My smile turned into a grin. He was worried about me! How touching. “That’s ok Vic, I appreciate your concern. Let’s go, I’ll explain along the way.”
“Hmph, whatever. I was not concerned!” He blurted out, a little bit too quickly.
+50 reputation with Vic (The awesome companion)
Current rank: Neutral. Points to next rank: 480
As we made our way up the tunnel, I filled in Vic about my encounter with Nihilator. The oozing darkness was still evident everywhere, but it seemed to dissipate as if absorbed by the cave walls whenever we got near it.
After a few minutes, we reached the lava stream that blocked our path coming in. On the other ledge of the lava, eight large Shadow-Touched Mastiffs stood shoulder to shoulder, each a level 18 beast. They all snarled at us as we approached, though none moved to attack.
“What the crap is that?!” Vic exclaimed while straining to hold the sword in combat ready position.
I could guess what the appearance of the beasts meant.
“Throw the sword into the lava, Vic” I instructed him.
“WHAT!?” Vic exclaimed in outrage. “Never!” And he held the sword closer as if hugging it.
“Vic, we’re outnumbered, we cannot leave this place and even if we could, in a few days Nihilator will send out his forces and wipe us all out, permanently,” I explained tiredly. “We have no choice. Now please throw the sword into the lava. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be able to retrieve it one day.”
Vic seemed to struggle with the idea, trying to find a way around it, but eventually, he realized there was indeed no other option, and with a defeated demeanor, he finally cried out, “The hell with you all!” and threw the sword. I really hoped his remark was aimed against the beast blocking our path.
The sword landed on the lava and remained afloat for a few seconds. Then it slowly sunk down, covered by the hot molten rock, never to be seen again. Once the sword was fully claimed by the lava and out of sight, the Mastiffs sort of melted together, into a large blob of darkness, not unsimilar to Vic’s default body.
The blob then stretched itself over the lava and landed next to our feet, creating a bridge of pure darkness.
I shrugged and started to cross the stream. I wasn’t afraid. If Nihilator wanted me dead, he had much more easy and terrifying ways to accomplish that. The bridge held our weight easily.
We walked in silence for what seemed like forever, but in hindsight was probably only about an hour. We finally made it through the tunnel and out of the cave, to the brightly lit day of a full noon sun.
***
Vrick and the others were waiting outside the cave watching over the entrance as I had instructed. There was no sense in keeping them here, we had a temporary truce after all, so I dismissed them.
I had a lot on my plate to handle, but first thing, the new situations merited a desperate call for help.
It’s been only about a week since my last correspondence with Tal. Which meant less than a day has passed for him. But I faced some dire circumstances. I opened a message window and wrote a short message.
New Era Online [Internal messaging service]:
To: SuperWolf#23
Subject: Another question from your green pal
Tal, sorry to bother you again so soon…
I’ve hit a bit of a snag. A tier 8 boss has given me a quest and threatened to kill me over and over again if I fail... It seemed like he was hinting that my respawn point could be forcefully changed by him so I’ll have no way to escape… Can he really do that? If so, can you think of any way around it? Other than that, everything is peachy :)
Oren.
I sent the message and went to my house. I had a lot of thinking to do.
18 - Religion Sucks
I sat in my house, on the floor, seeing as I didn’t have any chairs or furniture, and contemplated my current predicament.
How the hell did I get myself into this mess? I wondered. Before I entered the cave, everything was going so well, the future seemed bright, despite the growing hobgoblin forces. And now… my life was at stake. My REAL life.
I brought it on myself, I thought miserably.
It was all my fault. First, by not listening to Tal’s warning and continuing to play the game, even though I knew it was dangerous. And second, for involving myself with that frightening monster, Nihilator. The game engine created him to become an embodiment of evil, meaning his seeded VI would attempt to act the part as realistically as possible. Therefore, there would be no negotiating, no begging for my life, no mercy.
I couldn’t count on Tal to come to my rescue either, though I knew he would do his best.
I brought this mess on myself, I thought with a heavy heart. Then, something inside me snapped. I was tired of being kicked around by enemies more powerful than me. First the treacherous Vatras, then that annoying Totem DurDur, followed by that damned hobgoblin leader Barska and his minions. And now Nihilator.
“Pfht!” I snorted in contempt. Could he have a more cliché sounding name!?
GOD DAMN IT! I thought in fury. I’m done being bitch slapped! I am my own boss! I suddenly grinned, Literally. I will get myself out of this trouble, on my own! Then I’ll deal with Vatras, and Barska, and any other damned creature that tries to mess with me! I will claw my way out of this game and back into my real life, and no one will stop me!
Fueled by my anger at being fate’s chew toy and hardened by my resolution, I let go of those worries and concentrated on the matters at hand.
I had to fulfill Nihilator’s quest, there was no getting around it. He would settle for nothing less. The problem was how do I replace the god of the clan? I tried consulting Guba and Bek, but they knew nothing about formally making or changing a clan’s allegiance to a new deity.
In addition, Nihilator wanted to receive all the daily Energy Points the clan generated. Well, he could choke on it for all I cared. But that was another issue; How would I channel the energy to him?
I opened the Interface and went to the Energy Options screen. I looked at the list of clan members. Damn! Nihilator wasn’t on that list. It’s time for some experimentation. I contemplated.
I cleared my throat and then audibly announced, “I pledge my clan as the faithful servants of Nihilator.” As expected, nothing happened.
I tried again: “I renounce Corgoram and accept Nihilator as the new clans’ deity.” Again, nothing.
I must be missing something, I thought in irritation. What was it he said? We’re not worthy to worship him? Hmm…how is a god worshiped? And where? You need a church or a temple...
Suddenly my eye light in realization. or a Shrine! I had to build a Shrine!
Quickly, I accessed the village building menu, and browsed the list of available buildings, and found what I was looking for.
Shrine, tiny: increases morale by 10. Provides access to faith.
Required resources: 10 bones, 10 stones. Constructor: Novice. BP: 100
A hundred Build Points was nothing; Zuban could get that done in that in less than three days. But the resources...where would I get some bones for construction…?
The cave! The bone pile we found in the cave! There were hundreds of bones there. That should be enough to build ten shrines at least.
Now for the other resource, stone. The new Stonemason worker had already worked a full day, though without a Quarry building. Zuban and his boys should complete it-- Before I could finish that thought, I was cut off by a system message.
New building added to your settlement: Quarry
I chuckled to myself. Good timing Zuban. I was curious to see what the daily stone production was now with the bonus from the new building. I clicked on the Resource Production menu in the interface.
Resource Production
Wood: 5.05 per day (Stock: 16 logs, 44 timber)
Ore: 0 per day (Stock: 48 copper, 8 tin)
Stone: 1.76 (Stock: 1 stone)
What!? Only 1.76 stones per day? How could that
be? Logging produced more than 5 timber per day!
I accessed the worker’s data and checked the Stonemason skill.
Stonemason (P)
You can efficiently quarry stone for construction. Each resource unit of stone is comprised of 10 smaller stone bricks.
Level 3: Novice
Effect: Stone quarried per day: 1.6
That was bad news. The Quarry building bonuses improved the yield a bit, but it was still too little. At this rate, taking into account the worker’s skill increase, it will take about 5 days to quarry the 10 required stones to build the Shrine. I was screwed.
I took a big breath, calming myself, it’s just another obstacle, just a problem to solve. I tried to think about it logically. The Quarry building could be used by several workers, unfortunately, I didn’t have sufficient food to summon a new worker. Even if I had, I didn’t even have a pick for a new worker to work with. Ok, so increasing the workforce wasn’t the answer. What then?
I needed an advice. “Vic,” I addressed my cloak shaped companion, “Please fetch Zuban.”
Vic’s cloak form flowed away from my shoulders and began changing. In a moment, Vic’s transformation into a goblin was complete.
“Sure thing boss, one Zuban to go, coming right up.” He turned and left the house.
I went back to wracking my brain for a solution. Could we cheat a bit and supplement the missing stone with wood? How about mud or clay? I kept sitting there, pondering various possible solutions.
When Zuban arrived, I was deep in my thoughts. He cleared his throat to let me know he was there, breaking my concentration.
I looked at him. It took me a moment to remember why he was there. Zuban was radiating happiness.
“I take it everything’s well?” I asked.
He nodded happily, puffed up his chest, and declared grandly, “The Quarry is finished, Esteemed Totem!”
“Right, right. Good,” I waved the news off. He visibly deflated, disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm.
“Listen, Zuban, we have a serious problem, and I need your advice.” That perked him up.
He bowed, “Whatever you require Esteemed Totem.”
“I’m afraid I got us into a trouble. To get out of it, we have to build a shrine, in three days.”
He frowned, “That could be a problem. I can only employ two builders at a time on a building that size. Their productivity would barely be high enough to finish the building in your time frame. Also, we don’t have enough stone at the moment, or any bones worthy for construction.”
I nodded, “The bones aren’t a problem; I found a large pile in the cave. But damn it, I forgot that you told me the size of the building limits the number of builders who can work on it. What can we do about that?”
“Well…” Zuban considered the problem for a moment, then shrugged, “I’ll just assign my two best workers to the job, but that still will not be enough. We could put extra work hours into the job. For example, we could increase the work day to 12 hours, instead of 10. It will lower morale a bit, but since it is only for a few days the impact shouldn’t be severe. That should allow us to finish the Shrine in time. But how are we going to get enough stone?”
The was what worried me the most. I shook my head, “The stonemason worker won’t be able to quarry enough stone by herself. Can you use a different material for some of it? Wood or loose pebbles maybe? Anything at all you can think of that will get that Shrine built.”
Zuban slowly shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. To save some time, I could start working with the bones and build the Shrine’s frame first. But I’m afraid there’s no substitute for good construction quality stone. We could use a higher-grade stone, like Granite, Obsidian, Volcanic, but those are much more difficult to find and quarry than normal construction stone.”
That made me think. Hmm, volcanic...
I looked at him with a grin, “Zuban, you’re a genius!”
He gave me a confused look, “Err… perhaps you misunderstood me, Esteemed Totem, there’s no way--”
“No, no,” I cut him off, “I understand perfectly. You will have the stone you need. For now, ask Vrick to show you where the bones are in the cave. It should be safe enough for you to go there for now. Take all the available workers with you to carry the bones out, their Haul proficiency should prove useful for the task. Then start building the shrine. Err…. right next to the graveyard, on top of the cave’s entrance. For now, use whatever stone the worker quarries, until I bring you the rest.”
He seemed increasingly bewildered by my instructions but nodded his understanding regardless.
“Yes, Esteemed Totem,” leaving to follow my orders.
I knew how to get the stone Zuban needed. Though it would require significant effort on my part. First, I needed to be familiar with the construction stone’s shape.
I went looking for the new Quarry building.
It was next to the northern valley wall, where the cliff was composed of the smooth white limestone that was suitable for producing construction quality stone. The Quarry itself was just a yard and a small shed, with some frames made from wood along the side. I guessed the frames were used for stacking the cut stone. The stonemason worker was busy at work nearby. She was hacking away at the stone, making chips fly in all directions as he rhythmically swung his pick at the stone. On the ground near her was a small stack of bricks. Each one was about the length of my forearm. Ten of the bricks made a single stone unit for construction. I bent down, picked up one of the bricks and put it in my inventory.
I tapped the worker on the shoulder. She immediately stopped working, turned around, and bowed to me.
“I need you to work harder, I’m afraid. Work an extra two hours a day until the Shrine is complete”
I had to have some kind of contingency to fall back on, after all, if plan A doesn’t work.
“Yes, Esteemed Totem,” She replied. I was happy to hear she no longer referred to me as steamed Totem.
I turned and made my way toward the cave. It was around midday, I had a few hours left before dinner time to put together a working proof of concept.
***
I walked through the cave tunnel in defiance of the surrounding darkness. I had a temporary truce with Nihilator, so I wasn’t afraid his minions would attack.
When I arrived at the stream, a Mastiff materialized out of it. A level 22 monster. It stood at the edge of the stream and growled at me. I pointedly ignored the menacing beast as I passed by, almost brushing the fur made of shadow, and boldly walked into the water.
The water reached my waist, but the current was weak, so I had no trouble crossing it. The darkness that tainted the water didn’t touch me.
I grunted in satisfaction. I was untouchable until the quest deadline passed.
I continued down the tunnels until I arrived at the lava stream.
Unknowingly, Zuban gave me an idea for producing more stones. He mentioned volcanic rock as a source for advanced type of stones. I was no expert, but I knew that volcanic rock was merely hardened lava, and I had plenty available right here. Even better, lava could be poured into molds.
I didn’t have any tools with me, but I didn’t need any. I doubt that any tool we had would work for what I had in mind.
The cave floor that bordered the lava flow was a gray-white hard-rock. I pulled the stone brick I took from the Quarry out of my inventory, and placed it on the rock floor, very close to the edge of the lava. Using the point of my dagger, I traced the outline of the brick onto the hard-rock floor, then I put the brick back in my inventory.
The next part was going to take precise work.
I concentrated, conjuring a Drilling Arrow above my palm. Using my mana control, I anchored the arrow to a constant point above my palm. Then, I reinforced the arrow with more mana, making it denser and more durable. I held the shape of the arrow steady in my mind so it wouldn’t dissipate. Then, I turned my palm upside down, so the arrow’s rotating
drill head was pointing down, and slowly lowered my hand until it touched the stone.
I immediately felt my mana being drawn through the arrow, as its nature was to blast things away, but I clenched my will, poured more mana into the arrow, forcing it to retain its form. It worked!
Though it was slowly draining mana from me to maintain its shape, the arrow did what I hoped it would do. It drilled a deep narrow hole in the stone floor! I was lucky to invent this spell. The armor penetration property made it able to drill through the tough stone floor.
Now came the next part. Slowly, while the arrow was still embedded and rotating in the ground, I moved my hand across the etched line. I had to pour more and more mana into the arrow to maintain it. I guided it along a straight line, drilling through the floor. I let out an explosive breath and relaxed a bit. I knew that my plan would work now, all that was required was time and patience.
I sat down and continued drilling out the etched lines. My mana regeneration was fast enough to compensate for the expenditure. It took almost half an hour to outline the shape of the brick. Once the rectangular border was drilled through I drilled line after line inside the outline, hollowing it out centimeter by centimeter. That took me almost two hours, but finally, I was done.
I stood up, wiping my forehead, hot from the work and the proximity of the lava. I was looking at a rectangular hole with the same dimensions as the brick from the quarry. A mold for the lava.
Mana Manipulation Skill level increased to 13
Drilling Arrow Skill level increased to 12
How nice. Now came the last part. Using the Drilling Arrow again, I etched a shallow line, about 2 centimeters deep from the edge of the mold to the lava flow. Once the shallow channel was done, lava poured through and filled the mold. When it was completely filled I blocked the channel with a small piece of stone. I checked the game clock; it was already past 8 pm, and it seemed that it would take several hours for the lava in the mold to cool sufficiently. So I got up on my feet and went back to the settlement.
Life Reset: A LitRPG Novel (New Era Online Book 1) Page 42
