Type: Armor [torso]
Rank: Magical
Durability: 70/70
Armor: 22
Effect: Convert 5 fire damage to +1 armor every minute (Max equals current durability points).
Base Price: 350
That looked promising. In theory, I could order my Ogres to use their Ignite skill to ‘burn’ continually. The armor would use that energy and raise the armor value up to 70. The downside was that during combat, any durability damage to the armor would also reduce the effectiveness of the enchantment. Still, for the tough Ogres, this was a powerful addition.
It took me roughly three hours to enchant that single piece of armor. I would only be able to do one more that day. The other four Ogres would have to make do with their unenchanted pieces for a while.
With that in mind, I took the next armor from the pile and resumed work.
***
The next day, I took extra time to properly bid Tika farewell, as I wouldn’t be seeing her for a few days.
When I left the house, Kaedric was already waiting for me. “Good morning, my lord.”
I scowled and looked up at the perpetually dark sky.
“Just a form of greeting, my lord.”
I gave him a wry smile. “I know, just messing with you. Morning to you too.” Thinking about the next item on my agenda sobered me up. “Please have all the enchanted gear taken from my house and brought to our new armory. I received a message about the structure’s completion while I was working.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Also, please tell Bob to send the new recruits to the temple.”
My seneschal’s eyes became distant, then he nodded. “Done.”
“Good. I’ll be taking another group of soldiers for a hunt. Keep managing the clan in my absence.”
“Very well, my lord.”
I walked the short distance to the mess hall to get some breakfast. The place had a few new tables in it and an especially ornate one at the front. My table.
I sat down, and Gandork promptly arrived, holding a steaming plate.
“Thanks,” I said and absentmindedly started fishing out pieces of meat with my fingers and shoving them into my mouth. Gandork gave me a disapproving look but didn’t say anything. I was too busy thinking to pay him much attention anyway.
So far, I had spent considerable time enchanting, eager to provide better equipment for the soldiers, but I had other options available for me to add to their strength.
Mainly, energy.
Thanks to the size of my clan, we were now producing over 1,200 EP per day and I currently had over 13,000 energy points at my disposal. At this rate, I’d have enough to purchase the next boss tier within five or six days. Which placed me in a difficult position.
The EP I currently had could go a long way toward improving my clan’s military strength. I would be able to promote two new bosses, upgrade Rhyno to tier 2, and still have enough to increase their skill levels, though that last one was a lower priority.
However, using that much energy would delay my own progress by several weeks. In the grand scheme of things, I had to consider what would increase my chance of winning: a single, especially powerful, individual or several moderately powerful soldiers.
It wasn’t really a hard choice after all. A single person, no matter how powerful, could be ganged up on, or manipulated in ways that would be impossible to use against a large force. Even if the promotion would have made me unstoppable, I still couldn’t be everywhere at once and my clan would pay for that. No, it was better to use whatever energy I had accumulated thus far to strengthen the army. Winning was the most important thing, I could wait a few more weeks to get my long-awaited rank-up afterward.
I finished scooping all the food into my mouth and pushed the plate away, refocusing my thoughts.
One obvious use of the energy would be to increase Rhyno’s boss rank to tier 2. But he had proved troublesome time and time again. If he kept it up, at tier 2 he might very well be strong enough to beat me, and then I’d really be in trouble. The unruly Ogre was not far away from me, munching on what looked like an entire oxsaurian haunch.
“Rhyno, come over here,” I called out.
The Ogre grumbled but got to his feet and came over to me. “Boss-man.”
“How would you like to be even stronger?”
He looked down at me, his nose flaring. “Rhyno is the champion!” he declared, bashing the large piece of meat against his chest, spraying gravy all over his brand-new armor.
I sighed. “Remember how you used to be just an ordinary grunt until I promoted you to a champion? I can do that again. How would you like that?”
All of a sudden, he looked like he was stuck in place. His jaw hung open and his eyes lost their focus.
I sighed again. “I can make you into an even more fearsome champion, Rhyno. You’ll be unstoppable.”
He brightened up, then looked me up and down. A wicked smile spread across his brutish face. “Rhyno agrees!”
“Not so fast. I can’t have you keep disobeying orders just because you think you might be stronger than me. First swear, in Nihilator’s name, to follow me and obey my orders and never seek to act against me. Do that, and I will give you the power you want.”
His eyes narrowed, and a gurgle came from deep in his chest.
I shrugged. “Suit yourself. I can always promote one of the other Ogres. Then he would be the real champion and you’d have to obey him.”
That did the trick.
Reluctantly, looking almost as if it were causing him physical pain, Rhyno lowered himself, taking a knee in front of me. “I, Rhynorn Bloodore, THE CHAMPION, swears to follow and obey you and never act against you, Dread Totem. I swear it on Nihilator’s name.”
Ribbons of data surrounded the Ogre. They wrapped around his body like shackles then extended toward me as if handing me the leash for his collar. This was the first time someone had made a vow to me since I’d gained the ability to see the underlying metadata. It was an interesting sight.
With a mental flick, I selected Rhyno for promotion.
Promote: Rhynorn Bloodore to: Boss Tier 2, Cost: 5,000 EP. Yes/No?
Yes.
This time, the physical change was not as pronounced as before. The Ogre grew almost a head taller and his girth expanded. New muscles rippled over his body, his nails extended into sharp claws, and his bone spikes grew and became serrated.
Rhynorn, Ogre Gladiator [Boss, Tier 2]
Level: 19 (30%)
HP: 660, MP: 345
Attributes: P: 27, M: 1, S: 0
aSkills: Powerful 31, Blunt Weapons 30, Dirty Tricks 25, Terrible Roar 20, Lucky Bastard 12
Traits: Ogre (+4P, -2M, -2S), Frenzy (when below 100 HP), Boss Boon II (20 HP & 10 MP per level; +4P, +2M, +2S, +20% MR, +10 Armor), Shadow-Touched
Resistances: Armor 160 (+30), Physical 75%, Magic 50%
Background: Once a feral beast, now uplifted to the rank of a boss by a Dread Totem goblin.
Equipment:
Giant Spiked Steel Mace (Runecrafted)
Ring of Bound Soul (2 charges)
Oxsaurian Leather Armor (+30 armor)
2 X Stalker Pins (Runecrafted)
“Congratulations,” I said dryly. “You may go now.”
The Ogre lumbered to his feet, bowing his head. It might have only been because his head nearly touched the roof, but I still enjoyed the gesture.
“Yes, Dread Totem, I obey.”
We can only hope, I said, eyeing the Ogre. His stats had improved across the board, and at 660, his health pool nearly doubled. A few more levels and it would rival my own.
That done, I went to the hobs’ officer’s table, where the senior members of my army were eating. The new lieutenants I had r
ecruited were not with them.
The hobs all murmured a greeting as I approached. Bob straightened up. “The new troops are awaiting your arrival at the Dark Temple as you instructed, Dread Totem.”
“Good, but that’s not why I came over.” I met their eyes. “You saw what just happened with Rhyno?” They nodded. “I can offer two more promotions. Any takers?” I had decided my next bosses would be the disciplined hobs. I’d had quite enough of unruly Ogres, thank you very much.
As one, all the soldiers stood.
I chuckled. “Good to see you’re enthusiastic about this. But as I said, I can only promote two. Let’s just see who’s the luckier among you.”
I had meant that literally. I accessed their information thread, checking their Lucky Bastard skill. At level 17, Bob was the highest among them, but I purposely passed him by. I’d be losing a lieutenant if I chose him, and any one of the common soldiers could be made into a boss, making the upgrade more pronounced. It was a simple concept to calculate: If a soldier’s power was 1, a lieutenant’s 3 and a boss’s 5, promoting a lieutenant would grant +2 power, whereas promoting a soldier would give +4 overall.
Yulli, the scout bow trainer, and Kilpi, the tank warrior, had the highest luck after Bob. I motioned the two of them to step forward. “Will you vow your allegiance to me?” I had decided on the spot that any future bosses I promoted would have to pledge themselves to me first. I didn’t want to have to put up with any possible power struggles. I’d learned a valuable lesson from Rhyno’s disobedience.
The two hobs took a knee and vowed their loyalty.
Then they too began to change.
Yulli became taller and leaner, and her gaze changed to that of a predator on the hunt. I sensed she received skills that increased her damage potential with a bow. Kilpi just hulked up. His frame thickened as more muscles developed, snaking over his arms and torso, and his defensive abilities shot through the roof.
I frowned. Why didn’t I receive a prompt to select their boss types like I did with Rhyno?
I guess that makes sense, I admitted.
“Resume your normal duties,” I ordered the still kneeling duo. Having been upgraded into bosses didn’t make them instant officers, not anymore. I had learned that the hard way. These two were just stronger versions of their old selves.
Down another 2,000 energy, I had just over 6K remaining, but I decided to ease up on EP for now. I could use it to upgrade skill levels, but my troops were still training and increasing their combat skills on their own, so there was little sense in throwing energy on that path.
I returned to my seat and opened the Religion Interface, scrolling down until I found what I was looking for.
Personal Blessings (Directly applied to specific Shadow-Touched creatures)
Liquid Darkness I: The body exudes tangible liquid darkness when wounded, mending flesh and closing wounds, at a rate of 1 point of damage per 5 seconds. Cost: 10 FP
Shadow Body I: Can form shadow claws with 50% armor penetration. Cost: 10 FP
Shadow Armor I: Darkness covers your body. Increases armor by +5. Cost: 10 FP
Coat Weapon I: Any weapon wielded becomes coated with darkness, which sharpens it. +10% damage, +10% armor penetration. Cost: 10 FP
Faith points were harder to come by than energy, but I had just over 1,100 FP. Though I was planning to save it to upgrade the Eternal Night effects, I figured I could spend a few dozen points to give the bosses, my army’s spearheads, a little extra edge.
I cracked my knuckles. But first, it’s time to pamper boss numero uno. I eagerly targeted myself and attempted to purchase Liquid Darkness.
Ineligible Target
The selected individual is under the influence of several conflicting conditions and can’t accept any individual blessing.
I decided not to brood on the matter and instead purchased Liquid Darkness for Rhyno and Kilpi. As melee warriors, they were more prone to getting injured. For Yulli, I purchased Coat Weapon I; as a DPS, she would make good use of the extra damage.
Thirty FP was as much as I was willing to spend for now.
After purchasing the first rank of each blessing, a new option to purchase rank 2 appeared, offering increased bonuses, and costing 20 FP each. But I decided that was enough powering up for today.
I was just about to leave when Zuban entered the mess hall. I waved at him. “Hey, Zuban, over here.”
My foreman approached and bowed his head respectfully. “Dread Totem.”
“We have unlocked the next settlement rank. We are now a village.”
“I have noticed. It is no small achievement, Dread Totem. Congratulations.”
“I want to build the Chief’s Haunt next.”
“Hmm …” Zuban pursed his lips.
I waited patiently for him to work it out.
After a long pause he said, “We have finished building all the ‘high-priority’ buildings, as you call them, so we can certainly divert our efforts. However, this project is especially expensive and requires rare resources. I believe the exporter should be able to trade for most of what we need, but the magic crystals are going to be a problem.”
“Can’t you use void crystals instead?”
His expression became thoughtful. “Why …” he spoke slowly, “… we just might be able to do that. That only leaves two obstacles.”
“What obstacles?”
“The crude chest I designed for your current house will not do. Ryuk, our new carpenter, can help with that, but we will need a proficient enchanter to complete his work – set magical traps, wards, and such.”
“And what’s the second thing?”
“A Chief’s Haunt is an Expert-ranked building. Since I’m only an Apprentice constructor, I’m afraid my builders will not be able to work to their full potential. The daily BP for working on this project will be reduced by 20 percent.”
That meant the building would take effectively 1,250 BP to complete. Between Zuban and Wolrig, the teams were generating 250 BP per day, so the penalty was tolerable. The big issue was summoning a goblin enchanter.
I remembered seeing this profession in the Breeder’s Den Interface. It was ‘Advanced Crafter’ and it cost 20 exquisite food, as much as an adept. I had enough purple salt but was down to my last two magmashrooms. That was going to be a problem.
I noticed one of the goblin gatherers getting his daily meal and an idea came to mind. “Get started on the building,” I instructed. “You’ll have your enchanter.”
“Yes, Dread Totem.”
I went to the goblin gatherer.
“I need you to gather magmashrooms from the cave. Can you manage that?”
“Me can,” the goblin piped in apprehension.
Problem solved. I grinned to myself. Now I wouldn’t have to crawl through that cave looking for pockets of the rare plant.
“Make sure to look for them near lava streams,” I called after the departing gatherer.
He nodded, then disappeared into the throng of goblins.
I looked with some surprise at the masses around me. Over 20 goblin workers were passing through the mess hall at any given time, not to mention dozens of foblins who were brawling over every small scrap of food. My clan had indeed grown.
“Well, now that that’s done …” I grumbled to myself and teleported away.
I reappeared an instant later at Totem’s Watch, looking down at the 23 assembled soldiers below. The seven new lieutenants stood a few ste
ps away from the grunts.
“Welcome to the GreenPiece Clan,” I greeted them. “You will be tested to see if you’re worthy to join the clan’s protectors. If you pass, as long as our clan endures, you will never truly die.” I noticed the lieutenants shift uneasily. A smile touched my lips. “You seven are exempt from the test; you will have your chance to prove your worth in the days to come.”
I proceeded by granting the Lucky Bastard skill to the lieutenants. As already-seeded individuals, they were in no danger of accidentally imploding.
Then, I called the rest of the soldiers up into the temple and started the naming ritual.
***
Eleven, I thought sullenly.
Out of the 16 new soldiers, five had failed to take in the new skill and had to be sacrificed. Only 11 hobs survived the rite and had become seeded individuals. My own Lucky Bastard skill seemed to have been taking a nap today. At least the population loss didn’t cost us the settlement upgrade.
I ordered the new troops to gather at the forest clearing leading to the valley’s exit. Eleven hob soldiers, seven lieutenants, and six of my veterans made up the hunting party.
It turned out I had unintentionally created a small problem. Since I had to leave a force to protect the clan in my absence, the veterans hadn’t had a chance to level up. They were now commanding troops who were more than twice their levels. This was upsetting for the hobs’ militaristic mindset, but I was about to rectify it.
The 24 soldiers were all geared with the sonic-enchanted weapons I had Runecrafted and were garbed in magically strengthened armor. It should make the coming hunt easier than the previous ones.
My War Party Leader skill had increased during the last hunt, and I could add 11 more individuals. Adding noncombatants the last time had worked out nicely, and I had no qualms about taking advantage of this obvious game exploit. I could have added more soldiers instead, but that would have been counterproductive. If I had taken them with me, the already higher-level hobs would hog the majority of XP, and if I left them behind, the fraction of XP they’d be receiving would barely be enough to level them. It was more efficient to add workers instead.
I added Zuban, Tika, and Guba to the party. Since research was starting to become a bottleneck, I also added Romil and Primla. As an afterthought, I added the six nameless goblin lumberjacks. Wood was becoming an invaluable commodity for export, and I could use the production boost their increased levels would bring.
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