With every step, even in the busy crowd, a knock could be heard. Rhythmically beating sabathons, I walked along a busy city street, leaving after reporting to the local monarch.
And at that moment, when I turned around only for a moment, my gaze inevitably fell on a small medieval castle. Every part, his entire environment, gave off an aura of prosperity and life.
I don't want to linger here, in any case, my mission is accomplished. And the local kinglet now knows that his country has got rid of another reason for the disappearance. Why should I even report to someone insignificant, like the king of this small country, which will go out at the slightest threat?
Well, yes... indirectly, I'm still a hero. More precisely, the one who cleanses the world after the arrival of the saviors. They leave behind too many problems and garbage.
*Tsk*
The only thing that pleases is their lack of imagination. If I had my way, I wouldn't participate in this at all.
But my hands are tied and my movements are limited in time. In a figurative sense.
Today's task is completed.
Once upon a time, there was a hero, he was famous for strength, might, and also had many powerful servants. And having destroyed the world's evil, he founded his own small kingdom. Years passed, the hero died of old age. The servants also departed to another world, except for the most faithful and long–lived - the scarlet dragon. But, these same years of bloodshed and old age took their toll, which made him mad.
And if on business. The hero who stayed here before asked the higher powers for the ability to create minions from magical items.
The last one created with the help of divine abilities was a sword, with which he destroyed evil. Subsequently, and became the core for the dragon.
The sword was too strong and could disrupt the steady balance of good and evil.
The order is to destroy.
The fight was not difficult, we both managed to make only one blow each. And considering that the local kinglet has sword fragments, and I'm standing on my feet, the outcome of the battle is obvious.
And back to the question, why should they be taken to the king?..
Well, I have to see the one whose ancestor I'm raking. People will also be calmer. And I don't mind much. All the power that was sharpened in the sword already belongs to me.
The main thing is that THEY don't find out.
Scratching at the place where my hand used to be, I wandered on, towards the exit from the city. A hideously sunny and peaceful place, with friendly people. At the same time, my worn, almost completely black and unaffordable armor for an ordinary person, under the plates of which the bones of absolutely unimaginable creatures are constantly clicking for the people of this world. And besides, the absence of a hand gave the impression of the embodiment of the echo of war, awe and horror, in their pampered eyes.
Maybe I should have been a little more careful in this battle, but it didn't cause me much damage. The dragon was weaker than I expected. It was clear at first glance, he was not the one I was looking for, I will have to continue the search.
- Ha-ha-ha... - Either from disappointment, or from anticipation, a stingy laugh escaped from me, which scared the hell out of the guard, who had been building a serious expression with all his strength and all his zeal. People are funny creatures... was I the same?
Stepping over the city gates, a glow enveloped me at the same hour.
Well, apparently now, those I don't want to talk about, and those I hate with all my heart, value their time too much and don't want to waste a second.
"How can you be immortal, but at the same time so agile?" I asked myself a rhetorical question.
The glow began to wriggle, quickly enveloping my body, plunging my consciousness into sleep.
And here I am again in custody, and there are pompous white-winged freaks in front of me. With their polished feathers, white robes, and weapons designed more for the sake of demonstrating status and, of course, as an ornament, especially when it is in their skinny hands. In those skinny hands that even with a strength superior to a dragon's, it is not given to break. Or to be more precise, they are the ones who throw me from one world to another, like a damn tool...
"Angels" - this word has been making me clench my teeth for many years, having already turned them into a sharp resemblance to the fangs of a predator.
In a white room that has no walls, but has borders, they looked at me proudly. And then an image flashed in my mind.
A picture of the artifact I was looking for flew through my mind. And an incredibly quick explanation, like an explanation of side effects in an advertisement for a popular product.
But I saw the general essence right before my eyes in the angel's open hand.
*Parry Katana*
*Destroy*
Rolling my eyes in disdain, I nodded, showing that everything was clear to me.
As long as I pretend to be absolutely obedient, I won't have any problems, and they know how to create them best.
...And soon I will make them suffer.
But completely ignoring me, the angel snapped his fingers, turned his back, the white light flashed again, and now, I am safe and sound, I am on another "task". Since they call these tortures, they are not really different from the previous ones. Madness is an endless repetition of the same action, isn't it? And I was stuck in the most boring type of tasks, taken as if from the side tasks of the game, "Give, bring, kill". That's my whole life.
Flexing my fingers on both hands already and shaking myself slightly, I walked forward with a quick step.
And who am I? "Fantasy hero" sounds proud, and in the course of my story it was almost obvious. Well, how to say "hero" …
Was a "suitable specimen".
You'll probably ask, "Why are you so sad, huh*********? You should have a harem, an imba force, and fifteen tame dragons, if not all of them at once!". Ugh.
First of all, such a life is not for me, too sugary, naive, boring and the like, it's not even interesting to live like that.
And secondly, even if I wanted to, they wouldn't give me such an opportunity to rest.
These are certainly not carefree days, but still...
It all started with the fact that I was "called".
It was a quiet winter evening.
Having bought components for my PC and driving an inexpensive car, I was driving home in anticipation.
I lived alone, I had to move for work.
Turning the steering wheel of a car that I had saved up for not so long ago, I drove through dark streets illuminated by bright lanterns.
And finally, winding through the streets, he stopped in front of a traffic light. Music recorded on a USB flash drive was playing. So, a couple of songs from TV series, a few classics and the like.
The light turned green, and I was about to start driving, when the world around my car plunged into pitch darkness. A moment and everything brightened up again, and an equally black abyss appeared in front of my transport. The lanterns bent and the asphalt crumbled, and some pedestrian followed the asphalt flying down, uttering a long cry.
My car was hanging into the abyss, and I quickly backed up. But, luck has never pleased me. Therefore, tipping over, she flew with me into the abyss.
Opening my eyes, to my surprise, I saw not a black haze, no, a seemingly endless white space.
In front of me stood a tall white figure emitting a faint glow. The selection of the background is certainly so-so.
The figure was about to start talking, but I interrupted it with a gesture and looked around a little confused. Trying to move away, I realized that the space is not limitless, I would say that even quite small. Such an otherworldly "studio", but the door or something similar could not be found.
The man coughed, drawing attention to himself. And I had to listen to him.
The figure is supposedly a "god", in whose words, there was not a drop of regret, "accidentally" killed me. Of course, he spoke differently, but it sounded boring and stupidly stretched. Am I by any chance your thesis?
You see, he wanted to summon a hero. And besides, he says that I myself, as an "apology", can get into his world. The same to me, they do whatever they want. I have never been a believer, but it completely shook my idea of the gods…
I've always been a skeptic and a bit of a pessimist, which has made me visionary.
Maybe issekai really write gods, and this "good Samaritan" decided to amuse his ego, and at the same time his readers?
Therefore, while I appeared before this bastard, at the moment when he said "choose a gift for yourself" without a moment's hesitation, I clearly replied: "Do not watch me and do not interfere in my life in any way."
Damn paparazzi.
The god obviously did not like my decision, and he tried to dissuade me. He offered me all sorts of unusual powers, legendary weapons, but... no.
Definitely NOT. Absolutely NOT. Invariably NOT.
And with the words "So be it, we accept your wish, we'll see what can happen", he sent me to my first "pseudo-reincarnation". Or rather, he simply threw me into the main church of some pious country. In my case, it is considered that I, as a "hero", was called by none other than the royal magician.
As you could understand, I was clearly not "heroic" to the taste of the "higher powers", since I was stuck at such a terrible job, slowly going crazy.
Well, let's get back to the topic.
I was weak then. But I am completely sure that medieval people are like walking to the moon, or more precisely, up to my mind, cunning and trainability.
The first rule of fantasy is secrecy, deception and cunning, which will repeatedly save your life and also destroy even more strangers.
So first of all, I need the magic of illusion, and preferably also alchemy!
I buzzed all my ears to my first magic coach, who really didn't want to teach me "mean and dishonest techniques." And after a while, I was allocated a new master who owned the spells and skills I was interested in.
Stop it's not a magician! Bones in the form of a necklace, a look as if he died yesterday, large bags under his eyes, gray hair whiter than clouds and a staff in the form of a raven's paw, that's even a raven himself! Yes, this gray-haired grandfather is a real necromancer. Great, even better!
Although reluctantly, he accepted me as a disciple. And then he even considered my talent.
This was undoubtedly pleasing.
And then, my "life in another world" began.