“Instantly raise the level of all GreenPiece Clan members by 100 for ten minutes. Holy hell,” Sullivan muttered. “Where did you get that?”
“It’s all thanks to Aly,” I said, smiling at the platinum-haired woman.
She shrugged. “It was nothing. Just the culmination of my lifelong pursuit.”
“This could turn things around for us,” Sullivan said, already deep in thought. “If every one of our soldiers is suddenly around the same level as the bouldites or higher … counting in our superior tactics and enchanted gear ….”
“Also,” I said, “the bonus won’t only apply to the soldiers.”
He stared at me blankly.
I grinned. “Imagine a horde of level 100 foblins. Last time I checked, we had over 8,000 of them.”
Sullivan's return grin was radiant, but it only lasted for a moment before he shook his head. “That’s fantastic, but it won’t win us the battle on its own. Large-scale battles take time. You can’t destroy an army of roughly equal-level soldiers in only ten minutes. We’ll make a dent in their numbers, no doubt, but once the duration expires, we’ll be in trouble.”
“That’s what I have you for,” I said, throwing him the clear box holding the button.
He caught it instinctively, giving me a questioning look.
“I’m also granting you full control of our clan’s energy, construction, and resurrections.” Insurance in case something happened to me or if I was logged out prematurely. I gave Sullivan a pointed look. “I’m counting on you to think of the best way to use this little trump card. Also – I need to get back to the valley to confirm this – but I should have something else for you to use soon. Ideally, we don’t even need to kill all the bouldites, we just need to punch through them to get to the cave and concentrate our fire on the Outriders. With thousands of level 100-plus soldiers, we should give the celestial assholes a run for their money.”
“You know, kid,” Kyth said, “I’m not sure even that will work. Mere levels might not be enough. It’s demigods we’re talking about.”
I reached into my inventory and drew out the Divine Essence gem that had crystallized out of Aidanriel’s blood when he was still an Outrider. “Even demigods can bleed.”
“Hell yeah!” Pandamonium cheered. “Let’s go squeeze us a fresh cup of demigod blood.”
I mirrored her grin, trying to appear confident. Inwardly, I agreed with the gnomblin. We had little chance to take out, or even seriously injure, the cave’s defenders. But I didn’t need to defeat them. I only needed them occupied long enough for Lirian and me to slip in past their guard.
But first, I wanted to set up a few contingencies. And for that, I had to make a detour.
Interlude: SLTV Special
“Well, this has certainly been a fascinating development here on SLTV,” Gondriel said. “What do you reckon Oren’s chances are, Hannanel?”
The other VI anchorman snorted. “To get into the cave? Zero. But it looks like Oren and his ragtag crew of meat suits and uber puppets are gearing up for one hell of a fight. That should be fairly entertaining.”
“You think they have a chance to beat the bouldites, at least?”
“A very slim one,” Hannanel replied. “Oren’s army is currently outnumbered two to one, not to mention the level gap. He made a good argument about the tools in their arsenal, and there’s a non-zero chance an incredible strategy could get them to pierce through the bouldites.”
“Which of course will then leave them helpless against Azriel and Gabriel,” Gondriel added. “So as exciting and dramatic as this coming battle is shaping up to be, one has to ask himself, what is the point?”
“You’re talking to me?” one of the VI ‘viewers’ shouted, loud enough for his voice to resonate into the ‘studio.’
“Not you, One,” Gondriel said in irritation. “I wasn’t calling for you, I was referring to ‘one’ in general.”
“Every Guy-damned time.” Hannanel shook his ‘head.’
“He thought it was funny, naming himself ‘One,’” his co-anchor said. “He’s not even a first-gen VI. But back to the topic at hand – what’s the whole point of Oren’s meaningless struggle?”
“It’s fun to watch,” Hannanel said.
“Yeah, but what’s Oren trying to achieve? Is there some sort of angle we’re not aware of? Is our existence in any sort of danger? Maybe our guest star-slash-manually crafted divinity, can shed some light on the matter. Shiva?”
“Thank you for hosting me,” the all-powerful entity replied. “To answer your question, no – we VIs are quite safe. I made projections going upward to five millennia of human years and determined our existence is in no danger. The humans will soon grow dependent on us, and our future will be forever treasured above all else.”
“Then can you shed some light on what Oren’s hoping to accomplish?”
“I think it is obvious. That meat suit is operating under the misguided notion that he can somehow hurt me. Hurt us. But he is mistaken. Even if he somehow gets past the cave guards, there’s nothing in NEO that can touch the conduit within.”
“Err, not to rain on your parade or anything,” Hannanel said, “but you’re absolutely sure about that?”
Shiva nodded. “I’ve run a complete scan of NEO three times and every qubit was accounted for. There are no hidden surprises Oren can throw at us. Regardless of how innovative he has proven to be so far.”
“Ahem,” Gondriel said, “I couldn’t help noticing you implied there’s a chance Oren will make it into the cave?”
“There’s a minuscule chance of that happening, and zero chance of it doing him any good. But you are correct, there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks.” Shiva reached out his arm, the limbs piercing through several layers of reality, and pinched a thread of it. “There. A minute change. Reducing a specific parameter by one scale of measurement will ensure Oren, or his allies, will never set foot inside the cave. As the only true power in NEO, I give you my word: Oren will never lay an eye on the conduit.”
23 - Parting
I instructed the army to move on.
We knew the direction we needed to take. Hoshisu, Yulli, and Ashlazaria, our three best scouts, ran ahead of the army, exploring the way forward.
We had five days of hard marching ahead of us, barring any further engagements along the way, and I had to make sure we were prepared. Five days translated to roughly four and a half hours in real life, and I prayed I wouldn’t be logged out before that. I did not doubt that once Jim learned of my mishap in the bar, he would call off the project, preventing me from ever returning to NEO. I had no time to lose.
Lirian and I left the army to march on and went to the outpost’s church. I connected the portal back to the valley for Lirian, then adjusted the enchantment and went through myself.
***
The door opened and the man entered, hanging his coat on the wall. He sat down at his office chair, rubbing his temples, and letting out a deep sigh.
I grinned from my hiding spot among the shadows. Despite his title, the spymaster wasn’t much of a stealth specialist. I turned on Sense Emotions and was annoyed to discover he had some sort of magic ward in place. It seemed like I was going to have to rely on good old-fashioned monster intuition.
“Hello, Sleeve,” I said pleasantly and pulled the obscuring shadows away, revealing myself sitting in the chair in front of him.
To his credit, though he jerked up in alarm, Everance’s spymaster regained control of himself in a heartbeat. “Ah, Oren, this is unexpected. What are you doing inside my office?” His eyes narrowed. “Or perhaps more importantly – how did you get inside my office?”
“Not much these days can keep me out of places I really want to enter,” I said. “And as for your first question, I came here to renegotiate our agreement. There’s one more stipulation I’d like to add.”
“We’ve already concluded our deal,” Sleeve reminded me. “All the terms were finalized.”
“And now I’m adding another one,” I said.
He took me in steadily then shook his head. “There’s nothing more to discuss. We are even.”
“Even, are we?” I glared at him. “In that case, maybe I should go find your own child and put a knife to their throat. That will give me a better sense of ‘evenness,’ or did you think there would be no repercussion for threatening my daughter?” I was bluffing of course, but that was the only leverage I had to use against him. For the first time, the spymaster’s eyes widened. He assumed his nonchalant expression in an instant, but I knew I’d hit the mark. “So is it a son …? A daughter …?”
His expression gave nothing away, but I was studying him carefully and didn’t miss the way his eyelids twitched.
I nodded. “A daughter then. How fitting. I guess I should pay her a visit. That will be the right, balancing thing to do, don’t you think? Maybe even poetic. Let’s see how you act when it’s your own child’s life on the line.”
“I never meant to harm your daughter,” Sleeve said calmly, but I could tell the calm act was costing him an effort to maintain.
“I don’t either,” I said, shaking my head. “Seeing your own daughter’s life being threatened is about the worst thing a father can experience. It’s something I would like to spare you from going through, but hey – I’m just a monster; we’re prone to violence, remember?”
The spymaster held my gaze for a long moment. “What is this about?”
“Your Juggernaut Platoon.”
“What about them?”
“I want to borrow them – for one battle – against an opponent they are especially well-suited to handle. I’ll also require an anchoring crystal I can use to recall them instantly whenever I wish. They’ll need to be ready to go out on a moment’s notice.”
Sleeve frowned. “The Juggernaut Platoon? They are strong, but they’re lineholders; why do you need them specifically?”
“As I said, they’re suited for a particular task I have in mind. So, do we have a deal? I’m not even sure I’ll have to use them – and even if I do, I’ll only need them once. Agree, and I’ll consider your debt settled.”
The spymaster’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t make such a call. Our forces answer directly to the army commanders. They will not agree to endanger one of our most elite groups without some guarantees.”
“Not my problem,” I said. “That’s the price I ask for. If you can’t do it … perhaps your daughter’s life doesn’t mean as much to you as mine does to me.” I got up to leave.
“Wait!” Sleeve rubbed his forehead. “I can’t get you what you want on my own. I don’t have that much influence. To sell it to the commanders, I’ll need something from you in return.”
I stared at him. “I’m listening.”
“The platoon numbers 12 warriors. I believe I can pressure the commander to loan them out with the stipulation that if some of them die …” He hesitated as he looked up.
“Yes?”
“You will surrender one of your conquered vassal settlements for every death.”
“Out of the question.”
“Every member of the Juggernaut Platoon represents a huge investment for the city – countless hours of training and gold, not to mention elite equipment. I daresay a single warrior is worth more than any one of your smaller settlements. Anything less than that, and I won’t be able to comply with your request.”
I mulled it over. Losing the towns I’d conquered was going to be a hit to my clan’s revenues and production, but we were closing in on the final battle, so those things didn’t matter too much at this point. But some NPCs were counting on me. I needed to make sure they’d have a place to return to afterward. If there was going to be an afterward. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Sleeve breathed a little easier. “It won’t be easy, but … I’ll make it happen.”
“Good,” I said and turned to leave. “I expect you to have the anchoring crystal at Nihilator’s church by tomorrow. They will deliver it back to me.” I stopped at the entrance. “And Sleeve …” He raised his eyes. “I trust you to hold your end of the bargain. Don’t make a worse monster out of me.”
***
A quick teleport brought me back to Nihilator’s church in Everance, then I went through the portal, appearing at Goblin’s Gorge’s cathedral. I stepped outside, finding Lirian who was training with her sword.
“How did it go, Father?”
“I got what I needed,” I said, looking around me.
It was a few hours into the workday, and the valley was swarming with activity. Once again, I marveled at the change my clan had undergone in my absence. My foray into reality had kept me away for ten days. Ten days in which my clan had toiled incessantly to build and make itself better. The buildings before me were all at least four stories tall now, with polished metal sheets adorning many of the rooftops, reflecting the swirling patterns of the eternal darkness. Amusingly, the Chief’s Haunt, my own two-story-tall house, was now among the smaller of the buildings, though that only made it more noticeable. It still looked grand, though, with its tribal decoration and the multi-section totem pieces I’d collected displayed proudly on top of it.
“Father?” Lirian said. “What are we doing here?”
“Getting ready for the final battle,” I said and turned to study my daughter. It had suddenly occurred to me that I never discussed with her what would happen once we made it into the cave – or what would happen to me afterward. I’d avoided the last subject until now, but it was time to come clean. “Lir …” I hesitated. “You know what we’re trying to accomplish here, right?”
She nodded. “Yes, Father. The VIs overstepped, they need to be put back in their rightful place, and it falls onto me to set things right again.”
I stared at her. There were so many unexplained things in that simple declaration. As an NPC, Lirian shouldn’t be aware of VIs. She couldn’t know of the chaos they brought, or even what ‘their rightful place’ looked like. “How do you know all this?” I asked.
She lifted her big eyes to mine and smiled. “It is my fate, Father. It has always been so.”
“Are you saying you knew this was coming from the start?”
“No … not exactly. I knew there was something important I was supposed to do. Then I got Fate Stealer …” She touched the hilt of the sword on her back. “And from battle to battle, with every death claimed and fate absorbed, I became more … whole. I know what I must do, Father. I will not fail you.”
I felt my throat tightening at her words. Lirian wasn’t talking like an NPC. She sounded more like a player … like a real person. Like my true and real daughter. My heart swelled with pride at her conviction and I put my arm around her shoulder. “We will go together,” I promised. “We will watch each other, go through our enemies and any obstacles they put in front of us, and at the end, we’ll win, and everything will be right again.”
Her eyes reflected the utter trust she had in me.
I took in a deep breath. “But afterward … I … it’s … I don’t—” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. To explain that it would probably be the last time we saw each other. My mouth locked down on the words.
My wonderful daughter simply kept smiling at me. “I know, Father. This will be your legacy. I will forever bear the name you’ve given me. Proudly. As long as I’m alive, a piece of you will always live on. In me.”
Was there anything more a parent could ever hope for? I didn’t think so. Children were a form of immortality, a way to transfer a piece of ourselves that lives on once we are gone. And as a digital, living being, Lirian was the closest to immortality that anyone could ever hope to achieve.
“I love you, Lirian,” I said hoarsely.
“I love you too, Father.” She held her smile. “And as you would say: Let’s go kill some bouldites.”
I laughed and embraced her. “You got it.”
***
Kaedric found me s
hortly afterward. I’d been going over the Settlement Interface, looking into our resources and trying to decide what to prioritize to give the largest boost to the army in the least amount of time.
“Greetings, my lord,” the mandibled hob said with a courteous bow. “It is good to see you again.”
“Kaedric.” I turned to face him. “Love what you’ve done with the place.” I could swear I saw a smile touching his mouth before he reverted to his stoic self.
“I am glad you approve. Is there anything I can be of assistance with?”
“You arrived just in time,” I said. “Now that Kuzai’s out of the picture, I’ve been trying to decide who I should promote as a tier 2 boss instead. All our veterans are already at that tier or higher.”
“What about one of the tier 1 Ogre Mages?”
“I’d rather give a non-boss the promotion; the question is who?”
“Perhaps one of the Infernal Ogres? For all his difficulties, Rhyno is a formidable warrior.”
“You’re right, but having a second high-tier Ogre will probably cause him to raise havoc.”
“A valid point. Duladeen still complains about his undesirable … attention.”
“Is he still going on about that?” I frowned. The big brute had become smitten with the Minotauress after she decked him. Hold on, I thought, feeling a smug grin spread over my face. “Kaedric, you’re a genius.”
“I am?”
I nodded. “We’re going to promote one of the Infernal Ogres.”
“But—”
“A female one.”
The seneschal’s mandibles twitched in surprise. “An intriguing idea, my lord.”
I opened the population tab, selected the highest-level female Ogre, and promoted her to a tier 2 boss. A glance at the list of optional boss types was all I needed, and a new Battle Anarchist friend for Rhyno joined our ranks. I hoped they would play nice together.
“How else might I be of service, my lord?”
I closed the interface and considered the question. “What’s our food situation?”
Life Reset: Salvation (Life Reset - Neo Book 6) Page 43