I shook my head. “I will take only the new recruits with me, the Ogres too. You and Bek will be the only senior members to join this expedition. I need the others here to protect the clan in our absence.”
Bob nodded. “As you command. Shall I assemble the troops to leave?”
“Yes, bring them to the forest clearing and wait for me there.”
“Yes, Dread Totem.” With a single gulp, he emptied his bowl and rose to leave.
“Ladies.” I nodded to the two female trainers then followed Bob outside.
I stopped by my house first. My table was overflowing with enchanted weapons. The cursed chalice’s green flame danced in their reflections.
I put all the weapons in my inventory and went back outside. The large Stalker Pins were especially heavy and I was annoyingly slow carrying them.
Outside, I whistled to Tempest and mounted him when he came running. I had spotted Rhynorn’s head above the barracks and turned the demon wolf toward it at an easy trot. The large canine had no issue carrying me and the heavy load.
Once we arrived, I guided Tempest into the courtyard. I found the Ogre gladiator sitting at the edge of the pit, looking with disdain at several players who were training below. He was wearing his new armor; thick Oxsaurian leather covered his entire torso and upper legs, leaving his arms free, letting his shoulder spikes out.
“What are you doing?” I asked, inspecting his new appearance.
“Watching weaklings,” he grunted. “I be the champion, but boss-man say not hurt new travelers.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at his misgivings. “I said don’t attack them. You can still challenge them to a duel, but you must accept it if they refuse.”
The Ogre brightened up at that. He lumbered to his feet, looked down at the pit and bellowed; “I, RHYNORN BLOODORE, CHALLENGE YOU PUNY TRAVELERS TO A FIGHT!”
His challenge was accompanied by interesting strings of information. His proclamation had just issued a general arena quest for all the players. Whoever managed to beat him in a single duel would receive a hefty dose of XP and earn the Ogre’s respect. Seeing as none of the players present were higher than level 8, I doubted they’d manage to beat the level 16 boss even if they banded together.
“Here, I think you’d like these.” I took out the two Stalker Spears and passed them to the Ogre.
He looked impressive holding the oversized spears, one in each hand. He examined the weapons closely then made a noise of approval. “Good weapons, fitting for The Champion.”
“Glad you like them.” I patted his shin. “I’m leaving the valley for a few days. Guard my people while I’m gone.”
“Hrrrrr,” he huffed. “Yes, Chief.”
I was taken aback by his gratitude. If I’d known the spears would make him more cooperative, I would have made them sooner.
I turned Tempest around and we rode toward the forest clearing.
***
My troops were already waiting for me when we arrived. Fifteen hobgoblin soldiers stood in three orderly rows. The three Ogres stood idly behind them, each holding a club made of tree trunk as a makeshift weapon.
I should remember to ask Kadoc to make proper weapons for them, I realized. I could easily envision the Ogres holding giant, spiked metal cudgels.
Bob and Bek stood at the front. The little goblin looked different somehow. I paused and inspected him more fully. He was no longer fidgeting. In fact, there was an air of confidence about him. It looked like forcing him to stand up to his adept peers was just the thing he needed to boost his confidence.
Bob stepped forward. “We are ready to leave at your command, Dread Totem.”
“Good.” I made Tempest walk back and forth, like an old-school general addressing his men before entering combat. “I guess you’re all wondering where we’re going.”
Several of the hobgoblins nodded. Blemtoff, the dual-axe wielder, stood out from the rest with his twin battleaxes held in his crossed hands. “Yeah, we are!”
“We are going to hunt oxsaurians,” I announced. My soldiers exchanged puzzled looks. “They are large and aggressive herd animals. Their territory is one day’s travel from here. Any questions?”
One of the new hobs cleared her throat. “Forgive my bluntness, Chief, but oxsaurians are formidable beasts. Even the three Ogres can’t hope to defeat one on their own.”
“Oxsaurian stupid.” Bek gestured dismissively with my old skull-staff. “But taste good.”
I chuckled at the small goblin’s bravado.
I took out the four swords and two battleaxes I’d enchanted and gave them to Bob. “Here, I’ve enchanted these especially for this hunt. Hand them out to the soldiers. Even if we don’t have enough for everyone, they should still give us a decisive advantage.”
Bob nodded and replaced his own sword with an enchanted one, then handed out the other weapons. I noticed he gave both enchanted axes to Blemtoff, a clear vote of confidence in his skills.
Once he finished, he came to me again. “These weapons will help penetrate the beasts’ tough hide, but even with them, we will no doubt suffer casualties.”
I straightened in my seat and gave the lieutenant a harsh stare. “It is unbecoming of you to shirk away from a fight.” I raised my voice, addressing everyone. “Do not worry, men, your Chief and Totem will go to war with you. Together, we will bring down any oxsaurian that crosses our path.”
The hobs and Ogres cheered. Bob looked deflated.
I felt a twinge at my harsh rebuke. The hob lieutenant had served me faithfully during these last few weeks. But he apparently still did not fully trust my power. It was a good opportunity to show him, and the others, what I could really do.
With a flick of my mind, I formed up a war party, including all the gathered soldiers. “Follow me,” I commanded, leading Tempest toward the exit.
As we left the valley, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Eternal Darkness now extended beyond our home, spreading out to the faraway shrines.
The rest of the day was uneventful. We walked through the thick forest without hindrance. Any beast that spotted us had wisely decided to stay out of our way.
We left the shroud of supernatural darkness after several hours of hiking and made camp when the first rays of dawn shone through the forest canopy.
***
We woke up at the onset of dusk when the sun was low over the faraway mountain peaks. We soon left the confines of the forest and entered the low, grassy hills that were home to the oxsaurians.
I took point, riding Tempest, and scanned the area ahead. I didn’t see any of the beasts, but they could be just behind the next low hill. “Everyone, keep quiet and be ready for battle,” I cautioned my troops.
The hobs and Ogres clutched their weapons and looked around warily.
We marched on carefully, often pausing to scan the horizon. An hour later, I finally spotted the leathery hide of an oxsaurian behind the next crest. We trotted on and looked down on a herd of about 40 beasts.
I concentrated briefly and cast Shadow Hound. The shadows around us gathered together and four level 20 mastiffs rose to do my bidding.
Controlling each mastiff directly, I sent them charging at the oxsaurians. The mastiffs pounced and raked at the tough beasts’ hide, causing almost no damage. Still, it was enough to stir up the hulking beasts and the entire herd stood to give chase.
I made the mastiffs run in circles in different directions. After some misdirection and course changes, a single mastiff shook off all but one of the oxsaurians. I directed the hound toward our position, luring the bull into our trap.
As we waited for our quarry to reach us, I cast my new Dark Protection spell over the soldiers, spending a total of 180 MP to include everyone in the party. The Ogres and hobs were surrounded by a nimbus of darkness that strengthened their armor and made them harder to knock down.
My mastiff came running over the rise, and the pursuing oxsaurian suddenly found itself in the middle of a
sea of enemies. It was a level 40 beast, just within the limit of my Dark Mana skill. I spent 120 MP and froze the creature in its tracks.
“ATTACK!” I yelled at my bewildered soldiers and cast Drilling Arrow, channeling the spell for the first time through my new Demon Staff. The arrows emerged from the staff’s tip, bigger than ever, then impacted loudly against the tough beast’s hide.
Drilling Arrows hit Oxsaurian for 82 damage, [26 + 29 + 27]
Holy shit. I looked in awe at the weapon I was holding. This staff is awesome!
The bow-wielding scouts rained arrows on the immobile beast while the melee soldiers surged forward and surrounded it. They pounded with axes, swords, and tree logs against its tough hide but did very little damage. Only the enchanted weapons seemed moderately effective.
After a minute, I realized it was taking too long. My soldiers, even the Ogres, were too low-level to do any real damage to the level 40 beast.
With a shrug, I refocused my thoughts. My dagger soared through the air, scratching a thin line across the beast’s massive neck.
Oxsaurian, Level 40, Sacrificed
+40 Faith Points (Cult of Nihilator)
The oxsaurian fell and was soon consumed by darkness.
I watched the liquid darkness as it flowed and condensed, leaving behind it a level 40 void crystal. The beast also dropped a horn and a pile of raw meat. I inventoried the horn and the crystal and ordered my troops to carry the meat. It vanished into their inventories as they divided the 140 pieces between them.
I observed my men carefully, opening my mind to the information streams they were giving off. I was not pleased by what I found. All the level 4 hobgoblins had only gained a single level. Bob, Beck, and the Ogres didn’t progress at all.
What’s going on? They should all have got at least a level; the hobs were supposed to get two or three. Our numbers weren’t high enough to justify the individually low XP gain. The massive, high-level beast should have been a trove of easy-to-get XP.
I opened my own character sheet and found the problem. My XP had risen significantly, nearly reaching the next level. I was unintentionally hogging most of the XP. And it was easy to see why. My level was substantially higher than the others, and I was the one doing the most damage. It was only natural I’d be awarded the lion’s share of the XP.
This was not going as planned. I had to try again, but this time, I decided to stand on the side and not engage. I still had to freeze the oxsaurian, otherwise, it would make mincemeat out of my troops. I just hoped that simply freezing it wouldn’t account for too much of the kill.
I ordered one of the other still-running mastiffs back to me, luring in another large bull. When the two came closer, I cast Freeze, and to my surprise, the attempt failed.
I leapt out of the raging beast’s way, and it ran on, nearly impaling one of the slow-moving Ogres with his horn. A cloud of darkness flared up and the Ogre was only clipped on his side. The bull kept on charging, then made a wide circle, preparing to come in for another attack.
I plucked the beast’s information out of the air and immediately realized the issue. This bull was level 41, a single point beyond my skill’s reach.
It had finished turning and was charging right back at us. Bek easily healed the injured Ogre back to full health. I clutched my staff tightly in my hand and raised it. Luckily, I had prepared for this eventuality.
Since Freeze was not exactly a spell, I couldn’t directly cast it through the staff to empower it, but the Epic weapon had other tricks. It could store up to three magical charges, increasing their power by 15 percent. So, while I couldn’t exactly channel Freeze through the staff, I could use it to keep a supercharged Freeze on tap.
Once cast, the oxsaurian’s legs froze mid-charge and its momentum carried it to the middle of our formation, where it lay motionless on its side.
“Go ahead.” I gestured at the troops. They fell on the downed creature, roaring battle cries.
After five minutes of repeated hacking, bashing, and piercing, and in one case poking, they brought the beast’s health down to 90 percent.
“This is going to take a while,” I muttered. I slid down from Tempest’s back and found a thick patch of grass to sit on.
I watched for nearly an hour as my soldiers rained blows and arrows at the beast. Every few minutes, I had to channel more mana into the immobile beast to keep it down. Luckily, my mana regeneration was up to the task, and my mana pool remained nearly full. My summoned mastiffs had long since dissipated.
Finally, the soldiers brought the beast’s health down to a sliver. I got to my feet and approached, eager to see what would happen next.
With an earth-shattering strike, one of the Ogres delivered the killing blow, shattering its makeshift club in the process.
Level up! You have reached Character Level 27. You have 1 ability point to allocate.
So far so good.
I put the point into Mental and checked my troops’ status. I was satisfied to learn that my new tactic had worked. Everyone gained a level, and the hobs gained two. I received a tiny bit of the XP, which was just enough to push me through to the next level as well.
My plan was working after all. The only drawback was the time it took to kill the beasts. Still, it was an impressive accomplishment. If we were normal players, this method would be seen as an exploit of the game system, and I would be harshly reprimanded, if not outright banned from NEO.
Considering my castaway predicament, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what the company might have said about my discovery. They were welcome to ban me if they wanted to.
“Someone give that Ogre an axe,” I said. “We’re going to do that again.”
We fought on through the night, luring and killing the stupid beasts one by one. With each slain creature, my troops rose in levels, and each subsequent kill was made easier and quicker.
By the time the glow of the new morning appeared over the horizon, we had slain five more. The improvement of my troops was staggering. The hob soldiers were all level 14, Bob and the Ogres had reached level 16 and little Bek got to 20. Even I gained one more level, despite doing nothing more than keeping the beasts immobile.
During the night, I had to use the stored Freeze in the staff twice more. We didn’t encounter anything higher than level 42.
Once the last the bull was killed and I finished recharging my staff, I turned to my soldiers. “We’re done for now.”
They looked at each other and grumbled. Despite having fought all through the night, my troops were hobs. They delighted in the blood and carnage, especially against vastly weaker foes. They were having fun, and I’d just told them the party was over. Despite that, they were too tired to continue, and the scouts had nearly run out of arrows.
“There’s not much point in keeping this up for another day. You’ve all become more powerful, but it’s not enough. You need to work and improve your weapon skills at the barracks.”
Gaining huge chunks of XP didn’t impact their skill levels. They got a few points out of bashing the helpless beasts, but it was nowhere near close to what they would get if they had fought against an active enemy. Without the combat skills to match their increased levels, they were just beefier fodder.
Bob silenced the troops with a stern look and bowed his head to me. “Of course, Dread Totem. We will follow your lead.”
I shook my head. “Get back to the clan without me, it’ll be morning soon. You’re done for now, but I still have something to do here.” Namely, murder a shitload of oxsaurians on my own.
“But –” my lieutenant started to protest.
I raised my hand to cut him off. “No buts. I’m faster riding on Tempest and will probably beat you back anyway. Take the meat to the clan and wait for me there.” I raised my voice as I finished the sentence, making it an order.
“Yes, Dread Totem!” the soldiers answered. Hobs had their disadvantages, but their discipline was flawless.
I mounted Tem
pest and watched my troops making their way back to the forest. Once they were out of the oxsaurian territory and safety behind the tree line, I urged Tempest into a sprint.
Within a few minutes, we had reached the next crest.
I sat up in my seat, scanning the horizon. There was another oxsaurian herd a kilometer away. I hunched, pressing my heels tightly to the wolf’s flanks, “Let’s get ’em, boy.”
***
We fell on the small herd like death incarnate.
My Shadow-Touched mastiffs ran beside us, effortlessly keeping pace with the larger demon wolf. We charged straight through a dozen of the slumbering giants. I gathered my mana and froze a dozing bull as we charged past it and with a wave of my staff expanded a charge to freeze the herd’s leader. Flexing my will, my bone dagger soared through the air, sacrificing both beasts.
I kept on riding, leaving the herd behind me while my mastiffs pounced on them, causing little damage but drawing their attention. I turned Tempest and we swooped around for another bout. As soon as we got within range, I froze two more bulls and promptly dispatched them as well, and our momentum carried us through their ranks again.
The bulls fought back, trying to ram my mastiffs, but their charge passed harmlessly through the hounds’ shadowy bodies. Two oxsaurians locked on me and Tempest, lowered their heads, and charged us with the speed and mass of small trucks.
Normally, Tempest was swifter than the beefy creatures, but our course carried us through their ranks and the two bulls were closing on us from opposite directions. At the last possible moment, I cast Shadow Teleport, taking Tempest along with me. We instantly appeared 20 meters away, in time to hear the terrible crash as the two bulls headbutted each other. I took advantage of their momentary daze and froze them both, using the last charge from my staff. My dagger sped through the air, and both beasts were reduced to piles of oozing darkness.
With my staff out of charges and six creatures remaining, I kept my distance, staying at the edge of my freeze range. The rest of the oxsaurians ignored me and stupidly kept trying to stomp the much smaller mastiffs. I was left with ample room to maneuver, freezing and sacrificing the beasts one at a time.
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