Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4)

by Shemer Kuznits

He spat at the ground. “We feed, we clothe, give big cave.”

  I blinked in surprise. That was not the answer I was expecting. “So … you’re not hurting them?”

  He hissed in annoyance. “Oracle ssay no eat travelers anymore. Ssay worth more alive. Make chief, and clan, stronger.”

  That was alarming. If the kobolds had found a way to somehow use the players’ abilities to their advantage – as I’d done by asking them to train up my soldiers and do quests for the clan – then this could mean real trouble.”

  I looked back to where the kobold workers were. They were all dead, but two foblin corpses were lying among them. I turned back to my prisoner. “Why did you come to this cave anyway?”

  “I can answer that.” The spider I saw before reared up. It had been perfectly camouflaged by another crystal web until it moved.

  Everyone took a step back, readying their weapons.

  “Stop!” I commanded. I looked at the giant monster. “You can talk?”

  “I can,” the creature said. “I am called Xelliax.”

  For all its spider-like appearance, the creature was magnificent. Its limbs were opaque white and its main body nearly translucent, showing thin blue veins that pulsed gently. Kobold blood still dripped from its arm-length pincers. “We are generally peaceful creatures,” it continued. “We absorb mana through our webs in order to grow. We only fight to protect our home.”

  I had never heard of such a species of spiders before, but I realized there had probably been a lot of changes since the VI took over.

  “So, Xelliax, why did the kobolds attack you?” I asked.

  “They come from time to time. They break our webs and take the pieces. We try to stop them, but they have learned to wield the power of sound against us.”

  “You’re pretty well spoken for ah … well, a giant crystal spider,” I said.

  “I am old,” he said. “Our webs are sensitive to sound and often catch distant echoes, vibrations of spoken language. I learned to speak it.”

  “That’s … pretty impressive,” I said. “Is that why the kobolds come for your webs?”

  Xelliax shook its massive head. “If broken, the pieces capture no vibration.”

  “They’re more likely interested in the mana-absorbing properties,” I mused aloud.

  “Yes.” The spider turned its head to look at our captive. “What are your intentions regarding this one?”

  I paused to think it through. “Well … he would be a useful guide. Then again, he’s a security risk. I guess I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

  “Give him to me,” the spider said. “Death must be answered in death. This is the way of things.”

  I tried not to smile. “I thought you were a peaceful race.”

  “We are peaceful creatures. Until our home is attacked. Give him to me, and we will consider you a friend.”

  Several unintelligible symbols ran across my view. I was starting to ignore the occasional text bursts, but this one was more extensive. Though I couldn’t read it, I had a pretty solid idea of what it meant. Going along with the spider’s request would increase my reputation with them.

  “You can have him,” I said. “After I’m done with him.”

  “Alive,” the spider cautioned.

  I nodded and turned to my soldiers. “Put him down and give him back his weapon.”

  The hobs obeyed. The kobold was put down on his feet, and the hammer was thrust into his hands.

  He looked at me with open hostility. “What iss thiss?”

  “I need some practice,” I said and drew out a falchion.

  This was too good an opportunity to pass. Back when I fought the kobold assassin, it triggered some sort of magical effect involving my weapons. With the limited control I now had, learning how to harness that power could be critical to our success. And since I was unable to do it at will, reproducing similar conditions seemed like a good idea. In a controlled environment of my choosing. Where my soldiers could intervene if things didn’t go my way.

  Holding the oversized falchion with both hands, I charged the kobold. Despite being large for his species, he was a head shorter than me. But the size difference didn’t play in my favor. The kobold easily dodged my clumsy attack, and his war hammer struck my blade with a force that nearly knocked it out of my hands.

  I was definitely unaccustomed to the whole ‘hit each other with sharp pieces of metal’ department. But with my magic inaccessible, I had to make do with what I had. I tried to pivot on my heel and strike the kobold on his side, but he easily deflected the blade, landing a blow on my chest in return.

  I felt the crushing impact, and the blow forced the air out of my lungs. But it wasn’t too serious; my superior armor negated much of the damage, and I’d handled much worse before. But the idea that a miserable, low-level cretin was getting the better of me grated on my nerves. With renewed vigor, I struck again and again. The kobold deftly evaded all my attacks, and when I lifted my blade for another attempt, he dashed forward and bashed me full in the chest again.

  That does it! The familiar rage greeted me like an old acquaintance. The blade suddenly felt light in my hand and I slashed upward. Hard. The kobold caught the attack on his war hammer, but the force of my strike was enough to send him several steps backward. Acting on pure instinct, I moved the blade to my left hand and drew the other with my right.

  The kobold’s eyes widened in fear at the sight of me advancing on him with two weapons almost as long as he was. He blocked one strike, but the other caught him full on his armor, cutting the leather and drawing a line of blood across his chest. With one blade still locking his weapon, I used the other one to sweep his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling down while opening a gashing wound on one calf.

  The kobold stared up at me in horror, and the sight made me stop and look at myself.

  My blades were glowing with dark-blue energy, along with the rest of my body. The sensation was familiar. I grinned as I finally realized what it was.

  Swearing and hissing, the kobold got to his feet and charged me. I crossed my blades, intercepting his weapon, and with a powerful tug, sent the hammer flying away.

  I let go of my blades and reached forward, grabbed the kobold’s neck, and lifted him off the ground with one hand. He struggled, but he was powerless against the hold of my empowered limb. I smirked. Oh yeah, I had some of my magic back.

  “Thanks for the practice,” I said to my enemy then tossed him away. He landed, face-first, in front of the spider.

  “He's all yours.”

  “No! Nooo!” the reptilian creature shrieked as the crystalline insect pounced on him. The spider put two heavy legs on the struggling kobold and exuded thin filaments of clear substance over him. The strings quickly hardened, turning into a tightly packed web of crystal, keeping the small creature pinned and immobile.

  While the two were busy, I studied my glowing hands more closely. I could feel it now. The magic coursing through my veins. It was a familiar sensation. “Mana infusion.”

  “Chief?” Ryker asked.

  I waved him off. It seemed that inadvertently, I’d found a way to activate one of my magical abilities. Mana Infusion wasn’t exactly a spell, it was a skill that allowed me to empower my body using raw mana. Letting my survival instincts take over seemed to trigger it. Now that it was activated, I could feel how it worked. It was like having circulation slowly return to a numb hand. I concentrated, and the glow disappeared. Closing my eyes and willing the feeling again, it returned.

  It was no Direball, but against mere kobolds, Mana Infusion should be enough for my needs. I decided to leave it active; the mana drain was high, but still within my impressive boss’s regeneration rate.

  “Minion …”

  I whipped my head around. I’d definitely heard something that time. Seeing no indication the others had heard it, I forced myself to relax. I was either imagining things, which meant my mind was still not fully healed, or … interesting time
s were ahead.

  Xelliax seemed to finish entombing its victim in crystal and turned back to face me. “Thank you for helping the web.”

  “No problem,” I said, motioning for my soldiers to loot the bodies. “You know what they say: ‘The enemy of my enemy’ …”

  The spider shifted uncomfortably. “Is another possible threat to the web?”

  “What? No! The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  The spider kept staring at me. “Do you suggest any enemy of the kobolds would automatically be uninterested in harvesting our webs?”

  The giant crystalline spider had a point. “Well, I wouldn’t mind getting a few samples,” I admitted. “But I wouldn’t attack you for it.”

  Xelliax visibly relaxed, lowering his torso closer to the ground. “I appreciate your honesty. You may collect the shards the kobolds have harvested so far. They are contaminated and will not draw any more ambient mana.” The spider hesitated. “I heard your questions, interrogating the kobold’s leader. I believe I may have information that could prove useful.”

  “Oh?” I raised one eyebrow.

  “As I said, the webs resonate sonic vibration. I’ve caught many of the kobolds’ words over the years. The travelers you seek are kept in a large chamber under the kobold’s clan. The only way in or out is through a shaft located in the center of the kobold’s clan.”

  That was bad news. It meant I had to be extremely careful, or I’d have to cut through the entire kobold clan to get to the players.

  Tika threw me a pleading look. I turned back to the spider. “Did you happen to catch the vibration of a captive female goblin?”

  “I’m afraid I have no information regarding your daughter.”

  There was that word again. Daughter. I felt a lump rising in my throat. “Well, I appreciate the information,” I said.

  “It was freely given.” The spider looked at me with its many crystalline eyes. “However, I do have a request.”

  I looked at him with interest. “Go on.”

  “The kobolds’ oracle is obsessed with our webs. I’m afraid he’ll never stop being a threat. If you can capture him and bring him to me – alive – I would be very grateful. I would even be willing to continually provide you small amounts of our discarded shards.”

  Well, I was already on my way to pick a fight with the kobolds. What was one more critter? Probably another tier 3, level 100 boss. I grimaced inwardly. I could almost hear Vic’s voice saying those words.

  But Vic wasn’t here. He was a VI, one of NEO’s new self-proclaimed gods. It was better for me to stay under their radar.

  The thought was sobering. I had depended heavily on my VI companion in the past, but now, I had to make it by myself. It wasn’t easy, but knowing that accessing my magic was still possible gave me hope. I tightened my fists. I can do this on my own.

  I looked back at Xelliax. “I’m on my way to pick a fight with them anyway, so I might as well help you out. I’ll keep an eye out for this … oracle.”

  “Thank you.” The spider started to draw back, slowly blending in with the crystal formations behind him.

  I motioned for my force to follow, and we made our way out of the spider cave.

  Ryker moved to walk beside me.

  “Found anything interesting on the bodies?” I asked him.

  “A bit,” he said. “They carried crude war hammers, inferior to our own weapons. I gave them all to the foblins. We also took the worker baskets; they’re half-filled with crystal shards.”

  “Good. Anything else?”

  “Only these.” The hob soldier held up his palm, showing two hollow reeds. “It’s the whistles those kobolds used to hurt the spiders. But I can’t understand how they work.”

  I took the whistles from him. I thought I felt a slight tingle in my hand as I held them, but no sudden inspiration of their function came to me.

  “Send two foblins back to the clan with the crystals and the whistles,” I said. Well, it wasn’t like I could put them in my inventory anymore, and my warriors needed their hands free in case of trouble. “Think they can handle it?”

  The hob nodded. “I’ll make sure they get the message.”

  We arrived back at the chamber where Tika had killed the lone kobold. Two of the foblins lifted the baskets and hurried out through the tunnel toward the clan.

  I examined the two remaining tunnels.

  Tika approached me. “Their leader said the left tunnel leads back to their clan.”

  “That’s why we’re taking the right one.”

  “You think he lied?”

  “Wouldn’t you, in his place?”

  She hesitated. “I … believe you’re right. I’ll scout ahead. This time, I suggest you remain here until I return.”

  I didn’t like it, but I saw the logic in her suggestion. “Alright. I’m giving you 10 minutes to return. After that, we’re coming in after you.”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  I smiled at her, affectionately remembering other times she’d tried arguing with me. “Fifteen and that’s final.” Without my interface, I didn’t have a way to measure time, but I trusted the huntress to do her part.

  Tika nodded and hurried toward the right tunnel, blending in with the shadows.

  I waited impatiently as the minutes ticked by slowly. I was way more concerned for Tika’s safety than I could logically justify. I knew she was a fictional character. Even more than that, she was operated by the very entity that had subverted the entire game world. In a way, she was part of the mechanism that kept the other players hostage. And yet … she was the same as always: feisty, brave, and loyal. She was the same Tika that I remembered. And loved. It was confusing as hell.

  Just when I was about to order my forces after her, the goblinette returned.

  “You’re back,” I said, relief washing over me. She was safe.

  “I found their clan,” she said, frowning.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I … don’t understand it. There are thousands of them when they attack, but the entrance is only guarded by about 50 soldiers. The tunnel opens into a vast cave, but I couldn’t approach for a better look.”

  “You think it might not be their main camp?”

  “I don’t know. It’s big enough to be the source of the attacks, but then, where are all of them?”

  “Perhaps they’re out harvesting other caves, like those spiders?” Ryker suggested. “Building up their resources for the next attack.”

  “If that’s true,” I said, “then now they’re at their most vulnerable.”

  “You might be right,” the tactical-minded hob said. “But 50 guards still pose a threat. How will we pass them without alerting the rest of their clan?”

  “By using travelers’ tactics.” I looked at the hob and grinned. “How do you feel about fishing?”

  ***

  “They’re coming!” Tika yelled as she ran out of the tunnel and into the open chamber.

  The six hob soldiers were standing in a wide semi-circle around the tunnel’s exit, weapons raised. The foblins filled the gaps between them.

  I had sent Tika to snipe at the guards from afar. Seeing a lone goblin archer, and a female at that, the kobolds immediately gave chase instead of raising the alarm. It was a calculated risk, but they were simple-minded monsters, and I was pretty sure they would react the way they did.

  Which was to say, all 50 of them abandoned their posts to pursue the goblin huntress.

  And the rest of us were ready for them.

  Tika sprinted toward us, passing the line of defenders. Then the kobolds swarmed out of the tunnel after her.

  “Throw!” I shouted.

  Each of the hobs was holding a grenade, and they all lobbed them at the small reptilian horde. The grenades detonated in a shower of shrapnel, fire, and gas. At least half of the kobolds pouring out died outright, and the rest were injured. Those still alive that were caught in the gas cloud started laughing hysterically and droppe
d their weapons. But more of them were pouring out of the tunnel.

  “Foblins – attack!” I yelled.

  The foolish foblins eagerly rushed forward, clashing with their diminutive counterparts.

  I winced as I saw a foblin clumsily swing a war hammer and bash one of his friend’s heads instead of a kobold, but the rest of them had better aim. The last of the kobolds streamed out into the chamber and engaged in a head-on skirmish with the foblins. Tika and the two scouts started shooting into the fray, putting down even more of the enemy combatants.

  Despite having more foblins than kobolds, the latter were all soldiers. Low-level, perhaps, but they were way more suited for combat than my dimwitted mobs. But the foblins did what they were supposed to; slowing down and harassing our enemies while the hobs picked up the strays.

  When the last foblin fell to a crude axe strike to the face, fewer than 20 kobolds remained. They were all injured, some of them critically.

  With a wave of my hand and a battle cry, I advanced on them along with Ryker and the other three melee warriors. With Mana Infusion on, we were soon plowing through kobolds like farmers through a wheat field. The blades were light in my hands and easily sheared through crude armor and bones alike. One of the kobolds caught me off-guard and nicked my side with his spear. I let the rage of being struck by a pest fill me, and, again acting on instinct, reached out to his mana and commanded it to stop. The kobold instantly froze, unable to move a muscle. I decapitated him with a sneer.

  This was what I lived for. I felt a contented purr rise inside me as the blood of my enemies sprayed over my face. This was the feeling I was missing. The feeling of overpowering your enemies, watching as their lifeblood leaves their body. Savoring the victory.

  “Yes, my minion … They will all fall before you …”

  I stopped abruptly, holding up my weapons and panting from the physical exertion. I looked at my bloodied blades. What is going on? Am I losing it again? But they said it was impossible!

  And then there was that voice. I shuddered involuntarily. Why the hell is HE suddenly speaking to me? Why now?

  The thought was troubling. At least it looked like I was slowly regaining my magic. First Mana Infusion, and now Freeze.