“Would you be able to check to see if the other clans have a restorable mailing system and, if not, then install a new one?” Ifalna asks the little goblin warrior.
“Eh, I can give it a crack.” Kleemek shrugs. “It shouldn't be too hard, really.”
“If you would be able to do that as soon as possible, that would be awesome.” Ifalna smiles. “And there will be no more need to pay the exorbitant merchant prices either, seeing as how we will be buying it ourselves and mailing it back.”
Kleemek's eyes open very wide at that. “You mean you will be able to go to the auction house in person? Could I give you a list? I have been trying to get my hands on a Sprizzle Sprocket 5000 since forever! The blasted cheats want to squeeze every last copper I own though, never charging me less than five hundred times the amount it actually costs.”
“I'm sure that if you fix the mailing system, you will be able to send me the gold and a list of things to get you when we are next in an auction house or with a merchant outside the Glade.” Ifalna laughs. “We won't even charge you for the handling and delivery; we will do it at the cost we buy it for.”
“At cost?!” Kleemek squeaks as his eyes promptly roll up and he passes out in a heap.
Without breaking stride, Branko picks him up by the back of his armour and gives him a bit of a shake. “Wakey, wakey, my little green friend.”
Slowly coming to, Kleemek starts muttering before he shouts, “It's mine, cutie pie sweet cheeks! My Sprizzle Sprocket! Noooo—!”
Shutting his mouth abruptly as his eyes fly open, he glares around at everyone. “You heard nothing.”
We all burst out laughing, except for Kleemek, who is struggling in Branko's grip, arms flailing. “Set me down, you brute!”
“Hmm, I think he needs another shake. He's a touch angry for some reason. Maybe you can shake it out of him?” Dosan says innocently.
“You think so? Okay.” Branko thrusts his arm back and forth, rattling the little goblin even more.
His face turning severe and quite an interesting shade of dark green, he starts screaming profanities. This little fella can definitely sling out the curse words with the big boys, that's for sure.
Eventually Ifalna throws out a couple of heals, and Kleemek starts to calm down a bit when he realises he isn't going anywhere. We have finally reached the gates of the fortress though.
“Okay, before we head off for a rest, I'd like you all to organise yourselves like I laid out to the felorians and nymphs already,” I start. “Rotating shifts of rebuilding the fortress, training, gathering, levelling up, resting, and some time off. Make sure you implement the ursine, goblins and kobolds into your groups. You may have to shift them around a bit to have a high-levelled ursine whiz through the different mobs till everyone gets up to the same levels.
“I also want to have everyone start clearing forests on the outside of the walls bordering the entire Glade for roughly the same distance as you have here on this side. This will let us know if enemies are trying to sneak up on us so we can see them well before they hit the walls. If we have any architects, I would like a large town plan to be drawn up and the building to start if we have spare labourers during the repairs.
“We can use all the wood from clearing the forests as well as the stone from the ursines’ quarry to make some quite decently sized buildings. Eventually we will also wall this section off so there will be dual protection. I can envision this place becoming a city if we work hard enough.
“But for now, Han, if you would be so kind as to show us where our rooms would be? I'm sure I'm not the only one who’s knackered,” I finish with a sigh.
“Certainly.” Han bows and then starts walking down a corridor shooting off from the large welcoming chamber. “Right this way, ladies and gentlemen.”
We leave the other leaders to organise themselves as we follow Han in a winding maze skyward. Covered lamps light the way to what feels like several stories up. I'm soon standing with Grace in quite a large room with a wide balcony. Massive double doors are on the balcony, and when I walk out there, I find that it is also part of my safe zone.
Interesting. This means that when Grace gets bigger, she will be able to land here without any issues.
The view, however, is as breathtaking as I had seen before, during our first time here. Through the moonlit night, I can see not just one mountain, but it looks like there is a whole range in the distance behind it. Not to mention the massive tree that I guess would be the nymph village.
And the stars. Holy crap. There is an even better view out here than when we all took that four-wheel driving trip out into the middle of nowhere last year.
A warmth settles on my shoulder lightly. “It is quite the view, is it not?”
“Hmm, yes. Yes, it is,” I say softly as I reach up to scratch Grace behind her horns. She shivers and lets out a low purring grumble.
“You did well today, Sybaal,” Grace says softly back. “You are bringing about a change to this place that was sorely needed.”
“I'm quite impressed with you as well, Grace. We couldn't have succeeded today without you,” I say as her rumbling gets louder.
“They are waiting for us.”
Sighing, I gaze at the stars one last time before walking inside with Grace beside me. Lying down on the bed while she curls up beside it on the plush rug, I log out.
7
Glancing at the time when I get up, I see it's now 10:40. It sure didn't feel like we were in there for over five hours.
“Sybaal,” says Grace in my ear, then continues quite seriously, “your group has a summons from the director of the beta test at your earliest convenience. Which really means ASAP after you have freshened up and had a quick bite to eat. I'd recommend not keeping the director waiting if at all possible. I've already heard of one beta group being penalised for not giving the director the respect she deserves.”
“Eek, I'd best get a move on, then.” Jumping into the bathroom, I'm showered, shaved, dressed and business taken care of in five minutes flat and walk out into the lounge room.
The others are already there, dressed in smart casual attire. No need to piss anyone off for rocking up to work too casual, if that makes any sense whatsoever.
Lockie hands me a reheated bowl of our last meal, and it still tastes divine to my taste buds as I wolf it down with a grunt of thanks.
“Alright, gentlemen, I've already let the director’s personal assistant know you are on your way, so best be heading out the door,” Grace informs us with what I swear would be a cheeky smile on her lips if I could see her in person.
“Thanks, Grace, very helpful.” Kazzrak grimaces, looking at the rest of his food before his bottom lip wobbles as he sets it down unfinished and heads for the door.
The rest of us follow suit, and soon enough we are in the elevator and travelling higher up. The doors open with a ding and we step out into a spacious lobby with a few doors leading off it. There are various plush seating sections around the room.
Next to the far wall there is a broad desk with a very pretty man in a pale grey suit sitting behind it. He is clicking away on a keyboard, not paying much attention to us.
Walking over to him, as he is the only person in the room, I introduce myself. “Hey there, my name is Donald, and we have been told that the director wishes to see us?”
“Ah, wonderful! The director will see you momentarily. She is just in a meeting at this point in time. Please take a seat,” says the man as he glances up with a smile, making the room somehow brighten up considerably. He gestures toward some of the seats. I assume he is the director's personal assistant.
I swear, any woman who comes in here will most likely be melted puddles on the floor when that smile is flashed at them. I'm straight as a fiddle and even I'm having funny thoughts. This fellow would have any lady in the palm of his hand like putty within moments.
Any lady except for Anya, that is. Not her cup of tea, though when I glance at her, I can see sh
e has a slight blush on her face.
Turning on a dime towards the couches, I see that Lockie is returning the fellow's smile with one of his own and doesn't look to be going anywhere. Fuzzy and I both grab one of his arms and half drag him over to one of the seats.
“He's so pretty!” Lockie giggles as he is forced to break eye contact when we shove him into a chair.
Giggles! Well, he always did have an appreciation for the beauty of both sexes. He's a goner now.
Sharing an exasperated sigh with the others, we sit and wait to be called upon.
“So, are we going to be bringing the same forty-five other members of the raid to get them levelled up faster, or do we want to swap some of them out so that we can spread out the levelling?” Anya asks.
After mulling it over for a while, Blake is the first one to speak. “I think we should keep the most promising ten and leave behind all the leaders. We can replace the rest with an equal mix of the different races to fill the gaps.”
“That does seem to be the best-case scenario. Who are we keeping? Obviously Halvard will be coming with us,” Fuzzy says.
Nodding, I also remember how much Knax put into the raid, not to mention that I promised to take him on adventures. “Knax has shown he has a pretty good head on his shoulders. He is also very eager to stay with us, and I believe it would be good for us, seeing as how it is hard to find a mage with good instincts and self-preservation.”
Snapping out of his daze with something important to distract him, Lockie says, “The felorian thief Lurra distinguished herself quite well during the initial takedown of the ranged and healers with us. She also happens to be Han's daughter. I recommend her.”
I blush slightly as I remember the last time I saw Lurra with the excessive sway of her hips. I nod my head to clear it, lest shaking it makes them think I don't want her in the raid moving forward.
“I would like to say Eloise is probably the most notable of the nymph party we travelled with. From the little snippets of her I could see during the last fight and also with the rats, she has proved herself a capable tank indeed,” Blake says.
“I'll suggest Kendak, the goblin shaman,” Anya says, her blush deepening as her eyes keep sliding toward the man at the desk. “He proved to be a very capable healer and probably the best NPC one there. What's more, his totem buffs really helped the entire raid, and I would like to continue using those as we progress.”
“Okay. That's the first five sorted; now what about the rest?” I ask, looking at the others, as I realise I didn't really meet any of the others besides the nymph miners.
“We can't take the clan heads, so who else stood out?” Anya asks with a shrug.
We are interrupted by the chime of a bell and look over towards the man behind the desk, who is waving us forward to the door next to him.
Another gentleman in a very formal black suit-and-tie getup, even down to the wingtip shoes, is leaving at a fast clip and heading to the elevator. He has a very distinctive face with a fatherly look to it, although the thunderous expression belays that slightly.
Watching him storm off to the elevator, we get up and head towards the open door. Entering an even more spacious office, the entire back wall is covered in one giant sheet of glass, and the view from this high is quite astounding. I have to say, I never paid that much attention to the view in my room after the initial look.
Along the left wall there is a massive map of the original main continent we were playing on for years. There is a large table with almost a dozen seats around it along that wall.
The right wall is made up entirely of a screen, where there is a slowly spinning globe of what I assume is the newly available world of Orbis, as I can see the original continent's shape clearly defined. A spinning sphere of Earth is right beside it, though much smaller.
Damn, that is a heck of a lot of space to explore. Our original continent in DSR1 was roughly the size of Europe when compared with Earth's land masses.
I can see that it is sitting not too far away from what looks like one of the larger continents in Orbis. I'm now wondering where the hell we are in the grand scheme of things since we are somewhere out in the wilderness.
Below the massive spinning globe are several couches and armchairs artfully arranged so they can all be facing each other.
“Ah! Donald and his famous party of adventurers! You gentlemen are the ones making the most waves within the beta test. I am Director Polly Erincoff, though I insist on first names. I'm not as stuffy as some with our employees. Please, come sit comfortably,” says the voluptuous lady behind the only desk in the centre of the room.
She looks to be in her mid-thirties, and as she gets up, I see that she is wearing a very fitted white blouse along with black slacks. She motions for us to sit on the sofas and walks over to them, seating herself in one of the plush armchairs.
We glance at each other and shrug, following her direction, and sit comfortably across from her.
She leans forward slightly with a smile, her eyes glinting playfully. “So, gentlemen, have any of you guessed why I have called you in here today?”
Another round of glances and shrugs follow her words before Anya replies calmly with a raised, questioning eyebrow, “We have either upset the balance of something, or found a glitch in the game.”
Polly's musical laugh definitely lightens the atmosphere, breaking the ice.
“You would be correct, Anya,” Polly says when she stops laughing. “It is refreshing to have someone who can think and be direct at the same time. You have all displayed a remarkable knack for milking the very best outcome out of the scenarios you are in. While I am pleased with the progress you have all made, there is a certain exploit that will be not allowed to continue.”
“What would that be, Director?” I ask tentatively.
Turning to me, she replies, “Polly is fine. But 'that' would be when you power-levelled a raid of fifty with your material hand-in quest. Really? Almost one point five million experience in one hit? You overloaded every one of the AIs with that stunt. Then you go and do it again with two hundred of them! Whilst I commend you on thinking outside the box, unfortunately we cannot let this continue with such a large group.
“We have limited the number of players or NPCs who are allowed to do non-raid-styled quests to a maximum of ten. And if it is any more than a party of five, all members must be present for the original quest handout or they won't be included in the quest rewards.”
We have the grace to look abashed at our blatant exploiting of the game. Although, that is the entire reason why we are here, to find the exploits and glitches. It's probably the only reason why she hasn't said anything about stripping the NPCs of their levels.
“There is some good news though,” Polly continues, leaning back and getting comfortable. “Seeing as how you are the third group to find an exploit or a glitch, you have all earned yourselves a prize in-game. However, it is a prize that you will have to work hard for, as we won't just give it away for free.”
“What's the prize?” Blake leans forward excitedly.
“The prize is unlocking the last quest of quite a long chain to gain a rare mount each,” she replies with a grin. “The town nearest to your Glade has a mount training yard. The stable master will be whom you need to speak to so you may receive the quest. I'll give you a hint. The quest is tailored to each individual who is able to accept it, and must be completed solo.”
“Whoa, we can ride mounts already?” exclaims Blake. “That's awesome!”
“You could actually learn riding and buy your first normal mount at level 20. However, you haven't been somewhere that you can acquire them yet. A lot of the other players are already travelling all over the place on their mounts and have gained their relics,” she informs us. “You would do well to get yours before doing the mount quest.”
Nodding, Anya asks, “Thank you for the tips. We will be sure to make full use of them. Now, Polly, if I may, what about the glitch where NPCs
couldn't see the raid or guild invites? How did that occur?”
At the mention of that, Polly's eye twitches and her smile slips slightly. It was subtle, but it was there.
“Unfortunately, I cannot give you any information about that particular glitch,” she says stiffly. “It had totally slipped my mind. However, since we are only handing out in-game prizes for the first three glitches found, you will each therefore be getting a cash bonus for it in your next pay.”
“Also, what were the other glitches, if I can ask that?” Lockie enquires.
“The first glitch was found by some unsavoury types who tried to do things to NPCs that aren't allowed. In the process they broke the user agreement and policies,” Polly says, her voice hardening. “That entire beta group has been removed, and their stipend has been revoked. Their neural scans have also been handed over to the police for them to see if their behaviour is similar in the real world. We have washed our hands of the matter.
“The second group found a glitch with their relics, so that has been rectified.” Her small smile returns as her face softens. “All three of your findings will be sent to our official gaming news channel in a day or so. Keep your eyes peeled for it. I believe you may find the second glitch amusing.”
“On the subject of channels,” Blake says shiftily. “If we were to post snippets of our own recordings onto a channel that we create, would we be digging ourselves a hole with the corporation?”
Snorting quite unprofessionally, Polly doesn't hold back her grin. “If you're thinking about spreading around that stunt in the lobby to the outside world, then no. That video is strictly only for DSR employees unless sanctioned by a person of importance.”
She then continues with an air of insignificance, “As to whether or not you are allowed to put your DSR2 recordings on said channel, the answer is yes. Though all videos must be screened and edited by our technicians. That way we won't accidentally showcase some major game-breaking glitch that you have found. We will even run the channel for you, in conjunction with the gaming news.”
Dream Stream Reality: Publisher's Pack Books 1-2: (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 39