Life Reset- EvP

by Shemer Kuznits

  His words formed a mental image of an Ogre wearing a pink bead necklace. I laughed openly. “Good one, Vic. But you’re right, it won’t be very useful. Unless they somehow use it like a beaded whip … wait a minute.”

  Connecting the Viridium balls together as a sort of semi-flexible chain would make a fearsome whip. I chewed my lips. Still, that was more of a job for a smith, not an enchanter, unless …

  I opened the Runecraft Design Mode and selected the binding rune. Runic lines spread over the ethereal spherical image, covering half its surface. I added another binding rune on the other half, and the two runes merged together seamlessly, covering the entire surface with snaking, glowing runic lines.

  I felt, more than I knew, that the runes would make the sphere’s surface a sort of magical slate that could interact with external magic. But that in itself was not enough. The binding runes needed to be anchored to something. I added the ‘Ma’ containment rune at the heart of the sphere, then connected both binding runes together to it using the ‘Te’ connector rune.

  Examining the result critically, I wondered if it would act as I had intended it to. It took four runes – half of the available space – just to lay the groundwork. I could add more runes to it later, but I wouldn’t be able to erase them once the enchantment was done. I could probably dismantle it, but success was not assured. In which case, I had just wasted a valuable resource.

  I proceeded to finalize the enchantment, pouring in the required 360 mana to power it up.

  Utility schema discovered: TeMaGog [Conduit]

  Runecraft skill level increased to 27.

  Discovering new schemas was great for raising the skill level.

  I took another Viridium sphere and repeated the same process. It only took me about a minute to apply the newly discovered schema.

  Holding a sphere in each hand, I carefully brought them together. The pieces clinked but didn’t bind. I frowned. Something was missing.

  “Well, duh,” Vic snorted. “You just created the framework. There’s no juice flowing through the pipes.”

  “How would you know?” I countered. “You don’t have the Runecraft skill.”

  “I don’t need it. The rules of this world are consistent, and I happen to be a native. Trust me, just put some mana into it.”

  “Alright,” I grumbled and channeled my mana into the two spheres. It moved easily, absorbed by the external binding runes, and flowed to fill the containment rune within. The spheres radiated a faint sense of power.

  I brought the two spheres together again, and this time they connected. I released one. It rolled downward while still attached to the one I was holding. Huh, kinda like magnets. I could sense the tethers of mana connecting the two spheres.

  “See? Told you so,” Vic said smugly.

  “Yes, you’re very smart. Shut up.”

  Dark mana thrummed inside and around the spheres. I put them on the floor and directed my will at it. With hardly an effort on my part, the spheres began moving, rotating around each other. I didn’t even have to invest my own mana after the initial charge and could easily control the movements.

  “Wonderful,” Vic said. “You made magical, self-rotating Chinese balls. Now what?”

  “More.”

  I opened my friends’ list and composed a short message to Malkyr, asking him to craft the remaining 12 Viridium ingots into spheres. Then I proceed to enchant the last one I had as well.

  With three balls attached, I could make it move in simple patterns; pile up as a column, move around the floor on two while the third one was in the air; or just spin together. The external binding runes kept the spheres connected, but not fixed on a specific point, so I didn’t have to put any extra effort to keep them together. I could concentrate on just directing their movement.

  “Ding,” Vic said. “Incoming message, Boss.”

  It was from Malkyr, promising to have all the 12 Viridium spheres ready by tomorrow.

  “Good, now I’ll just –”

  The door opened and Tika came in. Huh, it’s probably later than I thought.

  “Hello, Oren.” My beautiful girlfriend smiled at me, her eyes twinkling. “It is a great honor to have the clan Totem waiting for me at home.”

  “Hi, Tika.” I smiled back at her. “I guess I lost track of time, kept enchanting throughout the day. How was your hunting?”

  She sauntered forward seductively and placed her arms around my neck. She leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I just have one more thing to hunt.”

  ***

  I woke the next day with a start as a flickering message window appeared before me.

  Vic said somberly.

  His unusual tone had roused me like a splash of cold water. I clicked the blinking message icon.

  New Era Online [Internal messaging service]:

  From: SuperWolf#23

  Subject: It’s on

  Hi, Man,

  Vatras just sent his forces after you.

  He spent a day advertising tryouts for his guild, saying whoever passed the test would be accepted at a sergeant’s rank. I tried to discredit him on the forums like we discussed, but there was still a sizeable turnout. Too many mediocre players couldn’t resist the lure of a steady guild paycheck.

  I asked a friend, a casual low-level player, for a favor to become my spy. He applied for the test and was accepted. From what he tells me, Vatras has formed up two groups to come after you.

  The first group is made up of low-level wannabes, some might be around level 30, but most are probably less than 20. There are about 50 of them.

  The second group is more serious. It’s composed of semi-professional gamers, levels 20 to 40, but there’s only about ten of them.

  I’m guessing Vatras is using the first group as cannon fodder to soften you up, then the second group to wipe you out completely. That way he’ll only have to reward ten players instead of 60. He’s a real bastard, that one; how the hell did you work with him for three years?

  The first group has already departed. They’re teleporting to the nearest settlement at the fringe of the Deadlands, and from there a guild Spatial Wizard is going to launch them through most of the wilderness.

  My friend estimated it will take them about two days to reach you. That gives you around 24 days, your time, to finish preparations.

  The second group will launch a few hours later, which ought to buy you a day or two of respite before the next attack.

  I’m guessing you’re in for a tough fight. Once you beat them, word will spread. I doubt Vatras will be able to lure more people to do his dirty work then.

  I thought at first to get a few buddies and intercept the groups along the way, but they’re being escorted to the final launch point by a few other high-level guild members. We’d be slaughtered.

  I may not be able to interfere directly, but I still got your back. My spy friend, TheMarxman, will continue with the first group as a double agent. He’s expecting to hear from you and is willing to cross over just as soon as you’ve made contact.

  He’s a melee spellslinger. I suggest to use him at the height of the fight to double-cross his friends and kill the healers. With the element of surprise, he should be able to get rid of at least one of them. You’ll be able to recognize him straight away; he always wears cyan robes and fights using a rapier.

  Your status has drawn the higher-ups’ attention and there’s something else going on here that they’re not telling us about. I think me staying in touch with you has drawn their attention. It might be difficult for me to contact you again for the time being. In any case, I doubt I could do anything else to assist you in facing the coming battle. It’s up to you now.

  Good luck, Oren.

  P.S. - I’m probably worried over nothing. You no doubt have hordes of green-skinned monsters ready to tear apart us miserable players.

  All hail our future green overlords! :-)

  I
breathed out an explosive sigh. It had begun. The attackers were on their way, and now I had a countdown to their arrival.

  The preparations for the attack were progressing well. Our food production was high and I could now summon a large force quickly. But they needed training. The new guys were still too weak to stand up to players, even low-leveled ones.

  Luckily, I had planned for that. The barracks’ training yard would help put my soldiers into shape, but it won’t be fast enough. I had to expedite our plans.

  “Kaedric!” I called out as I exited my house. While I waited for the mandibled hob to arrive, I accessed the settlement’s food production details. I had some numbers to crunch.

  We were producing 287 various food ingredients per day. Considering recipe efficiency and other bonuses, we could produce about 300 units of simple food daily. Our daily upkeep was 52. We would need about 70 units of food to double the upkeep for all the Physical-oriented workers. That would increase productivity across the board by 20 percent. Seeing as some of our food producers – namely the hunters and farmers – had physical builds, our food production would also increase by about 12 units. So in effect, I’d be spending six units of food to increase my whole clan’s efficiency by 20 percent.

  Why the hell didn’t I do that earlier? I lamented.

 

  Next time I’ll let my smartass-seeded companion do the heavy crunching.

 

  I was about to retort when my feral-looking seneschal arrived, coming around from behind my house. “You called, my lord? How may I be of service?”

  “Hi Kaedric, I want to take full advantage of the new totem’s ability. I want all Physical-oriented workers to be fed doubly, starting right now. The day has just begun, so we can reap the benefits straight away.

  “Yes, my lord. Was there anything else?”

  “Have Gandork use all our basic food ingredients to cook simple food, then bring it to the Breeder’s Den.

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “Next, I want every weapon above crude quality brought to my house.”

  “Yes, my lord. It will take some time to locate all such items. Shall I go see to it, or was there something else?”

  I mulled it over. “Take care of that now. I want to catch Zuban for a little chat first anyway.”

  Kaedric bowed his head and walked away. Several nearby workers stopped what they were doing and followed him silently.

  “Tempest!” I called.

  As if manifesting from the surrounding darkness, my demon wolf appeared before me. I jumped on his back and directed him toward the northern part of the valley. His light trot was fast enough to make my vision blurry from the wind in my eyes. We arrived at the new construction yard, just past the barracks, in a flash.

  “Good wolf.” I patted Tempest’s neck then dismounted and surveyed the nearly completed weapon workshop. It was shaped like a triangle with well-rounded edges. Large wooden beams served as the frame, and the area between them was filled with bricks. The building had an incomplete cobbled floor and two worktables stood inside next to a small, indoor forge. Goblin builders were running around, hammering and stacking stones to build the walls.

  Zuban was standing next to a goblin builder, patiently instructing him while gesturing at various places in the wall. He spotted me as I neared and stepped away from the builder. “Dread Totem.” He bowed his head slightly.

  “Zuban, we’re running out of time. How long to complete the workshop?”

  He looked back at the structure, his eyes darting over all the incomplete parts. “About midday,” he answered finally. “I’ve already plotted the land for the adjacent armor workshop, so I plan to continue working on it after finishing here. The required building materials are already in place.”

  I shook my head. “We’re out of time. We need all the high-priority buildings now. Get the workers out of the building.”

  Zuban understood my meaning immediately and with a few short, sharp orders, had everyone out of the way.

  I opened the Settlement Interface, selected the nearly completed building and clicked on the ‘rush’ option.

  Rush Weapon Workshop for 62 EP?

  I approved the cost.

  With a flare of magic, the few incomplete parts shimmered, transforming into full physical matter.

  New Building added to your settlement: Weapon Workshop

  Next, I selected ‘Armor Workshop’ and clicked on the ‘rush’ option for it as well.

  Rush Armor Workshop for 360 EP?

  I winced at the cost, but I had over 4,000 EP to spare, so I approved it.

  Stacks of stone and wood shimmered and disappeared in the now familiar sight of a magically constructed building.

  New Building added to your settlement: Armor Workshop

  Like the weapon workshop, it too was triangular with circular edges, like a slice of pie. The buildings were fitted against each other, forming part of a circle. Future workshops that would be added to them would end up forming a full circle with each building a petal in the flower.

  It was an efficient design. I approved.

  “Alright.” I rubbed my hands together. “We’re good to go. Zuban, can you please inform our two craftsmen that their new workplace is finished? I want them to start arming our troops with quality gear.”

  “Yes, Dread Totem, I shall fetch them immediately. However, now that both buildings are completed, what should be our next project?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “The research center, I guess. The researchers are still working on the barracks’ warfare center blueprints, right?”

  The hobgoblin nodded.

  “Then that will be the project after the research center.”

  “Yes, Dread Totem. We will need ten glass and ten silver for the research center.”

  “Right, I’ll take care of that now.”

  I opened the Marketplace Interface, and as before, traded 50 lumber for ten units of glass. However, silver presented more of a challenge. It took 35 lumber to trade for a single unit of silver. I had just enough lumber for four units. I considered what to do and briefly contemplated using other resources, but that would rapidly exhaust my other stocks; a ridiculous amount of 300 rabbit pelts were required for a single talent of silver.

  “Zuban, the required resources will wait for you at the Export Office. It might take a few days to bring in the entire load of silver, but I trust you can begin work without having the full supply straight away, right?”

  My foreman nodded. “That is correct. As long as we have the entire amount by the time we are ready to finish.”

  “Good, at the rate we’re producing lumber, we’ll have enough to buy the rest in two days.”

  “That is reasonable, Dread Totem.”

  “If you need me, I’ll be at my house.” I jumped onto Tempest’s back and rode him to my home.

  As we neared, I heard sounds of knocking. When we passed the wall and came to the front of the building, I saw who was knocking on my door.

  The Mob Squad had returned.

  25 – Technological Advancements

  I felt more than I heard Tempest growling as he spotted the players standing at my door.

  “You’re back,” I said casually, dismounting the demon wolf.

  “Hey there, pal,” said Misa, the part elf-woman and apparently the group’s spokesperson. “Yeah, we just returned.”

  I ignored her and analyzed each of the players. To my dismay, I learned they all possessed the Stealth skill, so any one of them could be the killer.

  Apart from that, they all had a standard array of common skills. But two were of special note: Misa had a Prime-badged skill called ‘Chainmaster,’ and Raystia had the laughably titled ‘Florist’ skill.

  “Anyway,” Misa continued, “it was a close call We had to constantly fight, run, and h
ide, but we’ve completed your quest.” She gestured grandly, pointing at the totem piece they’d brought back.

  Granted Quest Completed: Retrieve Totem Piece

  The Mob Squad members awarded: 1000 XP, 100 reputation with GreenPiece Clan, 100 gold

  Misa Gavriilu awarded: Horned Helm (magical)

  Raystia awarded: 20 X Arrows (magic)

  Riley Stonefist awarded: Reinforced Boots (magical)

  Fox awarded: High Steel Axe (normal)

  “Thank you,” I said dryly. “Now that the rewards are taken care of, we can proceed with the punishment.”

  “What?” Misa frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “One of you,” I gave them each a stern look, “has murdered two of my goblins.”

  They exchanged glances, looking even more bewildered.

  “Ahem, excuse me, Mr. Dread Totem sir,” Raystia, the catgirl, said. “There must be a mistake. We were away for a couple of days. We just got back, so it couldn’t be one of us.”

  “Actually,” I countered, “the murder happened just before you conveniently left the valley.”

  “But … but ahem … we wouldn’t do such a thing!” she said unconvincingly, giving the bugbear, Fox, a guilt-filled glance.

  I raised a hand. “Spare me your bullshit, I already know which one of you did it.” My gaze lingered on the bugbear. He stared back at me, and I turned my eyes to the dwarf. “You.”

  “Wha-what?” he stuttered. “Me? Why would I kill your goblins? That’s bullshit, man.”

  Goddamn dwarves! A surge of goblin racial hatred rose in me, but I forced it down. Instead, I concentrated, trying to access his underlying thoughts using Sense Emotion, but the ability failed to work properly. Apparently, it didn’t function well on players. All I got back was a general sense of uncertainty.