Overpowered: A LitRPG Thriller (Kings and Conquests Book 1)

by Shane Lochlann Black

  “But there was a playable demo. I saw it. It seemed to work okay, and quite a few people did the first sneak-into-town quest before they ran out of time. One guy got attacked by a wolf and almost got eaten!”

  “The numbers don’t add up, Kacey, and no matter how much sizzle you order with that steak, you can’t fight the math. Companies like Fairly Unusual can’t defy gravity, either. There’s $150 million worth of labor missing. Now if Garrett says the black box is full of diamonds, that’s fine, but until he opens that box and shows the world the truth, all we have to go on is what they say they’re going to do.”

  “Well, Fitz, the beta starts soon.”

  “Not a chance, Kacey. When the other shoe drops, it’s going to land with an unceremonius thud, and whatever happens next will either destroy video games forever or produce the greatest walk-off grand slam in business history.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Jordan Hall! A pleasure. Garrett Wyland. Come on in.”

  The babe squad’s leader smiled sweetly as the peasant girls dismissed themselves. Jordan was ushered into a studio that looked very much like the permanent headquarters for a cable news broadcast. A complete crew was on hand to operate lights, cameras and controls.

  “You’re the CEO of Fairly Unusual Games,” Jordan recited as if reading from a document issued by Obvious and Sons Public Relations.

  “My executive assistant and I wanted to set aside a few minutes with each of the media representatives here at GamesWest. I’m told you run a streaming channel.” Jordan was suddenly aware Wyland’s dental work could likely fund the retirements of six factory workers.

  “Well, that’s true, but I brought–”

  “We set all this up so all our guests could have pool reports. You’ll be provided with video of our interview in all popular formats. Take a seat. Can I get you anything? Cappuccino? Soda?”

  “Lemon-lime?”

  “Coming up.” Wyland took his seat without gesturing or speaking. Apparently someone had heard and was already fetching the drink for him. The lights brightened. “We’ve got about six minutes.”

  Jordan was caught completely unprepared. Here he was sitting across from the biggest name in video games and he couldn’t think of a single thing to say that didn’t sound like hero worship, a lame excuse for a bad game media question or outright idiocy. So he punted.

  “What are the top planned features for Kings and Conquests?”

  An assistant placed a napkin on the desk and then set an iced lemon-lime soda in a real glass on it. Jordan was struck by the efficiency of it all. It was a tremendous demonstration of just how powerful Wyland really was. He didn’t even have to speak. His orders were carried out anyway.

  “Kings and Conquests is going to be a challenge, Jordan. That’s the feature I’m most interested in. I want the people who play our game to have an experience that will give them a real sense of accomplishment when they advance their character and progress, and I want them to know you don’t have to be max level to reach your goal. I think players will agree, once they have a chance to try it out.”

  A pause. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Wyland smiled. “My estimation of you just went up a notch, Jordan. You’re not the typical click grabber. Well done.” Another pause. “Kings and Conquests will have proprietary hardware add-ons. One of them will allow players to manufacture real-world versions of in-game treasures. Since each will be unique, you’ll be able to sell them for real world money, and we expect their value to increase over time.”

  Jordan looked as if he had been hit with a fast-acting sedative. He tried to recover control of his face so he could avoid drooling on himself. “I’m sorry, did you just say players can 3D print in-game treasure?”

  Wyland nodded. “In fact, I have a sample here for you. You’re welcome to take this home if you like.” Wyland reached under the desk and produced a magnificent hardwood, brass and steel crossbow decorated with an enormous hand-carved lions head. It was easily the size of a medium-capacity suitcase. “This is a ranged weapon usable by level seventeen players called ‘The Crossbow of the Disgraced Prince.’ At launch there will only be one of these objects available in the game, and it can only be printed once. Whomever owns the in-game version will own a piece of history. A trophy commemorating a significant accomplishment.”

  “And you’re giving it to me?” Jordan stammered.

  “With my compliments. I expect it will be worth about eleven thousand dollars by launch. Perhaps a little more. We’re still doing our pro formas on treasure values.”

  The crossbow gleamed under the studio lights.

  “How do you get it?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you. It’s one of eight potential rewards at the end of a 15-part quest chain. This adds an interesting new angle to the standard wind and grind gameplay, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Jordan nodded absently, still trying to process what had just happened. “How many treasures can be printed?”

  “Thousands, Jordan. Each is unique. Each requires considerable dedication and skill, and each will reward players in ways they haven’t even imagined yet.”

  Wyland unexpectedly picked up the crossbow and aimed. Jordan narrowly avoided involuntarily relieving himself at the sound of the weapon firing. A steel quarrel punched into the wall at the far end of the desk.

  “Do you have a special young lady?” Wyland asked as he placed the weapon on the desk again.

  Another pause. It wasn’t immediately clear if Jordan had heard the question. Then he snapped back to the present. “Oh! Uhh–no. I’m between relationships.”

  “Well then let me ask you a question,” Wyland said as he picked up a small remote. The lights dimmed and an enormous Ultra HD display came to life behind them. “Which of these fair maidens would you prefer to fight for?”

  An in-game camera flew over forests, rivers and villages at an incredible but strangely soothing speed until it approached an enormous white castle. Jordan experienced a moment of vertigo at the sheer scope of the royal grounds. The POV entered through a tower window and careened through chambers, staircases and hallways until it entered a luxuriously decorated throne room. Standing on the dais was an exquisite creature of such resplendent feminine allure she could have easily inspired powerful men to perform reckless acts of supreme futility. She wore a white dress that accentuated her delicate curves and her black hair hung all the way to her inviting hips.

  “I am the Duchess of Ashelria. My lands are overrun with brutes and barbarians. I need a cunning warrior to lead my men into battle. Perhaps someday, when you have distinguished yourself, you may take me for your bride and rule all of Southern Ronashil as our King. Will you fight for me?”

  The Duchess blew a kiss at Jordan and the scene faded. Once again, the camera soared over the land. This time, it rose into the sky along the slope of an enormous mountain. Upon reaching the summit, it circled another gigantic castle. This one was made entirely of brass. Upon reaching the throne room, the POV focused on a devastatingly beautiful elven princess. She wore royal red silk that showed off her flawless form.

  “I am High Princess Kai-She. I am exiled on the Mountain of Despair. The hero who rescues me will have anything he desires, and especially my gratitude. When he rescues them, my people will make him the wealthiest Highland King since days of old. Will you fight for me?”

  Kai-She folded her hands in a hopeful gesture and closed her eyes as the close-up showed off her impeccably styled lashes. Once again the scene faded. Night had fallen. Huge fires burned. A scene of complete chaos appeared. Huge misshapen beast-men wearing harnesses and loincloths had apparently launched a massacre against a peaceful human village. Clubs and spears cut down overmatched guards until the beast’s prize was revealed. A nubile young redhead dressed in little more than a nightgown shrieked and desperately tried to escape. An old man tried to intervene, only to be shoved to the ground. The young woman was caught and lifted into the ai
r by one of the armored brutes. A dozen of them ran off into the night with the crying girl, howling and laughing obscenely. They left behind dead bodies, fire and destruction. Then the old man appeared in the shot, a pleading look on his face.

  “My only daughter! The darling of our people! Carried off by unspeakable monsters! Return her to me, hero, and you shall be warlord of the peerless Empire of Tharm. Wealth beyond all imagining I pledge to the first man to bring our beautiful future Empress back to safety. Will you fight for her?” The scene faded and was replaced by the Kings and Conquests logo.

  Jordan took deep breaths, trying to slow his heartbeat. What he had just seen looked so real! He knew it was all in-game renders, but he already felt as if he had made some kind of emotional connection with the people in those scenes. He felt like he had looked into their eyes and understood their plight. Who would he fight for? What an incredible dilemma!

  “You strike me as the man who would rescue the Princess of Tharm,” Wyland said. “I think after you complete that quest line you’ll agree it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of your gaming life, and the rewards are just as sweet. You can’t print her, of course, but being the husband of a princess has its share of perks in the game.”

  “How is this possible? What you’ve done here is leaps and bounds ahead of the best games on the market!”

  “I set out to create the greatest entertainment experience of all time, Jordan. I already run the three most valuable game companies in history, and if you have the skill and the wisdom, you’ll own a share of them too.”

  “Come again?”

  “Shares of Fairly Unusual Games can be collected as KNC treasure. Twelve months after launch, we will start paying one of the best dividends on the market. Collect enough of them, and you’ll build a nice nest egg for yourself and the princess.”

  “How many shares?”

  “If you find them all, you’ll own a controlling stake in my company.”

  ***

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  Chapter Nine

  After being asked to demonstrate the Crossbow of the Disgraced Prince for about the 70th time, Jordan Hall was simultaneously thrilled that No-Name Games was now regularly viewed by more than ten thousand people, and a little annoyed that the probable reason most of them tuned in was that he had a medieval weapon as his co-host.

  The show was now scheduled for three live webcasts a week, with every show’s entire duration dedicated to the only topic in gaming since Supercon. There was scarcely enough time for a perfunctory news segment in each show. The rest of the increasingly lengthy broadcasts would be dedicated to speculation, commentary and Q and A sessions. Jordan had chosen “four talking heads, each in their own little window” as his standard format, since every show eventually descended into griping, recriminations, argument and wild speculation anyway.

  Robb Doncem had already declared the Duchess of Ashelria his fiancee. This was partially because he could not get over her section on the Kings and Conquests web site where she demurely modeled practically her entire wardrobe, including battle gear, ceremonial dresses, flower festival outfits and a healthy selection of evening clothes, including a black dress that was sexy enough to have 700 followers of its own on Instabyte. It was all accompanied by more than a few alluring poses and light kisses aimed at her eager virtual suitors.

  Then there was the fact that future KNC fans could declare for their favorite princess on the web site and have her occasionally send them encouraging text messages complete with mobile device wallpaper attachments signed by the “Daughters of Conquest” themselves. So far, fans had managed to unlock more than two dozen comely future brides, representing sixteen races and kingdoms stretching from one end of the realm to the other.

  “Normally I’d be inclined to call this caliber of marketing obnoxious, but good grief, man. I feel like the luckiest dude on Earth every time I look at my phone!” Robb said.

  “This game is a scam, and it’s run by a scammer! I’m telling you idiots the truth here. Nothing good can come from this! It’s going to end in tears and gnashing of teeth. Mark my word!” Zeezil Zoozy was the resident NNG contrarian. His schtick was to be the lower-right-corner talking head. He wore a bright red clown wig and constantly reminded everyone else on the show they were full of crap and that everything in gaming sucks.

  “Zoo, just give it a rest,” Dave sighed.

  “They’ve raised $207 million in crowdfunding. Their stock price went up 116% on the first day. They have a market capitalization of eight hundred million dollars, and sixty percent of their equity is going to be hidden in the game for us to loot,” Jordan added.

  “Plus the value of the treasure,” Amy said. “You can get real actual gold coins in Kings and Conquests if you buy the right hardware! Real gold coins!”

  “Bunk,” Zoo said dismissively. “How many times have we been treated to the hype train, only to have it derail right after we all buy tickets? How many times do you people have to get burned before you believe the truth? I put a thousand dollars into that crowdfunding campaign and now I’m going to go down in history as the thousand-dollar dumbass!”

  “Okay, Zoo, you tell us. How can they fail? We all saw the demo at Supercon!” Robb snapped.

  “Jordan, did you actually see the device that supposedly printed that crossbow!?” Zoo shouted.

  “Well no, but–”

  “Exactly. And Robb? There’s a reason they call it ‘Supercon’, Chunky. There’s no way any of you are this stupid! A playable demo? Sure. It’s the first time a game company showed off a mocked-up demo at a convention to generate more hype. What the hell is the matter with you people? These guys are making all their money up front! You do know about the bonds, right?”

  “What bonds? What the hell are you talking about, you clown-wig-wearing–” Dave sputtered as Zoo talked over him.

  “The bonds! Fairly Unusual writes $300 million in commercial paper less than a week after their IPO! What the hell is that? They sell $200 million in shares and then borrow $300 million more? For what?” Zoo barked.

  “What do you know about it?” Robb shot back. “You serve ice cream at the mall!”

  “Maybe they needed more money for development?” Dave speculated.

  “The most expensive games in history don’t even come close to those amounts. They could finance ten blockbuster films with that kind of cash!” Zoo pointed out. “And according to their own press releases the game is already far enough along to not need most of the development budget!”

  “It looks like they pledged their shares as collateral for the bonds,” Jordan said.

  “Lots of companies do that. It’s no big deal as long as the stock price stays up,” Marc Darnell replied.

  “What shares!?” Zoo exclaimed. “They sold 40% of the company in the IPO! They put more than half the company in the game as loot! Now they’ve got another half the company to pledge as collateral? News flash, genius! You can’t sell 160% of your stock!”

  “How do we know how much is in the game as loot?” Robb asked.

  “Wyland already told you. More than half,” Zoo replied. “I’m telling you. Fitz is right. Kacey is right. The Game Dudes are right. Fantasy Network is right. This whole thing is one gigantic scam, and you’re all falling right into Wyland’s trap. You’re shoveling coal into the hype train boiler as fast as you can and you won’t believe me when I tell you the tracks end at the edge of a cliff!”

  “What’s your point, Zoo?” Jordan asked finally.

  “We’re fucked! Fucked in the most fucked up way any fucking group of fuckers could be fucked! Fucked! Fucked! Fucked! FUCKED!”

  “And Garrett Wyland is–”

  “Heeeeeee’s a scam-scam-scaaaaaaam-scammity-scam-Heeee’s-a-scam-scam-scam-scamm
ity-scaaaaaam–” Zoo sang.

  “Alright. Let’s take a break and talk about this whole difficulty issue,” Jordan said. “We’ll be right back.”

  Chapter Ten

  United States Attorney Sheila Powers pushed her way through the double glass doors leading to the Justice Department Executive Conference on the eighth floor. She was a woman who didn’t like mysteries, and she was doubly impatient the risk assessor who had left her a hurried voice mail message earlier in the morning had left out all the details except the meeting time.

  Being a former Navy flag officer had prepared Powers to deal with complex situations as a matter of daily routine. Being appointed to her current post by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate gave her considerable gravitas, even in a room full of distinguished law enforcement officers. She knew the law and had plenty of experience as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney.

  But she didn’t know a thing about video games.

  She opened the door to the stately and well-appointed conference room. More than forty people were already in attendance. Groups of federal and state officials this large only came together for two reasons: imminent foreign invasion or a legal shitstorm that would make front pages nationwide for months.

  “Sheila, thank you for coming on such short notice.” The man who stepped forward to shake Powers’ hand was none other than J. Paul Winchester, Attorney General of the great state of Texas. His jawline and gentle blue eyes brought to mind images of legendary gunfighters, gritty sheriffs and tough-as-nails grandfathers.