“No no, please don’t hesitate to engage in any other self-destructive activities on my account.”
“I get it!” I raised my voice. “Next time, I’ll listen to your advice, okay?”
“Damn straight you will,” Vic huffed. “Sometimes I wonder how a meat suit like you has managed to survive this long.”
“That’s because I had the assistance of my most valuable puppet companion,” I said with a straight face.
“Hmph,” he snorted, though I could tell my over-the-top flattery got to him. “So, all it takes is a bit of blowing up to get you to see reason? Good to know.”
Despite my ‘outburst,’ the chalice seemed undamaged. I picked it up carefully and dumped it into my inventory.
I needed to rest. I needed to get out of this damp, dark place. I needed to be back with my clan. But I was still not done here. I returned to the shrine and placed my hands on it. “I need to meditate for a while. Poke me in a few hours if I don’t come out of it on my own, okay?”
“You got it, Boss. By the way, if sometime during your introspection you get the option to blow yourself up, consider not taking it.”
“Thanks for the advice, Vic”. I closed my eyes and reconnected with the flow of dark energy. It was like swimming through the vastness of dark space … weightless, limitless, all-encompassing. The lingering shadow pain eased, leaving me floating serenely in the darkness.
Dark Mana skill level increased to 34.
I came back to my senses. I was still standing by the shrine. Kuzai was a few meters away, mumbling something to himself
“Thank Guy, you’re finally up!” I jumped at hearing Vic’s voice in my ear.
“What happened? Why are you shouting in my ear?”
“Boss, you’ve been meditating for a couple of weeks! I tried to wake you but nothing worked.”
What! I’ve been gone for two weeks? I thought in alarm. The repercussions of such a delay would be disastrous. That can’t be right!
“Yep. Just kidding, Boss; it’s been more like five hours.”
That little runt bastard!
“But I did try to wake you and failed,” he added. “Your mind was far away. I couldn’t reach you at all.
I calmed quickly, finding it remarkably easy to get past Vic’s antics. My mind felt clear. Not just clear … I was adjusted. I could think properly again. As a proper human player.
During my time in this fort, my goblin persona had taken over, and I mostly acted on instinct. Now, my mind was fully my own. I could plan ahead, optimize my chances. Crunch some numbers. And avoid thinking about all the horrifying ordeals of the last several hours.
Instead, I considered my situation. Five hours wasn’t so bad. Even through combat, which was the best way to increase skills, gaining a skill at that level in five hours was incredibly quick.
At level 25, with my boss bonuses, my Mental attribute was at 29, meaning the skill cap was 39. Another 25 hours of meditating at the shrine, and I should reach the cap. At that point, it would be relatively easy to keep Dark Mana at its maximum as I leveled up.
“I’m going to mediate some more,” I informed my unruly companion. “Keep watch and stay out of Kuzai’s way.”
“You got it, Boss. But before you go, you received a message from Malkyr while you were out.”
I didn’t particularly feel like having to start explaining what transpired after the twins had died. “What did he want?”
“Just asking how you survived and won the fight. He left the items he was carrying for you back at the clan. He mentioned that he and his sister got the completed quest notification and that they’ll log out for a few days to wait out the death debuff.”
Good, that would save me the hassle of having to explain things. At least for a while longer.
I approached the shrine again and glanced at Kuzai. He was having an animated discussion. With his own shadow.
You would know.
I closed my eyes and meditated.
17 – The Mob Squad
Raystia materialized back in NEO, standing next to the cemetery’s single headstone.
She sighed with satisfaction and took in her surroundings, smiling. She played for 12 hours straight yesterday, trying to find a suitable ‘candidate’ to fulfill Kaedric’s quest. After sweeping the valley’s forest for nearly ten hours, she eventually called it quits, having not found anything more interesting than several weird, metal-skinned armadillos. So out of better ideas, she decided to venture outside of the valley’s protective walls.
After wandering the thick forest for a while, she reached a swampy area where she encountered a bunch of green, semi-intelligent looking creatures. This time, she was woefully unprepared for the encounter and the small yellow-eyed creatures swarmed and killed her in seconds.
At which point she quit the game out of frustration and ran some errands.
Now, several hours later, she had another full hour of game time before needing to turn in for the night.
She couldn’t help but worry that dying as a monster would be permanent. So when she found herself back in the valley, a tremendous sense of relief washed over her.
Standing on the stone ledge the locals dubbed ‘Totem’s Watch,’ she looked at the budding settlement below. She’d been away for only four hours, but the progress during her absence had been staggering. New roads spread all over, connecting the buildings, and the new marketplace construction had progressed significantly.
These goblins sure know how to build quickly, she reflected.
She went down the ladder and made her way toward the valley’s center. There was a small gathering next to the warehouse. Three people she’d never seen before stood in front of the building, arguing.
“I’m telling you, going out of the valley is suicide at our current level and lack of decent gear.” The speaker had an obvious British accent. She looked like an elven maid, though her ears were wrinkled and wider than any elf she’d seen before.
“There’s nothing to hunt inside the valley,” a gruff, yellow-furred goblin answered. He was the largest goblin Raystia had ever seen. Tall as a human but much wider and heavily muscled. “Besides,” he said, pointing at an open kiosk window at the side of the warehouse, “even the shit-quality items are too expensive for us and the gremlins’ prices are so high it’s a waste of time to even browse their stores. So the only thing we can do to get ahead is get out, find something we can kill, gain experience and some loot to sell.” He eyed the goblin merchant behind the counter then bared his teeth in a monstrous grin. “Or … we could always take what we want. Some decent XP and loot sitting right there.”
The third individual, a stocky-looking goblin, shook his head. “I’m thinking not. We’ve been lucky enough to get into the beta testing. You don’t want to aggravate the natives, especially when there’s no alternative starting location.”
Raystia cleared her throat. “Hmm, excuse me, are you new here?”
The elf female looked at her and grinned. “That is some badass looking catfolk character. Yeah, we all started today. I’m Misa Gavriilu. Who are you? Another lost soul in monsterland?”
Blushing slightly at finding herself the center of attention, Raystia said, “I’m Pen– … Raystia. I’ve played for half a day and I’m level 4.” She coughed, embarrassed. “I overheard some of your conversation. If you don’t mind me saying, Misa’s right. It’s too dangerous out there at our current level, especially without decent gear. I also think getting on the bad side of the GreenPiece Clan is a bad idea. You don’t want them angry with you.” She shuddered as she remembered a certain encounter. “They have an Ogre.”
“An Ogre, really? Cool,” said the stocky goblin.
“This place is bloody hardcore.” Misa nodded. “That’s why we should tread carefully.” She turned back to Raystia with a wide smile. “I’ve only been playing for a couple of hours and already died once. I just met these guy
s. That’s Fox,” she gestured to the large, yellow goblin, “and that’s Riley Stonefist,” she nodded toward the short, stocky one.
“I’ve never seen goblins like you two before,” Raystia said.
Fox huffed in annoyance while Riley bellowed a laugh. “We ain’t goblins, kitty. I’m playing a dwarf. After the system slapped me with the goblinoid template, this is how I ended up.”
“And I’m a bugbear,” Fox grumbled. “Pure breed.”
“Oh.” Raystia felt her cheeks flush. “Sorry.”
“So, Miss Level 4, any suggestions for us newbs?” Misa asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“Have you tried talking with the NPCs?”
“A little. I asked how to get better gear and they sent us here.” The woman indicated the warehouse.
“I got the freaking ‘rat in the cellar’ quest, believe it or not,” the squat goblin complained.
Raystia didn’t remember the warehouse doubling as a store. On the counter in front of her was spread an assortment of crude weapons, armor, and tools. Behind the counter stood the goblin shopkeeper who looked at them with intelligent eyes. Two fully armed hobgoblins stood behind him looking alert and menacing.
“Well, I talked to a few of them and they were really nice to me,” Raystia countered. “The bowyer made a bow especially for me after I helped him. And Kaedric, the clan’s seneschal, even gave me a unique quest.”
“Really? A unique quest at your level?” The goblin dwarf gaped at her. “I tried talking with a few of them, but all they want is more food. One wants meat, another fish, another vegetables. I’m a ruddy dwarven adventurer, not a grocer!”
Misa nodded. “I got similar requests. Everything seems to revolve around food with these guys.”
Raystia opened her mouth to object, then, remembering the nature of the request Kaedric made of her, closed it again. She thought back hard on her previous interaction. “I think … you just need to find the right person to ask,” she finally said. “Some of them can give you interesting quests. I believe you have to first figure out your place here, then go find someone that can help achieve what you want.” She touched the bow slung across her back. “That’s how I got my bow.”
“Well, I be wanting ter be a proper dwarven cleric!” Riley declared in a weirdly broken dialect, then winced. “Sorry, I’m still trying to get the hang of the proper accent. Anyway, got any advice for me?”
“The goblins I spoke to seemed pretty religious; maybe you can go pray at their shrine or something?” Raystia suggested.
The goblin dwarf rubbed his chin. “I might be giving it a try.” He winced again. “Sorry.”
“I want to be a tank,” Fox said gruffly. “With the bonuses I get for playing a bugbear, it’s stupid not to. But all the merchant has to offer are a couple of half-broken wooden shields.” He waved at the display.
“Excuse me,” the goblin merchant said politely. “You may commission a better shield if you’d like. I’m Gazlan, by the way.”
Fox stared blankly at him for a moment.
Misa said, “The gent is obviously one of the intelligent ones. Not exactly what you expected from a goblin, eh Fox?”
Shaking his head, the bugbear recovered from his stupor. “And how much would that cost me?”
“Our smith can craft you a decent metal shield for a mere 30 gold.”
Fox shook his head. “That’s too much. I only have two gold coins.
“Well, in that case, you might consider doing some work for the clan,” the merchant said smoothly.
Fox narrowed his eyes. “What type of work?”
“A small service. You might have noticed that new buildings are being constructed daily, but it’s still too slow. If you help our builders, I will offer seven gold per hour of work.”
Riley chuckled. “Man, he’s trying to scam you. With RL currency ratio of one to ten, that means you’ll be paid 70 cents for an hour spent doing hard labor.”
“You forget the time difference,” Misa said. “If you work for 12 hours straight, that’ll amount to a bit over eight dollars per hour in the real world.”
That got them all thinking. It was the salary equivalent of working at a fast food joint. If a first-level player could earn that much, then a more seasoned player with high reputation should be able to get rich quickly. People would quit their day jobs in a heartbeat for the chance to work in a fantasy world setting. Sure, construction work was not a glamorous profession, but working next to goblins and Ogres made it much more exciting than their mundane day jobs.
“Bah.” Riley waved dismissively. “I’m making ten times that working in the lab. Still not worth my time.”
“I see you find the salary too low for your liking.” The goblin merchant gave them a polite smile. “In that case, I have a different offer. For every hour of work, I will pay you with ten gold worth of store credit.”
“That sounds a lot better,” Misa mused out loud. “You’ll be able to get your shield after only three hours of work. I might take that offer myself; I want to buy those shiny shackles.”
Raystia tilted her head. “Why do you need shackles?”
Misa winked at her. “Reasons.”
“Can I … ahem … I would like to join as well.” Raystia felt herself blushing again. She did not like to impose on people. Especially strangers.
“Sure thing, kid,” Misa said. “We can all go play with brick and mortar for a bit.”
“I’ll check out that shrine then come join you,” Riley said.
Gazlan the merchant looked at them approvingly. “Find Zuban. He should be in the construction yard. That’s the building with the small fence and stacks of resources. Tell him I sent you to help with construction. He’ll give you your assignment.”
“Have my shield ready,” Fox said, then looked at the others. “Coming?”
They passed the mess hall and easily spotted the construction yard beyond it.
“I’ll do a quick run to the shrine and meet you back there,” Riley said.
They nodded and approached the building. Misa knocked on the wooden door.
“Come in,” a pleasant, feminine voice answered.
They pushed the door open and stopped, starting with surprise at the occupants. Two goblin females with glasses were standing next to a blackboard, holding a piece of chalk. A groomed, urbane-looking hobgoblin was sitting on a bench holding a stack of papers.
“Ah, travelers,” the hobgoblin said. “I’m Zuban. May I help you with something?”
“What is this place?” Misa asked, looking around the simple wooden cabin.
Zuban frowned “This the construction yard, which also serves as my house.”
“Those ain’t no simple construction designs,” Fox said, pointing with his chin at the blackboard. “Those are engineering measurements and counter support calculations.”
Zuban’s eyes widened. “You know how to perform research?”
Fox shrugged. “I know an engineering blueprint when I see one.”
“We were sent by Gazlan to help you with construction,” Raystia said. “He said he’ll pay us if we help.”
“Well …” Zuban scratched his nose. “We can use all the help we can get. Travelers can accomplish things I cannot, and you don’t require overseeing. I’ll put you two ladies to work on fortifying the valley’s entrance. But I’d like you,” he looked at Fox, “to help Romil and Primla here research these blueprints.”
“You mean I have to do architecture work in-game now?” Fox wrinkled his nose. “No thanks.”
“I’ll tell Gazlan to double your pay.”
The bugbear brightened at that. “Now you’re talking. Alright, I’m in.”
Zuban handed him chalk, then beckoned the others. “Follow me.”
He led them toward the forest’s tree line, then followed a path through it, eventually reaching a half-built wooden palisade. Zuban pointed at a neat stack of logs. “Here you go, now build.”
Raystia frowned. “How?�
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“That is easy,” Misa said. “I’ve done a few construction jobs at my old guild, just follow my lead.” She walked to the stack of logs and put her hand on one. The log disappeared. “It is in my inventory,” she explained. The woman then walked to the partially built wall and touched it. A new log instantly reappeared, attached to it. “See? It’s easy. The system takes care of all the fine details, we just need to do the heavy lifting.”
The two women worked for a while, transporting wood and stone to appropriate places. Raystia found that when she lifted a resource, a glowing light marked the place she needed to put it. It really wasn’t difficult. It was even rewarding, in a way.
They’d completed a large portion of the palisade when Riley joined them. The dwarf’s face looked troubled. “What’s got into your pants?” Misa asked.
Riley scowled. “I went to that shrine like I told you. After I prayed for a while I got a quest saying that the great ‘Nihilator Lord of Darkness’ found me worthy of his attention. Now, if I want to be his priest, I need to prove my faith.”
“How would you do that?” Misa asked excitedly.
“I have to offer a sacrifice,” he said. “Not just any sacrifice either; it has to be an intelligent humanoid being. So gutting a rabbit on the shrine wouldn’t work. I don’t know how I feel about something like that. I’m used to playing the good guy.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Misa said. “This is a golden opportunity. We are on the monsters’ side now, so we’d best act the part. I’ve never heard of a player getting a quest like yours before. Sounds to me like you’re on the fast track for a new Mastery skill. I would kill for that kind of opportunity.”
“Ahem,” Raystia cleared her throat. “I also have … a similar quest. I have to capture a live, intelligent creature and bring it to Kaedric so he can … ahem … eat him.”
Misa turned to stare at her. “You lucky minx!”
“I guess you have a point.” Riley rubbed the back of his neck, then turned to Raystia. “Since both our quests require the same thing, I guess it would be the smart thing to party up. Strength in numbers and all that.”
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