3

- You babbled about your son for so long ... He is the last thing left for such a nonentity, right? Even your wife is long gone. Because you are a loser, - someone's hand reached out with a smoldering cigarette butt to his father's face.

I screamed as I saw it contort in pain. But dad didn't cry. He bravely endured, not allowing himself to give up.

- Hold on , dad! I pleaded.

It floated before my eyes. What he saw was covered in a veil of tears.

- Shut up the child.

This time they hit me. The grip on my hands loosened for a second. I'm not bound, I was being held... A crazy idea popped into my head for a second.

- ***! Don't touch him you bastards! - growled the father, trying to get out of the fetters of the rope.

I did not hear my own name, instead of it there was only noise, as if from interference. But I knew that my father was calling me.

- Do not worry. We won't touch him. We'll sell it to pay your debt.

The hand that had just held the cigarette butt approached the throat of the father with the knife. I glanced at the unknown man. His face was hidden in shadows.

“Don’t… Please,” I pleaded in a childish voice torn from screaming.

- I'm sorry, boy. That's life. And your father lost it.

I rushed forward. Despite the pain in his shoulders from the tension of his outstretched arms, he leaned forward, screaming heart-rendingly. But not out of fear.

I was filled with rage.

The grip on my wrists loosened. I was free. Like a cobra, he put all his childish strength into one jerk. Get there. Save. Kill. Do something!

My father's throat was cut right in front of my eyes. The black-and-scarlet cloth covered the papa's chest, and he began to convulse.

I ran into the killer. He squeezed his balls with childish fingers, trying to win with what his friends in the yard had taught him. A cry was heard. Pain erupted on the back of his head. I fell before I realized what had happened.

- Little bastard! - roared over me.

The polished shoe hit me again and again. I was exhausted, I could not even hide behind. Before my eyes was a picture: a dying father, and I, who could not do anything.

- Good! If this whore's son is so brave, we don't sell him.

The voice was unfamiliar. I had not heard him before. It made its way to me with difficulty, barely seeping through the dissipating veil of darkness.

- He will work for our family. We'll brand the kid like cattle and make a fighter out of him. Stop chasing him. A broken warrior is worth less than his ugly mother whore. Let him pay with his own blood for the sins of his father...

I opened my eyes again. All in the same field. My heart was pounding. I felt tension in my legs, pain in the back of my head. And heard the echoes of that voice...

Hatred. I blazed it. But she didn't make me crazy. She just helped me pull myself together and pull myself together.

Rising from the ground, he read the smoky inscription before his eyes.

Player 67665, you have successfully unlocked the last memory fragment.

You gain the Snake Throw skill. Details are waiting for you in the Diary.

New quest: "REVENGE THESE CREATURES".

The system wishes you success in your new life! And please don't forget to dry your tears. Maintaining water balance is the key to survival.

- Wipe your tears, right? I grumbled, running my hand over my wet face. - For such jokes, you will soon choke on tears.

Empty threat. The system doesn't care. But I was cheered up.

"Most people die if their heads are cut off"

- System U.P.S.

I was moving east. X pointed in the opposite direction, hinting that it was necessary to go to the non-scripts, but my intuition spoke of the opposite.

Hearing that there are almost no dangerous animals in the initial locations, I was hooked on the word "almost". The level is useless, as I understand it. So, the emphasis should be on characteristics and skills. What will the NPC settlement give me? Something inside me told me that I would only find a handful of boring level and reputation quests. No wonder this item is listed in the Diary one of the first. It's also an important thing. Accordingly, before going to the NPCs, it would be good to look around, wander around. Maybe find something interesting.

Guided by this logic, I paced, looking around. Maybe it's stupid to delay the inevitable, but my intuition whispered loudly in me. And I did not forget to remind that listening to her is my duty.

The forest around looked quite ordinary. The system was silent. The birds were singing in the distance. Having met a thorny bush with berries along the way, he examined them thoughtfully and decided to pick a handful. Large, fleshy to the touch, a pair of pieces in a bunch. Purple color. Something suggested that might come in handy.

Hunger struck unexpectedly. Taking a mushroom out of his pocket, he examined it skeptically. Can you eat it raw? Probably if X gave the go-ahead for it. I don't know anything about this world anyway.

Performed the usual action: eaten Bogusman.

An experience point has been gained.

Even so? The system prompted the name of the mushroom? Nice. Apparently, she decided that there was no point in hiding such useless information.

The mushroom didn’t fill my stomach, but for some reason it became more fun. The mood lifted, and there was no trace of the recent outburst of rage. It seemed that he even felt more cheerful. But he was in no hurry to write off the pilgrim: they said that there would be weakness until you felt hunger. And so it happened.

The sun was constantly sinking down, and I kept walking, merrily whistling a melody invented on the go.

- O! - leaned over another pilgrim.

Ripped off, shook off. The remnants of earth creaked in his teeth. Experience was not given, but chewing tasteless food will not be superfluous. Something prompted to look around. And he did not lose: at a distance there were more mushrooms.

Humming, he tore off one by one and threw it into his mouth.

- Well, how, - he smiled contentedly, twirling the remaining piece of the hat in his fingers. - Interesting, but if you roast it at the stake?

Throwing a couple more mushrooms into my bag, I emptied the clearing and continued walking. I suspected something was wrong after ten meters.

I suddenly shook violently. But I was not afraid: I just laughed, falling into the grass. The gaze rested on the sky. The blades of grass tickled the skin pleasantly. It was cold through the thin fabric of a simple shirt. And the sky above me burned from the distant rays of the setting star.

- Well, now I won’t have time to see people before dark. And to hell with him, why do I need these people? .. - yawning, he rolled over.

There was a strange happiness inside. It became so calm. And the disturbing thoughts about the father, and the chill from such a sharply rolled happiness - all this remained somewhere out there, on the sidelines. The only thing that mattered was that I felt good. And the chill does not bother, and the hunger receded.

Something buzzed over my ear. My cheek tingled. He slapped himself harshly.

Performed a normal action: killing a pest.

An experience point has been gained.

Wow, experience was given even for killing a mosquito... I giggled, and the System continued:

Watch out for giant mosquito bites.

Giant mosquitoes...

I looked at the palm. Right in the middle of it, an insect was still twitching. Not at all like a normal mosquito. Hefty, stuck to the skin with squeezed out entrails, it agonized ... And its long proboscis trembled violently, trying to reach me.

- Fuck!

In disgust, I shook off a small monster with three pairs of wings and prickly chitin armor on the abdomen.

- What the hell is this?..

And it's true. I did not expect to see such a terrible creature. Its size easily jumped the nail on my hand. In this world, exactly such mosquitoes? Although ... What should they be?

My head hurt unpleasantly and I threw my thoughts away. I had to get up. Perfect knowledge of the world is not required to understand: I do not want to coexist with a swarm of such monsters at all. Moreover, even the System became generous with advice.

I jumped up and looked around. Luckily, it's quiet so far. There are no shelters nearby. So, at least the fire should be lit. Something in my head told me that this would help. The only question is how?

Something vaguely suggested that he had used something for the fire before, which greatly simplified the process. I just couldn't remember what. However, it does not matter - with me I only have a bag, a Diary and some food.

Picking up dry branches, I somehow cleared a place for a fire. Dropped sickness. And I thought again. He bent down, feeling one of the branches, especially the rotten one. She crumbled easily under her fingers.

Not entirely sure what I was doing, I picked up a modest pile of dust, crumbled dry leaves into it, and put a couple on top. Been looking at this for a while. He shook his head. Something didn't add up.

I looked again at a bunch of branches. The head was seething all over. Was cracking. I listened to the silence of the forest, hoping not to hear a memorable buzz. While it's quiet. Exhausted, he collapsed on his ass.

- What is missing?

Hands reached for one of the sturdy sticks. Short, with a sharp chip at the base. But something was missing.

He looked at the nearest tree, as if expecting it to tell him how to set fire to his tree brethren. An old trunk of an old tree. Its bark has dried up in one place, making a nest for parasites.

I suddenly got up and grabbed the broken piece. I tore it off, not paying attention to what was hiding under the bark, returned to the future, I hoped, to the fire.

He laid the dry piece on the ground. It looked like a boat. Or on a plate ... And on a plate? ..

Encouraged, I moved a pile of dust and leaves from the ground to the bark. Yes, this view is correct. But what's next?

He glanced sideways at the stick that he had recently held in his hands. He grabbed it, once again examined the sharp point at the end.

- I'm going to sweat, right? He chuckled, finally giving birth to an idea.

After some time, puffing from the effort, I suddenly saw a thin stream of smoke. Not believing his luck, he bent over a pile of dust, which he had been ruthlessly rubbing for the last minutes, covered it with his palms and blew lightly. The smoke intensified, inspired, I grabbed a branch with dry leaves, and began to lay it down. After a couple of seconds, the long-awaited moment came: a tongue of flame rose above a bunch of leaves.

- Hooray! I raised my fist in victory.

But you can’t rejoice for a long time, you need to support your little fiery friend.

Soon the flames crackled, licking the branches with gusto. I rested my chin on my fist and looked at the result of my work with a satisfied smile. The face was pleasantly warm. And just in time it got dark - I was no longer afraid to be left in the dark, alone with a terrible buzzing.

Having placed a couple of especially large branches, I suddenly saw the outlines of letters among the smoke from the fire.