Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4)

by Shemer Kuznits

  Trillian was already in full motion. She hurried out of the office shouting orders. Soon, a long line of gofers and generic workers formed up and started to pass along the resources into the export building. I couldn’t see what was going on from where I stood, but in short order, all the material had disappeared inside the building. Then Trillian started handing out the imported goods to the workers, and they hurried along, hauling the precious cargo to storage.

  “That will certainly catch the gremlins’ attention,” Kaedric said. “I am certain their traders will be back here in a few days.”

  “Excellent.” I rubbed my hands together. “Where to next?”

  An enormous, thundering war cry filled the air, coming from our north. I paled, realizing the sound was coming from inside the valley.

  Someone was attacking my clan.

  Again.

  11 - Priorities

  I ran out of the market area and glanced frantically around the settlement. There was a large congregation of soldiers outside the barracks.

  Concentrating briefly, I teleported the short distance over there.

  I found myself standing inside a circle of my soldiers next to two hulking figures. One of them was Duladeen. The Minotaur looked angry, and her nostrils flared as she expelled air through her bovinelike nose. The other one was Rhynorn. The massive Ogre gladiator was beating his fists on his chest and roaring. He was obviously challenging the Minotaur to a fight. And he hadn’t noticed me yet.

  I groaned and covered my face with my hands. The brute had just respawned and was already looking for trouble.

  “I BE THE CHAMPION!” the Ogre roared at the distressed smith.

  Duladeen blew air out of her massive nostrils. “I didn’t say you aren’t! What do you want from me?”

  “You’re big, strong! Not goblin, not Ogre. Rhynorn Bloodore show you your place in clan!” He smacked his oversized fists over his chest.

  Duladeen took a step back.

  I couldn’t blame her. Though she stood nearly two and a half meters tall, if including the tips of her massive horns, the Ogre boss was even taller and much wider. And as a tier 2, level 30 boss, Rhyno posed a formidable sight. Bone plates covered his vulnerable areas, and sharp spikes extended out of his joints and shoulders. Not to mention the oversized spiked club he held casually in one hand.

  Vic chimed in helpfully.

  I rolled my eyes at his antics. The Ogre took a threatening step toward the Minotauress.

  “Rhyno, stop,” I commanded.

  The brute froze as if struck by lightning. He turned slowly, and his eyes widened as he noticed me. He lowered the club and bowed his head. “Chief.”

  “That’s better,” I said. There was no need for a ‘pissing contest’ as my companion put it. I’d already put Rhyno in his place. “Why are you harassing Duladeen?”

  “I was just looking around for a good place for my new smithy,” the Minotaur said defensively, throwing a glare at the hulking Ogre, “when this brute approached and started yelling at me.”

  “Minotaur big, strong!” Rhyno protested. “Need to show place in clan. Chief said not harm clan’s goblins. Minotaur not a goblin.”

  “Ah.” I shook my head in exasperation. “Rhyno, you are not to harm anyone from our clan. No matter the race. That also includes our traveler members. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Chief,” he said begrudgingly.

  “Good, now apologize to Duladeen. She’s done nothing to you.”

  The Ogre’s eyes widened. “She?” He moved closer to the surprised Minotaur and looked her up and down. His hostile expression vanished, replaced by one of appreciation. “She? Female?”

  Duladeen took another step back. “Yes, I’m a female. Why?”

  The Ogre moved forward again and gave her a wide, knowing grin. “Big. Strong for a female. Impressive.” He reached out with his ham-sized hand and grabbed her confused face. “Good match for the champion.”

  Duladeen’s fist came out so fast, I nearly missed the movement. The Ogre might have been bigger and more suited for battle, but the Minotauress was a smith and therefore extremely strong. She was also level 42, 12 levels higher than Rhynorn. She struck the hormone-fueled Ogre under his chin, and the champion’s feet nearly lifted off the ground as he was sent flying backward to land on his back. Duladeen stomped her hooved feet in anger, muttering something about idiotic brutes.

  Rhynorn slowly picked himself off the ground. He had lost 50 hit points from that single punch, which was enough damage to kill most workers, but the tier 2 boss simply shrugged it off. Already, his Dark Liquid blessing was at work, repairing the damage.

  He touched his bruised chin and, to my surprise, smiled. “I like this female.”

  ***

  “Back to training!” Bob bellowed after I’d defused the situation. The gathered soldiers grunted in disappointment. They were hobs, after all. Violence was in their nature, and they were looking forward to watching the giants clash.

  Bob flashed me a sly grin as he followed the soldiers, which I returned.

  Kaedric came hurriedly toward me. “My lord, what happened?”

  “Rhyno happened,” I said dryly and pointed at the Ogre who was sending puppy dog eyes at the departing Minotauress.

  “Apologies for my slow response, my lord, especially compared to your quick action.”

  “That’s alright, Kaedric,” I said. “I had to act quickly. We should keep an eye on Rhyno from now on, make sure he’s not doing anything stu–, err … more stupid than usual or further insulting our only Expert-ranked smith.”

  Vic said in my mind.

  I looked down at my billowing Vicloak. How long have you been waiting to use that one?

  The awkward silence that followed was all the confirmation I needed.

  I smirked. Still out of practice, eh?

  “Shall we continue our tour of the clan, my lord?” Kaedric asked.

  I took in my surroundings. Many of the buildings in this part of the clan were still a bit worn down, but the Breeder’s Den was looking much better. The builders were already fixing the roof. It looked like I’d have my troop-summoning construct back in no time.

  “Shadow-crap,” I muttered as something occurred to me. I walked toward the nearby mess hall with my seneschal close in tow. “Kaedric, send for Zuban.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  The mess hall’s interior looked different than I remembered. The log stools were scattered and charred, and many of the tables were broken. The kitchen area looked to be serviceable though, and I instantly noticed a fat goblin furiously stirring a cauldron that was larger than him.

  The goblin cook noticed my approach and beamed at me in delight. “Dire Totem! You’ve returned!”

  “Hi Gandork,” I said. “How are you?”

  He grimaced. “My kitchen is just a shadow of its old glory, I’m afraid. The kobolds stormed the place a few times and seemed to take great joy in breaking things. The oven doesn’t work, and there’s a crack on my worktable thick enough to shove a mushroom through.”

  I nodded. “I noticed the rest of the settlement also needs some attention. I’ll put your kitchen on high priority.”

  “Thank you, Dire Totem! Give me a moment, and I’ll whip up a fresh batch of my famous Crisp Hot Worms especially for you.”

  I winced, remembering the wriggling dish. When I had been fully in a goblin state of mind, that dish was appetizing. But now, with the thought of chewing on wriggling worms … not so much. “Eh thanks, but I’m here for something else. Tell me, how long would it take you to cook all the ingredients in the clan’s inventory?”

  The fat cook paled. “All? Dire Totem, the raw meat alone would take days to grill, and that’s with my two gofer helpers. As for
the more complex recipes …” He raised his arms in helplessness. “It could take weeks!”

  “That won’t do,” I said. “Sounds to me like you need a bigger kitchen and maybe a few more workers to help you out.”

  Zuban came into the building looking grand in his white, mithril armor. He took in the dilapidated state of the mess hall with a disapproving eye as he made his way toward me. “Dire Totem,” he said respectfully. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I was just telling Gandork here that it looks like he needs a bigger kitchen.”

  “It’s possible.” My chief constructor nodded. “Daimmen, the innkeeper you recruited from Akzar, knows how to build a proper inn, so we have the blueprints available. We can use them to upgrade the mess hall.”

  “Will that create a bigger cooking area?” I asked.

  “Oh yes. The entire kitchen will be turned into a large, separated room.”

  “Do we have everything we need to build it?”

  “Yes, Dire Totem. It mostly calls for wood and some stone, which we have in abundance. However, with the projects we have planned, there’s a question of priorities.”

  “First priority is still the Breeder’s Den,” I said.

  “Of course, but following that, there’s the restoration of the rest of the settlement’s buildings. I’m afraid the kobolds caused some significant damage. It’ll take time.”

  “How much time?”

  “The Breeder’s Den requires 200 more build points to complete, Dire Totem. The clan’s restoration will require an additional 1,200 BP, and upgrading the mess hall to a large inn would be 1,500.”

  I winced. “That’s a lot.” I mentally accessed the Settlement Interface to check our daily BP yield. It was currently at 506, a huge improvement from when we’d first started, but I needed more. A lot more. “How come the inn takes so much BP? As I recall, the mess hall was only about 250.”

  Zuban nodded. “You are correct, Dire Totem. Despite its size, the mess hall is considered a Novice-ranked building. An inn, with two additional floors, is an Apprentice-ranked project. It also needs a considerable amount of lumber, 350 units, and we’ll have to spend 100 units of stone to layer over the first floor to make sure the foundations are strong enough to handle the extra weight.”

  The exorbitant amount of resources didn’t faze me as we had several thousand units of limestone and over 70,000 lumber in the clan’s stores. Build points were the real bottleneck.

  I sighed as I realized I couldn’t realistically expect buildings to pop out instantly on their own; not unless I was willing to spend energy on them.

  “Finish up with the Breeder’s Den first,” I instructed. “Then start working on the inn. When you’re done, switch over to finish the clan’s restoration.”

  “It will take us five days or so to complete everything, Dire Totem,” Zuban said. “Would you like us to continue working on the sewage system afterward?”

  I frowned. “The sewage system?”

  “Construction halted once the kobolds emerged from their underground tunnels, my lord,” Kaedric filled in. “At the time, you intended for the sewage system to be used as a training ground for our soldiers, as their presence often draws troublesome critters. Kobolds notwithstanding.”

  “Well, there’s also the part where they help dispose of the settlement’s waste more efficiently,” Zuban pointed out.

  “Right.” I remembered from my early days as a new player that city sewers were a popular place to level up. Low-level players could train by fighting giant rats and other less dangerous monsters with the safety of the city relatively close by. There was no reason we couldn’t employ the same system to train up my low-level soldiers. “Yeah, once everything else is done, go ahead and continue working on the sewers.”

  “Yes, Dire Totem.” Zuban lowered his head. “Will that be all?”

  “How’s Wolrig doing?” I’d summoned the goblin constructor to help Zuban build up the clan faster.

  “He has been working diligently with the two builders I assigned him,” the hob said. “I’ve tasked him with repairing all the Novice-ranked structures since I no longer gain experience from doing that myself.”

  “Hmm …” I pulled up the Settlement Interface, navigated to the population tab, and brought up Wolrig’s information.

  Wolrig, Goblin Constructor

  Level: 13

  HP: 72

  MP: 78

  Attributes: P:2, M:0, S:13

  Skills: Constructor: 23 (Max), Lucky Bastard: 6

  “Wait, he’s already reached the Apprentice rank?” I asked when I noticed his construction skill level.

  “Yes, my lord,” Kaedric replied.

  “Doesn’t that mean he can direct six builders instead of two?”

  The mandibled hob lowered his head. “It does. My apologies again for the oversight.”

  I sighed. “I asked you to stop apologizing, Kaedric.”

  “Yes, my lord. I beg your pardon.”

  I laughed at that.

  Vic asked in surprise.

  “Give four of the unassigned workers to Wolrig as builders; that should help speed things along.”

  “Yes, my lord. Shall I adjust their build skill level for the optimum result?”

  “How much would that cost?”

  “Exactly 1,980 energy points for all four, my lord.”

  “Do it.”

  “Done, my lord.”

  I accessed the Settlement Interface again and checked the daily BP. It was now at 613. Feeling content that the most crucial bottleneck was somewhat alleviated, I turned back to Gandork. “I want you to start producing as much basic food as possible from the ingredients we have in store and deliver it to the Breeder’s Den.”

  “Of course, Dire Totem.”

  “How are we looking for advanced and exquisite food?”

  “We have a lot of fish, mushrooms, and herbs that I can use to make excellent advanced dishes: seasoned fish, cooked meat with mushroom sauce, and meat pie.”

  “And for exquisite food?”

  “Ah, I’m afraid that’s a bit more problematic, Dire Totem. We have plenty of magmashrooms, but we’re once again running out of purple salt for the Crisp Hot Worms recipe you like so much.”

  I swallowed down my bile at the recollection of the wormy dish.

  “I also have a recipe called Elephant Steaks, courtesy of Daimmen, the hob innkeeper. I have the required spices, which you brought from Akzar, but I’m afraid I have no access to fine-cut meat.”

  “You will soon,” I promised him. “As soon as the Breeder’s Den is back in business, I’m going to summon a butcher that should be able to provide it.”

  “Wonderful!” He beamed at me.

  “In three days, the inn will be completed, so you should be able to produce even more. As the senior cook, I’m putting you in charge of all the others. Kaedric, see to it that the new kitchen will be fully staffed as soon as the inn is completed.”

  “Of course, my lord.”

  Gandork’s eyes shone with delight. “It’ll be my pleasure, Dire Totem! Soon, I will produce such delicacies the likes of which you’ve never tasted. Now, if I could only get some underground lichen …” He turned away, muttering to himself as he started ordering the two gofers around the kitchen.

  The two most crucial first steps for the creation of my monster army were well underway. The Breeder’s Den would soon be restored, and the mess hall would be upgraded to provide the required foodstuff.

  There was still the issue of turning the recruited soldiers into an effective fighting force, and that meant equipment and training. There was a lot of preparation to ensure the process was as smooth as possible. I saw a factory assembly line in my mind’s eye. Food would be converted to soldiers, crafters would provide the gear to equip them with armor and weapons, and the barracks would train them up to a respectable level.

&nbs
p; There was still a lot to do, and the first priority was to clear bottlenecks, preferably before they became an issue. Idle workers were at the top.

  I motioned for Kaedric to follow me. “Let’s go visit the Research Center.”

  ***

  The Research Center building was as I remembered. A long corridor stretched from the front door with Zuban’s office at the end and two research rooms on the sides. As an Apprentice-ranked building made primarily of stone, the structure had escaped the recent attacks relatively intact.

  Romil, our most experienced goblin researcher, along with three other females, was working in one of the rooms. Various diagrams covered the mounted blackboards, and a large wooden table was positively overflowing with stacks of paper designs.

  The four goblinettes jumped as soon as I entered the room.

  “Dire Totem, we weren’t expecting you,” Romil squeaked.

  “It’s alright.” I beckoned them to sit back down. “I just wanted to check on your progress.”

  “We’ve made many discoveries, Dire Totem,” the researcher said. She indicated the overflowing table. “We’ve written down everything we came up with.”

  I winced. “So I’ve heard. You’ve been messing around with generic concepts instead of focusing on specific research. That’s mainly my fault; my apologies.”

  The researcher lowered her head. “It was no trouble, Dire Totem. We made some interesting discoveries.”

  I knew the goblins’ generic research simply produced freestanding research points, or RP, at half their normal rate. That generic RP could now be used to instantly complete new research projects. I was curious to see what shape that mechanism took.

  “Tell me,” I said, “if I’d wanted you to research an advanced smithy suited for a Minotaur, how long would that take?”

  Romil’s eyes lit up. “I can do it right now!” She went over to the table and drew out a few papers. “This one has a generic reinforced floor template. If I combine it with the load-bearing beam design and add in–”