Who was reading level

Using the Who Was Books Series in Your Classroom

I’ve been a big fan of the Who Was books series for a long time. For younger kids especially, historical events can feel distant, sometimes boring, and unrelated to their current lives of video games, YouTube, and whatever new thing is capturing the attention of kids at the time you’re reading this. That’s where a good biography comes in! Students not only learn about the person, but also the historical context in which they lived. Topics become much more relatable and students can start making connections to our past. My favorite biography series for making this magic happen is definitely the Who Was/Who Is series! I’ll be sharing some of my favorite activities to accompany the books in this post, including a free Who is Michael Jordan flipbook!

First published in 2002, the Who Was series profiles a very diverse group of historically and culturally significant people such as Amelia Earhart, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, and Oprah Winfrey. You’ve probably seen them in bookstores. But you might refer to them as another name such as “big head biographies” or “bobblehead bios” because of their recognizable covers. The books are incredibly popular with students because they’re relatively short (each one is just over 100 pages!) and feature lots of engaging illustrations. They’re also very popular with teachers because most books in the series only cost around $4.00!

The publishers have expanded the Who Was series into other topics with their What was?, Where is?, and What is the Story of? series as well, meaning there are 250+ books to choose from! There’s even a fun Who Was? Activity Book that has puzzles, mazes, quizzes, and other games based on the series. They’re constantly adding titles, and about 20 new books get published each year. You can find an updated list of all of the books in the Who Was biography series here! 

The recommended reading levels vary for each title, but they typically fall within these ranges:

• Scholastic Reading Level: N-S
• Lexile®: 620-900
• Ages: 8-12
• Grades: 3rd-7th

If you have a particular book in mind, I recommend just searching the title using the Scholastic Book Wizard. You’ll be able to find Scholastic, Lexile®, grade equivalents, and DRA levels all in one place. 

The Who Was biographies are fun to read and packed with history and culture. Unlike some history textbooks, the writing is fun and brings each person’s story to life. More than that, though, the books also make connections between historical topics and our current lives. Each book begins with a chapter that provides context and sets the scene for the person’s life. Most of the books are excellent for teaching and supporting growth mindset, and readers are encouraged to explore their own potential for changing the world. 

While the series remains upbeat and positive, they’re also not afraid to dig into tougher topics like racism, religion, extramarital relationships, drug use, sexual orientation, and death since these issues are often central to the stories of people featured in the series. You can’t write a book about Harvey Milk, for example, without discussing issues of homophobia and gay rights. And you can’t tell the story of Rosa Parks without also discussing racism, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow, and the history of violence against Blacks in America. Despite the difficulty of these topics, the series as a whole manages to find a balance between the facts and knowing how to present them for young students by tying them into the biographies and providing necessary context. 

The Who Was books also provide supplementary information that is great for incorporating social studies skills. Each book comes with not only a timeline of the person’s life, but also a timeline of the world during the same eras. Bibliographies are always included, and sidebars throughout the book give more information about related topics. A sidebar in Who Was Ida B. Wells?, for example, talks about Reconstruction and the three civil rights amendments passed during this era. 

One of the easiest ways to use the series is to have students complete a book report. You can assign a particular person, or just let students choose someone they’re interested in! I also love the idea of choosing a theme, letting students choose a person that fits within the theme, and then having them share what they’ve learned with each other.

For example, let’s say you were doing a unit on explorers and exploration. Students could be divided into groups and choose to learn about Jacques Cousteau, Ernest Shackleton, Sally Ride, Ferdinand Magellan, or Sacagawea! Groups could partner up and complete Venn diagrams showing how their explorers were similar and different. Since there are so many books in the series, there are a ton of possibilities for themes including artists, scientists and inventors, famous African Americans, Founding Fathers, presidents, athletes, writers, influential women, musicians, and more! 

If you go the book report route, I highly recommend giving students a graphic organizer or trifold brochure template to help them focus their research and keep track of notes as they read. Younger students especially need a framework for taking notes and helping them pick out the most important information. This is also a great idea for scaffolding how to write a short essay. My graphic organizers are specifically meant to accompany the Who Was book series, and they make great book report templates. If you’re looking for digital activities for distance learning, I’ve got you covered with digital graphic organizers and digital trifold brochures too! Each set comes with templates for 108 (that’s right, I said one hundred and eight!) people featured in the Who Was series, and I make regular updates to add more people whenever I can. 

If you’re looking for a more interactive and engaging option, I just finished creating a few different sets of Who Was flipbooks for as many people in the series as possible. I started with this free Michael Jordan flipbook, and the following sets are also available. Remember that each individual flipbook is also sold separately in my TpT store!

Who Was Series Flip Book Bundles

Women’s History Bundle

Scientists & Inventors Bundle

U. S. History Bundle

World History Bundle

Artists, Writers, and Creators Bundle

Athletes Bundle

Presidents and First Ladies Bundle

Who Was Flip Books Mega Bundle

Once you get your kids hooked on the book series with your biography unit, consider following it up by having them begin writing an autobiography of their own! This fun, interactive journal gives kids prompts to help them record their own life stories and write down their dreams for the future. It includes space for a family tree and areas to record information about best friends, pets, favorite foods, hobbies, and other important things students will enjoy writing about. 

Did you know there is also an entire Netflix series about the Who Was books? Well there is! I’ll be honest, as an adult with somewhat decent taste, I couldn’t even make it through one episode. BUT, we all know how our students like things that we can’t stand. There are 13 episodes, each featuring two people from the series and a particular theme for how they’re related. For example, the Wright Brothers and Pablo Picasso were paired as free thinkers, and Amelia Earhart and Isaac Newton are in the same episode for both being innovators. There is an educator guide for the Netflix series that includes some quick teaching tips you may find helpful.

Speaking of teaching tips, the WHO HQ website also has some resources dedicated to teachers with a special page for educators. The site allows you to create your own checklist of books from the series and provides quizzes, activity sheets, and an episode guide to support the Netflix show. You can also learn more about The Who Was? History Bee, a trivia competition for kids in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades where the winner earns $10,000 and a set of books for their school library. Fun!

If you’re looking for some digital activities to use with the Who Was books, students will also love the Adventure app! It’s free and can be installed on Apple devices. The app includes over 5,000 questions about the famous people in the books. Players can progress through 100+ levels as they use timelines and learn new facts. The app would be a great early finishers activity. And if you have enough devices in your classroom, would also make for a fun indoor recess! 

Clearly there are a ton of ways to use the Who Was books series in your classroom. Did I forget any fun activities? Do you recommend any particular titles from the series? Tell me about your experiences and ideas in the comments below!

How To Determine Your Child’s Reading Level And Choose The Best Books

When you sit down to read a book, you want to enjoy the story in front of you. The same is true for your child. That’s why uncovering your child’s reading level is an important step in fostering their love of words from a young age!

Consider the different factors that allow kids to enjoy the books they read. For example, does it tie into their interests, and is it slated as an appropriate option for their level? By answering these questions, you can make sure they’re reading books that are just right for them!

If your child is in school, you’re probably no stranger to jargon like “reading level. ” But what exactly does Lexile Framework, Guided Reading Levels (GRL), or Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) actually mean?

Additionally, if your child is just starting to read on their own (or already reading independently) and is learning from home, how can you figure out what reading level is right for them? If any of these thoughts have crossed your mind, you’ve come to the right place.

We’re here to answer your questions so you and your child can sit down and enjoy a good book together!

What Is A Reading Level?

A reading level is simply a measure of your child’s ability to read text. It reflects how well your little one can read independently. Importantly, reading levels help you choose books that are a good match for your child while still presenting a challenge.

Keep in mind these levels are meant to be helpful, not stressful. They don’t limit your child, but, rather, help them blossom into a fluent, excited reader.

When your child reads books that are appropriate for their current reading level, it boosts their confidence so they can truly enjoy reading! Also, knowing what level your child is at allows you to work with them to improve their skills.

That being said, it’s important to remember that children are unique and develop differently. Comparing your child to their peers isn’t necessarily the best approach when trying to assess their reading ability.

Why Is Determining Reading Level Important?

It’s helpful to determine your child’s reading level so you can find books that are appropriate for them to read on their own: not too difficult but challenging enough to encourage growth.

Reading level classification is a convenient tool you can use when searching online or at the library. And when you provide books that are on your child’s level, you create excitement and build their confidence, which can lead to a lifetime love of learning and reading!

If you’re looking for ways to help your little one read at the best level for them, Our new app HOMER Learn & Grow has a Stories section that gives age-appropriate story recommendations!

This is a great resource that takes your child’s specific interests and recommends stories just for them. What’s more, your child can choose to read along or read on their own.

How Is Your Child’s Reading Level Measured?

Your child’s reading level is usually measured at their school in first or second grade, and we’ll show you how that’s done. Here’s a tip: since your child’s teacher knows their reading level, consider asking the teacher (or the school librarian) for books your child can read at home.

Don’t worry if your child isn’t in school yet or if they’re homeschooled. We’ll show you how you can measure their reading level at home, too!

Before we dive in, it’s important to note that we think of books for kids at three levels: independent reading, instructional reading, and frustrating to read.

As the names indicate, independent reading books are ones a child can read with ease and without support from an adult.

Instructional ones are the books just above independent that teachers might use to stretch a child’s reading as they offer support while the child makes that next step. Finally, frustrating books are too hard for a child to read even with adult guidance.

Now that you have an idea of how to think of the different books your child might encounter, let’s talk about the tools used for determining or describing reading levels.

Lexile Framework For Reading

Lexile Framework For Reading is an educational tool that ranks books by order of their difficulty using a scale called a Lexile. Usually, your child’s teacher will determine their Lexile reading level and then choose books that have a matching score.

The Lexile score, or measure, describes your child’s reading ability and matches them with books and other reading materials. This measure ranges anywhere from 0L to 2000L.

Kids are encouraged to read within their Lexile “range” — 50L above to 100L below their actual level. For instance, if your little one is reading with a Lexile measure of 500L, they would read books ranging anywhere from 400L to 550L.

Using standardized assessments, schools will often measure a child’s reading level several times a year to help them select books that are appropriate for independent reading.

Guided Reading Levels (GRL)

GRL is a guided reading system used in some schools.

To determine reading levels using GRL, children sit one-on-one with their teacher and read from a book that’s considered standard for their grade level — a “benchmark” book. GRL books range from A to Z with A being the easiest.

While reading these books, the teacher will take notes on any missed words and ask comprehension questions, such as, “When did the story take place?” or, “What was the problem in the story?”.

Through guided instruction, the teacher will gradually move children into more difficult books.

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)

DRA is a standardized reading test given by teachers or reading specialists. As with GRL, children sit individually with the test administrator and read a book.

Several factors are taken into consideration to determine reading level, including:

• Reading comprehension
• Phonemic awareness
• Fluency

DRA books are labeled with an A for the easiest books and then move into a numerical grading system. The levels range from 1 to 80 with 1-3 representing a kindergarten reading level and 80 representing an eighth-grade reading level.

Once a child has a DRA or a GRL level, a teacher or parent can search for the reading level of any particular book and can usually discover either the Lexile, DRA, or GRL of that particular text. Here’s a chart for your reference.

At-Home Reading Levels

If you’re looking for a way to find out your child’s reading level without using any of the methods listed above, you might try the five-finger rule.

For the five-finger rule, choose a book and flip to any page. If your child seems to have trouble reading more than five words on the page, it’s a good indicator that the book is too advanced for them.

To be sure, though, you can have your child try another page, especially if they seem eager to read a particular book.

This can be a helpful strategy, but it’s OK to let your child try a book and see how the reading goes. If a book is too hard, most kids will figure that out — and there is nothing wrong with reading books that are too easy!

Sometimes a child may be interested in a book that’s a little too hard for them. If this happens, we encourage you to read aloud to your child. You can also read together by alternating pages, paragraphs, or sentences.

It’s important not to completely avoid books that may be a little above your child’s reading level.

Even if your child struggles a bit to read them without assistance, these books can still be beneficial in helping build their vocabulary, improve comprehension, and increase general knowledge — not to mention, encourage their love of reading!

When your emerging reader seems overwhelmed by one book, you can always give the five-finger rule a try with other books until you find the right match. And if your child is particularly interested in a topic, you can always read the book to them and stop on words you know they can read.

Also remember that when a child is really enjoying a book and highly motivated to read it, they will read at a higher level than if the material is not as interesting to them.

Tip: Most libraries and bookstores have books arranged by reading level so you can easily choose the best one for your emerging reader!

Feel free to ask librarians and knowledgeable staff at bookstores to offer suggestions. You could even say something like, “My child happily read a Clifford book; can you suggest others at the same level?”

How To Help Your Child Become A Stronger Reader

As we mentioned earlier, you can easily determine your child’s reading level at home so that you can help them choose books that are just right! We suggest incorporating some of the tips below to help your child become a stronger reader.

Start With Clues

• Is your child using “sounding out” techniques to figure out unknown words?
• When your child reads, are they getting tripped up by sight words — common words that are hard to sound out?
• Is your child using pictures to help them understand what is written on the page?
• Is your child using context clues to figure out what word makes sense to come next as they read sentences?

Check Vocabulary

• Play games with your child to see what words they know. For example, say a sentence and point out one word in the sentence. Then ask them if they can come up with a different word (synonym).
• Play synonym games to see what words your child knows. For example, challenge yourselves to think of 10 or more ways to describe speaking (shout, whisper, mumble).

While you’re talking with your child, describe something specific from your day. Make sure to use interesting adjectives, and don’t hold back from using sophisticated vocabulary when talking with your child.

You can help your child’s vocabulary grow through day-to-day conversations and activities!

Ask Comprehension Questions

Understanding what they read is an important part of your child’s reading journey.

• To check for reading comprehension, we suggest pausing every other page to talk about what you’ve just read. Make this a natural reaction to the story, like you’re thinking aloud about the story or characters, so that it doesn’t feel like a test.
• Consider encouraging your child to act out and retell the story (for younger children).
• Try discussing themes/lessons with your child (for older children). Remember: this isn’t a test, but a conversation between book lovers!

Talk To Your Child

When most people implement strategies to help their children improve their reading skills, they often forget about the importance of verbal communication. It’s essential to talk to your child frequently in short and simple sentences.

This includes singing songs, telling them wonderful stories, reciting fun nursery rhymes, and describing the world around them. All of this exposes children to lots of different words. It also helps them learn that language is a powerful tool for communication.

Discover Your Child’s Favorite Books

• Children often choose books that are a little below their actual reading level. At home, this is a good thing. It keeps reading fun and exciting!
• We recommend choosing books that interest your child — with a certain character or activity they like — so they’re curious and excited about reading.

Reading books your child enjoys together can encourage their love of reading. And letting them read those same books to you can boost their confidence over time.

Together, these two activities increase your child’s fluency and reading enjoyment!

Create A Reading Corner

Establishing a reading corner in your house can benefit your child. The setup doesn’t need to be elaborate. This can be a simple, quiet, private area where your child can confidently read independently or with you. 

It’s also great for the spot to be well-lit and filled with lots of books your child enjoys reading. 

Is Reading The Same Book Over And Over OK?

Just like you might pick up an old favorite book to read, your child may do the same, and that’s OK! At least you know they’re enjoying a good book and the process of reading!

Rereading books can have many benefits for a child, including:

It allows children to get more from the text. Have you ever developed a deeper understanding of a story after rereading it? That’s because the more you engage with a story, the more you can take away from it.

You can pick up on new information, establish connections between yourself and some of the characters, and even improve your understanding of the overall story.

Similarly, allowing your child to read their favorite books for the second, third, fourth (or more) time will enable them to get more from the story.

It also allows for bonding. Did you know that rereading books can help bring your family closer together?

Many of us remember a couple of books that our family read together regularly. This can be a holiday book or a favorite story. Rereading is a great way to get the whole family involved, as everyone can take turns reading and connecting on the same story.

What’s more, reading familiar books can actually help develop a young reader’s fluency. It allows them to learn the words and helps them become familiar with narrative structure or storylines (i.e. beginning, middle, and end), which builds reading comprehension later on.

So feel free to let your child choose the same book over and over!

FAQs About Reading Levels

What Reading Level Should My Child Be In Each Grade?

It’s challenging to answer this question because each child is different and will naturally develop at their own pace. For example, just because your child’s friend has started reading fluently doesn’t mean your child will be able to do that yet.

While no parent wants their own child to be a little behind compared to their peers, putting too much pressure on them to “catch up” might actually have an adverse effect. In fact, they might feel overwhelmed by the pressure and develop a negative attitude toward reading.

It’s also important to note that there’s no direct link between a certain Lexile measure and a specific grade level. When using any of the reading level measures we mentioned, remember that they are an estimate of a child’s performance and shouldn’t be interpreted literally.

Also, if you’re really concerned about your young learner’s development, you can always address those concerns with their teacher or another professional. They can offer tips and advice on how to best work with your child.

Finally, remember to be patient and positive no matter what. With lots of time and effort, your child will develop a lifetime love of reading!

Who Can Help Me Choose Books That Match My Child’s Reading Level?

The best place to start is to consult your child’s teacher. They will have the expertise to guide you in buying the right books for your child.

It’s also possible for you to look up most books online and find their reading levels. Furthermore, for beginner readers, there are publishers who label books in stages with age and/or grade suggestions attached.

If you’re homeschooling, you can also reach out to your local librarian or bookstores. As people who spend each day surrounded by books, they often have knowledge on this topic and may be able to recommend a few relevant books in your child’s reading level.

What If My Child Is Reading At A Lower Level?

The last thing a parent wants to hear is that their child’s reading level isn’t on par with their peers. But what can you do if, from the assessment used at your child’s school, you find out that your young learner is reading below the average grade level?

Firstly, it’s important not to panic. As mentioned earlier, kids develop reading skills at different stages of their development. Some children might be early readers, while others may take time to get there.

The most effective way to help your child improve their reading level is by continuing to encourage reading at home. While reading, remember to discuss the content to ensure comprehension.

Reading For Fun

From assessments to the five-finger rule, determining reading levels varies across the board. No matter which method you choose, remember these measurements are meant to be helpful and encouraging, not stressful and limiting.

Keep this in mind when assessing your young learner. You don’t want your child to sense any stress about their abilities, as this might overwhelm them and have an adverse effect on how they view reading.

While reading is an essential early learning (and lifelong) skill, you want your child to LOVE reading and not only view it as a test of their intelligence.

At the end of the day, the way reading makes your child feel is more important than their reading level. Each child learns in a way that’s special and unique to them.

The HOMER Road To Reading

The road to discovering how to read can be a fun ride, but sometimes it’s bumpy. This is why we’re more than a learning program. We’re your learning partner.

If you’re looking for a resource to help develop your child’s love of reading and learning, consider taking a look at the HOMER Learn & Grow app. It’s full of stories curated based on your child’s interests!

When your child develops a love for reading, they’ll move up to the next level before you can say “Developmental Reading Assessment”!

Author

Read online "Level 99", Sergey Vitalievich Shakurin - LitRes

PROLOGUE

Not so distant future

The planet is on the verge of catastrophe: it is threatened by global overpopulation. The continents have turned into a stone jungle. They are now filled with giant megacities that have forced wildlife into history.

Even in the great country of Russia there are no forests left. From the Finnish to the Pacific border, the land was filled with solid skyscrapers. Often kilometer-high buildings are lost in the clouds.

The governments of those countries that at least sometimes or partially remembered the people, but in fact they were only words, have long remained in history.

Now the leaders of each state are openly replenishing their bank cells instead of exploring the territory of the Universe in search of planets suitable for human habitation and resettlement of the inhabitants of the Earth there. They do not try to arrange wars, as they used to, to reduce the population. After all, everyone knows the true goal of coming to power at all times - personal enrichment. But those patriotic rulers who fight for justice, care for the people and their country, were always promptly sent on a “vacation” with the words: “Eternal memory to them!”

And now, for more than a dozen years, the dream of moneybags and gamers has come true - the virtual game world pumped money into the real world with an endless stormy stream. But everyone had their own goal: the rich continued to get richer, no matter how tautological it may sound, and gamers continued to play, embodying their unrealizable dreams of real life in the “swamp” of the World Wide Web. Although most of the players had the main monetary income, it was playing.

At the moment, the virtual gaming industry is ruled by several corporations that have divided the real world into territories. Each of them had its own, strictly defined Game. So, for example, residents of the European part could not join the server of African countries, North American - to South American, Japanese - to Chinese. And even in Russia there were three delimited territories: Capital, Ural-Siberian and Kamchatka-Far East.

All games had one basic theme: global fantasy MMORPG ¹ worlds, but each Corporation had its own subtleties, rules, content of the world space, geophysical and geopolitical features. There were many cases when a player of one Corporation, after watching videos of battles ² from another Corporation, moved to live in a region of interest to him only for the sake of playing.

In the general bulk of ordinary people living in this world called Earth, polluted by machines and technologies that almost destroyed the ecology, there is only one thing left - to go to an unreal world: a world in which you will breathe clean air, enjoy the aromas of fresh grass, receive pleasure from the vastness of the beautiful virtual universe. A world where there are no giant factories that flood the entire planet and pollute the atmosphere with their poisonous emissions, as well as draining waste into the waters of the planet.

People did not want to think about catastrophic problems, they intended to forget all the chaos that happened on Earth. And governments successfully used this for their own purposes, contributing to the Corporations of the gaming industry. After all, it is so convenient to get rid of the extra mouths of the planet by proxy.

How, you ask? Everything is simple!

Once upon a time, the Corporations offered chemfarm - chemical and pharmaceutical production, joint enrichment, and chemfarm did not refuse. The process has begun. Corporations, allegedly caring about the people and realizing that not everyone can afford to purchase expensive equipment, began to rent it out at unrealistically ridiculous prices. Now even the janitor could afford to enjoy the game.

Don't think that Corporations have been operating at a loss. No leader, no matter what he manages, will never cheat himself.

The connection process was worked out to the accuracy of the mechanism: the Corporation employees brought home and installed the full immersion capsule to the new future player, and the chempharmacy workers connected the player's life support system. What kind of saline solution was maintained by the player who was in the playing space was accordingly kept secret.

Then the future equipment tenant was put into the comfortable space of the capsule and the demo version of the game was connected to it. Returning to the real world after a half-hour test, the newly-minted player with burning eyes, happily smiling foolishly, was ready to go to the central office to sign the contract.

And now about the moment that allows Corporations to be so "generous".

The player is holding an equipment rental agreement and hastily scrolling through, reading sideways, but his thoughts are still there, in the new "real" world.

How carefully and quickly do you think the tenant will read one hundred and fourteen pages of the contract?

The terms of the contract included all the player's data, from his blood type to bank accounts. All this was on the first pages of the document, and on the one hundred and eighth there was one fad that sounded something like this: "If it is impossible to pay for playing time and fail to pay the debt within a month, all the player's property becomes the property of the Corporation."

But still, the main profit came from the fact that there were a large number of cases of non-return to the real world.

When information about an outstanding debt appeared in the Server System Control Center, control was automatically established for this player, and as soon as signs of a game character freezing appeared, a “help” group went to his apartment. Their main job was to disconnect the player from the system and write it off, that is, “utilization”.

The volume of saline life support was calculated only for three weeks of incessant play, and after a long-term "immersion" without the required returns to reality, the person turned into a "vegetable".

After "awakening", the former player did not remember who he was and what he was for in this life. Basically, he sat sluggishly, drooling, and often just fell into a coma, not reacting to any stimuli.

After the “disposal”, no one ever saw this man, and all his property passed into the raking hands of the Corporations. Thus, the government, through the hands of this industry, was slowly reducing the population, which had long since passed the critical threshold.

Players' relatives tried to report missing people, but the representatives of the Corporations only shrugged their shoulders, saying that, apparently, the player, fearing responsibility for a huge debt, was simply hiding somewhere, and according to the agreement, the Corporation had the right to take his property to pay off the debt.

Chapter 1

- Well, you give! Open World was launched two years ago, and you have never even been in the virtual world even in the early versions, and they have been around for decades! With your dad's money, you can also not rent equipment, but buy your own capsule, as I did! - Dima was amazed at his friend.

- What do you suggest? Artyom ran his hand through his light brown hair, smiling at his childhood friend, a gambling addict.

- You can't even imagine how real everything is there! I chewed the grass, it tastes like real!

- Brother, do not chew grass, you will become a kid! Artyom laughed.

But Dmitry did not listen to him: he was on edge, constantly gesticulating and talking about that world.

- And anyway, how do you know what real grass tastes like? On Earth, greenery remained only in the museum, under serious protection. Perhaps, of course, somewhere in the Far North, something similar has been preserved, although . .. even Kamchatka, with its regular earthquakes, has turned into a continuous stone jungle. I can’t imagine how it is possible to live on a volcano… – trying to ignore the flow of information, the owner of the apartment on the three hundred and second floor was thinking.

- Yes, greens are not the main thing! Dima continued to advance. - Imagine the Middle Ages with beautiful ladies, warriors and girls of attractive behavior ...

- Are there prostitutes there?! Artyom, startled, interrupted his friend.

- You have never seen such prostitutes! What about prostitutes? – waved his friend excited by the memories. - Our girls outshine with their splendor all the beauties of the world combined!

Artyom has repeatedly noticed that Dima speaks of the virtual game world as if it were real. Dmitry explained many times how it is possible, without leaving the virtual, to earn huge money in the game, the main thing is that your Persian, as gamers call their character, be well pumped. You misunderstood if you thought about training in the gym. What they call raising the level of the character, his various development in the game world.

- Well, you turned it down! - waved, copying a friend, the owner of the apartment. - To make cartoon characters more beautiful and attractive than a real beauty ... In my opinion, it's time for you to buy a doll and go to a psychiatric hospital.

Dima, as always, did not pay attention to his friend's underwear.

- Do you remember, even before you started studying at the institute, you and I went to the Spiral health-improving and combat gymnastics center? Even the trainer allowed you to rotate his blades with your blades - you did it so cool!

- And what follows from this? Artyom asked in a mocking tone.

- So, in the game you can develop your ability to swing a blade in such a way that the Persians with the maximum level of development will envy you! You choose a character for yourself - a tank warrior ³ , we have two of them - a righteous fighter and a fearless paladin, and kill everyone right and left!

- Wait! If my memory serves me right, then the paladinum was something like a talisman, a talisman with the image of the goddess Athena, a sacred object that brings good luck to the owner.

- Exactly! - Dima just beamed. “A fearless warrior capable of guarding both himself and the group he fights with!” With his luck, completing quests, that is, tasks, is an order of magnitude easier! With this character you can change weapons. If you want, you can take a sword, protecting yourself with a shield. If you don’t like it, you can easily change it to a two-handed weapon, which in a circular rotation causes a huge amount of damage to the enemy!

Yes, Artyom liked to subjugate edged weapons, and indeed, they obeyed him. But now the Spiral has been shut down, and there isn't much room in his own apartment to move around with a ⁴ one and a half blade.

At that moment, Dmitry noticed that his friend was thinking, and he immediately moved on to the next offensive.

- You won't have to suffer for a long time in the worthless state of a beginner: I will tell you all the subtleties of the initial stage, and you will not notice how your level will fly up!

Artyom returned from his thoughts.

- But if I don't like it, you've got it! he threatened Dmitry. “Do you understand that you will have to buy the capsule from me?” Otherwise, my dad will slap me for such useless waste.

- Yes, he has more money than my ancestors! Relax! Dima waved.

Artyom got up from the sofa and went to the window. The capital of Russia for a long time did not differ from other giants in its buildings, even, probably, it was considered an ancient city, as Peter once was. But it was still the capital!

"How is it that such a powerful city hasn't kept at least an artificially planted park?" Artyom shook his head.

Reading books about adventures, he always vividly imagined how the heroes make their way through all sorts of impenetrable jungles. The authors so colorfully describe nature untouched by civilization that it makes you want to howl, looking out the window at what was done to his planet.

And now Artyom began to understand those who tried to forget themselves in the virtual world. Perhaps Dima is right: sometimes it’s worth disconnecting from a dying planet ...

* * *

Dmitry did not deceive, "Open World" impressed him from the very first minutes, the surrounding space was so unrealistically real.

How much time had passed on the first day from the moment he appeared in the city of Lantkur, Artyom did not know, but he walked the streets for a long time, looking at everyone and everything. He touched every object he met: barrels, walls of houses, plants. And he even took one pretty girl by the hand, giving a plucked scarlet flower at the same time. She giggled and thanked her, reluctantly withdrawing her small warm hand from his strong young warrior's arms.

The Middle Ages of this game fascinated: buildings made of wood and stone of different architecture, all kinds of characters. Not only the human race lived here. He often met elves, orcs, goblins. Dwarves communicated with lizard-like warriors, like from the race of drakairs, trading in weapons. The magician scolded the alchemist for the hack work in creating the potion. Artyom's excitation from the variety was overflowing.

After exploring part of the city, Artyom went outside the fortress walls, colliding at the gate with a disgruntled dwarf, mumbling something to himself in his shaggy beard.

Leaving the road, the newly minted player lay down on the lush green grass near the stone wall. Picking one blade of grass, he began to chew it, smiling stupidly. Millions of aromas were intoxicating, my head was spinning from impressions, but still there was someone who spoiled these first impressions.

Hearing a murmur, Artyom opened his eyes.

– What hatched?! – shouted a small goblin in a voice resembling a yapping croak. He impudently relieved himself on the wall two meters from Artyom, who was lying on the grass.

- You're a freak!

– What did you say?! – the goblin took hold of the knife handle sticking out from his belt, while continuing to empty his bladder.

- Eh, green! boomed a voice from the direction of the gate.

The sharp-nosed goblin bared his sharp teeth as he looked at the imposing-looking guard, whose gigantic warhammer easily moved to his armored shoulder.

- Well, get out of here before it turns into a blot! The guard rolled his eyes.

The goblin looked at the boy who got up, who was only waist-deep. Despite the fact that he was successful in physique - a real young warrior, but no protection: rag pants, a shirt with a waist bag and shabby, albeit leather, half boots.

- I remember you! hissed the green-skinned, eared hooligan and rushed after the caravan, which was moving away from the city, consisting of creaking wagons.

Artyom thanked the guard for his support and went in search of the forge. Dima advised him to start with instructions from the gnomes. He could not help personally in the game yet, as he was performing some tasks in a completely different part of this world.

This is how the first day was, striking with its reality in everything, even in incidents. On the way to the bearded masters of metal and furnaces, Artyom thought, wondering about today's conflict situation, which he could not even imagine.

Dima explained to him what an inanimate player looks like. But remembering EVERYTHING at once is simply impossible for a person who has never played such games. Having digested a huge stream of information, Artyom finally realized that the goblin and the guard were non-player characters: someone called them NPS ⁵ , someone called them NPCs. A line with the name of the hero or his name shone above them, they did not have a level value and a life scale.

“It was necessary to introduce computer players who decide for themselves what to do, as if they have their own mind!” he was amazed.

With these thoughts, but already by evening and already on his feet, Artyom stumbled upon one of the forges with a large yard in front of the buildings.

Almost three weeks flew by, which for some reason very slowly added experience. This was frustrating, because Artyom heard in the tavern that some of them rose to level 25 in four days, and at the moment he only recently got the second one. Of course, these "twenty-fifths" could simply throw real money into the game, that is, you pay in the Corporation for various bonuses, and the experience jumps up.

"Maybe I'm doing something wrong?" - Artyom tormented himself in the evenings, working in the forge for wear and tear.

When registering in the game, he chose a character - a fearless paladin, but something was clearly wrong with him ...

“Dima spoke about the main class parameter - Luck, that Endurance, Wisdom and Strength come after her. But where's the luck in that? I don’t want to play the game at all!”

At these moments, fighting for the championship, he was plagued by two desires. One demanded to deposit money and become a super-warrior, the other, referring to reason, offered to leave this beautiful world right now and forever.

“But I really like it here!” - Angrily, Artyom lowered the sledgehammer over and over again on the ingot of iron.

He was not used to giving up and therefore chose his own - to finish the paid month and, if nothing changes, say goodbye to the beautiful dream of mankind - the purest world - forever.

The morning turned out to be overcast. Artyom woke up from being cold. His room, rented out by a grumpy, bearded blacksmith named Kroon, was the blacksmith's shed. There was not enough money for more, not to mention the fact that he could get himself the first blade, so necessary for his character.

Artyom shuddered, but forced himself to get up, instead of wrapping himself in a half-woolen piece of fabric, which was a blanket, and continue his morning sleep.

The bucket of water that served him as a washstand added vigor.

- It seems like summer is in the yard, but some kind of autumn cold! he muttered and sniffed at his clothes.

The game was so real that not only had to eat and sleep here, but also take a bath and go to bed, otherwise you would have to wash your pants.

“Begging for a bath again from this Jew,” the unfortunate assistant lamented, recalling the last conversation with the blacksmith Kroon. - You plow on him, plow, and he, the bastard, huddles to wash and wash!

And the bastard was not long in coming.

- Hey Grand Master Blacksmith's Assistant, stop sleeping! The ore is over, you didn't see it?! Yesterday I had to go to the merchants and buy a wagon!

“Krun, I need to wash up,” the assistant said in a serious voice.

Apparently, Artyom's face did not bode well, and the blacksmith stopped short, snoring like a bull.

- They are already shying away from me in the city, and you offer to bargain in a shop.

- Persuaded, devil-tongued, - quite humanly gave out a non-player character. - I'll flood the bath while you walk.

Artyom sighed, but agreed to these conditions.

From the first days of work in the forge, he noticed the attitude of those to whom Kroon sent him on any assignments. Merchants, and even fellow dwarfs, were reluctant to sell the necessary goods. Krun was not liked in the city, even a blind man could see it. Artyom many times tried to leave him and do something else, but each time he remembered the words of a friend: “You will pump blacksmithing and start creating weapons with armor yourself! With this skill, incredible profits will flow into your pocket! And if you find where to learn magic… Just imagine how much an enchanted blade can cost!”

Artyom sighed as he gathered for the ore, and a kailo caught his eye. He glanced towards the yard, where, as he walked, he waddled like a penguin, a square-shouldered dwarf. After watching how Kroon disappeared into a small building called "bathhouse", he immediately put a pick into his inventory and jumped out of the fence of the forge with a bullet.

He was tired of going to merchants and each time begging them for indulgence in the sale of much-needed material, assuring them that Kroon has such a bad temper just because of his age, but in fact he is a good dwarf. The merchants treated Artyom well, and once again he managed to convince them. With these tasks, the guy gained minimal experience, but still, in more than three weeks, he received the second level, without even once using a sword in business.

Now he has an idea.

The city of Lantkýr was in a stone bag. It was surrounded by low mountains, and a wide gorge served as a passage to this round valley. Naturally, in the surrounding mountains there were also paths leading to the other side of the natural fence, but Artyom knew nothing about them, since for all three weeks he had not got out of the city more than a hundred meters to the bank of a narrow river, which cascaded down from the stone slope of Obvodny ridge.

In the forests of the valley there were often isolated rocks. Somewhere the terrain turned into hills, swollen like bubbles. And today Artyom decided to go to the new sights of this world, namely the rocks. Since he had a tool of labor, it means that he will be able to extract ore, and not beg for it from merchants.

To the left of the gates of the city, above the tops of the trees, one could see small rock heaps. With them, he decided to start.

While making his way through the woodlands, he came across a bare body of earth with solid rock. It didn't take long for Kylo to get to work. Half an hour later, realizing that there was nothing here, Artyom went on, especially since the low slope was already flashing between the tree trunks.

Before he had time to get out of the vegetation onto the stones, his eye caught hold of a vein in the rock. Metal vein! And he was immediately notified that he received the achievement:

You have gained the skill - Eye Seeker Level 1.

- Wow! – stunned Artyom.

In the forge, he received the title of "blacksmith's assistant" only two weeks later, although he himself forged cuirasses and even one sword more than once, although Kroon finished it later. And then he just noticed an iron vein, and on you!

The kyle's beak began to mercilessly destroy the stone, and the butt in the form of a hammer began to crush it. Fortunately, the Jew Kroon had all the tools enchanted from wear and tear and performance was not lost even by a single point.

In less than half an hour, several pieces of ore were already lying at their feet. In a fit of joy, Artyom almost missed the attack of a small beast with the name flashing over him:

Level 5 Armored Man.

Waving his pick away from him, he turned around sharply.

Three Armored Hedgehogs the size of a small dog, resembling a mixture of an old, balding hedgehog with an armadillo, instead of needles of which sparse, not very long hairs stuck out between the armor plates, growled menacingly. All of them were highlighted in red, indicating that it was an enemy, and they were level 5!

Artyom looked at the tool:

Miner's Kylo, ​​magically modified, wear resistance one hundred percent, attack plus two.

“Is that all?!”

At the moment of the attack of evil mobs ⁶ Artyom remembered that, enjoying the freedom of country walks, he forgot to mark a new place of respawn ⁷ - the respawn point. And the last place was at the gates of the city...

Then he understood - he had to run!

He didn’t know how he managed to remember the mistake in a split second, throw a pick at the nearest Armored Man, while inflicting minor damage on him and climbing an almost vertical rock wall, he did not know, but seven meters from the ground he found a small grotto, where he safely and flew in fear.

Naturally, Artyom perfectly understood that after death he would immediately come to life at the gates of Lantkur, but there was one caveat: the pick and ore would have remained at the place of mining and his death.

In principle, not so far, about an hour's walk. But how to return there empty-handed with no chance of defense? In addition, it is not known what the Armored Ezhtsy would have done: settled there or fled further - to hunt for noobs ⁸ like him.

From the sounds from below, Artyom realized that the little animals can't climb rocks, and that made me happy. He quietly crept to the edge of the grotto and cautiously assessed the situation.

One balding mutant hedgehog walked in circles, either grunting or growling, the other two tried to climb up like Artyom, but each time somersaulted down.

"Why is the third one running in circles?" - the fugitive asked himself a question and only now realized: the Armored Ezhets is losing his health!

The red life bar under the inscription defining the NPC was gradually decreasing.

“What is this? Kyle's attack is plus two, but the magic modification added damage on its own?! Interesting… – Artyom smiled at random luck. - I'll sit here, wait until the retired hedgehog stretches out its paws and ... He's the 5th level, and I'm the 2nd! Now I think that lady luck will turn her pretty little face to me, otherwise I’m already tired of contemplating her beautiful ass ... "0005

Artyom decided to explore the grotto, and in its depths he stumbled upon… a corpse.

Skill - Big-Eyed Seeker, Luck to Search increased by 5%.

He, as always, missed this notification. Well, what to do? He is not accustomed to the fact that a line runs through the air before his eyes.

The corpse turned out to be ancient, more precisely, not a corpse, but a skeleton. Another oddity.

- Wasn't he supposed to disappear after his death? - it is not clear who the fugitive from the Armored Ezhes asked. - Of course, the developers could leave some things after the death of this character, so, for a change, but for the corpse ....

The searcher was lucky that the body remained where it was. Without thinking twice, Artyom removed a leather jacket from the skeleton, sheathed with metal plaques, and immediately smiled at the description of the clothes:

Traveler's jacket. There are no level requirements. Protection - three units out of six possible.

– Excellent! – Artyom shook off the dust from it and immediately put it on, fastening all the buttons. - I’ll clean it, patch it up, and the “six” of protection will return! And then my pants and shirt in total give a unit.

The happy owner of the "armor", and it could be considered as such in comparison with the current clothes, tried to move, imitating backhanded blows with a sword, when something clinked under his feet.

- Anything else? – the guy was surprised.

Near the skeleton, covered with a rag:

Medium sword. There are no level requirements. Attack - one out of four, damage - one out of five.

- Well, it's just some kind of holiday! Artyom was amazed at the find.

The cause of the weapon's performance drop, he determined just by looking at the blade: rust and notches. You don't have to be a master here.

At the same second, the music inherent in the level change sounded, and the number 3 flashed before his eyes for a moment. At the same time, Artyom shuddered in surprise.

– What is this?! he was amazed. - Why?

Artyom almost never paid attention if the program gave out some information, and it even irritated him a little. And in the player's panel, he still hasn't fully figured it out. How people manage to call someone in the real world, complete some business and still not leave the game, for him was something unimaginable.

And now, for no reason at all, he has reached the next level! How?!

Rummaged through his character panel in search of the reason for the changes, got lost in it again and spat on it all from the balcony of his three hundred and second floor. Having calmed down a little and looked around, he found what he was looking for. An almost flat piece of stone was ideal for roughing metal. And since the Armored Eggers are blocking the exit to the outside, Artyom immediately set to work on putting his first blade of this wonderful world in order. He hoped that by the time of cleaning and straightening the sword, the wounded animal would turn upside down, and with two mobs he could try to bargain for his young life.

Having raised the characteristics of the sword to three units, instead of puffing attempts to become climbers, Artyom heard the growl of his new acquaintances, followed by three times: “Hack!”, after which there was silence.

Artyom rushed to the exit from the grotto, and what he saw upset him. He will not receive a free gift in the form of an old hedgehog who died on his own. A huge warrior of the same class as Artyom collected small prey from the three Armored Ezhtsev he had killed, raised a pick and carefully examined the tool. Then his gaze flickered to where the two mobs were attempting to climb. There were footprints on the stones where a boot had plucked moss from the hard rock. The bearded man looked up and immediately, smiling, asked:

- Your kaylukha?

“Mine,” a young warrior with an ordinary, unremarkable face, looked at him with gray eyes, and the guy’s light blond hair fluttered in the wind.

– Get down, I already have those hedgehogs…

– Yes, I saw… – the guy sighed and climbed down.

- Why didn't you brush it off with a knife? Three attacks and three damage - it would be easy to farshan them! the fearless level 34 paladin named Vah continued to smile.

When Artyom approached, the warrior gave his pick.

“Yes, I found him there, in the grotto,” the fugitive shook his head in the direction of the blackening hole, smiling guiltily.

Artyom felt ashamed. More than three weeks in the game - and only the 3rd level, not to mention that I just acquired my own weapon.

– Then the luck of our class with you is not a myth! - the warrior laughed into his beard, whose armor sparkled in the peeping sun. “And a blade like mine, you’ll still get!” Wah followed the enthusiastic gaze.

“I’ll never get one like that, with my job…” Artyom sighed heavily

– What do you do? Wah asked.

- Yes, I plow like an ox in the forge, but there is no exhaust. I also have to live there, there is not enough money for other things.

– Are you by any chance hunching over Kroon? – said the warrior.

“At him,” Artyom was amazed at the guess. - How do you know that?

– Oh, and you got hurt… Run as fast as you can from there!

Artyom didn't understand Vakh's reaction.

– You’ve been stuck in the game for a month already, but you can’t develop in any way, the growth of experience seems to have fallen asleep along the way, right?

Artyom nodded vigorously.

- And now you have a desire to leave the game or throw money into it to grow your character?

Another nod of a dumbfounded man.

- You were "lucky" to get into the most terrible forge of NPCs. Kroon is a software parasite created with the intention of slowing down character growth. It's like it happens in life: you can get to a competent specialist and very quickly master the necessary business, or fall in love with a moron who pretends to be a master, and after that remain an ignoramus. There are enough such NPCs around the world, they are created so that an ignorant player, who is already ready to break into hysterics, begins to deposit money into the game. Real money! When a tidy sum for further growth falls on the account of the Corporation, the program automatically "releases" the loser player from its tenacious paws, we call this "corruption removal". The corporation attributes all this to bug ⁹ . You are probably thinking, how can you break out of the cyclical action associated with non-script? For example, some kind of battle or capture of a city, and your Kroon, an infection, is killed. Bingo! But it happens that you meet a player who knows the subtleties, and he will tell you, - Vakh winked.

Artyom was so dumbfounded by what he heard that he could not utter a word.

- Don't worry! This goma, - the warrior specifically incorrectly called the race, - many ran up against at first. Although someone was lucky, they were immediately warned by those with information. Naturally, those who hang around in this part of the world and have known about this blacksmith for a long time. There are such in all sectors of the world, be vigilant! - the bearded warrior winked and, opening the palm of the guy, poured out the booty that had fallen out of the Armored Ezhtsev he had killed. - And this is for your development!

“But…” Artyom wanted to protest, but the fearless paladinum immediately interrupted his impulse.

- Take this ring to the alchemist Harmaz and tell him that I asked him to sell it. For him, he will roll off a little gold. If he starts counting silver coins, immediately take the jewelry, and he will understand that you are aware of the prices for such a product. After that, the alchemist will begin, smiling, to apologize. Here you won - the jackpot will be good!

The boy's eyes burned.

- This amulet is inexpensive, but mages can pay well for it depending on how you bargain. After selling the trinkets, go to Armory Street, the shop "Fire and Sword", to the dwarf Garubazz. Tell him that it's from me too. For the proceeds from the amulet and ring, the shopkeeper will dress you normally for your level. You can even sell your sword to him and buy it much better. But I advise you to wander a little here and now, hunt for such animals here in order to change the level.

Read online "Level Psi", Aya eN - LitRes

© Aya en, 2017

© LLC "ROSMEN", 2017

* * *

0.

- green Pi;

- blue Delta;

- Scarlet Alpha;

- lilac-violet Phi;

- yellow Zeta;

- emerald Psi;

- orange-fiery Sampi.

In addition to these threads, there are many others in nature. But to become a full-fledged infiloper mutangel, you need to be able to work with these seven threads, that is, go through seven levels.

CAUTION!

The instructions given between the lines in this book do not present the slightest danger to anyone who is human, only human, and nothing but human.

All other mutangels, and especially infilopers (even if they don't remember who they are and consider themselves ordinary people), Mebby Klein asks you to take all necessary precautions while reading. Remember that a person is responsible only for his life, and mutangels are responsible for everything that happens.

Everywhere below: Didi = additional information for infilopers.

Chapter 1. The game begins

They got to Tel too late to have time to comfortably check into a hotel and have a proper breakfast. Mutangel-inphiloper Andrei Klyushkin managed to mix up the abbreviation, and instead of Tel, he was first thrown into a completely different city. I had to urgently return, look for the right road and lose precious time. The super mutant Risengri Shortandlong could have gone to the opening ceremony himself, but honestly he was waiting for a friend. As a result, they got to the place three hours later than expected.

- Well, you give, the light is on your back! Risi exclaimed, when Dyushka, who was sweaty with disheveled hair and a furious look, finally fell out of the transfer abbreviation and was ready, together with Rizi, to dive into the next one, leading directly to the hotel.

- Gopher take these navigators! Klyushkin waved him off.

He did not want to admit that he made a mistake only because at some point he could hardly restrain himself from howling and bursting into tears from impotence due to the fact that Rizi got involved in a stupid game - the only one that could not be played in any way at the Pi level. He barely restrained himself, but mixed up the signs, because before his eyes everything swam treacherously. Dyushkin's thoughts were still confused even now. He tried not to think about anything. Maybe this game will never start?

- Okay, let's go! We make it, but back to back! Dive in here! – Reese let his friend through so that he would not mix it up again.

A minute later they finally showed up at the hotel.

– Welcome to the Psi Level conference! - a very strange person of a non-humanoid type greeted them.

Someone looked like a pile of shriveled apples, each with its own eye. Limbs protruded from some of the apples, vaguely resembling arms and legs. Where this creature had a mouth is not clear.

- Pure states of the system - what could be more complicated and beautiful! – enthusiastically continued someone.

– Wh-what? Dyushka didn't understand.

- I'll explain to you later! - Risengri decisively turned his friend around and dragged him away from the receptionist towards the reception.

Didi. The psi-function is a complex-valued function used in quantum mechanics to describe the so-called « pure state of the system » . Physics, solid physics! But! The same approach can be applied in another area, in psychology, especially in the psychology of mutants.

- Your numbers ...

- Later, everything later!

The boys left their bags at the reception, grabbed a couple of crackers from the vase in the lobby and pulled to the opening of the conference. Everything happened in a hurry. They did not register, did not receive badges - personal head stickers, but immediately ran to the central hall, where they could hardly find empty seats. Of course, Reese completely forgot about his decision to chat with Elina for at least ten minutes a day. As for Dyushka, he didn't even have a second to call Nyoko. Klyushkin was an ordinary guy, even though he was now a mutangel, and he could not chat on the phone, rushing at a cheerful pace through various shortcuts and hotel corridors.

"I'm just really curious about where they're going to start this time," Reese explained his eagerness not to be late.

– To me... then... too! - Dyushka answered with difficulty, trying in vain to catch his breath.

The conference began with the words:

- Doegior daruz! Slisiprom yu not pipip mobile, comp und pho! Und thuu does not use the radio receptor. Gobladarius sage!

- What did she chirp? Dyushka didn't understand.

Rizi translated:

Dear friends! Please turn off mobile computers and phones, and do not use radio receptors. Thank you for attention!

– Aaaa… Now I understand!

- Stick, put the translator in the ear. You don't know any of those languages. So it won't be interesting.

Klyushkin turned off his phone, pulled out a one-time translator from the package, and snorted:

– Also, “don’t use radio receptors and mobile phones!” And if we sit here until the evening, and I need to talk? This can be crazy!

- And don't talk! Reese fully agreed with him. - Leave the room to talk! Horror! And the requirement to turn off the receptors is generally wildness. For example, I feel very uncomfortable if I cannot use radioreceptors. Worse than sitting with your eyes closed. Once I had to turn off all my thermoreceptors and radio receptors at the same time. It was a nightmare. Not only could I not listen to my favorite radio show, I also got burned. Good thing, the sense of smell did not have to be turned off. I sit and smell - something is burning. I look - my fathers, so it’s me who is burning!

– Listen, Bes, what do you think, can radioreceptors be implanted in me?

- They can, of course. And it's high time! All of our students, who were ordinary people in their pre-tangelic life, have already undergone such operations. You know how convenient! We practically do not use telephones…

Their conversation ended there. A tall man in a blue tailcoat stepped onto the stage and began to make a speech. Dyushka listened to him with half an ear and dreamed about how he would insert these very receptors into himself and how cool it would be. And then Dushka got carried away. The opening program was drawn up in such a way that the numerous guests of the conference, who are not very versed in physics and mathematics, would also be interested. And the guest Andrei Klyushkin became interested. He even forgot for a while that Reese was participating in the "Little Vacation" and at any moment could leave the Pi level forever. During the break, Dyushka said:

– Imp, class, you dragged me here. I learned so many cool things! I especially liked this aunt, who talked about models of shortcuts that lead to the wrong place. You know, before this conference, I didn’t really understand how shortcuts work.

- Come on, he didn't know! You might think you're not an infiloper! You managed to almost build one of them yourself! Yes, and drag me and Elka. Forgot, right?

- Gopher, I've explained it to you a hundred times: I didn't lay anything! I followed the trail left by Bream Mymbe. You know her, you talked to her!

Didi. Rizengri Shortandlong, as well as Elina Narcissova, Rino Sluns and Masha Malinina met with Bream at two dinner parties, one of which was hosted by Dyushka and Nioko, and the second by Bream herself before doing global rejuvenation and changing herself.

Yaanna knew Bream a long time ago. It should not be forgotten that the story of Bream, her brother Bjorka, Mamash Mumush and Pipa Mumush who got into Ftopka happened many years ago, long before the birth of Dyushka and his friends. To us Earthlings-12, this may seem strange, but for mutangels who live indefinitely, all this is the norm.

A melodious call announcing that half of the break has passed and in half an hour the second series of today's lectures will begin, put an end to the dispute between Dyushka and Rizi.

- And what do we have in the second part? Will this aunt still talk about unfinished shortcuts?

- It will be, it will be. At her lecture, there will even be a display of abnormal contractions. That is, it will be possible to try to wander through these shortcuts. It seems like tomorrow in the blue room. Only I will not go to it, I want to get to another seminar. But you can go yourself. Let me introduce you...

And Rizi began to look for a contraction specialist. But Dyushka said that he would get to know her later, and now his stomach is just cramping from hunger. Exactly. I had to have time to eat.

They ran to the restaurant. While they were waiting for their order, Dyushka called Nioko:

- Hello, bunny! What are you doing?

– I eat fried chameleons with Elka and Tafik. And you?

- And I'm going to eat noodles with Reese and some other dish that I forgot the name of. We only have half an hour. No, I'm lying - sixteen minutes.

– How do you like the conference, do you like it?

- Aha! I'll come and tell you. I also want to put radio receptors in the back of my head. Such a cool thing, it turns out. Hello from Rizi, by the way.

- Riza from Elka too.

– Passed! He mumbles in response that he will call her back as soon as he finishes chewing!

Risengri finished chewing, but, of course, did not call back - he did not have time.

The second half of the day until the evening was packed with even more interesting reports and presentations of new technology. Dyushka's mobile was forcibly turned off. Every time at the beginning of the next report, the slisipromily politely didn’t pipip comp und mobil. “Nia must have called a hundred times already!” Dyushka thought with annoyance. But he was wrong.

Nioko Niri didn't even think of calling Dyushka Klyushkin. At first, she sat next to Elya while she unsuccessfully tried to guess the lady of hearts. Then she accidentally guessed this lady herself. Then I worried about it for a long time. Then she reassured Elina, who got a card of complete obscurity. Then she thought about how to tell Dyushka about what had happened. And then her beloved kitten Tafik guessed the main card - the jester, and it was no longer up to the bell, because the game had begun.

The game began at the moment when the bartender Sam was wrapping chameleons in a paper bag for Red Tafanail.

– Where did that rascal go again? Nyoko sighed wearily, looking around helplessly for the cat. - Tafik! Kis-kis-kis…

“I think he is in Madeleine’s tent,” Elya prompted.

Nya paid Sam for the chameleons, and she and Elya looked into Mada's tent. We looked in and couldn't believe our own eyes. Something incredible was happening in the tent. Madeleine, with disheveled hair, stood beside an overturned card table. The mat, on which Madya usually sat or lay, this time did not lie on the floor and did not cover the bed in the far corner, but hung half a meter from the floor and flapped the corners like a miniature flying carpet. Thick candles burned with a green flame everywhere. Some of the candles stood on the floor, and some, as always, were attached to the hilts of swords stuck directly into the floor. But if usually the swords only swayed slightly, creating a mysterious play of light in the tent, now they froze as if rooted to the spot ... However, they were already rooted to the spot.

– Stop! They are not so dug in! Elya said, grabbing Nyoko by the sleeve.

Eighteen swords formed an even circle around a small ginger kitten. The candles burned ten times brighter than usual, and their flames did not waver at all. On Tafik's head was a buffoon's cap with three bells.

- I still missed your nonsense! Nyoko frowned, trying to get to the kitten and move one of the swords aside. - What are you doing over there? Let's go home!

The sword did not yield in any way, the hand rested against something hard that could not be moved. Nya could probably pass between two adjacent swords. But for this it was necessary to blow out at least one powerful candle. Nyoko puffed.

Madeleine, who was standing on the other side of the burning circle, immediately jumped out of her seat and rushed towards the girls:

– Hey, what are you doing! You can't blow out the candle while the exit is open for Tuf!

But the candle didn't blow out anyway. The flame did not even stir, as if it were behind a completely transparent glass wall. Nya extended her hand to the candle, and her hand again stumbled upon the invisible, but very strong dome surrounding Tuf and swords with candles. Nyoko was confused. Elya said:

- I know it's magic. We went through history about this. I don't remember which planet.

- What nonsense! Madeleine was angry. What other magic? Maybe you believe in ghosts, and in flying saucers, and in horoscopes?

“Horoscopes sometimes come true,” Elina remarked timidly. – But I don’t know about plates…

Didi. Mutangels have disc-shaped flying vehicles ( double discs are most common, they are usually used to move inanimate objects ) . However, Madya did not mean them, but another superstition, common in some outskirts of the Pi level, inhabited by those who got into Pi's marriage, but never became a full-fledged mutangel. Such was the superstition. It was believed that small household items, especially dishes, can acquire consciousness and special abilities: plates begin to fly, combs speak in a whisper, spoons bend and stick to the body like leeches, and so on.

While Madya and Elya were bickering and denouncing flying saucers and bending spoons, Nya finally realized to look at Tafiq and swords with a mutangelic look. Not the way you see the signs of the navigator, but deeper. Tycha Byha taught her to look deeper when they tried to study in Beon Fi. From what he saw now, Nia felt sick.

The swords and candles were actually not swords and candles at all, but gadgets that unrolled additional spaces around Tafik. Right here, in the tent, something like a shortcut was being created. But it wasn't exactly a shortcut, because the shortcut creates a short path from one point to another, using the additional possibilities of space. But now, Nyoko found no way ahead of her.

Didi. Only a very, very, very experienced infilope mutangel, Mebby Klein, could have guessed that this was not a shorthand, but the so-called " exit transition " . Nioko Neary ( aka the former Varya Voronina ) , was Mebby Klein for a very short time, and even then Yaanna did everything ... Nioko could not guess what was happening.

Madeleine grabbed a mat hanging in the air and tried to pull it aside, because one of its corners dangerously touched the flame of a green candle and could catch fire. I must say, she managed it with difficulty: from the side there was a feeling that a woman was fighting a multi-ton monster. Nya and Elya were distracted by Madya, and Elya even rushed to help, bending around the circle of swords and stepping over burning candles. Nya did not rush to help, because the real picture merged in her head with the Mutangel picture, everything around was too strange and incomprehensible, blurry. She couldn't take it anymore and closed her eyes to keep from falling.

A few seconds have passed, an eternity has passed.

Made and Elya finally managed to subdue the evil mat.

Nyoko carefully opened her eyes, and suddenly yelped, and again reached out her hand to the invisible dome, and again touched the invisible barrier. She saw how Tafiq... But no, probably, it just seemed... The glow of the candles was rapidly losing its brightness, and the outline of Dyushka's beloved kitten was just as rapidly melting in the advancing darkness. It soon became quite dark.

- Wow, the wall is gone! Nia whispered. - Hey, Tafik, get out, the way is clear!

But Tafiq did not respond.

- What an obnoxious kitten! Nico was angry. I always have to save him. Kiss-kiss-kiss…

Nothing was visible in the darkness, but it was perfectly audible how Nia squeezed between the swords and her heels clicked a couple of times in Tafik's direction.

– Kitty-kitty…

The darkness ceased to be thick, the outlines of the surrounding objects began to show through it little by little. Elina and Madeleine saw that Nya was squatting in the center of the circle of swords, groping helplessly on the floor in search of the kitten. Madya snorted contemptuously, but remained silent.

The candles on the swords flared up again every second, stronger and stronger. And now it became clear to all three that Tafik was not in the circle. Nyoko rose from the floor, dusted off her knees, tossed a mop of hair from her forehead, and looked around in confusion. Candles shone so that it was impossible to get out.

Elina touched the air above the candles. Yes, her guess was correct. Now an invisible dome surrounded Nyoko. Nia saw Elina's gesture and understood everything. She pursed her lips and tried to blow on the candle. Now, when the girl was with candles and swords on one side of the transparent dome, the flame obediently swayed from her breath.

- Don't do it! Madeleine screamed loudly, shaking her head with all her might and waving her arms in case the wall blocked the sound and Nyoko couldn't hear her. - Don't blow! It will only get worse! You can't get through the wall anyway!

But the wall did not absorb the sounds, and Nyoko heard everything perfectly.

- Well, what should I do?

- Nothing! Just stand there and wait, soon everything will end by itself, and you will be able to leave,” Madya answered in her usual voice.

- And how long to wait?

- Yes, a minute, no more! And do not distract me, I need to light my candles again!

Madya rushed to light numerous green candles. Sam - and at what point did he appear? - began to actively help her. Elina, who did not understand anything, looked around for matches or a lighter - if this is part of the game, the three of us will do it faster! – but found nothing and decided not to interfere. Moreover, fat Madya and skinny Sam did a great job on their own.

Nyoko prepared to wait quietly. But something in Madi's words alarmed her. And in action too. Why does she light the rest of the candles? Nyoko considered. If Madeleine knew exactly what was happening, then why did she start screaming at her like a deaf man in the first place?

- Hey Madya! Am I sure I'll get out of here?

- Yes, exactly, so that I stop being a sorcerer, if this is not so! Well, you saw it yourself: nothing terrible happened to your kitten. You're in a worse situation, that's for sure, but...

Nyoko looked around absently. She stood in the very center of the circle of swords, exactly where Tafiq had sat. The candles were close, but not so close that the fire could spread to the girl.

– Why is my situation worse?

- Well, why? Madya was surprised. - Tafik is a jester, the main card. And you are a lady. But that's great too. Here I am, for example, only ten ...

- So this is the entrance to the game?

Madya nodded. Nyoko groaned and clutched her head. She was not at all afraid of the game, but what about Dushka now? He has a phobia! She promised him that she would never play!

Suddenly, under the fingers on the head, some movement was felt. Something thick and cold stubbornly grew through Nyoko's hair. "Really horns?" – with horror thought girl.

- Elka, what do I have?

- Like a crown. - Elina looked closer and added: - Brilliant, beautiful.

“The Lady of Hearts is a beauty queen,” Madya explained. - I told you. The diamond crown…

Madya was obviously about to start the story about the beauty queen again, but then Nia's phone rang.

- Hello, bunny!

- Oh, Dyushka, it's good that you called! I…

Nia didn't want to admit to Dyushka that she got into the game, albeit by mistake. In her head, a completely plausible story was composed by itself, which she was going to present to Dyushka. The story was simple. She and Elya decided to live for three days in a real forest, far from civilization, where mobile phones don't work. So it is necessary for Eli to calm down, to rest. Well, Nia went for the company ...

– Look, I couldn't do it before, I'm sorry. Cell phones were asked to be turned off.

- Oh, I see. Dyushka, I won't have a connection here for some time either. Elina and I...

- Oh, Nia, I'm sorry, I'll call you later! Then Bes something urgently needed from me.

And Dyushka passed out.

Reese urgently needed to inform Klyushkin that he had received a challenge to the game. Someone guessed the main card, jester. This meant that all players received a message about the start of the game. Formally, the game began when all the players entered it. But the sooner you enter, the more time you will have to familiarize yourself with the map of the first level. In addition, points were deducted from late players, and Reese did not want to start the game with a penalty at all!

Neither Dyushka nor Elya and Nioko knew anything about the rules. Dyushka turned off his cell phone and prepared to listen to Reese.

Elya, without taking her eyes off, watched the candles on the swords slowly go out.

And Nyoko was thinking about how she could lose quickly and return home before her beloved Dyushka arrived from the conference.

Chapter 2. Rules of the game

Almost all the players of the "Little Holidays" had enough time to train, prepare for the game and familiarize themselves with the rules, only one jester entered the game at once. However, there were also such participants who, having guessed the card, could go away and mind your own business and not remember either the rules or the game itself. Game moderators took into account all these circumstances. Therefore, each player was given a brochure with a set of rules at the entrance. Nyoko Niri also had one of these pamphlets in her hands as soon as the lights went on around her.

- Wow! Nyoko exclaimed, looking around.

It was cool on the sides. Like fleece, only cooler. Nyoko thought she hit a marshmallow with streams of sparkling caramel. Light metallic splashes permeated the space. A soft melody was heard. A fit, handsome man in his forties or fifties appeared in front of Nyoko.

“Such a person may not rejuvenate for another hundred years!” Nyoko thought involuntarily.

- Welcome queen! The man bowed. – Do you like this technique or would you prefer your own version?

“I like it very much,” Nyoko agreed. – Especially the arrangement of my song.

- Oh yes, this is your first single...

- The arrangement itself is good. Tell me, this is a Little Vacation game, right?

The man nodded.

- Tell me, please, how can I lose this game faster? You see, I don't really want to play and... So, could you help me?

If the man was surprised, he did not betray his surprise. His role was very simple - to tell the player about his rights and answer all the questions about the game, whatever they may be. So the man said:

- I am here precisely to explain the rules to everyone who comes in. Although they are all written in the brochure that is in your hands.

Nyoko just now noticed that she was holding a thin book with two leaves in her hands. Obviously, there were not so many rules in the game. She mechanically opened the book. Turns out it was a mini-computer. One page of the book served as a screen, the second was a set of buttons and arrows. Nioko sighed.

“I know that you just guessed your card today and have never practiced,” the man said. - So let's deal calmly, from the very beginning. Otherwise, you will really lose very quickly.

- But that's exactly what I want!

- Even so, you still can't lose before the start is announced.

- What, it hasn't been announced yet?

- What are you! It will only be announced when every single player has entered the game.

- And if they never enter?

The man allowed himself a short laugh. Nioko didn't like his laugh at all. She pursed her lips and dryly asked:

- And yet, let's make up our minds. When will the start be given, the earliest, the latest time?

The man also became serious:

- The earliest is in an hour, if all thirty-two thousand four hundred and twelve players use the right to enter right now, quickly familiarize themselves with the rules and do not ask any questions. At the latest - in three days, if...

- In three days?! Oh-oh-oh-oh...

- After three days, if one of the players for a good reason cannot enter the game faster. For example, if someone is currently at the stage of rejuvenation, which can not be stopped at any time.

The man talked about other reasons that are considered valid, but Nyoko hardly listened to him.

- I need to call! - she said.

- Unfortunately, you are already in the field of play. Calls from the field are not possible.

- I definitely need to see Dyushka. Andrey Klyushkin, my friend.

- Unfortunately, you are already in the field of play. Meetings with persons who are not participants in the game are not possible.

– What about the participants?

- Oh, yes, of course.

- Then I want to speak to Risengri Shortandlong urgently. Is he a participant?

- Yes, he is a member. But he hasn't entered the game yet. You will be able to contact him once he leaves the Pi level and also enters…

– What??? Leave the Pi level?

The man looked into Nyoko's eyes and was suddenly embarrassed.

“The Little Vacation game is played outside the Pi level,” he explained. “Didn't you know? At the level of Pi, that is, within the worlds of the Pi brane, we cannot provide players with real ... real adrenaline, real death. And here you will find the full real, chopping off heads and all that ... This training took place on the Pi. And now everything will be in fact, in absolutely real worlds. Maybe you even get to your home planet at one of the levels of the game. Many, in fact, for the sake of this and ... What's wrong with you, girl?

Nyoko stood as pale as the marshmallows of the surrounding walls, grasping helplessly at the bronze sparks of air. So that's what Dyushka was afraid of! Why didn't he tell her before!

“I don't want to play,” Nyoko whispered. - I do not want!

A pleasant middle-aged man sighed noisily and rolled his eyes in a dramatic way:

– You will decide on your wishes, dear red lady. Either you want to lose and die sooner, or you don’t want to play at all.

– I have decided on my wishes! – coming in themselves, responded Nyoko. “I don’t want to play, let alone lose!” I want to go back to Pi level. In Mebiclaine. Or in uu. Or to any other city, to any world in which there is a normal shortcut to Mebiklein. How should I do it?

- Nothing! The man replied coldly. “There are several exits from the Pi level. But you can only get out of them. There are simply no permanent inputs to the Pi level. They show up, skip selectively one person at a time, or a mutant, or any creature that has become a mutangel, that can follow the trail of a mutangel, or... There are few options. But in any case, these entrances appear selectively and disappear immediately, like a footprint in the sand at the ocean's edge. By choosing the game "Little Vacation" and using the exit, you are no longer a mutangel. You will not be able to return to the Pi level in any way simply for technical reasons.

– How will you get back?

The man allowed himself to smile for the second time:

“Girl, I am a hologram…

Nyoko looked closer, but her interlocutor looked like a completely ordinary person. She tried to look in mutangelic, but ... she didn’t succeed!

Then Nya touched his sleeve and everything became clear.

“You are a hologram…” she whispered. – And I'm not a mutangel temporarily...

It was with great difficulty that she managed to cope with the sea of ​​thoughts and feelings that suddenly flooded over her.

“Okay,” Nyoko decided, “how to get out of here, I'll think about it later. Until then, I'll listen to the rules. Otherwise they will cut off my head ahead of time…”

The hologram began to explain the rules of the game.

The goal of the game was simple - to kill the rest of the players. There were five suits of fourteen cards in the deck. Simple cards from two to ten. Low cards: angel, guardian, expert. High cards: jack, lady, mutangel, ace. In addition to these seventy cards, there were two more cards in the deck: a jester card and a card of complete obscurity. Each card was worth some points. Three is three, seven is seven, jack is eleven, ace is fourteen. The angel was only worth one-tenth of a point.

- Somehow illogical! Nia noticed. The angel must be worth at least one point. But actually, we also had different decks on Earth-11, and the ace was always a one in solitaire games. And in some games like...

- You're right! the hologram interrupted politely. “On Earth-11, as well as on some other lands, and even in many other decks common in the worlds of our brane, it is. But we are now in a game that uses one of Mebiclain's decks of cards...

Didi. There are two decks of Mebiclain cards.

One deck is similar to regular cards ( more on tarot cards ) . This deck is called " Mebiklein " . Deck cards " Mebiklein " are used only for games.

The second deck repeats the same main images, but the cards in it are of a completely different type. This deck is used exclusively for predictions and layouts and is called cards " Mebby Klein " . Each card of this deck is square, divided by two diagonals into four parts. Each quarter shows only half of pattern ( ie each card contains four halves of four different patterns ) . To form one solid drawing, the card needs to pick up a pair, to " Mebby " add " Klein ".

Nioko didn't begin to dedicate to all the subtleties of different decks and the history of card creation.

“The rules for scoring, like all the other rules of the Little Vacation game, have been established for a long time,” the man replied to Nya and continued on what she really needed to know.

So, each card had its price. The lowest cards, angel, keeper/guardian and expert (in other words one, two and three) were worth a fraction of a point. Starting with the four, points were valued much higher, at the face value of the card.

- For example, the four of diamonds, or "treasure". Niin's assistant showed her one of the cards. It's worth four points. Clear?

Nyoko nodded absently.

- And here is the four roga, it is called "Level Pi". The man fished another card out of the deck. – She is standing…

– Also four.

- No. Forty points! Our horns are trump cards.

If the card was a trump card, its value increased tenfold. The jester had no points at all, but a complete free arsenal of weapons.

- So Tafik has zero points? Nia stated. - That is, they can kill him at the first shot?

"Yes," the hologram nodded. “But that won't happen. It is enough for the jester to immediately throw on protection - an invisibility cloak and take at least a simple double-barreled shotgun.

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