Fluffy Paw's disk entered the orbit of the planet Mirros. Cracked Bone was already answering the space station controller. The cat meowed standard phrases about tourism and wanting to discuss business problems with familiar elves. The transport received permission to land. Lee Long restrained himself with difficulty and steered the Paw at a steady course at a constant speed. The route glowed before his eyes on the side panel. The transport was racing through the planet's atmosphere toward its destination.
Cat put his hands on the controlled display and took control of the ship. The approach to the spaceport and parking required neatness and tedious execution of instructions.
The transport occupied a vacant lot. Lee Long knew the plan and didn't worry. He stood by his chair and chewed an energy bar. Cat made another call on the communicator. A beeper announced the connection had been established. An image of Bregan appeared on the screen in front of the partners. She was a significant figure in a local business. Her ears protruded at a forty-five-degree angle upward. They betrayed a good but not tall enough breed in her. The boy had seen elves in galanet before. This Bregan made a complex impression. Her face was framed by a mane of black hair and expressed arrogance and even contempt. The cat greeted his mistress,
"Highly esteemed Rhonda, I wish your forest water and good luck on the hunt. We have made a contract. I have brought the goods."
The elven lady spoke and Lee Long could hardly contain his calm. This lady had gone through complicated gene operations. From all the upgrades, her entire body was skewed and looked unnatural and even ugly. Bregan's face looked as if it had been stretched in four directions but then squeezed back. The creepy disharmony of her face made me want to laugh and bite the tongue at the same time.
"Give me wood and you'll get the credits, ferin," Rhonda's words whispered, and her ears perked up at that moment.
Lee Long wanted to snort with laughter so badly that he quickly popped the rest of the energy bar into his mouth and began chewing on the deliciousness. Bregan looked at him intently and her thin eyebrows contorted. Bregan's face expressed incomprehension. What is this human child doing on the ship? Why is the hearing serious people talking?
"Your servant can hear us! I thought he was deaf. Bone what is he doing here?"
"Lady Rhonda, this is my pilot. A trusted and proven pilot. I am ready to open access to the containers of goods. May I see the credits?"
A squeaky unnatural voice rang out in response,
"Do as you are ordered, ferin! The lady ordered you to give the tree. Then you'll get the credits," one of the figures separated from the hangar wall. Lee Long squinted his eyes so as not to give away his interest.
The duelist remained calm, but he was ready to scream with anticipation. In front of him were a representative of a new race and sentient plants! It was time for a duel. But how to arrange a duel? A grand bargain does not like violence and rude behavior. The boy looked at the next character. The Appraisal skill gave new information,
[Race: Doob.
Type: Dreadroid.
Level: 61.]
The boy's mind made the usual calculations and figured out the threat level. Sixty years this all attribute reached 15 points. Tough and strong opponents. But this elf girl is the real bomb! He remembered her status.
[Rhonda
Race: Bregan.
Type: Mage. Warrior.
Level: 114]
This was the first time Lee Long had met such a dangerous opponent. This elf woman lived long enough! Her strength, dexterity, and intelligence reached 29 points. Her stamina was 28. The duelist could expect to win. He had a slight advantage over Bregan. At this point, Cracked Bone murmured a new sentence,
"Highborn Rhonda, I am ready to open the hold for your servants. I hope you enjoy my special gift as well. I have brought you a case of Goga-Gola's drink. Smuggled in from the capital of Shade. Eighty years aged and infused with the finest varieties of underground moss."
Lee rubbed his nose. That was the signal. The meeting went to its most extreme.
You can never trust Bregan! Even if you see a dead elf, don't believe your eyes. Take a controlling throw of the knife at the body. The best Bregan is a dead Bregan.
The cat warned that any big deal with these scum could end in a robbery. The partners were ready to attack.
But Cracked Bone was not ready to hear the boy's quiet calm voice,
"I'll open the hold, Captain. I'll supervise the transfer of the cargo."
The cat froze and couldn't even hiss in surprise. What was this crazy kitten doing? Lee Long was doing things quickly and with the skill of an experienced spaceship flight computer operator. His fingers ran over the display keys. The noise of the flaps opening could be heard even in the control cabin. The boy looked at the cat and nodded his head,
"I'll take care of it. We're happy, partner."
The duelist activated Shield and Speeding skills. Last, he applied Balance and distributed all available attribute points. Now we can dance.
[Lee Long
Race: Earthman
Type: Duelist. Mage.
Level: 21. 679800/839800
Strength: 30
Dexterity: 33
Intelligence: 19
Endurance: 19
Health: 190/190
Mana: 190/190
Skill: Appraisal 3 level. Duelist Balance 1 level. Duelist Trophy 1 level. Water Magic 1 level. Healing 6 level. Ice Arrow 1 level. Earth Magic 1 level. Shield 1 level. Air Magic 1 level. Speeding 1 level. Short Blade 3 level. Race Dance 1 level. Mental Hegemony 1 level.
Available Characteristics point: 0
Available skill point: 0]
That crooked Bregan, with her long ears and skewed face, could not frighten a duelist. He has a large life reserve and enough mana to heal possible wounds. A first-level Shield will reduce damage by 10%. Excellent support against magical attacks and shots. Speeding gave a good boost to his speed. 3 points in the attribute are the maximum for the average child of ten. Lee Long had long gone beyond the limits of the average person.
The boy and the doob entered the hold at the same time. The dredroid climbed up the ramp. Lee descended from the upper deck. Both entered, but one mind went straight to the run. Lee Long didn't waste any time. Kill first. Then the warrior has a better chance of surviving.
The boy sprinted toward the dredroid in three jumps at top speed. The last leap he took was up, and in the fall he stabbed. He struck it in the face, a slit in which he could see an eye the color of green. It does not matter the strength of the armor when the fatal blow is struck in the eye. If the victim is a sentient being, then the blade penetrates the brain. In many creatures, the brain could be located at the base of the tail. The Bregan genetic engineers could hide the brains of their creatures in a secluded place. They could even hide the brain in their ass! But that didn't make any practical sense. You can think with your ass. But the main sources of information gathering are located in the head! The head is elevated and allows more important information to be gathered. This gives an enhanced quality of life.
The duelist's body landed on its feet close to the derdroid's body. His arms flashed with terrifying speed. And the two knives inflicted terrible and deadly wounds. The boy managed to strike only seven times and saw a nice announcement,
[Attention! You have killed the first enemy of the Doob race. Reward: 1500 additional experience.]
Lee blinked at the system's message. He had already heard the footsteps of the second Doob. Cracked Bone warned that there were no more than three guards. Rhonda didn't initiate many. The boy bent down and began dragging the body of the wooden soldier into the passage between the containers. He managed to hide the body and met the next opponent with a smile. Wooden jerks are such handy opponents. They didn't bleed! And the brains weren't all right. Doob paid no attention to the noise and squeaked out a question,
"Where's DD 395? Where's our tree?"
"DD went to drain the juices in the toilet. My tree is already here. Hey Peg Leg, you have Uzumaki's regards. Naruto said "Dattebayo!" Yes!"
Lee accepted a new duel and leaped at his new opponent from his seat. Once again, quick hands flashed and knife points struck the enemy in his unprotected eye sockets. Lee finished the duel and realized that his luck had decided to rest. From outside, Bregan's menacing voice was heard,
"How dare you insult me? Dirty ferin, you will die a long time. Then I will remove your brain from your open skull. And you will suffer a new eternity!"
"And he will never taste the toxic milk! You are so cruel! Is it because your face is crooked? I'm going to fix it with my fists."
The elven girl's small mouth curved her red lips in humiliating condescension,
"You miserable human pipsqueak! You will die first. A child capable only of wicked and petty swearing."
"This is Dun Möch, you foolish elf! You know nothing of Sith prowess and the Dark Side of the Force," the boy spat out a counter insult.
He tried to throw his opponent off balance and rob her of her equanimity. The duelist's brain was busy calculating. 280 points of life. That's 14 or 15 strokes of the knife. Now he would find out if this bregan was capable of catching an arrow with her hand. Lee's speed was over 50 meters per second. Of course, that's not 300 meters of a bullet, but he had already reached the speed of the arrow's flight.
Lee Long did not know how many years she had spent training her body. He did not know her skill. The elves' hand-to-hand combat was not impressive. The Bregan was excellent with bladed weapons and was successful with long-range weapons. Masters of magic. They had strange magic called Green. It had to do with the energy of nature.
Lee Long thought that Nature punished her children long ago for disrupting harmony and mocking life. The Bregan were galactic jerks! The foolishness of this elfish girl would play a great service to the dexterous and powerful duelist.
The boy took advantage of the flaws in the bregan armor and launched attacks to the right side of her body and head. The armor only covered her left arm and the left side of her chest. For the ease of using a traditional bow? Doesn't matter! Hit hard, hit fast, hit vulnerable places. The son of a soldier had learned these rules of combat with sweat and blood. His knives flashed like lightning. Blood struck from the bregan's wounds and stained his saboteur suit. Of course he wore the suit Maria had gotten him.
Rhonda bounced sideways against the wall of the hold. Lee dodged a shot from the dredroid. The beam flashed past and hit the container. Lee struck the enemy once more. His hard blow nearly pinned the elven woman against the wall. The duelist jerked his arm back sharply and shifted his stance in a leap. This opponent was able to get him several times. Lee quickly applied healing. Stop! Save your mana!
[You have won the duel. Choose your reward, 100 experience points, 1 point of characteristics. Do you wish to apply the Duelist Trophy skill? Yes/No.]
"Yes!"
[Duelist's Trophy skill activation. The attempt failed.]
"Ugh! Greedy bregan! Greedy system!" shouted the boy with indignation.
He saw a cat appear in the passage. Both of his partner's hands were armed with blasters. Lee smiled. Good for the ferin. He didn't chicken out and came to the rescue. Lee jumped out of the ship and began swinging his body in evasive action. He approached the dredroid quickly. Two flashes of pain did not stop the boy's onslaught. His left hand whipped aside a branch with a weapon. His right was already aiming for the familiar spot on the doob's head.
After a few seconds, Lee Long stopped with a smile on his lips. This fight had earned him four points in attributes and 1500 experience points. Nice catch. Out of respect for the tradition of the ferin, the boy bent down and picked up a blaster from the hangar floor.
Lee walked over to the transporter ramp and asked the cat,
"How much time do we have? Do we have time to get the armor and equipment off the bodies?"
Cracked Bone shook his head in denial,
"I considered the case at Rhonda's feet. I'll get it now. Take a seat behind the displays. We're leaving!"
The cat ran outside. The boy walked over to Rhonda's body and grabbed her legs. He pulled Bregan's body out of the ship and managed to remove the small jewelry from her ears.
"See you again, Rhonda. I'll be sure to return to Mirros," Lee whispered.
With a cheerful meow, the cat jumped into the ship. In his paw was a small case. The boy hurried after his partner.
In the control cabin, the pilot began to act like a robot. Not one unnecessary movement, not one-stop, not one mistake.
Fluffy Paw rose above the surface of the hangar and flew out under the planet's open sky. Lee Long relaxed and surrendered to his favorite feeling of unity with the powerful ship. Cracked Bone brought a special device and began to crack the code of the case.
The cat rumbled with pleasure and couldn't take his eyes off the sight of the credits.
"There are 250,000 credits in here. But you wanted to rip off the corpses of poor wooden men for a handful of tokens? You can't be that greedy, boy."
"One token saves a credit card! You must appreciate even the smallest bit of a great life. And then you will follow the path of harmony and achieve higher goals."
Then Lee Long paused for a few seconds and added,
"By the way, there are two bodies left in the hold. I'll take their equipment off yet. You're wrong, I'm not greedy. You can have the dredroids' clothes for yourself."