“Guys, wait! I don’t understand much myself yet,” he passed the Khort, modified by three brands, to its stunned lucky owner. Alex looked around again, but found no trace of the book. “We’re staying here. Flash, provide the Black Mallorns with protection.”
The people erupted in unison. “Mallorns?” “Really?” “Are you kidding? “Wow!”
Flash remain unperturbed as if nothing extraordinary had happened. Mallorns? Big deal! We need to follow orders.
Flash’s voice rumbled in Alex’s mind, It will be done! Even a mouse couldn’t slip by me.
While Alex Phoenix was busy pondering where to start, the battle ermine quietly led a quarter of the squad into a cordon.
“Anna, check my stats. What do you think?” Alex finally asked.
After several minutes of intense study, Anna stammered, “I don’t understand, I don’t… I see Dark Druid specialization and the name ‘Phoenix’. Nothing else. It’s like I’m staring into a bottomless hole. Look at yourself! The brand on your neck is all but erased, and one line remains from the original nine — ‘Dark Druid Phoenix’.
Alex pressed his fingers to his neck. The brand had indeed almost disappeared. The one on his right forearm was also missing.
“As if it had never been there,” he muttered, feeling exponentially better.
I must finally make up my mind. Alex, gathering his courage, said, “Daga sa Daga, Anna, Kate Mordor, and Shizdets, do any of you want to volunteer? There are four of you, but only three magic trees.”
The group’s silence didn’t last long.
“Commander Phoenix,” Shizdets said, raising his hand, “I’ll relinquish my chance of magical transformation to the ladies. I don’t want any of them to miss this opportunity.”
Alex nodded and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder, “Well said, Shizdets. Thank you.”
The ladies rewarded their gallant colleague with three passionate kisses concurrent with the squad’s hooting and cheering.
Alex retrieved a green compactor for each woman, advising, “Please, take your time. We’ll stay here as long as is needed. Stay calm throughout as you try to discern the rhythm of your chosen plant. Approach the Mallorns cautiously, trying to establish a dialogue while you do. Think good thought, imagining how you will take care of and look after your future friend — Black Mallorn.” He exhaled. “I repeat, do not rush! Clear?”
“Clear!” the trio answered in unison.
“I wish you good luck. Go, my friends.” Alex hugged the girls in turn, giving them quiet words of support. To the squad he said, “Widen the security and surveillance perimeter, and observe silence!”
Having issued his orders, Alex decided to explore his new interface, convinced he was missing something. He sat, leaning his elbows on the pedestal of the monument to Peter the Great, which stood opposite the Engineering Castle. He knew it to be a famous bronze statue of the emperor, but with a twist. If one looked at it from the correct angle, he or she would observe that one of the horse’s forelegs ended in a human foot sheathed in a jackboot. Alex closed his eyes, and tried the first thing that came to his mind.
Display the interface! After a minute of nothing, Alex opened his eyes. Tataki, Sophia, and Gres were sitting nearby. My most devoted bodyguards are here.
They spent a pleasant hour chatting about nothing and staring at the Mallorns. When Daga sa Daga rose and approached the selected tree, Alex watched her through his magical vision. He had seen the magic of the trees in action, and it was like nothing else.
It turned out this magical plant of antiquity had its own system of magic and a peculiar approach to it. The Mallorns were surrounded by darkness as impenetrable as a black hole. On its borders, a shining vortex aura whirled as if in a wild dance, absorbing more and more energy from the surrounding space.
Now, that’s power! Alex thought.
He didn’t know how long he had been trying to budge his aura without success – an hour, perhaps several. Finally, when it seemed his efforts would be in vain, his aura twitched. Everything transformed into some new quality as if switching it from black and white to color.
Again his mentor came to life. Player Phoenix, pay attention to the new object on the interface.
Alex couldn’t keep a straight face. One might think there was something there before.
“Interface,” he whispered, gritting his teeth.
A small black icon of an open book in a silver frame flickered at the edge of his peripheral vision. He clicked on it without thinking and received the following System message:
.
Attention! Choose the option:
Engage reality/Engage virtuality
.
Alex furrowed his brow in thought. I think I guess what virtuality is… But what is reality?
He activated the first option with interest. If he had not been leaning against the pedestal, he would have dropped the book that appeared in his palms as if out of nowhere.
He had never seen such splendid folios, not even in the many museums and exhibitions in St. Petersburg he had visited in his former life…
Alex gripped the book tightly, afraid that it would disappear again. When his first enthusiastic impressions began to wane, he chose to study it.
All the book’s elements — pages, spine, embossing, metal corners, and even a bookmark — looked mysterious. An unsettling feeling came over Alex. The book radiated danger. Great danger.
Was it because it was made from unfamiliar materials? A flat stalk, intertwined like chain mail, served as a bookmark. Tiny, bright buds blossomed and faded on its
