Life Reset_EvP_Environment vs. Player

by Shemer Kuznits

  When we finally crossed over to the edge of our forest, sunrise was close. We camped under the foliage. Kuzai was at ease below the thick canopy. On the first of dark, we resumed our journey.

  Tempest proved to be a loyal companion. He dragged the broken plow unerringly for days without complaint. Having a part-demon pet wolf was pretty cool.

  The next day we walked through forest trails, heading in the general direction of Goblin’s Gorge. During that time, we were attacked twice by wild beasts. We easily won on both occasions. A few Drilling Arrow volleys were enough to handle the low-level enemies. Kuzai didn’t even bother to use spellcasting, preferring to simply crush his opponents with his heavy maul.

  We finally arrived at the valley’s entrance at the end of the third night.

  A wooden wall closed off the entrance. Two hobgoblin sentries welcomed us, lowering their heads respectfully as I passed them by.

  We crossed the valley’s forest and soon found ourselves in open fields. Despite the haze of the morning sun, everywhere I looked, I saw signs of construction and development. My goblins had worked diligently during my week-long absence.

  I waved Kuzai off toward one of the vacant cabins and untethered Tempest from the plow. I made my way to my own house and slumped tiredly into my bed. Tika was already sleeping. I nuzzled her neck and she sleepily pressed harder against me. I was tempted, but after roughing it out in the wild for a full week, I needed the rest. I fell asleep feeling fully content, holding my beautiful huntress in my arms.

  ***

  I woke up the next night feeling much better, the Lyrical bird chirping its morning song and filling me with a sense of optimism. It was like I had never left. Tika was still asleep. That lazy minx, I thought amusingly, eyeing her womanly curves with appreciation.

  I stood and quietly left the house. I had a busy day ahead of me.

  Naturally, Kaedric was already waiting for me outside.

  “My lord, it is good that you are back.” The hobgoblin bowed low, his mandibles clicking as he did so.

  “Good to be back.” I looked around. “We have much to accomplish today.”

  “Yes, my lord. How may I be of service?”

  “First thing, I need to go to the cemetery and resurrect Bek.” I winced at the thought. The goblin was level 16 when he was killed, so it would cost 160 EP to bring him back.

  “I can attend to that, my lord.”

  I should have thought of that. After all, that was why I brought Kaedric into the clan, to help me take care of the smaller management issues.

  “Thanks, Kaedric, please do that. Now, for another matter …” I pointed at the broken plow. It had remained where I left it, next to the row of cabins. “There’s a totem piece on the plow. Have Rhyno bring it here, and get some goblins to unload its content into the warehouse, then drag it off to the smithy. I want it put back into working order.”

  My seneschal lowered his head, closing his eyes for a moment. “Done, my lord. It will be but a moment.”

  “Good. Now, tell me about the newcomers. How many are there? Where are they?”

  “I have counted 15 individuals so far, my lord. Most seem content with running around, doing various chores. Four of them have banded together and are undertaking more unique requests. Raystia, the one I mentioned before, is one of them.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out for them then. How is our impromptu shop doing?”

  “Well, my lord, Gazlan, the new trader, is a sharp goblin. He struck a deal with most of the newcomers, bartering equipment, arms, and armor for gold or favors. This act did seem to placate many of the newcomers. But I’m afraid it won’t hold for long. The new arrivals become stronger by the day. They will soon demand equipment that is beyond our abilities to produce.”

  I shook my head. “We’re nearly there. Once we finish constructing the high-priority buildings, we can finally concentrate on new Weapons and Armor workshops. Then our new smiths can start producing better quality items. I first planned it to be solely for the purpose of arming our hob soldiers, but we could probably spare a few for trade.”

  “Quite astute, my lord. In any case, the newcomers have paid for their wares by helping to construct some of the buildings and by providing more resources to the clan. A few came by enough gold to purchase the items they wanted. We have collected a total of 200 gold so far. I have deposited the coins in your house’s chest.”

  “Good job … ahh, there’s Rhyno.”

  The Ogre boss walked toward us, his heavy legs thumping on the ground. He held the totem piece in one hand like it weighed nothing.

  “Boss-man is back,” he grunted, looking me up and down.

  “Rhyno, good. Place that piece on my house roof, please.”

  His face clouded, but he lifted the piece of heavy wood and laid it on the top of my roof.

  Clan Totem Piece acquired [Ogre]

  +10 morale

  New clan trait: Ogre Gluttony (+1 Physical, +20% Physical governed skills)

  I rubbed my hands together “Excellent.”

 

  Did I really miss having him around not long ago? I wondered to myself. I probably suffered from temporary insanity.

 

  Shut up.

  I turned to my seneschal. “I want all the builders to be doubly fed. That should give a real boost to their construction efficiency.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “What else?” I asked. My task list for the day was full. I needed to inspect the new marketplace, check the Breeder’s Den, and talk with Zuban, Vrick, and the other leading members of my clan. I also wanted to check on how Guba was doing and make sure our new visitors were behaving themselves. And I needed new gear. I had a cool new staff now, but I had long outgrown the other equipment I was using. There was so much to do it was overwhelming.

  Goblins started to appear, getting up from their daytime sleep.

  I heard movement coming from my house, bringing to mind a different kind of activity I wanted to pursue. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed both Kaedric and Rhyno and went back inside.

  Everyone could bloody well wait for five more minutes. I was the boss, after all, and Tika was waiting for me.

  I closed the door behind me and saw the well-toned, exotic goblinette before me. She hadn’t bothered to dress after waking up and wore only the tight-fitting teeth necklace I had gifted her. She was enticing and fierce. Just the way I liked it. And she looked me straight in the eyes as if daring me to do something about it.

  I grinned. They might have to wait more than five minutes.

  19 – Lay Off

  Several hours later, Tika and I finally sated our mutual carnal desires and collapsed, exhausted, in our furs. We remained cuddled for a good while longer, enjoying each other’s closeness.

  Tika got up first, put on her tight-fitting leather armor, shouldered her bow and went out for her daily hunt.

  I remained wrapped in the furs for several more moments, relaxing and savoring the post-coital bliss.

  Now that I was back at my clan, the seat of my power, I was bombarded with the countless information threads that saturated the place. Information about the settlement status, worker progress, daily upkeep, religion, and more, each demanding my immediate attention.

  But I was relaxed and felt too lazy to sort them on my own.

  Let Vic do some of the work, I thought and opened the Settlement Interface instead.

  Goblin’s Gorge Interface

  Energy: 4,342

  Settlement level: 2 (Hamlet)

  Bosses: 3

  Morale: 53

  Religion: Rank 3

  Efficiency: 16.7%

  Population: 78

  Housing: 52/46

  Food Upkeep: basic 74, advanced 6

  Buildings: 23

  Fortifications

  Food production

  Re
source production

  Crafting production

  Research

  Commerce

  The interface had changed.

  Vic chimed in.

  My purple companion was hanging in his cloak shape from a peg on the wall.

  “Thanks, Vic.”

 

  I studied the menu more closely. The boss count had updated, taking Kuzai into account. Morale was at an all-time high, partly due to the new totem piece and partly due to my goblins’ satisfaction at having proper housing. Which, I suddenly noted, was already beyond capacity. I would need to build more cabins soon.

  Wait a second … Something didn’t feel right.

  The menu had a new ‘Commerce’ option, but that wasn’t what bothered me. The population count was higher than I remembered, but it wasn’t that either. It was …

  “Kaedric!” I shouted, both verbally and mentally, bursting out of my house.

  My seneschal appeared from behind a building, walking steadily toward me.

  He paused, giving me an appraising look. “Is something wrong, my lord?”

  “Where’s all my energy?” I demanded. “I’ve been gone for a week, and the clan has about the same amount of energy as when I left. Explain.”

  “That is quite simple, my lord,” he said calmly. “As you remember, you empowered me to utilize the clan’s energy to enhance our productivity.”

  “No,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “I empowered you to use the energy to raise the level of the new trader.” I had been fearing something like this might happen if I gave him too much authority. Expecting the worst, I started channeling my mana, preparing a preemptive attack.

  “Ah, I see the confusion, my lord, please forgive me.” Kaedric bowed low. “As you recall, you have given me access to the clan’s energy to ‘increase the new guy’s level.’ I deemed it optimal to increase his level to 3.”

  “That still does not explain nearly 2,000 of missing EP.” I eyed him cautiously, though some of the tension left me.

  “That is correct, my lord. After using the energy on Gazlan, our new trader, I realized it would be optimal to raise all the workers to level 3.”

  “You what?” I stared at him.

  “All senior members of this clan are at least level 4, which means all the other level 2 workers were a recent addition to the clan. I took that to mean they fell under the ‘new guy’ category, so I increased their levels as well.”

  “What? You’re talking about at least ten goblins!”

  “Thirteen, to be exact.”

  I clenched my teeth. “That still doesn’t explain all the missing energy!”

  “Yes, my lord. I have observed that most of our advanced workers were overextended and their efficiency could be optimized if they were aided by gofer helpers. Since you gave me permission to access the Breeder’s Den without strict limitation, other than to summon the new trader, I deemed it optimal to recruit new workers.”

  I felt my heart sinking. “How many did you summon?”

  “Well, Gandork required two helpers, Barzel one, Vrick and Zuban each –”

  “How many?”

  “Twelve, my lord.”

  My head was swimming. “And you increased them all to level 3?”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  That explained the loss of energy, the sudden overpopulation, and the increased food upkeep. “Damn you, Kaedric!”

  His mandibles jittered. “My lord, have I done something to upset you? I only had the clan’s best interests in mind.”

  I sighed. There was no sense in crying over dead dwarves. “So how much energy did you end up using?”

  “Two thousand three hundred ninety-two.”

  I cringed. There was no sense in crying over wasted energy, either.

  I plucked an information stream out of the air. With Kaedric’s recent recruitments and level-ups, my clan was generating 394 EP each day.

  “Okay Kaedric, I don’t like you making such strategic decisions without me, but I guess it does contribute to our clan.”

  “We should see a return on the energy investment within two months,” he volunteered.

  “Right.” If we survive that long.

  I walked toward the southern side of the valley, heading to the newly constructed marketplace. Kaedric kept pace.

  Three lowly foblins came sprinting from behind a building, all fighting over a piece of rotten meat. They crumpled into a heap at our feet, brawling and biting. The damn critters were useless. They didn’t contribute anything to the clan and their fighting abilities were ridiculously low. At least they don’t cost me any upkeep, I thought grudgingly.

  Then it occurred to me that everywhere I looked I saw scattered foblins, running around, digging holes in search of food, or just brawling with each other.

  “Kaedric, how many foblins do we have?”

  “Sixteen, my lord. If you recall our past conversation, instead of breeding such lowly creatures, the females can be instructed to –”

  I shook my head firmly. “Nope, not going there. This isn’t open for a debate.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  We reached the gremlin marketplace. I stood outside, taking in the sight of the large structure. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in NEO.

  A tall, wooden column, about 20 meters in height and at least three meters in diameter stood at the center. A huge canopy spread from the column’s apex, covering at least an acre of ground. Several wooden stalls stood below it. But what really caught my eyes was the machinery. Metal rails spread out from the main column in all directions over the entire area. What looked like cranes with many cogwheels were attached to the rails. As I watched, a single crane whirled around, holding a large box. With spinning gears, it drove to the other side of the marketplace and deposited the cargo neatly on top of a pile at the stall with the sign ‘GGG’ on top of it. It looked like our gremlin merchant friends had acclimated nicely to their new place of business.

  “That’s … pretty incredible.”

  “Thank you, Dread Totem,” a familiar voice sounded behind me.

  I turned around and saw my chief constructor approaching. “Zuban! Glad to see you. This marketplace is impressive.”

  “It is. Getting all the machinery in place was tricky, but my workers know their job. Having three smiths and five gofers to craft all the fine metal parts helped speed things up, though Barzel had to come here himself to install some of the more delicate equipment.”

  I continued to inspect the marketplace. A goblin, one of my own clan, was sitting in an elegant stall. He didn’t have a lot of wares on display but there was decent variety; a few swords and axes, some pieces of armor, rations, arrows, and assorted tools. In short, everything a newbie adventurer would need. Good.

  “Dread Totem, welcome!” Yeshlimashu drew near, beaming. “Your foreman has acquitted himself well. This is one of the best-constructed marketplaces I have seen, not including the one at Zemitpozes, of course.”

  “Hello, Yeshy. I trust you find everything to your satisfaction?”

  “I do indeed! My fellow traders have all claimed a stall. So far business is slow, but I’m sure it will pick up soon.”

  “Glad to hear it. If I remember correctly, I am now entitled to a discount.”

  “Yes, of course. You have also set a very reasonable three percent tax. So kind of you to keep it at the lowest rate.”

  I frowned. I had yet to check the new Commerce option in the Settlement Interface. Which meant that three percent was probably the default tax value. Oh well, I could always raise it later.

  I was glad the gremlins approved, but that was just a bonus, not the main reason for the building’s construction.

  “Zuban, how is the research for the Export Office going?”

  “We’re finished, Dread Totem. I have been looking for you for the past s
everal hours to give you the good news.”

  Vic morphed into his goblin shape. “Our Stud Totem here was busy making it up to his girlfriend.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Zuban looked outraged. “It is Dread Totem, not Stud Totem!”

  “Yeah, whatever you say, puppet Bob.”

  Zuban’s expression became mystified.

  “Just ignore him, Zuban,” I intervened. “So the Export Office blueprint is ready, good. I want construction to start immediately.”

  “But we’re nearly done with the barracks!” Zuban protested. “We could be finished by tomorrow at daybreak.”

  I shook my head. “The Dark Temple is our main objective. So we need the Export Office. Hopefully, it’ll let us import the missing resource, glass, for the temple’s construction.”

  “Yes, Dread Totem.” Zuban bowed his head. “If I divert all available builders, it should take us no more than three days to complete construction.”

  Three days for a lousy extension project? That did it. I’d had enough of all of these minor delays and ridiculous prerequisites. In light of Kaedric’s expenditure, my constant attempt at trying to save up for ‘a rainy day’ looked ridiculous. It was time to use the accumulated energy with a little spendthrift show of my own.

  “Just have the builders bring all the required materials,” I instructed. “Then set them back to work on the barracks.”

  “Yes, Dread Totem.” Zuban turned and left.

  I only had to wait a few minutes before the builders started to arrive, each bearing a heavy load of construction materials. A builder could carry twice his own weight, and their haul skill was maxed out. In under ten minutes, a neat stack of wood and other construction resources stood at the base of the main column.

  I waited for the last worker to drop its load, then opened the Construction Interface.

  Buildings and Construction

  Max Constructor Skill: 15

  Builders Count: 8 (skill levels 16, 16, 17, 16, 16, 16, 9, 9)

  Daily BP: 150.2

  Under Construction: Barracks (457/600 BP)[rush], Mining Hut (46/80 BP) [rush], Export Office (0/300) [rush]

  Available Resources: lumber 135, stone 70, metal 61, bone 129

  Research