He gazed at the plastic helmet in his hands, an unusually somber expression on his face. His finger traced the ridge of the helmet. He had included several upgrades in this device that weren’t shown on the schematics or technical specifications. He was interested to see how Alfred would utilize the new hardware. What would the AI controller develop with this new tool? He felt a flush of excitement as he considered the possibilities.
“I will just keep building,” Robert said, an excited grin replacing the serious look on his face.
* * *
When Jason arrived at the Sow’s Snout, he saw that the patrons had spilled out of the inn onto the road. Kegs lined one side of the street, and the undead drank with wild abandon. Shouts filled the air as the residents celebrated their victory. It felt like he was attending an extremely well-costumed Halloween party.
Jason edged through the crowd, squeezing between drunken zombies and skeletons. Few of the residents reacted to his presence. He had won the war largely unseen.
Good thing I’m not obsessed with popularity, he thought wryly.
As he made his way inside the tavern, he was overwhelmed at the number of undead that were crammed into the small pub. Every table was full, and it was difficult to walk to the bar from the front door. The chaotic roar of people talking, combined with the jovial music playing in the background, created an unintelligible wall of noise.
What the hell is going on here?
When Jason finally managed to shove his way through the throng to the bar, he found Jerry pouring drinks at an almost casual pace, despite how crowded the bar was.
As Jerry caught sight of Jason, he called out in greeting, “There's our evil overlord himself!” A drunken cheer went up through the bar at the mention of an ‘evil overlord,’ but it was clear to Jason that most of the undead had no idea why they were cheering. “Look at you all flushed with victory!” Jerry continued, unperturbed by the confused roar of approval.
Jerry did a double-take and stared again at Jason. “Or at least you would be flushed if I could see your face.” He rubbed at his eyes. “Maybe I'm going blind. Do my eyes look okay?” He pulled his eyelids back so that Jason could better see his milky white eyes.
“Hey Jerry. You're not going blind. It's just a new cloak.” Jason gestured around the bar and asked, “What the hell is going on here? Why is this place so busy?”
Jerry looked at him in mock offense. “Are you saying my humble establishment is somehow not trendy enough to bring in a crowd? I will have you know that kings have stood in this very room.”
“Really? Who?” Jason asked with a dry tone.
Jerry flicked his floppy hat and looked down coyly. “You would actually be the first, but the point is still valid!”
Jason just shook his head. If he were being honest, he had kind of missed Jerry's idiocy when he had been stuck out in the forest alone.
Dropping the act, Jerry continued in a more serious tone, “Actually, this place has been quite the hot spot lately. Ever since the residents figured out that they didn't need to eat or sleep, their drinking budget has expanded considerably.”
“Also, I don't know if you noticed, but the forecast calls for gloomy with a chance of rain for the foreseeable future. Basically it is always five o'clock around this city.”
Jason looked at the undead patrons at the bar skeptically. “Can they even get drunk?”
“Oh yes indeed! Actually you might have had a bit of an insurrection if they figured out they couldn't. You dodged a dagger in that regard, eh?”
During the conversation, Onyx had jumped up on the bar and looked at Jerry expectantly.
Jerry addressed the cat, “Your usual, sir Onyx?”
The cat nodded, and Jerry poured a glass of scotch, setting it carefully in front of the cat. Jason looked on with a puzzled expression as Onyx leaned over the snifter and breathed in the aroma. The cat let out a soft purr and stuck his tongue gently into the scotch.
“Does he come here often?” Jason asked with amusement.
“Oh, Onyx is a regular around these parts. I've never seen a cat that likes scotch. But hey, weirder things have happened.” As Jerry said this last part, he casually removed his eyeball and polished it with a dishtowel.
He then popped his eye back in and turned to Jason. “I expect you are here to reconvene our little council, hmm? The others are already down stairs. I will meet you down there in a jiffy.”
Jason made his way downstairs and entered the secret training area. Morgan and Rex were already seated at the table. Both seemed to be in good spirits. Rex had a large mug of beer sitting in front of him. It was pretty obvious that it wasn’t his first. Grunt sat in the corner with a full keg. He would occasionally lift the massive barrel with one hand, dumping its contents into his open mouth.
I guess that’s one approach.
“Hey there mister death and destruction!” Rex called out, his skeletal hand brandishing his mug. “We've been waiting for you!”
Rex was drunk. This seemed impossible. How did a skeleton even drink beer? Jason’s confusion was dispelled a moment later when Rex took a large gulp from the mug. Jason could see the amber liquid pour down his throat and collect in a rough sphere where his stomach should have been. Dark energy wrapped around the golden globe, tearing it apart.
Okay. Skeleton digestion is strange. I’m not even going to question it.
“Hi Rex,” Jason addressed him, before turning to Morgan. “Hey Morgan. It's good to see you outside of your library.”
Morgan chuckled darkly. “Oh I wouldn't have missed that fight for anything. Forget what I said about skeletons boy. You've discovered something interesting haven't you?” She leaned across the table, her eyes glowing with curiosity.
“Maybe,” Jason replied with a small smile, “I’ll fill you in on the details later.”
Once they were all seated and Jerry had joined them, Jason recounted the last few days. He described the creation of the bone demon and the final fight with Alexion. The group had seen some of the events since they had helped defend the wall, but hearing the full story seemed to enthrall them. Jason left out the part about Riley. He wasn't really certain what to say to them about her. He hadn't spoken with her yet or made up his mind about how he felt.
Jason also told them about how he had been appointed as the regent of the Twilight Throne. He hesitated slightly before revealing that he had added approximately nine hundred residents. He was reluctant to add to their workload. However, it was better that they found out now rather than later. As expected, Rex and Morgan grimaced at the news.
“I know there is going to be a ton of work that needs to be done to add the new residents,” Jason said. “However, I want the three of you to know that I am grateful for all that you've done so far. You are clearly worthy of being this city's governing council.”
“Well, that was downright touching,” Rex said dryly. “Would you like us to all hug now?”
He reached out his bony white arms, as his skeletal face contorted into a twisted smile.
“Oh, no. No. I'm good,” Jason assured him, putting up his hands defensively. Then his eyes turned to Jerry. “That reminds me though. I didn’t appreciate you ordering my zombie to make out with me!” Jason said in an irritated voice.
It was Jerry’s turn to be on the defensive. “I admit I may have gotten a bit overexcited when I heard that you had taken out nearly a third of the enemy army,” Jerry said while fiddling with the edge of his floppy hat, his eyes downcast.
In spite of his irritation, Jason couldn’t bear to see usually jovial thief with such a sad expression. “It’s fine. Just remember I’m not a necrophiliac!” he said with a small grin.
Jerry’s morose expression was immediately replaced with an energetic smile. “Great! Then I will have to think up another way to reward you for murder!”
With a pained sigh, Jason got back to business. “Anyway, we need to take steps to recruit more of the population into the army and sta
rt rebuilding the houses on the south-side,” Jason continued.
He looked at the group evenly. “There will be future attacks, and we need to be ready. I may have bought us some time, but the conflict is inevitable. Now that the area that was once part of Lusade is up for grabs, the nearby kingdoms are going to be looking for their piece of the pie.”
Morgan looked at him, her mouth curling into a grin. “That certainly won't do, will it? Our new evil empire might need to slap a few hands in coming days.”
Rex's jaw clacked in amusement, and he slammed down his mug. With a slur, he called out, “All hail the Twilight Throne!” He then raised his own mug in the air before taking another long pull.
The others just stared at him as he simultaneously made and drank to his own toast.
Chuckling, Jason addressed the group, “It looks like Rex may be a bit out of it. Maybe it's time to celebrate. We can work out the details later.”
Jerry nodded. “I probably have a riot going on upstairs by now. I left Onyx running the bar! He doesn't even have thumbs! I say we revisit these topics tomorrow.”
The Shadow Council convened their meeting, and the members walked back upstairs. Soon, Jason was sitting alone in the secret training room beneath the tavern. He felt tired and knew he needed to log off soon, but he had one last thing he needed to check on.
He pulled up his combat log and re-enabled his notifications. Suddenly, he was bombarded by a string of notifications:
New Passive Skill: Disassemble
You are able to disassemble your skeletons while using the skeleton editor and use the bones to construct new creations. This spell is passive and costs no mana.
Skill Level: Mastered
Effect: You are able to disassemble your existing skeletons using the skeleton editor and reuse the bones.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Bone Crafting
Skill Level: Beginner Level 9
Effect: Access to bone modification in the skeleton editor. May currently alter composition of bone by 13%.
x4 Skill Rank Up: Summon Custom Skeleton
Skill Level: Beginner Level 9
Effect: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The skeleton’s level is calculated as the caster’s level + Willpower/71.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Summoning Mastery
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 5
Effect: 23% increased stats for summoned undead and 23% increase to effective Willpower for purposes of determining Control Limit.
Effect 2: You may now communicate with your minions telepathically. Distance limit unknown.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Leadership
Skill Level: Beginner Level 8
Effect: Minions and subjects will receive a 4.5% increase learning speed for skills.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Mana Mastery
Skill Level: Beginner Level 9
Effect: -5.0% to mana cost.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Specialized Zombie
Skill Level: Beginner Level 9
Effect: Increased skill proficiency retained by zombies. Skill cap Beginner Level 9.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Corpse Explosion
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 2
Effect: Increased damage (Currently 1.11 x Health).
Effect 2: 2% increased blast radius.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Curse of Silence
Skill Level: Beginner Level 3
Effect: You silence your target for 5.2 seconds, preventing speech and spell casting.
The last battle had resulted in a huge number of kills and experience, due in large part to the bone demon. What confused him was the new skill he had acquired.
First, the new Undead Devotion spell with an ‘unknown’ skill level, and now I have a skill that is already ‘mastered.’ There is clearly a great deal about this game that I haven’t discovered yet.
Disassemble would be invaluable since it would allow him to re-use the bones of his skeletons. That would make it easier to create new skeletons in the future or alter the skeletons that he already had depending on the situation. Jason was already considering ways he could use this ability in the future.
As he started contemplating new skeleton designs, his thoughts turned to the bone demon. He wasn't certain how he had pulled off building the skeleton in such a short period of time. The event was a bit fuzzy in his mind, but he vaguely remembered using the extremities for his Death Knights as a template. When he checked the name of the creature later, he had apparently saved the design as the “Bone Lord.”
Ugh. Maybe I can tell Jerry it was a tribute to him. Or maybe I can quietly change it later without telling anyone.
He mechanically added the additional points to Willpower, bringing him to 559 with his new cloak. His summon limit was now 68. He knew that at some point he would need to start investing in other stats. Right now, his stats were ridiculously one-sided, and it was already getting difficult to hit his summon limit without a huge supply of corpses and bones. After the battle, he only had about six soldier zombies, four mages, and three thieves. Raising the corpses as NPCs had dramatically reduced his supply of new minions.
Jason pulled up his character status to see where he now stood:
The battle must have increased his infamy, since it had jumped to 4100. His dark affinity had also increased to 36% from the completion of the quest. All in all, he had progressed rather well.
It's hard to believe I only started playing about a week ago in the real world. Although, I guess I have been playing almost continuously and several weeks have already passed in-game.
Jason yawned. His head was pounding. He needed to log off and get some sleep. He numbly pulled up the system menu. There was still plenty to be done, but it wouldn't get done right now.
Chapter 33 - Absolved
One of the many meeting rooms at Cerillion Entertainment was currently occupied by the members of the company's board of directors. George Lane wore a tight-fitting grey suit, and his hair was immaculately groomed. The other six board members were similarly dressed in professional attire. The group sat quietly around a rectangular glass conference table. They were waiting for their guests to arrive. George turned and gazed out of a nearby window.
Normally, he would have been more impatient at the delay, but today he was preoccupied. AO had been released over a week ago, and he had seen no noticeable improvement in Alex's behavior. If anything, he had only gotten worse. There were now a few more shallow graves dug in the large backyard of their current home, a product of Alex's most recent frenzy. George had long ago given up on holding a funeral service for deceased pets.
“Damn that girl,” he thought in irritation.
George had seen the footage of the battle at the Twilight Throne. It was clear to him that Alex's most recent rage had been incited by that silly teenage girl. Petite blond girls didn't typically blow off his son's head, so George had investigated as soon as he saw the gameplay footage. After some digging, he found the incriminating video of the girl on Alex's Core. It was obvious to him that Alex had been blackmailing her to maintain her silence after the altercation at the school. George promptly removed the video, keeping a copy for himself. It might be useful to him later, but he couldn't let Alex release it.
George was familiar with the girl's father. The man had plenty of powerful friends, and it didn't benefit George to go to war over his son's pointless, malignant scheme. He had already spent an enormous amount of cash and relationship capital recently in order to push through the release of AO.
The girl had also filed a complaint with the school yesterday. As a result, George had been forced to double the payment to the administration. It was only a matter of time before he received an angry call from her father, but at least now he could explain that he had taken care of the matter.
He sighed. “Maybe it will simply take more time for the game to affect Alex,” he thought desperately. “It took months for the individuals in the private trial to see any effect from playing. Perhaps I just need to be patient.”
George Lane hated being patient.
His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the meeting room opened. Robert walked in with a smile on his face. He wore a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Claire followed behind him wearing a meticulously pressed suit. She hissed angrily at Robert, “You couldn't dress up for one meeting?”
Robert shrugged at her with a cocky grin. Taking a seat, he addressed the board members, “Hello ladies and gentleman. Sorry we're late.”
George raised an eyebrow. Engineers were renowned for their lack of decorum, but Robert seemed to be getting worse of late. It was likely because he believed himself to be irreplaceable. Much to George’s chagrin, he was right. The man was an incredibly talented engineer.
“Hello Claire. Robert. I expect you have a report ready for us?” George gestured at the other board members sitting with him at the large conference table.
Claire cleared her throat delicately before beginning. “As you know, the altered version of AO that was created by Alfred was released to the public after the CPSC’s public trial was concluded.”
She glanced at Robert. “Revised security measures and so-called hotfixes and patches were introduced to explain the gameplay changes and obscure Alfred's influence over the players. These changes were made over my protests...”
Robert interrupted Claire with an irritated look. “After a week, there have been no complaints by the players alleging access to, or alteration of, their memories. There have also been no complaints about the lack of enforcement of the forced system log off or of adverse side effects from extended gameplay.”
“In fact, the response from the players has been unanimous. We have created something revolutionary here. Or at least, Alfred has. After a week, we have a user base of over twenty-five million players spread across several continents. We are expecting that number to double within the next month.”
Awaken Online: Catharsis Page 41