But Kosta Dykhsh was sure of the inevitability of my punishment, and the point here, as it turned out, was not only my reckless risk. The diplomat said that the newcomer first appears in the game that distorts reality, exactly in the form in which he lay down in the virt-capsule. Therefore, this is the only way to throw into the virtual world the items necessary for the survival and growth of the colony, which the faction has not yet learned how to construct here in the game or does not have the resources to produce them.

Dielectrics and superconductors. Electronic boards and processors. Banal batteries and springs are made of molybdenum steel. Machine parts and just rare materials like lanthanide alloys or transuranium elements. Each newcomer necessarily brought a payload for the needs of the colony. Plus thermal imagers, optical and collimator sights, difficult-to-make cartridges and detonators, and just a personal weapon for yourself ...

The more the diplomat talked about it, the darker and darker my face became. Firstly, there was no longer any doubt that I would fly into it. Already at least for the fact that he did not bring his comrades any of the necessary things and thereby framed our entire faction. Secondly, what should I equip myself with now? So and run further in a torn denim jacket and torn sneakers?

I did not find any labyrinth near me. There was only sand around, rare low bushes, and a little further away, the tops of trees of a dense high forest, tinted by the setting sun, were reddened. To my surprised exclamation about the disappearance of the labyrinth, Costa Dykhsh explained that this mysterious structure appears only at the very beginning of the game, is not part of the main world, and there is no way to return to it. According to the Geckho diplomat, he stood on the threshold of his dwelling, listening to the sounds of a distant battle, and with his own eyes watched the process of my appearance. I appeared in the air at a height of three meters and fell to the ground just ten steps from his tent.

I really already managed to make out nearby a hemispherical metal structure sunk into the ground, like a tent or a small yurt, from which a muffled greenish light was breaking through and an alluring smell of fried meat and some fragrant spices could be heard. But only after the words of the diplomat did I also pay attention to the distant flashes on the dark horizon and some incomprehensible crack.

“The enemies are attacking your main base,” the diplomat explained to me, yawning indifferently and showing the large sharp teeth of a predator. – Even before the second row of fortifications, your faction managed to break through. I don't even remember them ever going that far.

“Shouldn’t the Geckho support us? I asked hopefully, to which the stranger was really surprised.

“For what reason?” You and your opponents, and every other faction on this planet, are vassals of my Geckho people. We do not interfere in your internal disassembly. We trade with everyone, we collect the due tribute from everyone. But if aggressive Mielonians attack your world, or someone from a pack of meleefats decides to establish a base here, then we will protect you. It is our duty as your overlords and patrons.

We stood a little longer, watching the reflections of the distant battle, then Kosta Dykhsh lost interest in what was happening and turned around, about to return to his tent.

– Tell me, diplomat, are there many different races in space? I asked a bit belatedly, and the Geckho stopped.

- Enough. And all races are different. With his quirks,” the diplomat considered this answer sufficient and was about to end the conversation again, but I again stopped him.

– Kosta Dykhsh, how can you learn to speak the language of your people?

The huge shaggy giant did not even hide his surprise:

 – Mosquito, why do you need this skill? You are a Prospector, not a Diplomat or Translator. You probably won't ever have to deal with any other Geckho other than me. And I know the language of your people, and this is quite enough for communication.

But it seemed to me that these were all empty excuses, and my interest in the language of the Geckho race inspired and pleased the diplomat. So I bowed slightly and replied:

- Great space race. Great culture. Great story. Colossal accumulated knowledge in various fields of science. All this is extremely interesting for me, but for all mankind as a whole. Surely there are a huge number of texts with information that is truly priceless for people, but it is impossible to understand them without knowing the Gekho language...

The furry giant roared his approval, and lines of text appeared in front of me:

Costa Dyhsh invites you to learn the Cosmolinguistics skill. Learn this skill? 

Certainly! For some reason, I was sure that the Geckho diplomat was far from the only representative of extraterrestrial civilizations that I would meet in a game that distorts reality. Understanding their language is a huge plus!

Acquired Cosmolinguistics skill level 1.

A heavy furry paw lay on my shoulder, which made me even squat slightly. Tapping me reassuringly on the shoulder, Kosta Dykhsh growled approvingly:

“Komar, you are only the third person in your entire H3 faction who wished to learn our language. I love that you're out of the box. This is the only way to play, and not to choose the usual patterns and frames. Here's the thing... if tomorrow Lang Radugin and his entourage will scold you too much for unauthorized actions, they agreed on me. Tell them that the Geckho race approves of your actions.

After these words, the furry giant wished me good night and climbed into his tent. I stood and clapped my eyes, examining the lines of running messages:

Level 2 reached!

Received three free skill points!

Fame increased to 2.

Attention!!! Free skill points unallocated during the day are burned out at the first death of the character. 

Wow! The second level is so fast! And a useful introduction to a Geckho diplomat! And life is getting better!

***

Moving away from the geckho tent, so as not to embarrass my presence and not interfere with the rest of an important diplomat, I sat down on a warm boulder covered with dry lichen, which still kept the warmth of the daytime sun. Having opened the table with the characteristics of the character, he slowly and thoughtfully got acquainted with all the indicators. I needed to allocate free stat and skill points, eliminating weaknesses and strengthening the strengths of the character.

Yes, I remembered very well that all beginners were advised not to arrange amateur performances in this important matter and to rely on the choice of experienced mentors. But in all games, I preferred to think over the path of development myself, rather than listen to other people's advice and copy someone's developments. Yes, and the geckho also advised me to play by myself, and not use ready-made templates.

Five free points... Not much, if you think about it. Where would they be best placed? First of all, I was interested in Constitution - the weakest of my parameters.

The constitution of the character affects the supply of Health Points and Endurance Points, the ability to resist diseases, poisons and radiation, the speed of stopping bleeding and healing wounds, the duration of breath holding, as well as resistance to aggressive environments, high overloads and gravity.

Judging by the fact that I managed to pass the “maze for beginners” only with great difficulty and in the last seconds, the game is very, very difficult and “hardcore”. There will still be a huge number of difficulties and dangers, and often it will depend on Constitution whether my character dies or still survives on the last units of health and stamina. The measly ten character points in Constitution didn't suit me at all. Therefore, two points in Constitution at once!

The number of Health Points increased to 211, Stamina Points to 125. According to internal sensations, it was as if my lung capacity had increased, my ribs expanded, which made the turtleneck worn tight and even crackled. Yes, and small abrasions on the palms and face instantly healed. Unrealistically pleasant sensations to feel sharply recovered! With great difficulty, I resisted the temptation to throw another one or two points into Constitution. No, enough. Good things come in small packages.

Now Perception. This is not only a combined characteristic of vigilance, acute hearing, and other instincts. For my Prospector, this is the most important characteristic, on which the success of the scan directly depends. Therefore, I confirm the addition of one point, increasing Perception to twenty. Even visually, the changes that took place were noticeable - the twilight evening world around me became somewhat more contrasty, and the cannonade of distant battles now became more distinct.

Now Intelligence, because it is important not only to magicians. My Prospector will have to work with all kinds of electronic scanning tools and other complex high-tech devices, so Intelligence is required.

There was only one free attribute point left. Increase Strength? And what, the idea is good, I can bring more valuable trophies. Yes, and the muscles will be visually larger, also a plus. Or is it Dexterity? Or another point in Perception?

But then I noticed that I was completely missing another characteristic - the Luck Modifier. Meanwhile, this parameter was active, and it could be improved.

A character's Luck modifier affects the chance to hit when shooting with any type of ranged weapon, winning at gambling, and inflicting critical damage on an opponent.

Attention! For the Prospector class (as with all mining character classes), the Luck Modifier does not affect the chance of finding loot, but it does increase the value of the find with some probability.

It certainly sounded tempting. Just to understand this chance for an increased value of the find, at least approximately. Ten percent or maybe just one-hundredth of a percent? The difference is still very, very significant. Is the game worth the candle? I mean, is it worth pumping the Luck Modifier?

After a moment's thought, I decided to take a chance and spend my last free stat point, raising my Luck Modifier to +3.

Finished with stat points, and now skills. There were three free points for distribution. Accumulating them and postponing the distribution for the future in a game that distorts reality, unlike most other games, was irrational and dangerous - the very first death led to combustion. Therefore, they had to be invested, if not immediately, then at least within one day.

It suggested Scanning - the main skill of my Mosquito. But I can pump it by simply periodically activating the scan icon, which I always did immediately after the ability was recharged. Cartography? She seems to be on her own...

It is probably more correct to invest free points to strengthen those skills that I have not yet understood how to pump in the normal way. For example, Electronics or Cosmolinguistics.

The Electronics skill has been upgraded to the second level!

The Electronics skill has been upgraded to the third level!

Cosmolinguistics skill upgraded to level 2!

Now that the distribution of points was over, it was time to go somewhere - do not sit here all night on a stone. I got up from the boulder and looked around. It's already quite dark. Bright and completely unfamiliar stars burned in the sky. Not that I was that special in astronomy, but I could still find Ursa Major, Orion's Belt, or the North Star in the sky. So, I did not find anything of this among millions of pulsating stars. I the idea of ​​the Southern Hemisphere I also immediately set aside - the Southern Cross was not there either. So, I was not on Earth ...

***

A warm night breeze ruffled his hair, thousands of crickets frantically poured around, and occasionally bats flew overhead. If it were not for the multi-colored bars of life, satiety, and stamina, the progress bar, and the map displayed before my eyes, the world around me could be mistaken for real.

Where to go? On both sides, a black, frightening forest stood like a solid wall, from which eerie howling sounds periodically came. Not the best place for a night walk, especially without weapons. And then I decided to move in the direction of a distant cannonade - the fighters of my H3 faction held the defense there, there were my own. After tying up the loose laces with the laces I took out, I went to look for the members of my faction.

I have no idea what I would say to them and how I would explain my appearance in this form. But for sure they at least listened to me and suggested what to do in this game, where to go, and how you can help the team. I was walking straight through some kind of mowed field when suddenly I came across a road. At first, I saw it on my mini-map, and a minute later I was standing on a dusty well-traveled road with distinct tire marks. Go right on it or go left? Randomly choosing the direction to the left, after three hundred meters at a fork in the road, I met a sign. Two wooden arrows indicated directions to the nearest objects:

Technological complex "Prometheus" 3 km.

Shooting range 0.7 km.

What they do on the Prometheus, I had no idea, and I was not sure that I would even meet anyone there at night. The shooting range was much closer and probably guarded around the clock. So, there were people from my faction who could be contacted for help and clarification about the game.

On both sides of the road, fields of some kind of tall cereal crop unfamiliar to me began. Before I had even gone half the distance to the shooting range, two messages popped up simultaneously:

The Scan skill has been upgraded to the third level!

The Cartography skill has been upgraded to the third level!

Not bad, not bad at all. The scanning radius has noticeably increased, and as a result of the last activation of the scan icon, I saw a group of red round marks about thirty meters away from the road. Danger? I immediately crouched down, then quietly slid like a plastuna off the too-well-visible road into the tall roadside grass. Not immediately, but I managed to consider the enemy:

Field pest. Insect. 4th level.

It was an unusually large, spiked beetle the size of a spaniel. A whole group of such bastards devoured the crops, destroying the harvest of my faction! We need to stop them, but how? I understood perfectly well that an attempt to attack insects unarmed, or even with a stick in hand, would end very badly for me. The chances of a level 2 character in a battle against seven or eight level 4 enemies are, to put it mildly, very few even with normal weapons. And the unarmed had no chance at all. But literally two hundred meters away was a shooting range where you could find support!