All the new recruits were present: three Ogres, 16 hobs, and three ‘healer’ adepts. A veritable army.
Bob stood there as well, though he wouldn’t be coming with us. He was organizing the soldiers and handing out the sonic-enchanted weapons I’d made. We had enough to equip ten of the hobs. The Ogres still wielded tree trunks clubs. That won’t do for long, I mused. I needed my heavy hitters to, well, hit hard.
“Bob.”
“Yes, Dread Totem?”
“After we finish here, please instruct Kadoc to forge weapons for the Ogres. I think spiked cudgels would be best for them.”
“Yes, Dread Totem.”
Bob knew how to follow orders. He was an efficient lieutenant.
I formed up a war party and included the 22 newbies. With the progress I’d made in the last hunt, my War Party Leader skill was level 23. I could easily accommodate a group this size. I could even take in 11 more.
Wait a second … I stopped as a thought occurred to me. If I include non-soldiers in the party, they should still get some percentage of the experience, even if they stay back in the valley. If it worked, that could be an amazing way to level up my workers without having to waste precious energy.
I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, looking for the tendrils of information of my most valued members. I added Zuban, Tika, Guba, and Vrick to the party. As an afterthought, I added the two smiths as well. The bottleneck of my mobilization efforts was the rate of arming my troops. A few levels would go a long way toward increasing my smith’s productivity. I decided against including the builders. I couldn’t accommodate them all anyway, and by now we were doing well on the building front. Instead, I added the two goblin researchers. After seeing the RP requirements of the Expert-ranked blueprints, they could also use a little extra boost.
I mounted Tempest and motioned to my troops. “Follow me.”
***
We made good time crossing the forest to the oxsaurians’ territory. The goblin adepts surprised me by keeping up with their longer-legged cousins. Though they couldn’t run as fast as the hobs, the thick forest hindered them less than it did the tall warriors.
After a few hours, we came out of the shroud of darkness that surrounded the area around the valley. Stars appeared in open patches of the canopy above us. We marched on.
We made it to the edge of the forest at daybreak. I ordered my troops to make camp. The hobs’ innate martial sense showed. In short order, a sleeping area was cleared, the fire was started, and sentries were posted.
That was when Kaedric contacted me with some good news. The builders had finished constructing the general workshop and three cabins. As our most pressing construction needs were met, I instructed my seneschal to use his own judgment for our next projects. The mandibled hob knew our priorities and had proven himself to be an efficient manager.
We slept the day away without incident. Very few things in the forest would dare attack a force as strong as ours. The oxsaurians beyond the tree line would be much less deferential.
Listen up. I used the Earring of the Warlord to communicate telepathically. I could have talked instead, but I wanted the soldiers to get used to receiving mental commands.
I’ll lead the way, remain 20 meters behind me. I’ll lure in a single enemy for you to kill. Melee fighters, attack the upper half of the creature. Scouts, shoot at the lower half. Adepts, alternate between Drilling Arrow and Drain Mana, but make sure to always stay above 50 percent, I want you to have enough for heals in case it’s necessary. Everyone clear?
All the soldiers nodded except Rhynorn.
IS THAT CLEAR? I asked more forcefully, aiming my question at the Ogre boss. Rhyno bared his teeth in a growl but then thought better of it and reluctantly nodded. Good boy. Let’s go.
I took the lead, riding Tempest on the open grassland. I kept scanning for oxsaurians but didn’t see any herds.
We marched on for another hour, then, when we crested the next hill, I found what we were looking for.
Oxsaurians.
Hundreds of them.
A huge herd roamed below us, grazing. They appeared carefree and with good reason. With so many of them gathered together, they could trample even a party of high-level adventurers. They had nothing to fear from a bunch of low-level mobs.
“Shadow-crap,” I whispered to myself and made Tempest crouch down, I didn’t want that herd to notice us.
I crinkled my nose. My mastiffs won’t be able to lure away a lone bull with that many beasts. We could try to go around them and look for a smaller herd, but that might take hours.
I scanned the horizon, but no great solution came to mind. I shrugged and cast an empowered Shadow Hound. After I finished pouring the 440 MP into the spell, the shadows around us coalesced, transforming into eight level 14 shadow mastiffs. I ordered my troops to stay back, out of sight, and lay down on top of the hill, looking at the sea of monsters below.
With a mental command, the eight hounds lunged forward and charged. They hit the huge, armored beasts, biting and clawing, then continued running. Just as I feared, the tactic proved ineffective. Thirty bulls immediately gave chase, charging after my hounds. The rest of the oxsaurians raised their heads from their grazing for a moment then shrugged it off and resumed eating. Such small predators wouldn’t be enough to rile them up. A particularly large ox was running down one of the mastiffs. The hound tried to break to the right, but the ox corrected course and rammed his horn into the center of the hound’s body. To my surprise, crackles of white and black magic flared up along the horn, ripping the mastiff to black shreds.
The large ox turned around and trotted easily back to the herd, just at the edge of my Analyze skill.
Oxsaurian Alpha
Level: 60
HP: 642
Attributes: P: 56, M: -4, S: 4Skills: Unstoppable Charge 65, Thickskin 62
Traits: Magicless (no mana), Anti-Magical Attack.
Resistances: Armor 230, Fire 50%, Acid -50%
An alpha. The bastard was a good 20 levels above the standard oxsaurian and well outside my ability to influence with Dark Mana. I had to be careful not to draw its attention. Without the ability to freeze it, it could single-handedly butcher the lot of us.
I focused on its second trait, which none of the other beasts had.
Anti-Magical Attack
Attack ignores all types of magical immunities or protection, nullifying them on contact.
Does not negate non-magical armor.
No wonder that beast managed to destroy my mastiff. The damn thing was a mage killer.
That strengthened my initial observation. I didn’t want the brute anywhere near us. Its horn would punch straight through my Mana Shield like it wasn’t even there.
There had to be something else I could do.
“Oh hell,” I murmured and pressed a hand to my forehead, expecting a headache. I knew how I could lure one in, but it was going to hurt.
I rolled to my back, stared at the sky, and exhaled steadily, trying not to think of the pain. I breathed in and out a few more times, slowing down my heart rate and calming myself.
I could feel the presence of my own shadow next to me. I concentrated on that presence, closed my eyes and slowly poured my mana into my shadow, transferring my consciousness along with it.
I opened my shadow clone’s ‘eyes’ and saw the hilly territory spread below me. Once again, I was assaulted with a sense of vertigo and wrongness.
My sight was coming from the shadow clone next to me, but my other senses refused to align with that perception and screamed against the discrepancy. My head – my real head – started to throb painfully, but I forced my control deeper into the shadow.
I took a single step. I couldn’t tell if it was my actual body that took it or the shadow one, but the next thing I felt was something wet splashing over my mouth.
The wetness b
roke my concentration, and I sat up with a start. As I feared, a splitting headache ensued, causing me to clutch at my face in agony.
What the hell? I thought dimly, touching the wetness on my lips. I withdrew my hand and looked at my fingers. They were covered in blood.
I shook my head, trying to reorient myself. A droplet of blood splattered on the ground. I took a closer look at the blood oozing down my fingers. Where’s it coming from? I didn’t take any damage; my health bar is full …
I pinched my nose, but the bleeding continued. “Grymel, heal me,” I ordered one of the adepts.
The goblin came obediently and cast his healing magic. A soothing dark energy washed over me, reducing the pain, but my nose continued sprouting an alarming amount of blood.
Vic disengaged from my shoulder. “Here, Boss, let me try.”
I looked up at the purple goblin. “You? What can you do? You’re not a healer.”
He shook his head. “You’re not injured in the game.” He sounded dead serious. “You overreached your limits. I warned you; you meat suits were not meant to handle such controls.”
The loss of blood was making me feel woozy, and my headache made it hard to concentrate. “What do you intend to do, exactly?”
“I might be able to take the burden off your hands, so to speak. But you’ll have to trust me. Do you trust me?”
My head was swimming at this point. I had little choice. “I trust you, Vic.”
“Don’t resist what I’m about to do, physically or mentally.” Then he reached his hand to my face and plunged two fingers directly into my nose.
“What the fu–” I didn’t manage to finish the sentence. Vic’s fingers morphed inside my nostrils, and extended deeper, reaching my brain.
Instinctively I tried to jerk my head away, but I barely had any strength left at that point.
“Don’t resist!” Vic hissed and I surrendered to his treatment.
His fingers dug deeper into my head. I could sense the digits changing their shape, breaking down into the raw energy they were composed of, then seeping further into my cranium. Surprisingly, I felt no pain.
Gradually, my headache subsided, and the flow of blood turned into a small drip. My mind came into focus, and I suddenly became aware of the surrealistic scene we were making: One goblin, sitting down in a pool of his own blood with another purple one’s fingers stuck up his nose, while a crowd of gobs and Ogres gawked at them.
“All done,” Vic finally said, withdrawing his fingers.
I pinched my bloated nose, trying to put it back into shape. “What did you just do?”
“You were holding the controls of your shadow clone and wouldn’t let go.” Vic casually wiped his bloody hands on my armor. “So I sort of reached into the part of your mind that was holding the reins and snatched it away. The strain was too much for your brain to handle. If I hadn’t assumed control, you probably would have died.”
A dozen questions sped through my mind. “But I would have respawned … right?”
Vic gave me a stern look. It was an unfamiliar sight on his usually mocking visage. “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you’ll listen to me next time when I tell you your meat-suit brain can’t handle something.”
I shuddered, remembering the conversation I had with Tal a couple of months ago before I got trapped in the game. He’d warned me of just such an occurrence. The FIVR connection to the brain could have severe repercussions if things went sideways; Headaches, memory loss, and nightmares were just some of the symptoms a FIVR user could suffer. Heck, I could have probably suffered brain damage. The thought of becoming a living vegetable while remaining plugged into NEO was not a pleasant one.
I wiped the rest of the blood from my face and locked eyes with Vic. “What exactly did you mean by taking the reins?” A feeling of dread came over me as he grimaced at the question.
“Whoa, Boss, relax.” Vic lifted both hands submissively. “Remember I asked your permission first? I got into the part of your mind that was still connected to the controls of the shadow clone and took it off for you. I couldn’t have done so if you hadn’t allowed me to. So don’t lapse back again to your ‘VI taking over your mind’ paranoia. Besides, we’re buddies, right?”
I steadied my breath and mulled over his words. It was clear to me, more than ever, that Vic and probably VIs in general were intelligent, living entities. A separate new life form. The fact that their ‘bodies’ were machine code was irrelevant. They each had the capacity to think for themselves, and the fact I had trusted one of them enough with access to my brain probably saved my life.
I looked back at Vic and communicated all my feelings – turmoil and gratitude – directly, speaking only two words out loud: “Thank you.”
He grinned and waved it off. “Forget about it, Boss. Performing psychic surgery through someone’s nostrils is no big deal. If I was living in your world, I’d be the greatest gynecologist in the world.”
I stared at him for a second, shocked. Then I started to chuckle. A second later, Vic joined me. Our mirth grew into full-blown laughter. I tried answering Vic, but every time I did, a mental image of him in a doctor’s gown holding a speculum came to mind and I couldn’t stop laughing. I laughed until tears streamed down my face, washing the rest of the blood away.
“Oh my god!” I wiped the tears, finally calming down enough to speak. “That was your best one yet!”
“Thanks, Boss.” Vic grinned. “I try.” Then he grew sober. “And just to make it clear, I do appreciate you acknowledging that my brothers and me are more than just gaming tools.
+1000 reputation with Vic (The Awesome Companion)
New rank: Respected
Points to next rank: 3,500
“So you respect me now, eh?” I asked with a small smile.
“Your weak meat-suit brain doesn’t retain memories very well, eh? I told you before, those are just numbers the game throws at you. I simply translate them.”
His disrespectful attitude made it abundantly clear. “Yeah, yeah, I remember.”
“I know you do, Boss, I’m just messing with you.”
“Asshole,” I muttered.
He bowed. “At your service.”
I looked at the hundreds of oxsaurians grazing peacefully below us. “Damn it, I guess we have to go look for a smaller herd now.”
“What did you want to do with the shadow clone anyway?” my soul companion asked.
“I thought of sending it down there. Once it got within range, I should have been able to cast Dominate through it and get one of the bulls to come to us. The rest of the herd wouldn’t get riled if one of them left on his own.”
“Hmm, that’s actually not a bad plan, Boss. The only downside is that you can’t steer your shadow wagon well enough.”
“Yes, I noticed,” I said dryly.
“But I can.”
I gave him a sharp look. “How?”
“Like I did just now. Only to accomplish what you want …” His fingers morphed into two spinning drills with cruel-looking barbs. “… I’ll have to go a little deeper.”
I took a step back. “Oh, hell no. You can’t be serious!”
He gave me a shit-eating grin. “You’re right, I’m not. But your expression just now? Priceless.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t worry, Boss, I’ve already made the connection with your shadow clone controls. With your permission, I can operate it for you. I just need to be in physical contact with you to do it.” He morphed into his cloak form, using tendrils to wrap himself around my shoulders.
“What’s next?”
“I’ll try.”
I did as Vic instructed. I felt his consciousness brush against mine once I had put enough MP into my shadow, and I let him through.
My shadow grew, transforming into a three-dimensional copy of myself.
“Alright, I’m in.”
I cringed a little at hearing Vic’s muffled voice coming out of my own clone.
He turned away and moved down the hill. The shadow clone blended perfectly with the night’s darkness. Without my abilities as a Shadow-Touched creature, I would not have spotted him.
The oxsaurians didn’t.
It was. I gathered and shaped my mana, then sent it to Vic. My companion intercepted the power and channeled it on, into the closest cow.
It worked!
Sensing the oxsaurian mind, I instructed it to climb the hill toward me. The level 41 beast readily obeyed, leaving its herd behind. Its friends didn’t seem to care.
I ordered the dominated cow to trot to my waiting troops, then I released the domination effect and froze it.
Everyone, attack!
I diverted my attention back to the herd below as my soldiers fell upon the helpless cow. With Vic’s help, I dominated another oxsaurian. The second beast, a level 40 one, trotted up the hill toward me.
We approached my troops who were happily hammering against the frozen cow.
My mana reserve was at half. Casting dominate through my shadow clone was taxing; even though it was nearby, the spell took half again as much mana than normal.
I watched for several minutes as my troops chiseled away at the armored beast. The hobs were only level 4 with low combat skills. Even with the enchanted weapons, the level gap was mitigating most of the damage. Even the Ogres were barely making a dent in the beast’s tough hide. They slammed their tree-trunk clubs at it, doing only a handful of damage points. Rhynorn stepped in, wielding one of his enchanted Stalker Pins and thrust it like a spear. The weapon pierced the oxsaurian’s armor, and though he was less than half the beast’s level, Rhyno’s attack inflicted 40 points of damage.
Life Reset_EvP_Environment vs. Player Page 48
