Chapter 5

The autumn weather in Irkutsk was not encouraging. This rain, it is not clear where it comes from the black skies, and also a dank wind. It seems that the capital of the Empire, Petersburg, was famous for all this, but, probably, this slush haunts me personally.

What was good in the Principality of Prussia was the opportunity to go to the neighbors in the Roman Empire at sea. I loved to swim far from the shore and sway on the waves, exposing my face to the summer sun. Then, as a small child, I still admitted the possibility that this world could be used for vacations. Oh, how wrong I was!

I tried to walk Caramel early in the morning and late in the evening. The nervous cries of the ladies, grabbing their little dogs in their arms, irritated me greatly. And my explanation that she would not touch their miserable mongrels had little effect on anyone. They even called the police once. The police officers, having identified who I was, embarrassed, but nevertheless insistently, asked me to walk the beast on a leash - those were the rules.

I'm not really a scumbag to strain relations with others because of a trifle. So I had to let the little animal out late at night, when it could run around the park to its heart's content, and at the same time finish eating those unfortunate squirrels that were still left here. I never understood her hatred of squirrels, or maybe she just liked the taste of them. Despite the fact that a couple of cats that came across her, she ignored, apparently considering them her own.

And now, chilly wrapping myself in a raincoat that I bought especially for such walks, I indignantly waited for this bastard to do all his business. I also realized that it was useless to strain her. She will finish exactly when she wants to. A couple of times "punishing" her resulted in my sneakers being shamelessly pissed. Although this is more suitable for small domestic cats. In my understanding, it looked like a yellow lake in which my sports shoes floated.

I ordered the raincoat, along with two dozen of my favorite "signature" tracksuits, three pairs of trainers and two boots delivered to me by a courier. A strange thing is sportswear, although there was no such style in my past world, but here for some reason I really liked it. Despite the fact that, according to Androsov, either athletes or gopota go here in sportswear.

Well, on the other hand, why am I not an athlete?

In order to somehow have fun and warm up a little, I threw the knives I took with me into the trunk of a tree. My body wasn't keeping up with the old skills a bit, and I still needed training.

Suddenly, there was a strong pull nearby. I saw a glow behind the trees, and immediately there was a furious roar of Caramel, which seemed to have entered into a fight with someone.

What kind of goat walks a pet at such a time? And curious, WHOM is he walking?! Because, judging by the roar and the mental wave coming from my pet, she met a strong opponent.

Cursing the local aristos with their pets and this flea that literally stuck on my head, I rushed into the bushes, pushing further, and leaving pieces of my fashionable raincoat on the branches. The cold rain immediately ran down my collar, not adding comfort, but clearly adding anger and irritation.

When I jumped out into a small clearing, a hefty blue humanoid creature appeared right in front of me, in the muscular paw of which there was a hefty club. Luckily, I managed to crouch while activating my armor. After all, apparently, even if my armor survives, then I will fly a few meters, as after filing in one strange American game.

Again, the reflexes worked faster than the mind. Having nourished my hand with strength, I thrashed at what was in front of my eyes. Given the growth of the enemy, in the region of more than two meters, now, squatting, I had a huge hose in front of my eyes, which, as it were, hinted at the male origin of this humanoid. Well, I definitely hit the two blue balls dangling behind them.

It seems I overdid it a bit. Let's chalk it up to shock. Because the big man, throwing his club, grabbed his torn bleeding crotch, falling out of the fight for a while.

I quickly turned my gaze to the others, and assessed the situation. Caramel, dodging, fought against two more blue big men. I think they were called Forest Trolls. And next to them, a portal window flickered.

Several thoughts immediately popped into my head. Is it just how lucky I am that the Rift happened at this time? And the second question - what the hell are monsters already climbing out of there? He was definitely not here, as well as time to eat.

And then I saw its glow - it flickered, then appearing then disappearing. It was a wandering portal. The very one that I first saw in St. Petersburg, going for a walk. The peculiarity of these Rifts was that they do not need time to accumulate energy to break through monsters, they throw them out immediately. It is practically impossible to track their appearance or movement. And the "lifetime" of these portals is also impossible to predict. Sometimes they exist for a few minutes, dissolving without a trace just as they appeared. Sometimes they exist for a long time, gushing with creatures. Or until people shut them down. In any case, these Rifts were interesting in that there were some curious little things inside them.

Throwing knife I nourished with strength, and sent to the head of the first giant. I managed to turn the minus of this weapon into a plus, having figured out the right amount of energy that I stuffed into it. With an excess of energy, it crumbled into dust, but if a little less was absorbed into it, then it was torn into small pieces, after it plunged into enemy flesh. It turned out to be such an explosive bullet. Although, rather, it was a projectile.

And now the cotton, and half of the skull, along with the brain of the blue giant, scattered around the district, and he himself falls on his back, dropping his club with a roar.

Not only do fools have thoughts that converge, but it also seems that pets and owners agree. Because, left one on one, the first thing Caramel did was to take a fucking bite out of the economy of the last enemy. The blue enemy howled, and I involuntarily shuddered.

- Fu, Caramel, spit! I yelled involuntarily, suspecting the worst.

But no, either it was not edible, or my panther also had a feeling of disgust, but she spat out the torn off part of the body, and jumped onto the back of the enemy, clutching at his neck. I physically felt strength flowing out of me, flowing into a pet. Yes, Caramel could also, like me, put on armor and intensify her blows and bites. But this required energy - our common energy.

There was a crack after she bit her neck, and the already crippled enemy fell to the ground. The animal deftly jumped off, not allowing itself to be crushed, and came closer to me, bloodthirstyly licking its lips.

- Well done, girl! I patted her on the head, frantically thinking about what to do next.

Here it is the portal ... very close. So far, no one climbs from there, but it can appear at any moment. Or maybe this portal will close, and then move somewhere else. What do I have? A torn raincoat, a tracksuit, a trophy pistol useless in the rift, and four remaining knives. Well, a pet, of course, to boot. Hell, I didn't even bring a jelly with me.

Oh jelly! This is a fixable issue. I took one of the knives and carefully gutted the heads of the enemies. Two red jellies were my reward. Well, life is getting better. Actually, based on the information received, I already assumed what was waiting for me there. So the monsters are about red rank, according to what I got out of their heads.

I looked thoughtfully at the huge club lying next to the corpse. She was slightly smaller than my height, and weighed more than fifty kilograms. I don't think I can handle it properly.

I also did not take the tablet with me for a walk. And he could not give a signal to the Center about the appearance of the Rift either. Who am I kidding? I didn't want to. Stand and wait for the Eastov brigade to arrive and take all the glory for themselves, and even all the valuable loot? No, my whole being as a hunter protested against this.

— What, the sun? I nodded at the portal to my pet. "Shall we go and take a little walk?" And yes, you can kill everyone inside.

With the lantern on, which, thank God, I took with me on walks in order to find my pet in the dark bushes where there was no lighting - she had such fun, from time to time, I stepped into the Rift. And then he closed his eyes against the bright light, because it was a bright day on the other side. I did not see the sun, but the iridescent veil overhead shone with a dazzling blue light.

It seems that this Rift was not a closed piece of something, but a piece of open territory. In this case, the terrain in this Rift resembled a sphere, inside of which a piece of the surface of an alien world was enclosed.

But it was not even a force field that acted as a border, as one might have assumed, it was just that the world ended after some time.

Those curious explorers who poked objects or even their hands into it were to experience the lottery. Items disappeared, burned, broke, in general, were destroyed in every possible way. One thing has always been the same - behind the veil surrounding a piece of land, there was something deadly. At least, as far as I know, not one of the explorers, having plunged there completely, has never returned back.

Now I found myself in some kind of forest, or rather in a clearing, around which large trees grew. What is characteristic - a blue tint. And I kept wondering why the Forest Trolls are blue? So here's the thing. In the clearing stood ugly huts of a gigantic size, as for a person. And blue giants swarming everywhere. Two of them were just stirring the brew in a hefty cauldron.

I think I got to breakfast.

Well, in my long life, I have been convinced many times of the correctness of the old hunting saying: "The best defense is an attack." So before I had time to realize what to do, the body began to act on its own.

In two leaps I reached the cauldron, and with a swing I kicked it with my foot, pouring out the boiling brew on two squatting giants. How funny they yelled. I shouted "Face!", And the panther pounced on the target I indicated. Two knives went after her, knocking out the most dangerous monsters. And only after that, a wild cry was heard from all sides. These big guys seem to be a bit slow, but that was fine with me.

Before the souls of the two thugs flew into my body, I immediately created illusions and sent them back to the world. And now two blue giants are looking around, waiting for my order.

- Kill everyone! I yelled. And you will be free!

It seems that these idiots are dumb even after their death, because they obediently turned around and then went to their relatives with their bare hands.

"Take the batons, you idiots!" I yelled.

It seems to have helped. They paused for a moment, picked up the weapons lying near their bodies, and began to swing them furiously.

Well, it seems that stupidity is contagious, because their fellow tribesmen did not immediately understand why their own brothers attacked them.

My fighters managed to take down two before they realized what had happened and engaged them. To be honest, my jaw dropped when I saw how the blue giants at a distance began to enthusiastically bludgeon each other. That is, it dawned on them that their fellow tribesmen could be their enemies, only it did not reach them which of the fellow tribesmen became their enemies.

I looked around with my mouth open and the last two knives, seeing how the blues were destroying each other. I even called Caramel back to me so as not to interfere with the boys having fun. As a result, after five minutes, three wounded blue goofs were still on their feet, which I easily finished off with the help of my panther. Standing over the corpse of the latter, I smiled at my cat.

"Remember, dear, stupidity is the main sin of mankind.

To which my pet snorted contemptuously, apparently completely agreeing with me, and also rejoicing that she does not belong to humanity.

"Shnyrka," I called out to my pet.

But no one showed up.

- Shnyrka! I raised my voice.

There is no one again. What is it?

I was about to bark again when an indignant squeak came from a nearby wigwam.

— Wh-sh-what are you?!

And, well, yes, the sun shines with all its might, and the small one only moves in the shade. So he appeared in a devastated dwelling.

"So, look for utility items and stack them up…" I thought for a second. "Yes, that's where you are, put everything there," I chuckled.

And he went to look at the battlefield. I didn't feel the surge of strength that meant the closure of the Rift. Therefore, one of the enemies is still alive or it's something else.

"Come on, Kara, let's explore!" I waved.

Judging by the visible shroud of the protective ... whether the dome, or the field, but the piece of land was not very large. A maximum of several hundred meters in diameter. And the forest did not look too dense.

If you find an enemy, pull him towards me. Clear?

Another snort of contempt, and the panther's lithe body melted into the foliage. I grunted and began to butcher the defeated enemies.

Shnyrka ran and collected nishtyaki, Caramelka was on patrol. I pulled out the jellies and collected enemy weapons that were in the light, and where the little one could not get close.

Yes, although I could hardly lift the clubs, I was able to pump strength into it, and it stayed there. So good metal! I don't know what these "fools" are made of, but I hope that Arkhip will take them at least for some money.

There were twenty-two corpses in all, of which eight red and two white jelly were recovered. Well, yes, all the same random, which had a small chance, both in the "plus" and "minus" for each monster.

Passing by the cauldron that I started my surprise attack with so well, I grunted, took it by the handle, which had already cooled down, and tried to add energy to it. And wow, the boiler also held energy! I estimated its weight - forty kilograms of metal. I hope Arkhip will appreciate it.

Suddenly, at the edge of the forest, Caramel jumped out of the bushes with a loud screech, and flew at full speed towards me. Out of surprise, I filled the fucking cauldron with additional strength and swung, intending to meet an unknown enemy, from which my fearless panther fled ...

The caramel slithered between my legs with a howl, and I heard a strange whistle, and then I felt frequent blows to the nourished armor.

"Where is the firearm from?" - the first thing that came to my mind. The second thought was: "Where are these bastards shooting from?"

I got hit in the forehead especially painful. I automatically slapped my forehead. When he removed his hand, he saw that in my hand I had a large crushed purple bee.

Your mother! Those weren't bullets!

Here are just a nasty swarm of mutant bees surrounded me from all sides. And to be honest, I don't remember a case where my vaunted armor sagged so quickly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the upset look of the panther, which seemed to understand its cant, which she arranged for the owner, but could not do anything. Clear. Well, you need to fiddle around a bit.

I created a fiery aura that was ineffective in normal use, as it burned through all of its creator's clothes. And you don't always have time to undress while hunting monsters. I don't know why I learned it, but now it's useful to me.

My trendy tracksuit, along with beautiful red polka dot shorts, flared up on me with bees clinging to me. The evil insects continued to fly towards the blazing torch into which I had become, and burned out one by one.

The armor protected my skin from fire, but it became catastrophically thinner. When there was very little of it left, I stopped "casting". Fortunately, all the aggressors died, and I exhaustedly sat down with my bare ass on a scorched patch of land. And then he cursed and jumped up, rubbing his burned ass.

Then he thought a little, sighed heavily, and hobbled to a pile of loot, from which he took out a red jelly. He squeezed it in his hand with satisfaction and closed his eyes in pleasure. Then he breathed a sigh of relief, and again sat down on the normal soft grass. Something large and warm pressed against my back. I turned my head and saw that my panther was standing nearby, and in her eyes there was all the universal sadness that a beast could have. Well, at least she realized her joint.

"Sorry!" said a sweet female voice in my head.

I did not immediately understand what it was. But then it dawned on me - my pet, finally spoke!

"Shit," I chuckled. "So you almost had to kill me to talk to me?"

"I'm sorry," came two more words.

"Okay, flea," he slapped her forehead with his palm. - Happens.

"World?" The voice popped up in my head again.

- Yeah. And chewing gum," I added, listening to my feelings.

No, the Rift was still not closed.

- Well, now come on, take me to where all these creatures flew from. It seems to me that it is their house that does not allow the Rift to close.

Panther tensed, but still led me forward. We have a funny company - a red panther and a naked me, with a red ass and only two knives.

It was very close to go. Literally after a hundred meters, she pointed out to me a huge, two human height, beehive, which hung on the trunk of a branched tree.

The panther looked at me pleadingly, and then turned her gaze to him.

"I understand, I understand everything. You don't have to come with me," I chuckled, walking forward.

The purple creatures detected the intruder and immediately rushed towards me, and I turned on the fiery aura again. It seems that the main forces were spent in the clearing, because they were blown away very quickly.

I looked at my knife with regret—after all, it was fifty roubles. But I did not want to climb the tree, so, carefully aiming, I nourished it with strength and threw it at the base of that thick branch on which this beehive hung.

Got lucky. The branch broke off with a crack and fell to the ground along with the hive. The hive split, and inside I saw several larvae, and a fat, half-winged bee, half-hefty caterpillar swarming in the middle.

Picking up the blade of the last knife, I pulled it out and lifted my leg with pleasure. Oops! And my shoes were burned too.

I had to feed my leg with strength, and with my bare heel to beat a nasty insect. Power immediately wafted through me, and the energy of the Rift soaked into me.

Well, good job, let's get out of here.

I headed towards the Rift, but didn't notice the pet next to me.

- Hey, what are you doing?

I turned around and saw how my animal licked with pleasure the seeping purple viscous liquid that was inside the hive.

"What the hell is this?" I walked over and sat next to him. - Well, fu!

Panther looked at me reproachfully, but stepped aside, licking her lips.

"Well, I hope… I don't die."

I picked up the viscous substance with my finger and put it in my mouth. It was...fucking delicious!! Honey with incomprehensible taste shades, but amazing taste and smell. I hope that I won't die from one drop, after all, I still have some immunity from a past life. But something needs to be done about it. I scratched my head and then turned to the panther.

- So, let's run. And bring the cauldron here.

She looked at me, and then at the broken beehive.

"Yes, yes, smart ass. If I go there, you'll eat everything here.

Panther sighed heavily and headed to the specified address.

Half an hour later I had a huge cauldron of broken honeycombs mixed with purple honey, and I, puffing like a locomotive, dragged it to the Rift.

Because what? Because there is never too much loot!