by GR Cooper
Duncan could see Clive working through that, and he knew that he'd won a point.
Clive nodded.
"I want to hear it."
"I will turn on resurrection. For one week. After that, it will be turned off. For six months. I will also reserve the right to extend that," he raised his hands to counter Duncan's rising objection, "to extend that after another round of resurrection for those who've died in the six months and with another week's warning."
Duncan nodded.
"So you'll stay?"
Duncan laughed, "You are nowhere near off the hook, pal. No. The second, turn back on quests as designed. Turn back on the system messages and experience rewards. Otherwise, again, you'll get nobody taking any risks. None. It's not worth it. In fact," said Duncan, his voice rising, "you should increase the level of reward for the duration of the resurrection hold. Triple or quadruple experience. Again, otherwise it won't be worth risking our lives for. We'll just wait out the experiment."
Clive nodded, "Treble experience for the duration of this phase of the experiment. Done."
Duncan stood back as his subconscious was overwhelmed with messages.
"Congratulations! You have completed the quest Western Marches I from King Clive!"
"Congratulations! You have completed the quest The March Stone! You are now Laird of Marchstone!"
He felt a tingling on his skin, and all of his hairs stood on end. He somehow recognized it as a flood of experience points. He felt his Stamina rise, just a bit. To a lesser extent, his Hit Points also rose.
"Congratulations! You have gained a level! You are now level 5! You have 2 Skill points to spend!"
He immediately dropped both skill points into Sorcery, doubling his level. He felt his mana potential increase and his pool immediately begin to rise to match it.
Duncan looked back to Clive.
"Why? Why did you turn it all off without warning?"
Clive smiled, "I needed to give you a reason to come here. To see me."
Duncan frowned. He knew that any followup question to that statement would result in yet another shrug from Clive.
Clive reached down to the desktop, pushed Shepherd's Bite forward.
Duncan crossed his arms, looked directly into Clive's eyes. He stared at him for a moment.
"Shannon," he said. "Did you kill her?" Given all of the abilities that the Omegaverse helmet had - to record consciousness, to manipulate via implanted dreams - he was under no illusions that much more nefarious possibilities were available to the aliens.
Clive returned Duncan's stare.
"No."
Clive didn't deny the ability to have killed her, Duncan noted. He thought for a moment. There's was no way that Duncan could know if Clive was telling the truth, and after all that had happened, no way that he could ever fully trust Clive again.
"I'm going to defeat you," Duncan said, picking up and sheathing Shepherd's Bite.
Wulfgar turned and left the room.
Epilog
Clive watched as Wulfgar left his office, escorted by his chamberlain and two very large guardsmen. He smiled a little at the human's anger. Though not entirely unexpected, it was a little more animated than he'd expected. He was glad that his assumption - that the normally level headed man was capable of fierce passion - was correct. The fire that drove him simmered and smoldered, but Clive had always wondered if that feeling could be pressed into dedicated action. The real world death of Shannon had presented Clive with the perfect opportunity; to see if, as suspected, Duncan would wholly dedicate himself to a cause that the human felt was greater than himself.
That was the whole, real, reason that this entire experiment was being run on him.
Clive's people needed someone, a human, for a very special reason.
The more he watched Duncan, the more certain Clive was that he'd chosen correctly.
He frowned a little. There were still more tests that his plan called for. More ways to push the human; to see if Clive had chosen correctly.
Clive looked up into a dark corner of his office.
"Well?" he asked the air, "what do you think, spymaster?"
"I wondered if you'd noticed that I was here," said a little human who stepped into the light, revealing himself, "I considered exiting Stealth as soon as Wulfgar left, but I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts."
Clive nodded. He hadn't known that the human was there, hiding, but it was a fair assumption.
Better to let the rumors of my omnipotence remain, he chuckled inwardly.
"Will you release me, now?" asked the human.
"It bothers you? Being my familiar?"
"You know it does. I understand the reason for doing it. For this mission. But I don't relish the thought of you living inside of my head any longer than necessary."
Clive laughed, standing from behind his desk. He took the little human's shoulders in his hands.
"I know, Rydra, I know," he said trying to placate the human. Having Rydra as his familiar - enabling Clive to watch Duncan through the eyes of a friend and ally; to watch the progression of the human's choices - had been invaluable. But Rydra had lived up to his side of the bargain. Clive released the human from his bondage.
"Thank you," bowed Rydra. "Will there be anything else?"
"You could have stayed with Wulfgar. I could have used you in Marchstone."
"I didn't agree to that. And I wouldn't. My place is here, either working for you or not, as you decide. I'm not saying that I won't leave the city, again, for a specific task, but my role is here. Is there anything here, in Edonis, that I can now do for you?"
"Nothing difficult. I need, now, for you to go to the inns of the city. Anyplace that human players congregate. Spread the word on what Wulfgar is doing."
"Not a problem," nodded Rydra. "Can you tell me why?"
"Certainly. I'm hoping that two human factions will develop. Those that are either intrigued or admire what Wulfgar has done and wish to join him, and those who, for whatever reason - jealousy, propriety, whatever - decide to ally themselves with myself."
"For war?"
Clive nodded, "Eventually. Once Wulfgar has had a little time to build himself up."
"What should I tell the other players, I mean, about you and your feelings on this."
Clive thought for a moment.
"Nothing specific, of course. But feel free to speculate that you feel that I certainly can't be happy about a player taking over a settlement on my border and establishing himself as a sovereign."
"Are you?"
"I'm neither happy nor sad." He laughed a little, "I'm merely observing and reacting."
"If I can ask, what do you have planned for him now? Now that Wulfgar has realized the level of your manipulation, that is."
Clive laughed loudly, "As far as manipulation? Now that I've re-established the quest system fully? Nothing. I have no further carrots I'm planning to dangle in front of him."
"Nothing you're planning?"
Clive nodded. "I, of course, reserve the right to further manipulation if the situation warrants, but the chain of events that I lay out for him has established him within one of the possibilities I foresaw."
"One of?"
"Naturally. Within the outer Omegaverse, Wulfgar had showed himself willing to submit his authority to others. Frequently. He was given frequent opportunities to create a dominant role for himself. He didn't. He delegated to friends and allies. I fully expected for him to continue doing that, and he has, to a lesser extent. But I also had to plan for the possibility that he would be more focused on the initial carrot that I used to entice him to commit fully within this world."
To the rescue of Shannon.
"Which was?"
Clive shook his head, "I need to keep some secrets."
Rydra nodded.
He probably heard enough of my conversation with Wulfgar to figure it out, Clive thought.
"I understand. Apart from spreading the word to other playe
rs, is there anything else you require?" Rydra began moving through the opulent room, putting decorations of gold or silver into his pack. He laughed at Clive's questioning look, "I have to have something to show for this little visit, right? Otherwise Wulfgar will get suspicious."
Clive nodded. He really didn't care - the items would be replaced; they were digital, after all, and cost him nothing.
"Are you going to tell Wulfgar?"
"About my duplicity? No. I assume that my silence will be rewarded."
"Handsomely. Your villa will be completed within the next few months."
Rydra laughed, "Just long enough that it won't matter if I tell Wulfgar or not after I get it."
Clive smiled.
"That's why I recruited you as my spymaster. You're very, very good at understanding what motivates people and how to use that to further your agenda."
Rydra bowed low.
"I do like the guy. A lot. If I get the feeling that you're setting him up to screw him over, Clive, I'll spill the beans. Instantly."
He bowed again, turned and left. Without looking back to Clive, he closed the door.
"I know," said Clive softly to the closed door, "that's why you don't know the entire plan."
Clive turned and walked to one of the large windows that overlooked the keep's grounds. He leaned forward and looked down, in time to see Duncan Sheriden walk out of the base and, still in between the two guardsmen, toward the open gate that dropped him off into the city square, where he rapidly disappeared into the crowd. Clive turned his head to the right and spoke loudly.
"You can come out now."
A wooden panel, previously indistinguishable from the rest, opened into the office. A medium height human male walked out of the darkness behind the secret panel. His hair, long and dark, hung over his shoulders. A group of uniformly silver hairs hung in a rope from his right temple over his collarbone.
"Well, Tim," began Clive as the man joined him at the window. "What do you think?"
"Wulfgar is kind of a whiny, neurotic basket case, isn't he?" snorted the wizard. "If I'd been gifted a kingdom, I sure as hell wouldn't immediately run back here to try to find out what you were up to. He doesn't have much in the way of gratitude, does he?"
Clive rested in non-committal silence.
"Have you decided?" asked Clive after a moment.
"Sure. I'm in. I'll lead your human forces," nodded Tim eagerly, "on two conditions."
"Which are?"
"First. When I defeat Wulfgar, I get control of his kingdom."
"Done."
"Second. I don't give a rat's ass what rules everyone else is operating under. If I die, I get rezzed. As often as need be."
Clive turned from the window, and looked down at the fierce, dark, man. He thought for a moment.
He nodded once.
Name: Wulfgar, Rogue Magus of Evening, Laird of Marchstone
Level:05
STR:11
INT:08+01
AGI:11
PRS:02+01
FRT:01
HP:24 (ST+AGI + (LVL/3))
AC:03 (Leather, Full)
STA:16 (AGI+LVL)
MNA:17 (INT+ (Magic Level x 2))
ALI:True Neutral
REP:Dangerous (+1 PRS)
Dwarves: Dwarf Friend.
Faerie: High Esteem
Rats: Awe
Orcs: Respect
Elves: Suspicion
Skills (Level):
Blade Wind (2): Targets most vulnerable facing part of the opponent. Activating causes player to spin and gives a +10 to hit attack on the opponent. Player cannot be hit during the spin. Cool-down 30 seconds minus 1 second per Blade Wind level to a minimum of 10 seconds. Active. Skill automatically granted at level 3 Small Blade.
Climbing (3): Increases ability to successfully climb what would otherwise be an impossible vertical barrier! Each level adds .5% success chance per skill check, each point of AGI adds 1%. Active. 100 - Difficulty% + (Skill Level bonus + AGI bonus) = Success %
Cure Poison (1): Allows the creation of poison curing potions. Higher levels can cure more deadly poison. Active. Skill automatically granted at level 3 Herb Lore.
Healing Poultices (2): Allows the creation and application of healing poultices. Amount healed is dependent upon skill level. Active. Skill automatically granted at level 2 Herb Lore..
Herb Lore (4): Adds ability to detect and use valuable plants. Each level increases the amount of harvest as well as the detection range for the player by 1%. Passive
Hidden Stab (3): Increases damage done using a Small Blade while in Stealth. Passive. (STR+AGI) x .5 + (Small Blade Level + Hidden Stab Level) = Additional Damage. Removes player from Stealth.
Meditation (2): Increases the natural regeneration rate of Mana. The user must be completely still and silent to use the skill and the skill is disrupted if the user moves, speaks or receives damage (physical or magical). ((2 + (Meditation Level x .1)) x Base Regeneration Rate = Regeneration Rate. Cool-down 10 minutes minus 10 seconds per level. Active.
Small Blade (4): Gives to-hit and damage bonuses when using a knife or short sword. Passive.
Sorcery (4): This profession skill gives access to specific spells. The player's Sorcery level adds to the spell level in some cases, as well as helping to determine amount of mana. Spells success depends upon relative relationship between Sorcery level and spell level. If Sorcery Level < Spell Level Then Success % = RND - Spell Level + Sorcery Level.
Stealth (3+11): Lowers the detection likelihood and radius of the player. Each level removes 1.5% of radius, multiplied by player's AGI. Separate checks are made for visual and aural radii, each based on several environmental variables. Each level allows for 10 seconds of stealthy movement. Cool-down 10 minutes. Active.
Abilities:
Highlander: +1 AGI. +1 Climbing. +10 PRS with other Highlanders.
Magus: +2 INT +1 Meditation +1 Sorcery +1 Illumination
Druidism: Can enshrine holy sites at sacred trees (or facsimiles) that can be used to bind. +1 Rep with Faerie.
Items:
Clandestine Gauntlets: Provides wearer level 7 Stealth. Does not stack with skill levels, but will stack with other Clandestine items. A full suit of Clandestine gear provides a +4 Stealth bonus in addition to the stacking effects. Rare. Item 2 of 4 for suit.
Clandestine Slippers: Provides wearer level 7 Stealth. Does not stack with skill levels, but will stack with other Clandestine items. A full suit of Clandestine gear provides a +4 Stealth bonus in addition to the stacking effects. Rare. Item 3 of 4 for suit.
Baen Si's Cloak: Provides wearer +10% magic resistance. Once per day, has 25% chance of completely negating one (1) magical attack. Uncommon. Modified to provide +1 INT.
Cowl of the Wolf: Provides visual camouflage in similarly colored environments, as well as infra-red cover in all environments. Reduces species aggression from Canis Arcturus to neutral. Unique. Bound.
Shepherd's Bite: Provides upon successful attack a 50% chance of inflicting poison damage for 1d4 damage per (1d6 + Small Blade level) seconds. All poison damage is applied to attacker as healing at 1:1.
Spellbook: Contains all of the spells that the owner has learned. Bound.
Illumination (2): Lights the area around the caster until the spell is canceled. Area is a sphere centered on the caster whose maximum size is determined by the spell level (3 meters plus .5 meter per level to a maximum size of 20 meters). Caster can set maximum size upon casting. 05 Mana per cast. No cool-down.
Fire Shot (2): Sends a directed ball of flame up to five meters from the caster (plus 1 meter for every level). Maximum size of the ball is determined by the skill level of the caster. The fire can only ignite and damage flammable objects. Maximum size = ((Spell Level + Magic Level)) x .1 meter). Damage depends on flammability of object. Damage continues until flame is extinguished. 09 Mana per cast. No cool-down. Ingredients required: (1) Goat's Rue, (1) Motherwort, (1) Mountain Mint.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you. I really appreciate that you've read all of these books. I have fun writing them and hope that translates into fun for you.
I'd also like to thank the members of the LitRPG and LitRPG Books groups on Facebook. They've been an awesome source of enthusiasm and feedback on these things, and the group continues to grow. Please join in the fun if you'd like to discuss, learn about, or hear release updates about the genre. I'd also like to thank everyone who has 'liked' my Omegaverse page or befriended me on my GR Cooper page.
I would also be remiss if I didn't thank, to the point of groveling, the folks who helped root out mistakes in story or grammar in the manuscript for this novel;
Justin Johanson
Erza Kawai
Steven LoBue
Norman Meredith
Peter Morena
Dreen Rea
Jay Taylor
They volunteered their time and opinions graciously, and any mistakes that remain in the novel are purely my own fault.
Bonus Story
The following is a short story (about 12 or so pages long) that is included for, hopefully, your enjoyment. It is part of an anthology that was published in 2016 for which I was lucky enough to be selected.
It's not LitRPG, but "regular" science-fiction.
The anthology is called "Heart of Farkness". All of the proceeds go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
Epigenesis
Gosta fell from the heavens. Flames surrounded him as he fell through the atmosphere. He shuddered as the thickening air eddied and swirled. He spread his arms, straight out from his shoulders, fighting for control. He fought to keep himself upright as he fell toward the Jordan, threading through the land tens of thousands of cubits below.
