“Hey, Chief.” Malkyr waved at me.
“Oren.” Aly raised an eyebrow. “Were you looking for me?”
“The science facility blueprints are done,” I said with a small smile. “I thought you’d like to know.”
“That’s good,” she said without much enthusiasm. “How long do you think it’ll take you to build it?”
“Eh, about four seconds, give or take.” I winked at her. “I did say running a monster town came with a few benefits, remember? I came to see if you’d like to help pick the right spot.”
Her eyes lit up. She jumped to her feet, leaving her plate half-full. “Hell yeah, I do!”
We left the inn and were met by Zuban. “You wanted to see me, Dire Totem?”
“Yeah, we’re going to decide on a spot for the new Research Center.”
“Hmm.” The hob rubbed his chin. “It’s a fairly large construction, and we’d ideally want it away from the workers’ routes. How about the southern part of the valley between the rabbit warren and the market?”
“What do you think, Aly?” I asked.
“Perfect,” she said. “Lots of space and out of the way so we won’t be disturbed.”
“Zuban, please plot the building.”
“Done,” the constructor replied after a second.
Aly’s eyebrows flew upward. “That’s all it takes?”
“Well, I do need to rush the building, hang on.” I accessed the Settlement Interface, navigated to the ‘Construction’ tab, and clicked on the new project at the end of the queue.
Rush Science Facility construction (2000 Energy required, 548,991 available). Yes/No
I approved the prompt and stepped back.
Aly’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when a huge holographic building materialized in front of us. Then her jaw fell as a long stream of building materials flew through the air from the construction yard. The building materials aligned themselves over the holographic display, and in mere seconds, the new building was finished. From the outside, it looked like an especially oversized barn.
New building added to your settlement: Science Facility
“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,” Aly said after she regained her composure.
“It’s all yours.” I gestured at the building. “And the other players, of course.”
She almost sprinted toward the doorway then stopped and turned to face me. “Don’t forget you promised to help with my research. You owe me a brain scan – just as soon as I sort out how things work in there.”
“You got it.” I smiled at her. “Have fun.”
I turned and walked back. As I passed the inn, I saw the players leading their squads out. The soldiers were level 5, a level higher than they’d been yesterday. It looked like the sewer dive was proving useful, though, by the unenthusiastic expression on the players’ faces, I surmised they didn’t relish the experience.
Chuckling lightly, I continued walking on the cobbled road until I reached the barracks. I usually went straight for the arena, not bothering with the barracks itself. This time I went inside. I walked through the internal corridor that circled the structure until I reached the door to the Advanced Warfare Center.
The AWC was a barracks upgrade that enabled me to purchase upgrades for my soldiers. The more advanced the barracks became, the more points I had to spend on purchases. Trophies and ancient weapons were hanging on the walls, and a single smoky-white orb floated in the center.
I moved into the room and placed my hands on the orb. A galaxy of stars erupted out of it, filling the room around me. Most of the stars were faded, but four of the closest ones were bright. A line connected the central orb to one of the stars. It was the Taunt Resist ability I’d purchased in the past, which weakened the effect of skills that forced my soldiers to attack a specific target. The next two stars also shone brightly, signifying they were selectable. As I concentrated on each star, its information became available.
AWC Upgrade Menu
Available Points: 5
Path ability
Description
Cost
Defense 1: Shield Wall
Shield-bearing unit increases adjacent ally’s defense by 5.
1
Attack 1: Flanking Position
When flanking an enemy, gain 10% to damage. Must have at least five flanking individuals.
1
Unity 1: Rapid Deployment
At the start of battle, your troops reposition 10% faster.
1
Mind 2: Mental Resistance
All soldiers gain 15% resistance to mental attacks.
2
Mind 2: Revengeful
The death of a unit causes nearby soldiers to enter rage.
2
A glance at the metadata behind the interface revealed that the available points came from the various upgrades I’d added to the barracks. One point for each upgrade and two for the second floor.
The higher-tiered Mind stars were more powerful than the tier 1 ones. Mental Resistance meant my soldiers wouldn’t easily succumb to fear or charm spells, and the Revengeful ability had insane destructive potential. That only made me want to take a closer look at the other path’s higher tier abilities.
I had just enough points to purchase the three tier 1 stars and have enough left for a single tier 2, so that was what I did. A few notifications flashed by, then the interface updated.
AWC Upgrade Menu
Available Points: 2
Path ability
Description
Cost
Defense 2: Hardened Leaders
Officers gain a bonus to defense depending on the size of the squad directly under their command.
2
Defense 2: Hardened Squad
Soldiers get an armor bonus depending on their direct officer’s War Party skill.
2
Attack 2: Strong Leader
Officers gain a bonus to attack depending on the size of the squad directly under their command.
2
Attack 2: Strong Squad
Soldiers get an attack bonus depending on their direct officer’s War Party skill.
2
Unity 2: Teamwork I
All combat-related skills gain a +3% bonus when fighting in teams of 5 or more.
2
Unity 2: Shared Pain I
20% of the damage inflicted on a single unit is divided amongst its immediate squadmates.
2
Mind 2: Mental Resistance
All soldiers gain 15% resistance to mental attacks.
2
Mind 2: Revengeful
The death of a unit causes nearby soldiers to enter rage.
2
I wanted it all, but I only had two points left.
It seemed that both the attack and defense paths diverged into more focused paths that either benefited the officer or the grunts. Since my intended officers were players who weren’t meant to be put on the frontline, I immediately rejected that option. Increasing the defense or attack of the soldiers was important, but a glance at the metadata showed me that the bonus was insignificant at the lower tiers. Only later, with more investments in those paths, would the accumulated bonus become substantial. Teamwork offered a small constant bonus. It was similar to Revengeful, which granted a significant burst bonus under specific conditions.
Shared Pain was an interesting option that would increase the survivability of my soldiers significantly. A killing blow might be commuted to a severe injury instead, which could then be healed. Mental Resistance was flat-out useful, but I doubted we’d face many mind mages at this stage of our campaign. I eventually narrowed it down to either Shared Pain or Revengeful.
After a brief consideration, I made my selection.
All soldiers gained the following trait: Shared Pain I
I nodded in satisfaction. I would have loved to see an option to reduce my soldiers’ upkeep – and maybe it would become ava
ilable when I reached higher tiers – but the new bonus made my soldiers a force to be reckoned with.
Out of curiosity, I took a look at the newly opened Unity path star.
Unity 3: Shared pain II
40% of the damage inflicted on a single unit is divided among its immediate squadmates.
3
I saw where this was going. In three more tiers, 100 percent of all damage would be shared, effectively transforming a squad into a single entity with a single huge health pool. No soldier would die until everyone in the squad was killed. It was a pretty powerful bonus, but it would take 12 AWC points to reach, and the barracks was almost fully upgraded. It would take a lot of research to come up with new, and expensive, improvements to upgrade it further.
Exiting the barracks, I headed for the Dreamer’s Lodge.
I’d only made it as far as the workshops when Guba spotted me. The fat, wrinkled, ancient goblinette stomped out of her lab and shouted, “We be needing to have a conversation, youngling!”
I winced but turned to face her. “What’s up, Guba? Are you done with the grenades for the army?”
“Pfft,” she snorted. “Ye’ll have yer damn grenades, don’t ‘ye be worried. I’ve been wanting to talk to ‘ya about them spider crystal.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you’ve been studying them.”
“Aye,” she said. “Them be some powerful catalysts. Very mana conductive. It be useful fer a chemist like ole’ Guba, maybe very useful fer a certain Runecrafting Totem. You should give it a try.”
That was interesting. “I’m on my way to the Dreamer’s Lodge. Do you have some of the crystal dust remaining?”
She handed me a small sack. “There be six portions of dust ‘ere. I’ll be needing more meself for experiments. Can’t believe them rudden kobolds just threw those in people’s eyes.”
“Thanks, I’ll see what I can do,” I said.
I stopped by the smithy and collected the Viridium casing from Duladeen then I finally made it into the Dreamer’s Lodge.
Hoker was working at the obsidian workbench – eyes closed, both arms raised, palms turned upward. Ten weapons sat on the black surface. The Enchanter’s Sphere blazed once, sending motes of light to the weapons. The items absorbed the light, and I could feel them becoming magical.
“All done?” I asked, noting that Hoker relaxed his posture.
The goblin jumped in alarm but bowed his head when he saw me. “Yes, Chief. Simple durability enhancement. I need to deliver these blades and start working on the next batch.”
“Alright, I’ll keep it working while you’re away,” I said and walked over to the stone block.
I took out the Viridium casing. Runecrafters differed from standard enchanters, like Hoker, in several aspects, one of which was our lack of need for ambient mana. We supplied the mana on our own, directly feeding the runes we inscribed. I could have done the work anywhere, but the Dreamer’s Lodge offered a 10 percent bonus for all types of enchantments taking place in it.
The six-parts core casing could hold up to 16 runes, an enormous amount. I focused on the item and opened the Runecraft Interface. A holographic representation of the casing appeared on my view, along with several lists detailing my known runes, schemas, and possible effects. I had already discovered the required schema to turn the hollow sphere into a golem core. It was called MagogeshetKarma. I selected it from the list, fed in the required 1,620 mana, and let the process run its course.
Arcane runes appeared on the surface of the Viridium casing. The fusion lines connecting the Viridium pieces merged, leaving a seamless surface behind.
I eyed the result critically. The core was perfect. My Runecraft skill was 10 levels higher than it was when I made the original core, and the bonus from the Dreamer’s Lodge added on top of that.
I drew out Aidanriel’s gem from my inventory and held it before the core. Ready for your new body, buddy?
“What the hell are you two talking about?” I asked out loud.
“Testicular what now?”
“You two are nuts,” I said.
The two VIs erupted in laughter.
“What?”
I groaned and buried my face in my hands. “How the hell did I get stuck with two of you?”
“Oh for the love of …” I muttered and deposited the gem into the hollowed-out core to the raucous laughter of my two companions.
Aidanriel’s soul gem floated inside the open core. The runes inscribed on the inside lit up gradually as they connected with the gem’s magic. And then it was done.
Aidanriel, Viridium Bead Golem [Runecrafted]
Level: 6
HP: 75
Attributes: P:6
Skills: Multi-Slam 16, Lucky Bastard 7, Overdrive 8, [empty slot]
Traits: Golem (mind immunity, nonliving, +25% HP), Metal Body (Viridium, ignore 20 damage), Storage: 30 kg
Resistances: Armor 30, Magic 55%, Fire 96%, Sonic 96%
Core: Base level 6. Mana capacitor 15,000/15,000. Mana regeneration: 2 MP per second.
Connected weapons: na
Description: A unique masterpiece melding magical enchantment with spirit essence. The golem’s core consists of six parts and serves as the central control unit as well as its power source.
Normally, a golem cannot gain levels or skills; instead, its strength is determined by the number of spheres composing its body. As a unique specimen, Aidanriel is capable of developing up to three skills on his own.
Each sphere connected with the core adds: 1 level, 1 Physical, 5 armor, 5 kg of storage
The golem’s martial skill is always set at its max cap.
Since I hadn’t made any Viridium beads, Aidanriel was basically just a large, animated sphere. But for all intents and purposes, he was now a fully operational golem.
“Finally, to have a golem body again!” Aidanriel’s voice rose from the core. He rolled slowly, tumbling down from the table to the floor where he continued his ungainly ramble around the room.
I moved to work on the Viridium rods next, turning them into Fire Rods, then placed them on the floor. “Here.”
Aidanriel rolled lopsidedly toward them. A small dimensional portal opened at his bottom side as he rolled over the rods, putting them in his storage. “Great job, mate. Now if you can just whip out a few beads so I can have actual limbs again–”
“Maybe later,” I said as I walked toward the exit.
“Oi, mate, where you going? Don’t leave me here all vulnerable-like, I need those beads!”
“I don’t feel like playing with your balls right now.” I gave him a wide grin. “Maybe when you learn to behave.” I exited the building, leaving the oversized core to roll around on the floor.
Stop teaching him your bad habits, I told him sternly. Unless you feel like having another stroll alone in the forest?
I sighed in exasperation. “VIs!”
***
&nbs
p; I hadn’t forgotten about the rest of the items I wanted to enchant, or about wanting to experiment with the powdered webcrystal, but I wanted to let Aidanriel stew for a while before I got back.
So I used the free time to finally do something I’d intended to do for a long while. I sat in a comfortable chair in my house’s war room and brought out the Runecraft book I’d looted from the corpse of Akzar’s head shaman. The book contained dozens of complex schemas, many of which included runes unknown to me. I flipped through the pages, selected a schema at random, and started to study.
It took hours of tracing the fine, colorful lines, but I eventually began to get a grasp of that particular enchantment. It was part of a smart ward system; specifically the part responsible for regenerating the other wards, allowing them to remain active for hundreds of years.
You gained knowledge of a new rune: ‘Shi’ (The Rune of Flux)
Runecraft skill level increased to 68.
I closed the book with a sigh. I’d pored over it for hours, and the rune I gained as my reward seemed underwhelming. It had no obvious use on its own, only as part of a greater design. It would take even more time and many attempts to learn how to use its full potential. Still, progress was progress.
***
“Good morning, Father.” Lirian greeted me with a beaming smile the next day as I exited my bedroom.
“Hi, girl,” I smiled back at her.
We walked toward the staircase, reaching it together. I put my arm around her shoulders. The move felt so natural I almost hadn’t noticed. When we reached the downstairs, the young goblinette startled me by embracing me before running off for her training.
I remained standing, thunderstruck, as a swirl of emotions ran through me. It felt so natural, so real. For a moment, at a deep level, I fully acknowledged her as my real daughter. My heart felt heavy as my mind took over the reins, insisting those feelings had no place in there. I balled my fists and shoved it all down. “While I’m living in NEO, I am a father.” It felt like it needed to be said out loud.
Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4) Page 35