As we neared the entrance, there was a final terrified shriek that was cut off as a goblin came crashing through a window to land on the ground at our feet.
I looked down at the mangled, twisted body of our clan cook.
Gandork was dead.
Interlude: Company Meeting
The conference room was full.
The director looked at the holographic presentation displaying various numbers and charts.
A nervous-looking man stood by the display. He spoke in a halting voice. “As you can see, sir, our two test subjects have acclimated to the extreme mental strain without any discernible side effects.”
The director nodded.
The man continued. “The preliminary findings are promising; though they started playing only two days ago, both have passed level 20 and solved a number of complex mathematical problems.”
The director tapped his fingers on the table. ”Good. So, there are no problems that would prevent us from moving on to the next phase?”
The man, the head of one of the company’s R&D centers, nodded anxiously. He didn’t like to be put on the spot like this. “I feel obligated to mention … a slight discrepancy was observed in the alpha and delta waves of both subjects. Though it is not a significant cause for alarm, I would like to have more time to study it.”
The director frowned. “Explain.”
The man swallowed. “As you know, the FIVR technology puts the user in a semi-dreamlike state, while maintaining the player’s higher brain function. This keeps them aware and in control. It is achieved by regulating the users’ alpha and delta brain waves. The two candidates have both displayed gaps in the waves synchronicity, some reaching up to 12 percent. It is well within the allowed threshold, but it is significantly higher than in their previous, ‘normal’ game sessions.”
“How much time do you need to investigate this further?”
“A few weeks should suffice.”
The director shook his head. “That’s too long. We don’t have a few weeks. That damn goblin-player appearance accelerated our timetable. The military expects results, soon.” He thrummed his fingers on his desk. “Continue monitoring the twins’ condition along with the next phase recruits. Mr. Emery, anything to add?”
The sharply dressed lawyer sitting to the director’s right leaned forward in his armchair. “Everything is ready from the legal standpoint, sir. The reworded NDA and User Agreement contracts have been drafted. I went through each of them personally. As far as I’m concerned, we may proceed.”
The director nodded. “Very well. Proceed to the next phase.”
08 – Monster vs. Monster
“What the hell is going on!” I roared. I took out my staff and gathered my mana for a fight.
Are we under attack? Who would want to harm Gandork?
Vic chuckled.
I didn’t have to wait long for the answer. An angry roar came from the mess hall. My heart sank as I recognized the sound.
Ducking under the lintel, Rhynorn burst through the mess hall door, snarling. My fists clenched when I saw the blood dripping from his fingers.
“What have you done?” I demanded, my voice cold.
The Ogre growled angrily.
“I BE HUNGRY! I say to stupid cook ‘bring more stew!’ He say, ‘No stew for you. Come back one day!’ So I show him who is THE CHAMPION!”
I looked down at the mangled body of Gandork. He was an annoying git, but he worked hard, contributing a lot to our little community. He didn’t deserve this.
I glared at the raging boss. “And you killed him for that?”
Rhynorn returned my glare. “What I say, they do! Or I kill! I be THE CHAMPION!
The commotion had drawn a small crowd of clanfolk.
“No. You will not hurt any member of the clan ever again.”
He looked at me defiantly. “I crush magical traveler! I more strong! I crush little magic goblin!”
There was no way around it; I would have to show the unruly Ogre who was really the boss around here.
I saw Bob, a worried expression on his face, approaching with several soldiers. Malkyr and Hoshisu were following them. I hadn’t seen the twins in a while.
Damn, why are they showing up now, of all times? I fretted.
Squashing Rhyno was going to be tough. I would have to pull out all the stops. But, I still didn’t want the siblings to know what I was capable of. I wasn’t ready to answer the questions that would surely follow if I showed my full abilities in the fight.
Without looking away from the Ogre, I discreetly slipped the Ring of Bound Soul off my finger and into storage. Now if I happened to die in the coming fight, I wouldn’t waste one of the precious charges on the ring.
Rhynorn lifted his huge club, bringing it to a ready position and slowly circled around me, assessing his options. The crowd shuffled back, giving us more space.
I glanced at the twins. There was no helping it. I had to take the Ogre down and make it look easy in order to reinforce my authority and power. Unfortunately, as a boss monster himself, Rhynorn had an even higher magic resistance than regular Ogres. I couldn’t afford to hold back.
Damn. On top of that, I need to be careful not to kill him … at his level it will cost a fortune to resurrect him.
A little busy here, Vic, I said as I studied my hulking opponent.
Vicloak dropped from my shoulders and ran out of the impromptu dueling arena in his purple goblin form.
I heard a gasp from someone in the audience and saw Hoshisu staring at Vic, wide-eyed. Next to her, Malkyr shouted triumphantly, “See? Told ya!”
Standing in front of the audience, Vic turned and started chanting and doing some kind of dance routine. “Heyyyy, Boss-man! Kill that Ogre, and I’m a fan! If you can’t do it, no one can!”
Everyone, including Rhynorn, stared incredulously at the spectacle of a purple goblin cheerleading a deathmatch.
Did he really just morph his hands into pompons?
I almost face-palmed.
Despite his shenanigans, Vic was right. This situation was different than when I killed other bosses. I’d stopped Barska from returning by claiming his resurrection point as an altar for Nihilator. And DurDur was effectively relieved of his boss status when I became the clan’s totem. Given time though, Rhynorn would resurrect on his own.
The Ogre’s roar brought me back to the looming fight.
Well, there was no sense in being subtle or holding back now. I went all out.
Piling plain shadows against a Shadow-Touched creature would be useless. So instead, with a wave, I cast Shadow Hound while simultaneously reaching for Rhyno’s mana to freeze him and launching my dagger at his throat.
At the last possible instant, Rhynorn broke the mana stasis enough to twist and shrug a shoulder up to cover his throat. The bone dagger ‘clacked’ against the bone spikes growing from the Ogre’s hide and bounced off, scoring only a shallow scratch on the tough natural armor.
My three level 10 mastiffs pounced at the Ogre as they manifested from the shadows, mauling and biting at his armor-like flesh. They drew blood, but the damage was minimal, the Ogre’s tough skin resisting most of the damage. He lost barely ten percent of his total health.
However, the Ogre’s enormous club couldn’t touch the shadowy matter the mastiffs were made of. In time, they would wear him down, piece by piece.
Meanwhile, I was free to bombard the barn-door dimwit from a distance.
It looked like the battle was all but won, and I settled in to do some magical-ranged type damage. So I was completely surprised by Rhynorn’s response. He crouched, arms covering his head and face,
which allowed the hounds to leap onto him and dig in with their claws. Ignoring the damage they were inflicting, he raised his head and unleashed a roar. A Terrible Roar. The Ogre’s special skill sent the mastiffs flying, hurtling them at least ten meters away. Because of their close proximity to the roar, the force left them disoriented.
Damn it. I underestimated how cunning he is. Again.
Rhyno wasn’t some stupid brute, despite his characteristically dull Ogre appearance. He was a Gladiator Ogre boss. He specialized in maneuvers and tactics to overcome his opponents on the arena battleground. The bastard had seen my shadow mastiffs in action when we fought against the travelers and didn’t bother wasting time attacking them with his club. The mastiffs were vulnerable to mana-based attacks, and he knew it.
Rhynorn took advantage of the mastiffs’ momentary distraction. Three great strides toward me brought him into melee range, his club cocked back for a full-on strike. I felt the surge of mana as he activated his Dirty Trick skill.
I couldn’t defend against the blow. Too sure of myself, I’d gone all out on offense, and it took just an instant too long to get over the surprise of the tables being turned and get my defenses up.
The club swept my feet out from under me, sending me sprawling to the ground. It caused hardly any damage, but the Ogre used the momentum to swing the club up and follow through with a devastating overhand chop that caught me square in the chest. And I learned, firsthand, the answer to what happens when the squishy goblin is caught between the immovable ground and the unstoppable force of a giant club swung by an angry Ogre. Ouch.
Rhynorn Bloodore’s Dirty Trick hit you for 109 damage, [base 73 + 50% prone]
It hurt. A lot. I lost over a third of my health. But being a tier 2 boss had its perks.
I heard Rhyno grunt in disbelief; he’d expected the hit to smash me to a pulp. I glared up at the surprised ‘champion.’ He shouldn’t have underestimated ‘the boss.’ I was angry and hurt, and rage coursed through my body.
I didn’t wait for the big lummox to recover from his surprise. Still lying on the ground, I activated Blood Wrath, discharging the rage energy into a black kinetic beam. The Ogre staggered back as it was hit by nearly two tons of force, giving me time to roll up and activate Shadow Teleport. I was wrapped in shadows and an instant later found myself standing on the mess hall roof. I directed my dagger at the Ogre, slicing a red gash across his chest for 20 damage. Then I commanded the shadows to amass around him.
Rhynorn ignored the dagger strike and charged, swinging his club high. I was beyond his reach, but he was not aiming for me. The crushing blow ripped through the mess hall roof and the wall beneath. The entire building shuddered. He was smashing his way through the mess hall toward me. Almost losing my footing on the unstable structure, I was forced to leap away and to the ground.
That does it! I hadn’t spent all the time and effort building up this settlement just so an overly aggressive Ogre could demolish it, again. This was my clan!
I snarled at the hulk as he backed out of the partially demolished mess hall. I cast Shadow Web, waving my arms in pulling motions, drawing more and more shadows in, strengthening the bindings. Thick ropes of darkness swept across the ground at the Ogre, wrapping around him and then anchoring into the earth, tethering him to the ground.
Rhynorn struggled against the ephemeral restraints, ripping through many of them. I kept pouring mana and shadows into the spell, adding more threads and thickening them, until the Ogre was blanketed in them. He was still on his feet, his enormous strength straining against the spell holding him, but for the moment I had the upper hand; he was trapped.
It’s time for this ‘Champion’ to learn exactly who’s in charge.
Finally recovered, the mastiffs rejoined the fray, leaping onto the ensnared Ogre, attacking unhindered through the web restraints with teeth and claws.
I launched drilling arrows at the Ogre, and the dual projectiles struck, burrowing deep before his innate resistance diffused the magic.
The Ogre, unable to free himself, bellowed in rage, realizing he was slowly being killed by our relatively weak attacks.
My mana was down to half, but so was his health. I was burning through 50 mana per second keeping him down, but I wouldn’t be able to keep it up for more than six or seven seconds.
I probably would have outlasted him, keeping him bound until he succumbed to his death of a thousand cuts. But the whole clan was present and witnessing this confrontation, along with the gremlins and the twins. I had to finish this fight decisively, making an example of him, so no one would dare challenge my reign again.
I held my hand up, and the hilt of my bone dagger flew into my palm. Then I teleported, this time appearing high up on the Ogre’s shoulders. He was still thrashing violently against the shadowy bindings, so I grabbed one of his shoulder spikes to steady myself and forced all my remaining mana into the spell holding him.
The shadowy webs swelled, becoming thicker than the Ogre’s own muscular arms, binding his entire body, bringing him to his knees, and then finally toppling him all the way to the ground.
I rode him down, my legs around his neck in a chokehold as my web laid him prone. He was completely bound, unable to move a finger. Helpless.
I let go of his neck, placed the point of my dagger under his chin and swept my gaze across the crowd, making eye contact with many of them. “This is what happens to anyone who challenges me.”
I pushed the dagger up under the Ogre’s chin all the way into his small, angry brain.
The dagger did its thing. The darkness devoured Rhyno, his body crumbling away to nothingness beneath me. I was left standing in the center of a pool of darkness.
Rhynorn Bloodore sacrificed.
I’d won.
***
The fight had been a good way to blow off some steam.
Having a clear focus for my anger was just what I needed to take my mind off the existential problems of my life.
Sacrificing Rhyno didn’t award me with Faith Points or a void crystal. I was a bit disappointed but not really surprised. After all, it would have been a giant loophole if resurrectable clan members could be repeatedly sacrificed to turn in a quick gain.
The pain from my injuries was a minor distraction. I learned to handle pain in a crash course from true experts, the hobgoblin Barska and his demented sidekick, Elenda.
I just hoped this fight would be enough to housebreak my insubordinate Ogre lieutenant.
I felt focused, in charge. The master of my own fate.
There was both fear and admiration in the clanfolks’ cowed expressions as they looked at me – the goblin Totem that single-handedly defeated an Ogre boss, dissolving him away into black nothingness.
After a few moments, Kaedric was the first to break the silence, addressing the crowd. “Everyone back to work.”
No one questioned his order. Hobs and goblins alike turned and went back to their daily routines.
I put on the ring I’d removed before the fight.
I heard someone clapping, slowly, ironically.
“Very impressive.” Hoshisu, the player assassin, approached, an uncomfortable looking Malkyr in tow. “I call the next match.”
I looked at her blankly. “Eh?”
“I want to be the next one to duel you. You handled that big brute well enough. I’m sure you can accommodate one more challenger into your busy schedule, right Great Chief? Standard deathmatch rules.”
I sighed. Her reaction was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid. “Absolutely not.”
Her lips thinned and she put her hands on her hips, scowling. “Why not? Malkyr and I are both level 25 now. It would be good training for both of us. I would give you a run for your money.”
I shook my head. “We don’t have an arena here, which means when one of us dies, we’ll be hit with the full death penalties. I like you well enough to not want to put you through that.”
She snorted. “Small chance I
’d be the one who ends up with the death penalties.”
She was trying very hard to goad me into fighting her.
I smirked. “That just reaffirms my point. I like me even more.”
“Fine!” she spat and stormed away in a huff.
Malkyr gave me an apologetic look and hurried after his sister.
I rolled my eyes. “Travelers!”
Right.
I felt pretty good, even after the little run-in with Hoshisu. My mind was at ease, and I could focus on my goals.
It was easy to see what I had to do now. For my clan to survive and prosper, I had to build a Dark Temple. The blueprints called for several common materials, which I had plenty of, but obtaining glass. was a problem.
Based on Yeshlimashu’s information and the description of the Dimensional Trade Orb, the most likely way to get the glass needed was to build the marketplace. If it worked as I hoped it would, I might even be able to trade for the silver necessary to build the research center. But that was a concern for later.
I was adding buildings to the town construction queue faster than Zuban and his boys could build; they were falling behind. The barracks and the remaining two cabins were taking up all their efforts at the moment, and they were important, though not as high a priority as having the Dark Temple up and running. We needed to build a lot of structures quickly. I had to find a way to increase my construction rate somehow, and Zuban was already managing the maximum number of builders his skill level would support.
So I had to double down.
Clan members always gave Kaedric a wide berth, so he was easy to spot among the crowd. I caught his eye and motioned to him.
“My lord?”
“I’m going to summon a new constructor and two builders to boost our construction rate. Have Gandork start cooking the food necessary for that.”
“Yes, my lord. Might I suggest you resurrect Gandork at this time?”
Life Reset- EvP Page 11