The Dragon's Wrath: Shadows in the Flame

by Brent Roth

[New Options have been Unlocked within the NPC-Recruiter.]

  [Information within the NPC-Recruiter Tab has been Updated.]

  [Due to Settlement Progression, Settlement Level has increased. Lower Level Settlements can now be incorporated within your territory or near your border. Details are provided within the Pacts, Treaties & Terms Tab.]

  [Information within the Pacts, Treaties & Terms Tab has been Updated.]

  [Due to meeting the Requirements for Settlement: Town, use of a new Title has been granted. The Earl of Dragon’s Breach is now available for use.]

  [The Earl of Town Name: As the ruler of a sizeable territory, you receive a permanent bonus +50 Reputation points. Usage Rights of the Title can be lost due to Abandonment or Loss of the Settlement: Town. Bonus Reputation will be retained regardless.]

  [This bonus is granted to those who meet the Requirements.]

  [Do you wish to make your Town known?]

  [Yes / No]

  Quickly selecting [No] as I had no interest in players spawning in my Town, I was ready to explore the differences in the Menu but another series of system messages kept me occupied for a minute longer.

  [Your Town will not be known as a Starter Location.]

  [If you wish to change this at any time, please check the corresponding Tab.]

  [Information within the Land Management Tab has been Updated.]

  Waiting for another system message to appear, I waited for nothing as another minute passed and silence remained. My visual field no longer filled with messages, my chat log instead contained the history for me to check as needed.

  “Hell yeah!” I shouted when it was all said and done, no longer holding in my excitement. Reaching over and grabbing Kate, I kissed her for the hell of it and jumped for joy as the others looked on with curious eyes.

  Not understanding the reason for my happiness, they simply watched and smiled with amusement as I began to dance. Finally, after all the hard work, the long hours sweating it out in the cold, and the insane patience required… it was done.

  We had finally achieved the status of a real Town.

  I was an actual Earl now, by Title.

  “Haha!” I laughed out as I picked Kate up and twirled her around. “Today is a great day! A feast, prepare a feast!”

  Watching as the others shrugged their shoulders with no reason to argue, they started moving about in preparation for the feast. The celebration itself would be for everyone’s hard work, but my work had just begun. Tabs had been updated.

  New information was out there.

  Ah, the excitement from real achievement, it was certainly hard to beat. There was the [NPC-Recruiter] being updated, with new options unlocked that would require my utmost attention. Then there was the [Pacts, Treaties & Terms] tab that now had an option to incorporate another territory… within my borders or nearby.

  The important distinction there was what qualified as nearby. If ten miles was nearby, then the Northern Triangle could be brought under my wing. They could be under my protection. After them was the town of Andal but that territory had a similar Settlement Level and I was doubtful that they could be recruited. At least, doubtful from my limited knowledge of how the system worked.

  Gulping down the saliva that had accumulated in my mouth as if I was a dog waiting for food, I couldn’t help but want to check every tab immediately. The Title oh, the Title gave me another +50 points to my Reputation Stat as well. All of these Titles that I could display… with each of them conferring some sizeable bonus.

  I was definitely a man known to this world.

  All of my Titles… [First of the North] for being the literal first player to spawn in the Northwestern human territory, with its +250 Reputation bonus, and then there was [The First Settler] and its +200 Reputation for being among the first one-hundred players in the game to settle the land.

  After that came the [Liberator of Andal] for killing the Tyrant that masqueraded as an Earl along with its +25 Reputation points. Next was the [First Conqueror of the Goblin Outcasts] and its +50 Reputation bonus for being a member of the first party to fully clear the Outcast Dungeon. And now, my new Title… [The Earl of Dragon’s Breach] and the nifty little +50 Reputation that came with it.

  Since a Player only received +1 Reputation for earning a small amount of Loyalty through Trust or Affection with any Non-Player Character, with some nobility or specialty NPCs offering slightly more, the end result was a very slow buildup of the Reputation stat.

  Yet here I was with a bonus +575 Reputation points from Titles alone.

  When adding in the minor Loyalty bonuses that I received from helping out NPCs throughout my travels, my current Reputation stat was at a staggering seven-hundred and two total points. I didn’t know if anyone had as much as me in-game but the likelihood of someone being close was slim. If someone was close, I would nod my head in acknowledgement for gaining Reputation was and is not an easy feat.

  My Reputation precedes me in-game and I am known throughout the North as a living legend amongst the NPCs. This had been proven as a fact in Bergenheim and now that I knew the results, it was possibly the most important stat in the game.

  The belief was that the higher your personal Reputation was, the more quests would be available, the better those quests would be, and that the rewards received in turn would be above average.

  There was also a common belief that discounts would be applied when purchasing goods, that bartering would be more favorable, and when selling goods higher prices could be fetched.

  I didn’t notice anything in relation to discounts but the former certainly held true. I was capable of creating my own quests for the NPCs to accept. Annalie accepted my quest and not the other way around.

  If things kept progressing in the way that they were, it wouldn’t be long before I could do almost anything in the presence of NPCs in the North and be supported for it. I could challenge an NPC in the middle of the bar at the local inn and actually receive support from the locals that had little in common with me.

  Ah, the possibilities were endless.

  “Eh, enough about titles,” I mumbled as Kate gave me a funny look.

  “Titles?” she inquired with a tug on my shoulder.

  Ignoring her as I was lost in my own mind, she pulled harder as she whispered into my ear. A tactic of seduction that worked surprisingly well, I was forced to pay attention to her inquiry less I wanted to be put in the dog cage.

  “As you saw with the light coming down from the heavens, our humble village has been recognized as a town, by the Gods we have been recognized.”

  “…and what of the titles?” she asked curiously.

  “I have been granted the title of Earl of Dragon’s Breach.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said as she lost interest and pulled on my arm, dragging me towards the cabin. “It’s been a long day and the festivities do not interest me, come with me?”

  Not one to deny a lady in need, I let her lead as she dragged me to the cabin. My mind was far too excited over other information but there was some truth to her words, the days had been long lately. Perhaps too much time had been spent working.

  A little play never hurt anyone anyhow, or so they say.

  Chapter 93: NPCs

  (Monday, January 3rd Game Day / Tuesday, May 4th Real Day)

  After an hour had passed, my excitement had waned and my mood returned to a relatively normal state as I began to examine the different changes in my tabs. Katherine was also fast asleep and no longer in the way of my research. Now, I could finally devote the adequate time needed.

  Information… ah I craved it.

  Opening up the [Pacts, Treaties & Terms] tab, little to nothing had changed with the update as the content appeared to remain the same. My trade agreement with Ellieby’s guild was listed by its lonesome and the rest of the tab was relatively empty.

  “Hm, must be something,” I whispered.

  Hovering over the submenus in the hope that a mini-description would
appear, nothing showed up as I began to click everything that appeared to be clickable. Confused yet again over the sorry state of affairs, the game lacked a certain polish in the areas that had yet to be tested. All of these features were unavailable in the alpha and beta. The current live state of the game needed revision.

  It didn’t need a lot, only a little clarity.

  Everything so far had been a wild goose chase and if you happened to choose the correct path you were fine after a few days or weeks of frustration, if you chose wrongly though then all of your efforts were wasted. I was informed I could incorporate other territories, to have them fall under me so long as they were a Lower Level Settlement.

  That was all I had to go on for now.

  Sending a ticket to a Game Master requesting clarification was an option but the likelihood of receiving a response was minimal. In reality, the most I could do was send in a suggestion for review for a potential future patch. My account did have a higher priority on tickets and suggestions due to my steady involvement during the Alpha and Beta… so there was that aspect to consider as well.

  Yeah, this was something worth reporting.

  It was far too vague, far too lacking in detail and would only serve to complicate and ruin player experience in the future. Nay, it was already ruining my experience in the present. No one wanted to play a game that frustrated you at every turn… even if the rewards were great.

  Well when the game lacked clarity that meant one thing for me, trial and error. If there were questions that needed answering, then the first step was to use the NPCs around me. Roald had returned from his trade trip to the elven territory the day before and was well rested, ready to be sent out once more.

  A delegation to be sent to the Northern Triangle was in order.

  If a treaty or pact could be offered or received and in turn accepted or declined, it would shed a lot light on the whole subject. In the same way that Annalie provided answers on the topic of NPC Companions, Roald would provide me with answers when it came to Incorporating Territories.

  He might have been recruited primarily as a Trade Master but he doubled as a passable Diplomat. I also had my Reputation going for me within the Northern Triangle, as I had already finished the available quests from the village elder and was held in high regard. In combination with our steady trade through the village, the small cut they received from the transactions helped keep them afloat during the harsh winters.

  They survived because of my help.

  If any NPC populace was to agree to a protection pact of sorts, it was likely them. The Northern Triangle needed players to survive and I was the only player that strayed this far north. A special case to be sure. The 0.5/10 Stater Rating ensured it.

  “Shall we look at NPCs then?” I whispered again under my breath.

  Exiting the [Pacts, Treaties & Terms] tab and opening the [NPC-Recruiter] tab, the new results weren’t readily noticeable. Much like the former tab the changes were hidden on the surface but there was definitely a difference here. All one had to do was look at the list of available NPCs to figure it out.

  New NPCs.

  New in the sense of a new population of randomly generated recruits to be drafted and new in that they were of different proficiencies that weren’t available beforehand. These were the ones that were missing the last time… and though it appeared that some of the proficiencies still weren’t represented, there was certainly more to choose from.

  Stopping myself short, I quickly checked the size of my coin purse before diving in headfirst. If there was a budget constraint, it would help to realize the limits of my drafting so I could better organize the time spent. Ah, time management.

  Managing one’s time was imperative but was also something that was easy to forget or ignore. All of this time spent developing the infrastructure of Dragon’s Breach along with the constant training of the troops had led to serious stagnation in my own personal development. Thankfully, I planned ahead enough there in that my Holy Magic was being leveled as I watched and healed the troops during their hunts.

  Plus my Lightning Magic wasn’t being ignored either, as [Flash Step] provided experience towards the overall proficiency pool and had been used nearly every time it was up. Why walk when you could teleport, after all.

  But after looking through my coin purse, it was rather small at the moment. Small being a relative thing of course as I currently had one gold and around thirty silvers to my name. White and gray dire wolf pelts appeared to be all the rage in the elven territories as both NPCs and Players wanted them. People had seen the streams of the raid on FWB and my getup had inspired a slew of copycats across the northern portion of the continent.

  People in the middle kingdoms wanted them as well, and Ellieby requested as many as I could possibly provide. A normal wolf pelt was worth fifty-four copper to me at the prearranged price, selling them directly to Ellieby with whatever profit she turned after the fact being hers to keep. The dire wolf pelts were appraised at around two-hundred and sixty copper at the trade post and so Ellieby offered a flat three-hundred copper or three silvers per. At first that sounded reasonable and the first shipment was made at the agreed price but it wasn’t long after, that she discovered the popularity.

  She was turning a massive profit on those dire wolf pelts.

  Some players were shelling out anywhere from five to seven silver for a ready-to-use pelt that could be thrown over their shoulders. Requesting more of the pelts as my troops hunted them relentlessly, Ellieby offered to renegotiate the agreed-upon price if I could produce more.

  She was now a well-known trader in the Elven territories and she had a supply of furs that was unique compared to the rest of the populace. She had access to a number of all-white furs, specialty furs at that, and had a continuous supply while her competitors constantly ran out of stock.

  In the end it was the right decision to help her construct her village, as the trade pact proved beneficial for both parties. We were both making out fairly well at the moment. Now how long that lasted, was to be seen.

  Either way it worked out for now.

  Primarily motivated to see my troops grow in overall strength, the secondary benefit of excessive hunting in the Infested Zone was the mass collection of furs that resulted from it. Turning those over to Ellieby at the current agreed-upon price of four silvers per dire wolf pelt meant for very easy money.

  The enchanted bags that I received were also quite nice, and had been distributed to each hunting party as a way to increase their productivity. More hunting, more leveling, more progression… and more resources.

  One gold coin and thirty silver to play with.

  Not wanting to get too excited, the prices of combat NPCs were still hovering near ten silver coins per. If I wanted to be budget conscious, the bargain bin of NPCs with poor proficiency ratings was where I would spend most of my time.

  Of course that all depended on what had truly changed.

  Opening the [NPC-Recruiter] with the intent to glean what I could from the data, my first order of business was to figure out the changes made to the system. New NPCs had been added as the prior one-percent marker now appeared to be two-percent. Instead of roughly six-thousand NPCs to choose from, there were now twelve-thousand… that was a big jump. Glancing at the list another thing caught my eye relatively quickly as there were now two different starting prices mixed throughout my draft page.

  The old two-hundred copper coin starting bid remained on half of the potential draftees while a new eight-hundred copper coin starting bid appeared on the other half. Slightly intrigued by the new starting bid, I decided to explore the differences as I sorted out the Combatants from the Non-Combatants and dived in.

  Exploring the casters, the priest-types that had been going for fourteen silver from what I now called the First Tier were all between the starting level zero up to the supposed soft cap of level thirty. It was a supposed cap because I had yet to see any NPCs over level thirty available. That was
no longer the case.

  The new Tier Two as I called it, contained NPCs starting from level thirty-one and went up to around level sixty as far as I could tell. That meant you could recruit NPCs that were of equal level to the player base… and when one considered that proficiency equaled bonus experience to the tune of +100% at the maximum, the end results were clear.

  NPCs would outgrow and outpace Player Characters any day of the week.

  They might be given only one life but they started higher and grew faster. If one took care of his NPCs the opportunity for them to level beyond the player’s reach existed. Katherine was double my level and could easily beat me in a duel if it weren’t for my Ancient Relic giving me Godly powers. If I didn’t have my Lightning Magic, she would wipe the floor with me.

  Tier Two NPCs started their draft price at eight silvers, or eight-hundred copper. That seemed reasonable when considering their level. Strangely though or perhaps not so strangely, the bids weren’t nearly as high for these NPCs in the second tier. A lack of competition and an abundance of selections that were constantly replenished.

  There were clearly bidders involved as the highest proficiency draftees had all been checked off already and from the history of past winning bids, twelve silvers could net you a level forty-five or so priest-type with a proficiency in the Holy Arts or Magic around 8.0~/10. A level fifteen priest was going for sixteen silvers in the first tier.

  Tier Two was a treasure trove.

  “Maybe… FWB can wait another week,” I whispered to myself.

  I needed more coin and I needed it fast. There were already other Towns out there as evidenced by the activity here but whatever recruitment needed to be carried out, would need to be done as soon as possible before more Player Villages upgraded into Towns.

  Opening my [Friends List] to see if Ellieby was still on, seeing her name in blue was a relief as I decided to quickly start up a conversation. Muting the conversation to the outside world so no one could eavesdrop, I went with a video call as I sat up on the bed.