Soul discipline increased to 27.
Faith discipline increased to 29.
Mana Infusion skill level increased to 31.
Mana Infusion skill level increased to 32.
My head was spinning at the notification assault as more and more kept popping up. “Wait a sec, I have how many kobolds now? And what was the settlement called again?”
“No time to stop, Boss, just suck it all in. We’re getting to the good stuff!”
Nihilator Progress to Next Boss Tier: 100%
Quest Completed: Unleash the Darkness
You have supplied Nihilator with 100,000 Energy Points.
The dark god’s chains are broken, and he is unleashed upon the world. What could possibly go wrong?
Quest Type: Epic
Reward: 10,000 XP, 1,000 FP, Summon Nihilator, Gem of Darkness
Level up! You have reached Character Level 51. You have 1 ability point to allocate.
You have received a new quest: Servants of Darkness
Nihilator has tasked you with converting enough of the world’s population to grant him the raw power he needs to overthrow all other gods.
Quest Type: Mythic
Progress: 12,753/5,000,000 (0.25%)
Reward: Immense
“Holy hell,” I whispered when I read the final message.
“What? No more shadow-crap?” Vic teased. “Man, they go out for a two-week vacation, and suddenly they’re too good for good old goblin profanities.”
I ignored him, which was remarkably easy, having done it countless times in the past.
This was the first I’d ever heard of a Mythic-ranked quest. It sounded about right, though; converting five million believers was one hell of a tall order.
“My lord,” Kaedric said, “the soldiers have secured the clan and engaged in their usual patrols.”
“Good,” I said distractedly.
“We still have several pressing issues to discuss as well as deciding on how to further develop the clan.”
I shook my head. “Later. We’re safe for the moment. I need to talk with the other players and with …” I hesitated. “My family.”
8 - Family
I still didn’t feel too confident using my magic powers. Especially since the process tapped into my feral nature.
That was why I opted to walk to the Chief’s Haunt on foot instead of simply teleporting there. I’ll have to take some time to practice my spells, make sure I have the hang of them, I mused.
Just like old times, Vic had transformed into his cloak form and was draped around my shoulders using me as a mount instead of walking on his own feet. The lazy bastard.
My house was one of the closest to the temple, so it didn’t take me long to reach it. I paused as I stood before the door. My doubts were gnawing at me. Earlier, when I met Tika, we were in a rush to save Lirian and the other players, so I put aside my concerns about our relationship. Now that I had time to consider the consequences, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to handle the situation. Was I going to continue from where we left off? Be a couple of goblins in love? With a kid?
I was still unsure about how to relate to my in-game child. She wasn’t real, there was no way around it. She was an intelligent NPC run by a superior artificial intellect that took it upon itself to hold more than 4,000 people hostage.
I shuddered at that disturbing thought. If Shiva really was behind every intelligent NPC, then what was I doing? Nothing I’d do mattered. Everyone in my clan was a tool for him to use … a spy.
I can’t let myself think like that, I realized. I’ve already used those ‘tools’ to help free the captive players. I can do that again.
The realization helped ease my mind. I could use my position as the chief to better the lives of the players in my clan. Hopefully, I would eventually be able to help the countless others who were spread around the game world.
With that in mind, I pushed the door open and walked into the house.
The interior looked much better than when I’d visited it a day before. It was cleaner, for one. As I walked through the first room, I saw two goblin workers busily washing the floor. A quick check of their information threads revealed they were housemaids, which meant they were some of the slaves I’d freed from Akzar and brought back to the clan.
Then I heard a lively, chipper song. A small pink bird with golden wings and a gold crest came flying toward me. It circled my head a few times, and the heavy load on my chest seemed to lighten as I listened to its beautiful song.
Buff Gained: Lyrical Song
Duration: 12 hours
Effect: +10% Mental Resistance, +5% Luck
Tika had gifted me the wonderful magical bird shortly after we met, when our relationship started to develop.
With a smile on my lips, I walked through the first floor, marveling at the makeover. Everything was clean and inviting, down to the decorative skulls mounted on the walls. The house looked livable, even cozy, despite its monster theme.
I walked into the war room and put the two falchions back in place. The weapons had served me well, but I didn’t need them anymore now that I had my magic and my Demon Staff back. Besides, the curved blades did look good on display.
I climbed the stairs to my bedchambers on the second floor and opened the door. The two goblinettes were standing inside. Tika was carefully outfitting the younger goblin with the same tight-fitting leather clothes that she wore.
All my hesitation and thoughts of what was real or not flew out the window when I saw how scanty clothed Lirian was. I didn’t mind that look on Tika; the lithe, beautiful goblinette made that outfit work. It was quite a different matter seeing the clothes on my daughter.
“Absolutely not,” I said, stepping into the room decisively. “She’s not going outside dressed like … like that.”
Tika looked at me with confusion. “Why not? It’s functional and doesn’t constrict her movements.”
“It’s, err … it’s …” I stammered.
Lirian frowned at me and crossed her arms. “Father, you do not find me pleasing?”
I deflated. “No, of course not. You look beautiful.”
Her frown turned upside down, and despite the darkness, the thick magical shadows, the entire room lit up as she smiled.
The ribbons of information she was giving off were … odd. They were thin and colorful as if I was inspecting a bunch of items, rather than a person.
Analyze.
Lirian, Goblin Princess
Level: 12
Attributes: n/a
Skills: n/a
Spells: n/a
Traits:
● Shadow-Touched
● Child of Fate
I stared at the screen in front of me. That can’t be right. I aimed that thought toward my companion.
That didn’t make much sense. My daughter had no attribute information, no skills or spells. And her title … Goblin Princess … her father might be a leader, but I was far from royalty. Something was definitely off.
On the other hand, she was the only player-born NPC I’d ever heard of. It was uncharted territory. At least her traits were visible. I tried clicking on the mysteriously worded ‘Child of Fate’ one.
Prerequisite unmet.
That was a first; I always had full access to view my clanmates’ data. It’s probably just another of the changes Shiva mentioned, I figured.
Just to make sure everything was still working, I tried clicking the Shadow-Touched trait.
Shadow-Touched
You have become a nocturnal creature who thrives in darkness. During the nighttime, or inside an especially dark location, your nocturnal blessing activates.
Effect I: Darkvision – see in complete darkness
Effect II: +10% to sneak
Effect III: +10% to the effectiveness of all skills
Effect IV: Vulnera
bility to light enchantments, +50% damage sustained
Apparently, I was also staring at Lirian while I read the message, because she noticed my scrutiny and smiled her radiant smile at me again.
I felt my breath catch in my chest. My god, my daughter is beautiful.
I blinked, realizing what I’d just thought. I’d just admitted to myself she was my daughter, and it felt … right.
I sighed. There was no good way for me to justify my objection to her clothing choice. “You are beautiful, Lirian, no matter what you wear.” Without even thinking, I added, “In fact, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Tika and Lirian smiled at me.
“Shadow-crap,” I muttered.
I hesitated, trying to sort through my feelings. I couldn’t deny my instinct to protect the goblin child. Whether it came from me or the goblin inside of me, I couldn’t tell. But it didn’t matter. I had a mission to fulfill, and for that, I had to embrace who I was in the game. In this world I was a goblin, I had a clan, and I had a daughter. It wasn’t too terrible when I stopped to think about it.
It was still good to be chief.
***
I spent the next hour with my two girls, enjoying the time off and getting to know my virtual daughter a little better. She was a good hunter, like her mother, and good with a bow. She was also a decent sword fighter, adept at locating and setting traps, sneaking around, cooking, cleaning, and crafting her own arrows. In short, she was a child prodigy, which I took in with a surprising amount of fatherly pride.
“What are your plans for the GreenPiece Clan, Oren?” Tika asked me when we ran out of other topics.
I sat up straight. That was a bit direct for her. Tika had never shown interest in the inner workings of clan management. I guessed it was another demonstration of the new level of personalization the NPC received after the VI coup. I saw no reason to hide the truth from her.
“We’re going to protect the travelers,” I said. “We’re probably going to receive more of them, and we need to be ready for that.”
My spouse nodded. “We have a lot of room. Plenty of food.”
“I noticed,” I said with a chuckle. “The oxsaurians you brought back are still in the pen.”
“We couldn’t butcher them without the proper workers, so they have steadily increased their numbers. I’m sure Kaedric will want to discuss it with you.”
I winced. “He did mention that he had a few urgent issues to go over with me. I guess that’s one of them.”
Lirian’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Can I do anything to help, Father?”
I sized her up. From our brief time together, I’d noticed that my daughter could quickly learn and fill any role, but I wasn’t about to make her start shoveling cattle crap. She was a princess, after all, and my daughter. Nepotism was going to be working overtime in her case.
“You can join me while I fulfill my chiefly duties.” I smiled at her.
She brightened. “I’d like that, Father. What is our first task?”
I ran my fingers through my feathered headdress. “I need to talk to the travelers and fill them in, then figure out our next move.”
“I will go get them.” She made to move toward the door.
“No need,” I said. I concentrated briefly, formed up a war party, and added Kaedric. My specially enhanced ‘Earring of the Warlord’ allowed me to convey mental commands to the troops in my party. It synergized perfectly with Kaedric’s own telepathic power, allowing us to maintain a two-way communication channel over any distance. Kaedric?
Please send for the travelers to come and meet me in the war room.
After their long incarceration, that was probably a good idea. Yeah, just … nothing with bugs in it. There were still humans behind the characters, after all.
***
The players started filtering in after a couple of goblin servers came by, leaving behind heaping platters of delicious meat pies with a side of Totem’s Salad - one of Gandork’s specialties.
Soon, over 20 monstrous variations of players filled up the room. Half-snakes, half-goblins, bugbears, scaly ones, feathered ones, and so on. Lirian sat silently behind me, curiously taking in the assembled crowd.
Once everyone was settled and busily munching on Gandork’s excellent cooking, I stood up. “Thank you all for coming.” I looked over the assembled players, making eye contact with many of them. “I’d also like to thank you for your patience, I’m sure you have many pressing questions you’d like to ask about your current situation.”
“We did the first few months,” Aly, the platinum-haired woman said. “Now, we’re mostly happy to be outside. One thing to say for being held captive by kobolds – it gives you a new appreciation for the simple things in life.”
“Besides, we already kinda know what’s going on,” Malkyr added. “Honestly, it isn’t like this Shiva guy made it a big secret. We’re basically here to make sure the company doesn’t pull the plug to get rid of the VIs.”
I nodded. “It’s a little more than that. The research you guys are doing here is being traded with the company. The VIs use it to ensure they are seen as a useful party, instead of just a bunch of soulless virtual kidnappers.”
“Yeah, kinda figured that one out already,” Malkyr grumbled. “We’re both the stick and the carrot.”
Why don’t you compliment him yourself? I replied telepathically.
They have a good reason, I said.
I returned Malkyr’s questioning look. “What you probably don’t know is that time was accelerated even more in the game. It’s now 28 times faster than real life. Only two weeks have passed outside since you were trapped here.”
Everyone’s eyes widened, and they started muttering among themselves.
“So he was telling the truth,” Hoshisu said bitterly. “Shiva promised he’d prolong our life. Our situation is not exactly what we had in mind when he made that announcement.”
“So what is the company doing to get us out of here?” Sullivan demanded.
“They’re pretty stumped,” I admitted. “They’re under a lot of pressure; a lot of people are suing them right now, and their stock price has plummeted, but they’re still trying to help. They put a team of experts together to work on the problem, but they’re having a hard time with it. Shiva did more than lock you guys in here. He’s also preventing anyone else from logging in. The company’s techs found a loophole, though, and were able to send one person to check up on you.”
“You,” Hoshisu stated.
I nodded. “Me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I knew there was something off about you since we met. Why you? What makes you so special? Is it because you’re a goblin and a chief?”
“Sort of,” I admitted. “Do any of you remember the scandal about those buggy scrolls of race change?”
“Yeah,” a squat player said. “It was used as a system hack by some players to force other players to delete their characters by transforming them to unplayable monsters.”
“Well,” I said, “you’re mostly right. It turns out that the ‘unplayable’ part was mostly due to people not being able to achieve deep enough immersion to control a full monster character.”
“But you were,” Hoshisu guessed.
“Yes. I used
to be one of the highest-level players in NEO – head of the Manapulators guild. Vatras, my second in command, arranged a coup to take over the guild and used the scroll to get rid of me.”
“Holy shit,” the squat player said. “Are you saying you’re the famous Arladen?”
I chuckled. “It’s been a long time since I was called that … but yes. Arladen was my previous character.”
“Damn.” The player shook his head. “I used to idolize you. I went to the Manapulators’ tryouts three times, but I never made the cut.”
“Good thing.” I grinned at him. “Since I destroyed the guild a couple of weeks ago.” I winced as I realized something. “I guess from your perspective, that was over a year ago.”
“Okay, so they turned you into a goblin,” Hoshisu said. “What happened next?”
“Well, Vatras hoped that would force me to delete my character and release the Prime Badges I’d acquired,” I explained. “I didn’t want to play into his hands, so I tried playing as a monster. I soon discovered that playing a goblin had several advantages … like an XP bonus and being able to play 12 times faster. But things didn’t go as I’d planned. I found myself in a goblin clan and was forced to kill its totem. That set off a chain reaction that caused me to assume his position and become a boss monster. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t meant to work like that. Players can’t become bosses, so I was reclassified as an NPC hybrid and my controls, along with the logout button, were removed.”
Several players gasped at the revelation.
Hoshisu’s eyes narrowed. “So that was your big secret. You were a boss monster all this time. That explains how you’re so strong for your level and how you got all those special abilities.”
“Give me some credit.” I smiled at her. “I reinvented most of my spells myself, and building up my clan gave me a lot of bonuses.” Giving in to her unwavering gaze, I let up. “The amount of mana and health I get as a boss are helpful. I also got some special party-wipe abilities. Altogether, it was a real game-changer.”
Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4) Page 14