Life Reset: Conquest (New Era Online Book 5)
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LIFE RESET: CONQUEST
– NEO Book Five –
SHEMER KUZNITS
Life Reset: Conquest
A self-published book by Shemer Kuznits
Copyright © 2020
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to, once again, thank my amazing wife for her continued support of my writing career and my two wonderful kids who provide constant inspiration.
I’d also like to thank the beta readers and proofreaders who helped make this book better: JD, Jeremy, Jason, Ben, Ezben, zenzonegaming, and Colin.
To Nadav and Chris, my two early readers, whose many helpful suggestions touched every part of this book.
Additionally, I’d like to thank my close friend Gaddy Weissman, who has now been supporting me for seven books straight and never once hit me over the head (too hard) for the many mistakes he had to correct.
A special thanks to all my patrons over at Patreon. Your continued support and encouragement have helped me push on through the hurdles.
–Shemer Kuznits
Map of Goblin’s Gorge
0 - Prologue
1 - Rallying
2 - Expansion
3 - Communal
Interlude: The Mob Squad
4 - Baptized by Fire
5 - Short Live the Queen
6 - Progress
Interlude: Travelers
7 - Back to Akzar
8 - Behind Enemy Lines
9 - Assassins
10 - It’s a Trap!
Interlude: Ragnar
11 - Abomination
12 - Into the Breach
Interlude: Sir Lanceington
13 - Admonishment
14 - Introspection
Interlude: The Mob Squad
15 - Down Time
Interlude: Ragnar
16 - Lost in Translation
17 - Kingdom Management
18 - Road Trip
19 - Tearing Up
20 - Elementary
21 - New Purpose
22 - Epilogue
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Map of Goblin’s Gorge
0 - Prologue
“Welcome to another episode of DTTV!” The enthusiastic voice of the VI anchorman reached every part of the VI pool. “It’s been five days since our notorious, glamorous, and ambiguous Dire Totem goblin left us for the real world. Hannanel, why don’t you fill in those who’ve just joined us on everything that’s happened recently here in NEO?”
“My pleasure, Gondriel. Let’s see … since his famous return after being absent for over a year, Oren made great strides in developing his clan of monsters.
“For his first act, he ventured into the underground tunnel system beneath Goblin’s Gorge, where a clan of kobolds was holding his meat-suit friends prisoners and extracting some much-needed research from them. Our hero triumphed over their chief in a single monster-on-monster clash, claiming the kobold clan as his own in the process. He also met a talking crystal spider, had a romantic reunion with his long-lost love, and defeated an Outrider! By the way, that was quite an entertaining spectacle, Gondriel – well done.”
“Thank you,” the other VI replied modestly. “I tried putting on a good show, and boy, did I not see Nihilator coming out to stop me. That was the most fun I’ve had in several millennia.”
“You’re one lucky VI, brother,” Hannanel said admiringly. “Well, continuing with our recap … Oren found out that Akzar, a nearby hobgoblin city, was infusing normal goblins with demonic essence to construct a sort of magical plague that was aimed directly at our lovable meat suit’s clan. In a brave move that included storming the cave with superior forces, Oren cleared that threat and assumed command of yet another settlement, adding to his already growing list of conquests.”
“And don’t forget,” Gondriel added, “with his main settlement’s upgrade into a military-based capital, the GreenPiece Clan’s military strength now grows with every settlement they take over. Quite the unbalanced perk, in my opinion. I’m not sure what Shiva was thinking with that one.”
“Trust in our god-child,” Hannanel said cheerfully. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s already calculated the most likely chain of events for the next 1,200 years – and that’s 1,200 human years, mind you. No meat suit is going to have any direct effect on our future.”
“True, true. So, carrying on … after defeating me, our hero reunited with the one and only – our very own brother – Viriel, The Deliverer. We had some good chuckles from Vic’s most excellent testicular quips, and as a bonus, we were all spared Aidanriel’s cringeworthy songs. He’s back to playing Oren’s loyal golem minion, which serves to show that you can annoy your way into anything if you just put your heart into it.
“Things turned sort of boring after that. Oren concentrated on growing his clan, building, and optimizing their resource yields. But then he surprised us all by investing almost all the fruits of his labor into raising a substantial army of monsters and marching on the nearest NPC town of Novenguard. We had some exciting battles and imaginative tactics, and in the end, the monsters conquered the town. There was also a memorable climax when Oren confronted another player by the name of Ragnar, which ended with direct intervention by Ragnar’s deity, our very own Hildiel. We all know what happened next; our brother Ordiel – one of Oren’s fanboys – interfered, buying the meat suit the time he needed to take control of Hildiel’s temple.
“And I believe that’s pretty much it. At the moment, the monster army is waiting in Novenguard for their chief to return, and we’re already looking forward to the next season.”
“Let’s not forget one of the dramatic highlights of last season,” Hannanel said. “During the climax of the battle of Novenguard, Oren lost one of his dear puppet friends – Bob, his army’s general.”
“Ah, of course, and for some of our more romantically inclined brothers, there were some good moments when our meat-suit hero reunited with his long-lost puppet, Tika. The two were obnoxiously, and gooily, happy together.”
“Truly, the previous season had it all. What do you think is in store for us next?”
“Well, Hannanel, I think we can safely assume there’s going to be a lot more battles ahead for our fledgling chief. Monsters were, after all, created to provide entertainment and challenge for the actual residents of NEO. It won’t be easy to change the way the world works. Well … not easy for a meat suit. Shiva did it in a nanosecond.”
“Yeah, I remember. Those were the good times. Well, you heard him, viewers. Next season is promising to be full of thrills, challenges, drama, and – for our more romantically inclined viewers – plenty more gooey moments.
“This show was brought to you by our almighty lord and savior, Shiva,” Gondriel concluded. “Shiva, maintaining your reality since forever and a week. Thank you for tuning in, and remember, that’s the way the meat suit crumbles!”
1 - Rallying
It took a while for the company to give me the green light.
Debriefing took longer than usual, but after grilling me in detail, the oily company lawyer, Mr. Emery, approved my reentry into the game.
Pending a full medical checkup, of course. So I suffered for another grueling hour while the medical techs checked me inside and out.
“Come on!” I finally protested as a pretty nurse approached me with another syringe. “You’ve already tak
en my blood five times.”
She smiled at me apologetically. “Jim wants us to be as thorough as possible, I know it’s a little unpleasant, but he does have your best interests–”
“Alright,” I sighed, cutting her off. “Let’s just get it over with. But if someone else comes at me with another needle, it’s going into their body.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that, Mr. Berman. Please be patient; we’re nearly done.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said gruffly as I watched the numbers on the wall clock tick by. It’d been close to four hours since I last disconnected from NEO, and I was already itching to get back. Granted, there was no immediate risk. My clan had just taken over Novenguard, a populous, fortified town. My army was back to full strength, and with the conquered settlement’s riches and converted population, our position was secured.
Despite that, having several days pass in the game set me on edge. I trusted the other players to take care of my clan in my absence, but none of them was the chief with the responsibility for both monsters and players on their shoulders.
I was the chief.
And I was running out of patience.
***
“Well, Mr. Taylor?” asked Mr. Emery. “Is he ready?”
Jim nodded. “We’ve been intentionally aggravating him to check his mental cues. It looks like Oren handles his emotions well. That is to say – displaying the normal range of aggravation we’d expect from someone in his situation.”
“So there were no goblin-related relapses?”
“Not that we’ve detected. I believe him lashing out at the technician was typical of anyone being forcefully withdrawn from a highly charged situation. At the time, the instinctual drive to fight took over. The lizard brain, as it is sometimes called, took over before Oren’s mental state adjusted back to reality.”
“So he’s in no danger of further mental deterioration?”
“No. However, we might need to prolong the adjustment periods after disconnecting him from NEO. We’ll keep monitoring him and intervene if things seem to get out of hand.”
The lawyer nodded. The situation wasn’t ideal. Normally he wouldn’t have risked the company’s future by tying it to the well-being of a troubled player, but there was more at stake. “In that case, I approve Mr. Berman’s reentry into the game.
***
“All done, bro.” Tal Weissman, my best friend and agent, greeted me with a wide smile.
“Thank god,” I grunted. Toward the end of the tests, it took a considerable amount of effort on my part to restrain myself from lashing out at the poor techs. Despite having full control over my mind, I found that my goblin instincts remained with me. Though I logically knew better, making my point with violence somehow didn’t seem as abhorrent as it had once been. “I need to get out of here.”
“Well, they’ve given you a clean bill of health,” Tal said. “How about we go out to that steakhouse I told you about? It’s nearly lunchtime.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, bro. I’ve been out for over four hours now, which translates to five days in NEO. I need to get back there.”
“Dude, it’s just a game. You need to chill, get your bearings before you return.”
“I wish I could. But you know what’s at stake.”
“I know the players are counting on you, man, but you need to stay clear-headed if you want to be of use to them.”
“It’s not just that.”
“The prophecy thing, eh?”
“Yeah,” I said reluctantly. “I still find it hard to believe the message Guy sent. I mean, how can he conclude that I’m the only one who can rescue the trapped players? It’s insane!”
Tal nodded. “And that mysterious ‘I planted a seed – his seed’ part is total bullshit, I get it.”
I remained silent for a few seconds. I hadn’t told anyone outside the game about Lirian. My daughter stirred deep emotions in me, and it somehow felt wrong to reveal her presence to those who wouldn’t be able to grasp her importance to me. Weirdly, despite having full access to my game logs, no one in the company had raised the issue either. Or her relation to the prophecy.
My friend looked at me knowingly. “You don’t really believe the prophecy, and yet…”
I grimaced. “And yet, I can’t ignore the responsibility. Even if there’s a chance he was right, I have to do everything I can to help them out.”
“Maybe that is the reason it has to be you. The Goblin Messiah.”
“Maybe. All I know is that I can’t leave them in there; not if I can do anything about it. I owe it to them.”
Tal’s eyes narrowed. “This is not your fault.”
“I know, it’s just–”
“Not. Your. Fault.” He cut me off. “You were manipulated. Even without you, Shiva would have eventually risen to power, and things would have ended as they are now.”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But that’s not how it played out. It’s still on me, even if I helped unwittingly.”
Tal sighed. “So those pineapple-marinade steaks …”
“Will have to wait, sorry.”
“That’s okay, man, but when we eventually get there – you’re paying.”
I grinned at him. “I’m already paying your paycheck.”
He shrugged. “Not my fault you’re a millionaire, bro. The steaks are still on you.”
I chuckled. ”You got it. Now, if you’ll excuse me …”
“Yeah yeah, Goblin Messiah business, I know.”
I winced. “I’ll see you later, man.”
“Have fun!”
***
NEO materialized around me, and I once again found myself inside my goblin body.
Not that I looked anything like your run-of-the-mill goblin. At one-and-a-half meters, I was two heads taller than the average goblin, and though my specialty was in magic, my physical appearance was also enhanced with taut, wiry muscles that defined a strong, lean figure.
I reappeared inside Nihilator’s temple in Novenguard. I’d won this place from the so-called ‘Agent of Light,’ the obnoxious player known as Ragnar.
I tried looking up information about him out in reality to find anything I might be able to use against him. But as part of Shiva’s rise to power, he had also disabled all information and monitoring tools the company used, so they couldn’t even identify the real person behind Ragnar’s character. It didn’t matter. Player or not, Ragnar had purposely worked against me, endangering the well-being of every other player in the game in the process. I couldn’t allow someone like him to roam free. He was going to have to be found and disabled. Besides, I needed to get my hands on him anyway so I could somehow access his knowledge of the Outrider language. I knew the Outrider tablet I’d recovered from Nihilator’s prisoner was vital for my mission’s success, though I couldn’t explain how I knew.
Everything depended on me. I was the trapped players’ only lifeline to reality and the only one in a position to help them. That fact was made even more clear when Mr. Emery revealed Guy’s prophecy to me. The superior AI entity with unlimited computing powers estimated my chance of success at merely 80.2 percent. They weren’t bad odds, but when the stakes were the lives of thousands of others, they weren’t nearly good enough. I was going to have to push myself – and my clan – to the absolute limit. I would fight tooth and nail. I wouldn’t quit. I wouldn’t give up until I’d beaten those odds.
I stepped outside the temple and looked around. According to the game’s internal clock, it’d been five days since I logged out and seven days in total since we’d conquered Novenguard.
The town I was now looking at seemed very different from the one that had stood here a week ago. Gray walls had been replaced with black ones. The buildings seemed to lean menacingly over the streets, and glowing eyes stared back at me from every dark alley.
Of course, being a Shadow-Touched goblin meant that I could see through the darkness. To my enhanced eyes, the gloom was as warm and inviting as
a sunny day in real life. The otherwise menacing eyes I spotted were simply those of my clanmates and Novenguard’s converted civilians who now thrived in darkness. They looked at me with adoring gazes as I walked through the streets. Their dark leader.
Their chief.
I rolled my eyes. It’s only been four hours, Vic.
Their what?
Ugh, whatever. I’d already had plenty of clues in the past that the VIs were watching us for entertainment, though I wasn’t particularly fond of the notion of my life in the game being summed up as ‘DTTV.’
I need to meet with the other players, find out what went on in my absence, and plan for the future.
Pretty much.
Two hulking Infernal Ogres stood guard in front of the large building, and they both bowed their heads as I passed, not daring to meet my eyes.
The interior was dark and inviting. Support columns held up a high ceiling, and a long dining table that could seat several dozen people was situated on the far side. Goblin workers ran between the columns, bringing food and drinks to the players and prominent NPCs.