hide my passion for alchemy completely; therefore, there was no sense in wasting time. I could only cause suspicion this way. But no one yet needed to know what results I had managed to achieve.

"Well, we have enough people for now. However, everyone should be at the Council this evening." Using big words to make all of your subsequent decisions sound legitimate, are we? However, I was left alone for a while, so I should take full advantage of it.

I've already almost sent my wards to pick herbs, halving the amount on the occasion of the battle, when Vlada approached us.

"You are interested in alchemy, as far as I can see." Another point to her advantage. Firstly, she listened carefully and remembered everything; secondly, she paid attention to me, and, apparently, decided to mend fences. If I was right, she could prove to be useful. "There was this guy in the squad, Artyom, he was fond of it, too. He left a couple of months ago, went to the distant forest, but we still have some of his stuff here. Nothing serious, a couple of dried herbs, but you might need them."

It's nice when you're right, and it's even nicer when you get useful gifts. After reaching Vlada's hut, I carefully examined a tattered book with the remnants of a herbarium stuck between its pages.

Azure Stonerose

Alchemical ingredient that temporarily increases endurance.

Most potent in a powdered state. Can be used in form of pills and tinctures. Its smoke can be inhaled.

The flower has been picked too long ago. The ingredient has expired.

Azure Sedge

Alchemical ingredient that temporarily increases dexterity.

Most potent in a powdered state. Can be used in the form of pills and tinctures. Its smoke can be inhaled.

The flower has been picked too long ago. The ingredient has expired.

Knowing how to use Holly, I could raise my dexterity and endurance. All I needed was for the girls to find usable samples of these plants. In addition to the two herbs which properties I was able to read, there were two more with hidden information — Winter and Autumn Hemlock. Everything else had already turned into dust; even so, this book was very useful to me.

I ordered Olga and Dasha to redraw these four flowers and to preserve the herbs, then thanked Vlada. I was ready to leave, but she had to ruin everything.

"You owe me now," she said, half joking; but even jokes can have very serious consequences in this world.

"No." My answer was short and unambiguous and left her dumbfounded. Leaving her standing with her mouth open, I was finally able to get out of the camp and be on my way to the swamp that had already become like home to me.

Chapter end