Life Reset_EvP_Environment vs. Player

by Shemer Kuznits

  Just as Vic voiced his opinion, my Dangersense kicked in. “Get back!” I urged the others and activated Mana Shield.

  They looked at me with surprise.

  “Undead!” I cried, just as the bodies began to move.

  The Ogres clumsily rose to their feet, their hulking, bloated forms towering over us.

  “Shit,” I cursed under my breath. My ability to manipulate other creatures’ mana was limited to living, biological creatures, or shadow-based ones. The Ogre zombies, though raised by dark magic, were undead beings and so were immune to my influence. Considering that zombies were usually physically stronger – albeit slower – than their living counterparts, we might have bitten off more than we could chew.

  Vic added with a lecturing tone.

  “Thanks for reminding me,” I snapped.

  Two of the Ogres were closing in on us, the other two bending down to lift rocks.

  “Malkyr, your axe should be effective against them. Think you can tank those two?” I was already channeling my mana, preparing a spell.

  He looked at the lumbering monsters doubtfully. “Err … I think so.”

  “Good, these will help.” I completed the spell, summoning three Shadow mastiffs. “Okay, everyone – target the one on the left. Go!”

  I cast Drilling Arrow as the two zombies closed into melee, sending three spinning projectiles at the enemy, with Bek’s single arrow following mine. The arrows all hit dead flesh and burrowed deeply before exhausting their magical charge. The undead Ogre seemed not to notice.

  The twins moved to position themselves in front of the zombies. Malkyr, at the front, assumed a battle stance, his Greataxe held high. Hoshisu stood a step behind him, her twin daggers at the ready. My hounds stood at their flanks, ready to pounce.

  I concentrated on the injured zombie. Analyze.

  Possessed Ogre Zombie

  Level: 13

  HP: 345/400

  Attributes: P: 20, M: -, S: -

  Traits: Ogre, Undead, Possessed

  Skills: Powerful 25

  Resistances: Mental 100%, Armor 50

  Description: A Zombie feels no pain and knows no fear. Normally an unintelligent monster, this specimen is directed by a malevolent spirit that grants it awareness, making it a dangerous foe.

  What the hell? Since when are zombies possessed by spirits?

  My thoughts were cut short as the two zombies that had lagged behind threw the boulders they’d lifted; one was aimed at the twins, the other soared straight at me.

  The twins threw themselves to the side, trying to evade the boulder aimed at them. Hoshisu managed to dodge, but Malkyr wasn’t as lucky. The boulder clipped him on the waist and despite being twice the Ogre in level, he was blown off his feet. The Ogres’ immense bulk gave them a decisive advantage. It was hard to shrug off a missile hitting your body when it was the size of a dinner table. That was one of the reasons I wanted an Ogre infantry.

  The boulder aimed at me was deflected by my shield, draining me of nearly 60 MP, then crashed into the ground, showering everyone with sharp bits of stone. My hounds were not affected by the shards, but both the twins received some shallow cuts.

  Bek was already casting his healing magic on the big man. The golden-green light surrounded Malkyr’s body, easing his pain, enabling him to stand up.

  The barrage also broke our momentum and allowed the other two Ogres to close into melee range. My hounds intercepted them, pouncing and biting, buying Malkyr a few precious seconds to ready his axe just in time to intercept a huge fist aimed at his head. He managed to block the blow, but it left him off balance. The other Ogre seized on the opportunity and scored a direct hit against the man’s chest, making him stumble back a few steps. Hoshisu darted in, slashing at the outstretched giant arm, but if the creature noticed the wounds, it didn’t show.

  I saw the two farther zombies lifting more boulders. Damn it.

  I couldn’t cast another spell for a few seconds, but I had other options available. With a flick of my mind, the bone dagger soared out of my belt and struck the already wounded zombie.

  Dagger hits Possessed Ogre Zombie for 25 damage, [23 Dark + 2 Physical]

  We were in trouble. The Ogres had us off balance and we’d only managed to injure one of them. I was frantically trying to figure out how to turn the tide when Hoshisu stepped up. She drew an odd-looking chain from her inventory and whipped it at the uninjured Ogre, nimbly dodging an awkwardly swung fist. With an audible click, the two ends of the chain connected. Gears within started to spin and whine. As the chain tightened, it tore at the Ogre’s flesh and crushed his bones. We all paused to stare in amazement at the tightening chain as it disappeared inside the monster’s body, ripping and slicing.

  The creature looked stupidly down at its body, then up again. It took a step toward Hoshisu, and its torso toppled backward. It was still ‘alive,’ trying to claw its way toward the twins, but without legs, it didn’t have a chance. My hounds seized the opportunity and fell savagely on the two sawn halves, dragging them away from the siblings.

  That maneuver bought Malkyr all the time he needed to recover. He stepped forward and brought his axe down, putting his full weight into the strike. It cut deeply into the still standing Ogre for 69 damage.

  I flexed my fingers, feeling magical power surge through them. Hoshisu’s daring move had completely changed the direction of the fight. I cast Shadow Web over one of the rock-throwing Ogres, causing him to drop the stone he was lifting. The web kept him entangled and rooted in place, though it wasn’t strong enough to prime him for a sacrifice. Instead, I directed my dagger to slash at Malkyr’s opponent, inflicting an additional 26 damage, bringing it down to half his total hit points.

  Bek sent another heal at Malkyr before the Ogres retaliated.

  The lone, unopposed thrower aimed at me again, launching a heavy boulder. The boulder struck my shield and bounced away, draining 50 mana.

  The Ogre at the frontline threw a clumsy fist at the twins. Without his friend to add pressure to the melee, the twins easily held their ground. Malkyr parried the heavy blow while Hoshisu rolled underneath the outstretched arm, cutting deep gashes all along the Ogre’s forearms, bringing him down to a quarter of his health.

  I conjured another trio of drilling arrows and fed more mana into the web, keeping the thrashing ranged Ogre trapped. Another arrow from Bek and another attack from the twins finally downed the zombie they were fighting.

  My hounds kept tearing at the half-zombie, keeping it away as it tried to claw toward us. We gave them a wide breadth and engaged the stone thrower.

  With the twins tanking him and several barrages of drilling arrows thrown in, we had no trouble finishing it off. The zombie trapped by the web was even more easily handled, as his entanglement prevented him from striking back at us.

  I made sure to time my dagger attacks carefully to get the killing blow, reducing each of the zombies to a dark mass that coalesced into shining, new void crystals.

  I toyed with the dagger between my fingers as I considered the crawling zombie torso. I could finish it off easily from a distance, but that would be a waste.

  “Hey Malkyr,” I said to the man as he checked the dropped loot. “Think you can remove that guy’s arms?”

  He frowned. “Eh? What the hell for?”

  I grinned at him. “Call it a test.”

  He grunted but picked up his axe and carefully walked over to the crawling zombie. I made my hounds bite down and stretch its arms wide. Two well-aimed strikes were all it took, and the zombie remained an immobile torso with a head. A head that snapped and snarled at us but could do little else.

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it. By the way, the other Ogres didn’t drop any interesting loot, just some gold. Here’s your share.” He handed me 60 gold.

  “Thanks.” I pocketed the gold and approached the squirming torso. I carefully positioned my
dagger to hover above the zombie’s forehead. “Now let’s see if losing your legs and arms counts as being immobile,” I muttered to myself and struck down with the dagger.

  Level up! You have reached Character Level 22. You have 1 ability point to allocate.

  Possessed Ogre Zombie sacrificed. +13 Faith Points (Cult of Nihilator)

  “Yes!” I exclaimed, pumping my fist. So sacrificing zombies generated Faith Points as well as void crystals. Only 30 or so more creatures like these and I’d reach the 1,000 FP goal; then I could purchase the Eternal Night blessing.

  I put the new ability point into Mental, bringing it up to 25.

  “Hey, Vic.” I turned my head to look at my Vicloak, “How about you jump into one of those Ogres? The extra muscles could come in handy.”

  .

  I frowned. It sounded weird to me, but as the possession master, I had to take Vic at his word.

  “That was a pretty impressive display,” I said to Hoshisu. “Where did you get that chain?”

  She grimaced. “The new shops. Bought it from a grumpy old gremlin.”

  I cocked my head. “Why the long face?”

  She puffed her cheeks. “That chain cost 500 gold and I can only use it once before having to recharge it. And according to the gremlin who sold it to me, he’s the only one who can do it. I planned on saving it for the boss, but the way things were going, I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”

  Malkyr put his large arm around her shoulder. “You did the right thing, sis; we were caught unprepared. We’ll know what to expect next time.”

  “Can I take a look at that?” I gestured at the chain.

  She shrugged and handed it over.

  Self-Propelling Saw Chain

  Description: Created by a mad gremlin inventor. Once activated, bladed gears will tighten the chain, cutting everything in its way.

  Runecraft Viability: 1/3

  Charge: 0/100

  Type: Trap

  Rank: Magical

  Durability: 35/40

  Effect: 15 damage per second. 10 seconds duration. Ignores 10 points of armor.

  Interesting. The chain was Runecrafted.

  I concentrated on the tiny inscription etched on the chain’s links. I could sense its function. It’s in the metadata, as Vic often put it. The chain was a mechanized item with a bit of Runecraft added to make it fold in on itself. I could clearly sense the absence of mana in the rune, and unlike the Fire Rod I designed, there was no socket available to feed more mana into it. I rubbed my chin, considering the possibilities. “Would you mind if I tamper with it a bit?” I asked her.

  Hoshisu looked at me, brows raised. “I’d rather not; it would be a shame if you accidentally break it.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t break it. I might even manage to improve it.”

  “You’re playing as a goblin, not a gremlin, remember?”

  I winked at her. “I like to dabble. But seriously, how much does that sly gremlin demand for recharging this thing?”

  She pursed her lips. “Seventy gold.”

  “I might be able to do something to circumvent that. Don’t you think it’s worth the chance?”

  “Hmmm … alright. Do your best.”

  I nodded. Holding the chain in both hands, I tapped into its rune magic. It was straightforward and simple. The gremlin used the basic connector rune ‘Te’ to hook all the mechanical parts and gears together instead of using an actual chain. The mechanical parts took care of the actual sawing movement. Simple, yet ingenious. The chain could hold only two more runes.

  I considered my options for a moment, then added the ‘Ma’ rune of containment to one end of the chain and the strengthening ‘Ko’ rune at the other end.

  Trap schema discovered: MaTeKo [Overcharge]

  Runecraft skill level increased to 21.

  I proceeded by funneling the required 300 mana points into the chain, finalizing the enchantment.

  Enchant Self-Propelling Saw Chain [Overcharge]? Yes/No

  Pattern efficiency: 100%

  Mana invested: 300/300

  Effect: +20.5% damage (+3), socketed

  The chain started giving off a low humming sound. The description now showed a charge of 300/300.

  “Here you go.” I handed the chain back to Hoshisu.

  She stared at it in amazement. “How did you …”

  I winked at her. “Just a little something I picked up. Now you can feed mana into the chain and charge it yourself. I even improved on the design a bit. Now it’ll do 18 damage per second instead of 15.”

  “I guess I owe you one,” she said grudgingly. “How much mana do I need to feed it?”

  “Three hundred.”

  She winced. “It’s going to take me at least an hour, I only have 85 points to spare. Still, it’s much better than having to run back to that fuzzy geezer, so I guess that’s two I owe you.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  “Wait a minute …” she mouthed slowly, as if realizing something. “You spent 300 mana moments after casting a lot of spells in combat.” Her eyes narrowed. “That seems a bit … disproportionate.”

  Malkyr chuckled. “She’s just miffed she can’t see your full stats; the party icons only let us see your current health.”

  “Is that all?” I looked at Hoshisu, smiling. “You could have just asked.”

  Her nostrils flared. “Fine. What level are you? How much mana do you have?”

  “Good. Glad you got that off your chest. Let’s keep going, shall we?” I started moving deeper into the castle’s courtyard.

  I heard Hoshisu calling behind me, “You jerk!”

  I laughed and kept on walking.

  “You still owe me a fight once we’re done here!” She jogged lightly to catch up to me.

  Vic chimed in.

  I learned from the best, Vic.

 

  We crossed the courtyard without trouble to reach the keep’s main entrance. There were no gates. We could see directly into the main hall. It was dark, but I had no trouble picking up details with my enhanced Darkvision.

  The place was a mess. Debris and fallen stone were everywhere. It looked like the fort’s entire interior – rooms, corridors and whole floors – had simply collapsed to rubble, coming to rest on the ground floor. The interior was now essentially a single, huge open hall. A few stairs remained loosely attached to the wall, evidence of the great structure this place once was. I didn’t detect any movement, but the vastness of the place coupled with huge piles of wreckage was ideal for an enemy ambush.

  “You both got low-light vision from the goblinoid template, right?” I whispered.

  The twins nodded.

  “Then let’s go in. Be ready for anything.”

  “Acid-spitting killer rabbits, check,” Malkyr grumbled, but moved in to take point.

  We cautiously made our way forward, climbing from one rubble mound to another. We tried to keep in formation, the twins at the lead, me in the back, and Bek in the middle.

  As we climbed the second mound of rubble, I saw something shimmering below. “Hey what’s that?”

  Malkyr squinted. “I can only see vague shapes; it’s really dark down there. Why? What do you see?”

  I hesitated. “It looks like a pool.”

  I moved a few steps down the mound, taking a better look. “It looks like a surface of water, about four meters in diameter. Its shimmering … I see flashes of green. I can’t tell if there’s something in it, though.” I could also feel a strong magical current emanating from the ‘pool.’ “I, err … I think it’s magical.”

  “Very astute observation, your goblin-highness,” Hoshisu said. “If you’re finished playing with the obviously unnatural magic pool, maybe we should continue scouting ahead?”

  “Fine,” I muttered a
nd climbed back up to join them.

  We continued moving further into the hall, encountering two more such ‘pools’ randomly spread at the base of the rubble piles. We also spotted a large pit at least 20 meters in diameter at the exact center of the hall.

  “Oh look,” Hoshisu said hoarsely. “The Pit of Despair.” She cleared her throat loudly. “Sorry, I meant: Oh look, the Pit of Despair. Yep, not ominous at all.”

  I chuckled, getting the reference.

  “Where are all the Ogres, that’s what I want to know,” her brother said.

  The sound of rocks clicking together sounded from our left. We turned sharply, expecting an attack. Nothing was there.

  “Great, so now we have sneaky undead Ogres.” Malkyr held his axe in both hands and continued walking.

  He didn’t tread lightly enough. As he neared the pit, he slipped, sending rocks rolling down the pile. We froze, holding our breath as the stones rolled and bounced, raising a ruckus that sounded like an avalanche in the deserted, quiet hall. The stones continued to roll noisily all the way down into the pit.

  Vic said.

  “You big idiot,” Hoshisu hissed at her brother.

  He opened his mouth to retort, but a rattling sound came from below. As we looked, something slithered out of the pit. At first, it looked like an orange snake with green stripes. But then I noticed its semi-humanoid head and two slender arms protruding from where its neck should have been. The monster was at least five meters long. Though it was a few meters below us, I could smell the scent of sulfur and death coming from it.

  Streams of information came from the monster, feeding me with knowledge; it was a lot to take in all at once. Other streams were coming off it, burrowing down into the earth like anchors. Almost as if binding the creature to this place. Like it wasn’t from here. Like it was from …

  “A demon!” I yelled in realization.

  What the hell is going here? I thought as I started channeling my mana. First, possessed zombies and now a free-roaming demon?

  According to the lore of NEO, demons were beings from the lower planes of existence and could only manifest in this realm if they were summoned by someone from our side. It was common to encounter them as wizards’ familiars but never as free-roaming creatures. An unbound demon in this realm could rampage, causing tremendous devastation. A year ago, there was a worldwide event where several guilds banded together to stop such a demon invasion. But here and now, we didn’t have the strength of guilds behind us. We were alone. I could only hope we wouldn’t encounter any of the higher-ranked demons, though judging by my vision, we weren’t going to be so lucky.