A lone adventurer started laughing. “You sound so melodramatic and ominous, then you pull a televangelist act on us? Going to try to convince everyone to bow down and pray for salvation?”
“No,” I said coldly, but I wasn’t actually offended. This fool had just prepared the stage for me. I should thank him later. I checked his name: Sullivan Tucker.
“I’m talking about something real, Sullivan. In this world, faith is power. Our dark lord, Nihilator, watches over us all. Behold.”
I opened the Construction Interface and clicked the ‘rush’ option.
The piles of building materials shimmered in translucent blue, and the ghost of a large building appeared behind me. The resources began to vanish from their piles and reappear on the ghost’s shell, replacing translucent energy with brick, metal, and glass.
A moment was all it took for the Dark Temple to be completed. It stood tall, black, and menacing, casting an intimidating shadow on the assembled crowd below. It was a rectangular, high-walled structure. Its facade was lined with blackened stained-glass windows. A menacing gothic spire pierced its roof, ending in vicious metal spikes.
Everyone stared, wild-eyed at the imposing building.
The talkative adventurer recovered first. “Okay, so you can build churches really fast,” he said with a shrug. “That just proves my point. I’m not here to pray all day to some ethereal deity. Playing a cleric is boring.”
I couldn’t have planted a better supporter. Maybe he’d like an enchanted sword as a reward? I wondered idly.
I purposely turned my back to the crowd, facing the temple. From this vantage point, the sun was obstructed by the valley walls, sending long shadows over us, though it was still too sunny for my taste.
I raised my hands, threw back my head and bellowed, “Behold!”
Would you like to purchase the [Eternal Night] blessing for 1,000 FP? Yes/No
Showtime.
The lingering light around us seemed to dim slightly. Shadows throughout the valley started moving, flowing toward us, amassing like a tidal wave of darkness. I heard some of the newcomers gasp and cry out in alarm.
The area around us became darker as more shadows flowed in, towering over us, then gushed inside the temple, filling it to the brim.
The darkness continued flowing, condensing inside the temple, climbing toward the roof. Once it reached the top, the temple’s pointed spire began to glow. A sphere of darkness grew around the tip, swelling into immensity. Just as it seemed it would burst, a column of pure darkness shot straight up into the sky. It reached a height taller than the mountain around us. Tendrils of darkness flowed from the top of the dark column, spreading above us, creating a spherical web of shadows over the entire valley.
As I watched, more tendrils shot out, weaving themselves into a tight blanket that gradually blocked the last rays of light.
The bottom of the pillar disengaged from the temple’s spire and rose, fueling the dark canopy that solidified as it consumed the remainder of the darkness. Once it was over, the dark shroud remained hanging above us, throwing the entire valley into deep, eternal darkness.
Zone blessing [Eternal Night] activated
The zone of influence has become permanently shrouded in darkness, never again to be illuminated by the sun.
The blessing’s effects are highly concentrated around the Dark Temple. All effects are doubled at a 20-meter radius.
Shadow-Touched creatures in the zone receive:
+10% max HP & MP
MP & HP regen increased by 50%
+10% damage
Upkeep reduced by 50%
Noncombat skills +5% effectiveness
Unprotected enemies suffer:
-10% XP gain
-25% HP & MP regeneration
A chorus of cries erupted from below. My Shadow-Touched Darkvision allowed me to see clearly in the complete darkness, but our guests were denied that benefit. Even those with some sort of night vision couldn’t see more than several meters ahead in the complete darkness that shrouded the valley.
“Torches!” I commanded.
Several goblins carried torches and lit them. Kaedric had prepared them well.
While I let the other players adjust to the new change, I closed my eyes and breathed in the night’s air. The change was tangible. I didn’t have to use my eyes to see; I could feel it. I could sense the area around me like never before. It felt almost like an extension of my body. I raised a hand, and with hardly any effort, a great maelstrom of darkness started spinning, rising high above the crowd.
But that wasn’t the extent of what I felt. The darkness was altering the valley itself. Everywhere I looked, trees warped, becoming gnarled, shedding their leaves and growing sharp thorns. The valley’s forest had transformed into a nightmarish one. Brightly colored mushrooms popped into existence, growing on the ground between cracks of stone and on the gnarled trees.
A howl sounded from the cave. The crowd was standing in front of the entrance and everyone, my clan members included, gasped and backed away.
The glowing red eyes appeared first, then a black paw extended out, followed by another one. A gigantic shadow mastiff appeared, emerging from the cave and standing in plain view. A dozen more followed it, all growling menacingly at the apprehensive crowd.
A single torch lit up Sullivan Tucker’s face. I cast Shadow Teleport, appearing right in front of him. His already wide-eyed expression transformed to panic.
“This is the strength faith can bring us. This is how we will destroy our enemies.”
I thought the poor guy was going to pee himself. But I had to keep up appearances.
“That’s enough, leave him be.” Another adventurer stepped forward. “You’ve proven your point.”
Now that guy was impressive. Black-skinned, tall, and powerfully built, he obviously had some Dark Elf blood in him. His long hair was black and blue with the upper half tied into a topknot, the rest left to fall to his shoulders. But that wasn’t what made him stand out the most. His scales did. Delicate, black flakes covered every patch of his exposed skin, like a dragon. When he opened his mouth to speak, I could clearly make out sharp fangs. He exuded an air of confidence and calmness. The hilts of two crude short swords protruded from his belt. He was only level 5, but I could sense the potential of raw power coming off him in waves. That merited closer inspection. Analyze.
Nero SantoDrago, Dark Elf [Half Dragon Template]
Level: 5
HP: 88, MP: 67
Attributes: P: 7, M: 2, S: 2
Skills: Dual Wield 7, Swords 7, Corrosive BreathⒷ 5
Traits: Half-Dragon (breath weapon; corrosive, +2P, +2M, +2S), Dragon Path, Darkvision
Description: The offspring of a decrepit ancient goddess … Condemned to roam the planes for eternity … Suffers endlessly to right injustice … and battles his dark heritage.
A half dragon? I frowned. How can it be? To my knowledge, all newcomers were limited to the goblinoid template. Somehow, this Nero guy managed to put his hands on a different one.
He’s even got a Prime badge already. I’ve got to remember to keep a watchful eye on him.
“What just happened?” an adventurer demanded. “I can barely see in this darkness.”
“Yeah, me too!” added another one.
I gave Nero a firm, unyielding look, then teleported back to the ledge above. “This clan, my clan, is unique. We are Shadow-Touched creatures, all of us. The darkness is our ally.”
“So that’s why they sleep during the day,” someone below exclaimed. “I thought that was weird.”
“That’s right.” I looked for the speaker, but couldn’t pick him out of the crowd. “The entire valley is now under the effect of eternal darkness. It is now a natural ground for creatures of the dark and is inhospitable to outsiders.”
One of the mastiffs howled. The others pic
ked up on it and bayed in a haunting chorus. I felt the tone of their howling, challenging, claiming dominance over everyone present. But I also felt their controls wide open for my influence and commanded them to stay put.
“What is the meaning of this?” Nero demanded, putting his hands on the hilts of his swords. “We were told this place would be a safe starting zone. Now you’re telling us it has become hostile territory?”
A chorus of disgruntled whispering followed. I raised my hands to draw their attention back to me. “No. What I’m trying to tell you is that there is a place for each of you in my clan. Join us and you too will become Shadow-Touched, and this darkness,” I gestured around me, “will be your ally as well.” Seeing the unconvinced faces, I added, “As members of the clan, you’ll have access to the crafting workshops, our craftsmen, the combat trainers, and you’ll be entitled to a discount when buying from merchants.”
“Hell yeah, now you’re talking,” someone cheered from below. “Where do I sign?”
I shook my head. “You have to earn the privilege. You need to prove you are our allies like those two did.” I pointed to the hulking figure of Malkyr, standing a good head and a half over everyone else, save the Ogres. “Malkyr and Hoshisu,” I said in a formal tone. “Will you please come up here?”
The two exchanged puzzled looks, then moved forward, climbing the ladder to stand next to me.
“Both of you have repeatedly proven yourself as friends of the GreenPiece Clan,” I continued with the same formal tone. “You have helped us build the clan and shed your blood protecting it. For your dedication, I now offer you membership with the clan. What say you?”
“I say it’s about damn time,” Malkyr grunted. “I already built myself a home in the valley.”
Hoshisu searched my face for signs of deceit.
“No tricks.” I held up my hands. “You two deserve the recognition.” I raised my voice, addressing the assembled crowd as well as the siblings. “Swear to be loyal members of the clan, help build and protect our people, swear it on the name of our dark deity, Nihilator.”
The siblings exchanged a long look. Then Hoshisu broke eye contact and shrugged. “Why not? Let’s make it official. I swear.”
“Hell yeah! I swear too,” Malkyr declared.
I held out my hands toward them. “I hereby accept you into the clan. Welcome, brother and sister.”
Shadows streamed from my palms and encircled the twins, cocooning them in utter blackness. There were gasps from the crowd below. The darkness persisted for a few seconds before it receded, gradually revealing the two. Their skin had darkened noticeably, and, like the rest of my clan, they too had black stripes covering their bodies.
Malkyr’s eyes became distant, obviously reading the messages informing him of the bonuses he’d just received. “Cool, I have Darkvision now. It’s way better than the goblinoids’ low-light vision.”
“And there’s a bonus to sneak …” Hoshisu murmured appreciatively.
Several other adventurers shouted from below.
“Hey, I want to join too!”
“Yeah, count me in!”
“You first have to prove your worth and willingness to help our clan,” I started to explain “Help and protect –”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Hoshisu interrupted, turning to face the crowd. “Just complete a few social quests until you get to friendly reputation with the clan, then you’re in.”
I looked at her grumpily. She had just interrupted a grand speech.
Hoshisu wasn’t impressed by my offended glare. “I just saved everyone some time so they can actually do something useful. Now give me a few minutes of peace, I’m still reading.”
Despite her impatient tone, she didn’t sound as angry anymore.
“So we’re good now?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m still pissed at you for pulling one over on me, but I got what I wanted out of it,” she answered distractedly, her eyes darting from side to side.
“Oh? What was that?”
“I’m fairly certain now that you are not an NPC,” she said offhand, not bothering to meet my shocked expression.
“What? You … what?” At a loss for words, I could only stare at her.
She had finally finished reading, and as her eyes met mine, she smiled crookedly. “I was pissed, thinking someone was taking advantage of me and my brother. I suspected the whole ‘beta test as monsters’ thing was a ruse. I thought the company had developed a new AI and was testing its interactions with live people.”
“I’m, uh … I’m ugh … what?”
“Yes, I get it, you’re stunned. That’s one of your many charming traits. There’s always this either stupid look of bewilderment or cockiness on your face. During the fight, you preferred to show off instead of claiming a win and when I won, your dirty trick loophole was actually a strong indication of your humanity.”
“So …” I was still having a hard time digesting everything she’d just told me. “You don’t think I’m an AI anymore?”
“Nope. I took some cyber-psychology classes during my Master’s studies. You exhibit all the signs of an addict gamer. So I’m fairly certain you’re human, just like the rest of us.”
“That’s reassuring. I guess.”
She patted my cheek, giving me a mischievous grin. “That aside, if you ever feel like a rematch, just let me know. Next time, I won’t just win on a technicality.”
The crowd below us began to disperse. Many of the players were talking excitedly, some even demanding quests from my clan members. That gave me an idea.
“Before you go, I’m offering everyone a repeatable quest.” That drew many eyes back to me. “I will grant 5 reputation points for every tree log you bring to the lumber yard.”
Grant an area quest [Logs for The Lumber Yard]? Yes/No
An area quest, that’s new. I adjusted the quest rewards and clicked on ‘Yes.’ The players below murmured their approval.
It felt good exploiting a loophole, manipulating the game to my own advantage. It made me feel like my old self again. A player in a game. The forced goblin’s instincts faded away like a dream no longer remembered.
And I owed it all to Hoshisu. For some reason, the shock of hearing the reason for her animosity toward me was like getting dunked in a bucket of ice-cold water, snapping me back to my senses. I was Oren, the player, and I was in control of my goblin Totem avatar.
The woman had taught me both a lesson in humility and humanity. I chuckled. I should bring her something nice as thanks.
Most of the crowd had dispersed. I turned around and looked at the new building. The Dark Temple was built very close to the edge of the stone ledge, leaving about a meter-wide strip of ground between it and the ladder leading up.
The walls were five meters high with tall, darkened glass windows. A wooden double door stood at the front, large enough to easily accommodate an Ogre.
I approached the doors, and they opened on their own. The area inside was about 50 square meters of mostly open space, though there were three goblin-sized alcoves at the far end. Sharp bone shards protruded from the walls and adorned the windowsills. The shrine was located near the back, doubling as a podium. The whole place had a sort of ‘evil pagan goth’ feel to it. I rather liked it.
But there was more to the temple than its menacing appearance. The building thrummed with dark power, even more than the altar back at the Ogre fort. I could feel the pulses of dark energy running through it, projecting an aura that strengthened my clan and sustained the Eternal Night.
I knew the blessing would be a major one but hadn’t realized how profound it would be. The bonuses it granted to my clan were staggering. I mentally glimpsed at my own stats, noting that my max health had risen by 60 points and my mana by over a hundred. Along with the bonuses for mana regen and combat damage, my troops were much stronger than before. The added five percent bonus to noncombat skills was also invaluable as it translated to a direct five percent inc
rease in the clan’s production and development. Considering that our daily upkeep had been halved meant, among other things, that our available daily food had increased to such a degree that I was now able to summon two new hob soldiers or one Ogre every day.
I went to the shrine and placed my hands on it. A surge of energy pulsed through me, and for a moment my mind and muscles were suffused with an overwhelming power. This place intensified my powers even beyond the effects of Eternal Night. If ever needed, the temple would be the place of our last stand.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. I found the origin that projected the darkness over the valley and tapped into it.
Eternal Night Blessing. Rank: 1
Enemies: -10% max HP. Cost: 500 FP.
Enemies: -10% max MP. Cost: 500 FP.
Enemies: -10% damage. Cost: 800 FP.
Enemies: -10% armor and resistances. Cost: 1,000 FP.
Allies: No food upkeep required: 1,000 FP.
Eternal Night Rank 2: 2,000 FP
Only a month ago, such an interface would have befuddled me. But now, information threads rushed into me with every line I read, feeding me the fine, unwritten details.
For example, each of the debuffs could be purchased multiple times and the effects would stack together. Purchasing rank 2 of the blessing would increase all the basic effects and unlock even more advanced upgrade options.
After activating the blessing, I only had 641 FP remaining, so most of those upgrades were out of my reach, at least for now.
Still, the Dark Temple was an incredible defensive tool. It was a ray of darkness and hope in our struggle to prepare for war. With time and enough Faith Points, it could make the settlement invincible. And once I completed Nihilator’s three-shrines quest, those effects would only increase.
I studied the dark walls closely. Too bad I can’t carry it out with me, I thought humorously.
“Now, this is a place befitting the master,” an unmistakable voice came from behind me.
I sighed, not bothering to look back. “Hello, Kuzai.”
Life Reset_EvP_Environment vs. Player Page 37
