Life Reset: EvP (Environment vs. Player) (New Era Online Book 2)

by Shemer Kuznits

  I gently detached myself from the still sleeping Tika and exited the house.

  I went to the mess hall and had to literally push my way through a pile of foblins that were fighting over a piece of leftover food.

  Bob and the other trainers were eating at ‘the officers’ table. The other hobgoblin soldiers were spread throughout the mess hall. The three Infernal Ogres were huddled together on the floor at the far corner of the building, using a ladle as a spoon, taking turns scooping from an entire pot sitting between them.

  “Bob,” I greeted my lieutenant, taking the chair next to him. “How is the training going?”

  “It was going moderately well, right until the end of the day,” he said.

  I frowned. “Something interfered with your training sessions?”

  “On the contrary. It seemed as if the soldiers suddenly found their second wind. We were able to put in nearly two hours’ worth of training in a single hour.”

  I eased back in my seat. He was referring to the training bonus the new totem piece imparted. That was good news. “Squeeze in as much training as you can today,” I said. “Tomorrow, we’re all going outside the valley.”

  “Are we going out on a raid?” The hobgoblin gave a savage grin. “It’s been a while since me and my men raided another camp.”

  Yea, mine. “Not exactly. We’re going hunting. I need to see the soldiers fight in real combat. This will also help increase their lev– … make them stronger.”

  Bob nodded. “Very well, Dread Totem. We will be ready to go first thing tomorrow.”

  I nodded and got up to leave.

  Goblin’s Gorge: Kadoc has reached Apprentice rank in: Weaponsmith

  Goblin’s Gorge: Baja Reed has reached Apprentice rank in: Armorsmith

  Good! I grinned. My smiths’ increased potential would go a long way toward the mobilization of my troops.

  I didn’t see any of them at the mess hall, but I wanted to check their progress with the new workshops anyway. I had no doubt it contributed to them reaching the Apprentice rank of their trades. I left and walked past the barracks to our new crafting center.

  I heard the sounds of metal striking metal even before coming into view of the workshops. As I got closer, I could see clearly inside. Kadoc was standing at the anvil, hammering at a blade piece. Baja and Vrick were both busy working at the other workshop, collaborating on the same piece of armor.

  “Hello,” I called out.

  They all laid down their tools and stepped out to greet me.

  “Dread Totem.” Kadoc bowed his head. “It is good you have come.”

  “Problems?” I sighed exasperatedly. “Something missing from the workshop?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “The workshop is well built and well stocked. Barzel helped us set it up. The problem is that we’re just about to run out of iron ingots to work with again.”

  “But I brought in 60 ingots not long ago, not to mention our two miners worked nonstop for over a month building up our stock,” I protested. “You just got your workshop. How have we run out already?”

  The goblin seemed to wilt under my tone, but then Vrick stepped up. “It’s not our fault,” he said. “The metal we mine ourselves is only just enough for crafting tools and supplying construction material. Now that we have two more smiths the ingots ran out fast. The shipment you brought in lasted only two days.”

  “I see … How many ingots do you need again?”

  “Ten to 20 for armor and five to ten for weapons,” he answered mechanically.

  I pursed my lips. I could get more metal through the Export Office again, but I had to finish importing silver for the research center first.

  I concentrated briefly, checking our lumber stocks. My workers had produced 140 units of lumber yesterday. That was an impressive amount but still not enough to purchase the remaining six units of silver.

  I opened the Export Interface and selected the ‘Metal’ filter. A long list of metals opened. I selected ‘Lumber’ as the trade currency and viewed the results.

  Filter: metal [trade with lumber]

  Metal type

  Lumber cost

  Copper

  Tin

  Iron

  Bronze

  Steel

  High-Quality Steel

  Silver

  Mithril

  2

  2

  3

  5

  10

  25

  35

  150

  “Now that you have the workshops, how many weapons and armor can you craft per day?” I asked the goblin crafters.

  “Three swords or similar-sized weapons,” Kadoc answered promptly.

  Baja was quick to follow. “Two sets of medium metal plates.”

  That meant that on average they needed 45 metal ingots every day. I would love to outfit my troops with ‘High-Quality Steel’ equipment. Now that my smiths had reached their Apprentice rank, they could finally work with this higher-grade metal, but the cost was too steep.

  Steel would have to suffice for now. It was also relatively expensive, but I didn’t have to import it directly. With our access to coal, Barzel was more than capable of casting steel ingots from basic iron, so all I had to do was to import enough iron every day. Three times 45 meant I’d need to trade away 135 units of lumber per day to keep my smiths fully occupied. That would hardly leave me any lumber for construction or for purchasing the remaining silver.

  Decisions, decisions.

  Using the still-opened interface, I ordered 12 units of iron ore for 36 lumber and spent the rest of my stock to purchase three silver. I wanted my crafters fully engaged, but I also had to bring Zuban all the resources he needed to complete construction. Tomorrow I’d have enough lumber to bring in the remainder of the silver, then I could use the bulk of our daily lumber yield to bring in more iron.

  I clenched my teeth. If that damn player, Riley, hadn’t murdered my two new lumberjacks, I would probably have enough to finish the silver order.

  Instead of brooding on it, I realized all I needed to do was increase the number of lumberjacks.

  My seneschal arrived silently and stood some distance away while I conversed with the workers. When I was finished, I turned to him. “Kaedric, recruit two additional lumberjacks please.”

  “Yes, my lord,” he said stoically.

  I could sense him accessing the Breeder’s Den controls and sensed the production numbers update as a result. Now our daily lumber yield was just shy of 200 units per day. Given enough time, the workers’ skill would progress and increase our yield even more.

  “You will soon have more ingots to work with,” I told the goblins. “Starting tomorrow, we will import 45 units of iron each day, which Barzel will smelt into steel. Kaedric, see to that.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “I think that takes care of our metal issues. Anything else?”

  Vrick shrugged. “Leather. It’s running out too.”

  “I happen to know we have hundreds of rabbit pelts.”

  “Yes, we have pelts,” he emphasized. “I need leather; good, sturdy leather. The tanner used to produce enough to keep me equipped, but now that I’ve become more skilled and can work in a proper workshop, I’m much faster. I’m able to make three suits of leather armor for the hobs each day instead of just one, or a single piece for the Ogres. That means I need triple the amount of leather I used before. At the moment, our existing leather stock is almost exhausted.”

  “How many suits of armor have you made so far?”

  “Twelve,” he declared proudly.

  That was enough to gear up most of the scouts. But Vrick was right; we needed even more. “Very well. Kaedric, please summon another tanner.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “Well, if there’s nothing else …” I turned to leave.

  “One moment, Dread Totem,” Vrick said.

  I turned back in a huff. I was getting fed up with micromanaging everyth
ing. “Yes, Vrick?”

  “There’s something I would like to show you. Please come inside.”

  He led me into the wedge-like workshop. There were several work tables and discarded pieces of leather littered the floor.

  Vrick led me to an armor stand. A completed leather armor suit was hanging on it.

  I inspected the armor then looked at the grinning goblin. “This … you made this?”

  “Yes, Dread Totem,” he answered.

  He was obviously proud of himself and for good reason. The Pyrolith scale armor looked amazing. Vrick had somehow cut the large scales and overlaid them on top of each other, creating a hardened layer of protection for the torso. Delicate strips of oxsaurian leather were woven together, overlapping the scales and extending over the arms and legs, providing good defense while not hindering mobility. Steel buckles and rivets held the pieces of armor together. It was a beautifully crafted piece.

  Pyrolith Scale Gambeson

  Description: This well-crafted armor is made of durable leather embedded with hardened demon scales. It offers good protection without hindering the wearer’s mobility and is naturally resistant to fire.

  Runecraft Viability: 5 runes.

  Type: Armor [torso].

  Rank: Advanced

  Durability: 120/120

  Armor: 35

  Resistance: Fire 50%

  Base price: 500

  “Told you I would be able to do something special with a proper workshop,” Vrick said smugly.

  “Yes you did,” I said, admiring the fine workmanship. Though its stats were not very high in the grand scheme of things, it was the best piece of armor my clan had managed to craft to date. That single piece of armor offered three times the protection of my old gear. And with a little loving Runecraft touch, I could make it even stronger, I mused. Though the five runes limitation didn’t leave me much room to get creative with the design.

  “It’s as strong as steel armor, weighs half as much, and should not hinder your movement,” Vrick pointed out.

  “You’ve come a long way since that vest you first made for me. This is a great piece, Vrick. I’m proud of you.”

  The goblin huffed at the compliment, but he didn’t fool me. I could tell he enjoyed being praised.

  “I’ve nearly finished with the oxsaurian armor for the Ogre.” Vrick pointed to one of the work tables. A thick layer of leather covered most of the workspace. “It is a very strong material, though not as strong as metal. If you want, I can get Baja to add steel plating, but that would take him away from crafting armor for the soldiers, and it would take a lot of ingots.”

  “Hmmm …” I stroked my chin. “No. The leather in itself is a significant enough upgrade for Rhyno’s armor. We may consider this again later, but for now, I want you both to concentrate on armoring all of our troops. Leather armor for the Ogres and scouts, metal armor for the melee fighters. I also want all the shield bearers to use steel shields instead of wooden ones.”

  Kadoc joined the conversation. “That will be my job. I’ve already worked out a good design for a steel buckler.”

  I nodded. “Good. Then I won’t keep you from work any longer. Carry on.”

  “Yes, Dread Totem,” they answered as one.

  As I walked away, I contemplated what to do next. I had the entire day ahead of me and there were still a few more items I wanted to enchant. I also wanted to practice my new Shadow Clone ability. Considering that we were going out on a hunt tomorrow, I decided to focus on enchanting for now.

  ***

  Back at my house, I picked up one of the two Stalker Pins. Each was three meters long and heavy. The otherworldly origin made the pins especially suitable for enchantments. These could be great as throwing spears for Rhyno, I mused. The Ogre’s brute strength would make good use of their mass. As thrown weapons, I didn’t have to get too creative with my runes. All the pins had to do was inflict as much damage as possible.

  I opened the design mode to review my known runes. I was thinking of something simple and straightforward: Use the fire and sound runes to augment the damage, channel them through the strength rune, and bind it to the top of the spear. A simple five-rune enchantment, counting in the connector rune. But the pins could hold six runes each – seven, with my Runecraft skill level. I had two more available slots and I hated to see them go to waste.

  I went through the list of known runes again, looking for inspiration. I could add a socket using the containment rune and use a void crystal to increase the overall enchantment strength, I surmised. That still left me with one open slot, but I couldn’t think of anything else that would increase the damage, so I decided to leave it open for now. I could always add more runes later.

  I finalized the enchantment by pouring in the required 450 mana, then slapped in the level 39 void crystal I got from sacrificing the oxsaurian. The extra power flowed into the already active runes, making them glow brighter for a few moments before settling down to a ‘normal’ runic glow.

  Stalker Spear [Runecrafted]

  Description: The large demonic pin makes for an ideal throwing spear. Due to its size and weight, it can only be used by large creatures.

  Type: Weapon [thrown]

  Rank: Magical

  Durability: 130/130

  Damage: 50-62 physical + 14 fire + 14 sonic + half Physical attribute

  I examined the result with satisfaction. This weapon would be devastating in the hands of the Ogre boss. His strength would enhance the already impressive damage potential.

  I ran the numbers in my head. Rhynorn’s Physical attribute was 22, so he could inflict over a hundred points of damage with the thrown spear, and that number would only grow as his levels rose. Not bad.

  I started working on the second Stalker Pin. This one was easier. All I had to do was select the schema I had just invented and apply it. The runes appeared on their own in a flash on the unenchanted weapon, and I only had to power it up. I was done with the second spear in less than a minute, finalizing the enchantment by pouring in another 450 points of mana. I didn’t put a void crystal in the socket this time; I’d already used the only oxsaurian one I had. My other crystals were either too low-level or too high-level, which meant the extra power would go to waste.

  I had to postpone adding a crystal, but if what I had planned for the next few days worked out, I’d have plenty of suitable crystals to choose from.

  I got up from my chair and stretched. This entire enchanting session took about an hour and I’d exhausted the supply of weapons to enchant. I didn’t think wasting my time on a low-quality item justified the result. My Runecraft skill level had just risen to 31. I had to continually challenge myself with more complex enchantments to raise it further.

  Malkyr had yet to supply the remaining Viridium spheres like he promised. But the lack of quality items to enchant wouldn’t continue much longer. Now that we had armor and weapon production lines in place, I expected I'd soon be busy up to my ears with enchanting. That reminded me. There were a dozen armor sets waiting to be enchanted, but I decided to wait until I had even more and could do them in bulk. For my intended hunt, weapons were more important than armor.

  I guess I might as well use the time to experiment with Shadow Clone, I thought testily. The ability was potentially very powerful, but I didn’t look forward to the splitting headache it left me with.

  I sat down on the floor, crossing my legs in front of me, and concentrated.

  I started by regulating my breath; breathing in fully and exhaling slowly. It had been a while since I’d immersed myself in meditation.

  I felt myself gradually relax, slipping deeper into serenity.

  It was quiet and peaceful.

  My mana swirled inside my body in sync with my own heartbeat.

  I raised one arm, preparing to channel my mana into my shadow.

  An abrupt knock on the door broke me from my reverie.

  “Shadow-crap,” I complained, getting to my feet. It had tak
en me over an hour to reach this tranquil state, and the interruption was quite bothersome. I nearly ripped the door open. “Who the hell – Oh, Malkyr.”

  The big man was grinning at me. “Hi, Chief. Bad time?”

  I took in a steadying breath, soothing my annoyance. “Everything is fine. How’ve you been?”

  “Great.” He held up a sack. “I just finished making the Viridium spheres like you asked. Sorry for the delay; it took a bit longer than I expected.”

  I motioned for him to come inside and put them on the table.

  “So how do you like being part of the clan?” I asked, though I was eager to start working with the spheres.

  He shrugged. “Not much different than before. The Shadow-Touched trait is pretty useful. I get now why you guys only work at nights. The extra ten percent to my Smithing skill really helped to craft those spheres. I also reached my smith cap. I’m only 22 skill levels short of reaching the Expert rank now, then things will get really interesting.” He grinned boyishly. “Oh, and being able to see in total darkness is pretty cool too. I feel sorry for the new players who have to stumble around carrying torches everywhere. Did you notice that the light doesn’t really banish the darkness? It just sort of … lets you see the immediate area, and then it gets cut off. Kinda creepy.”

  “That should help motivate the others to pitch in.”

  “I guess …” He shook his head. “At least they don’t cause too much trouble. I was worried their players’ instinct would make them kill a few goblins. You know that in every other game goblins are just dumb XP sacks, right? But the guys that get here are pretty cool. I spoke with a few, and I think they’re smarter than the average player. I think each of them is a big shot IRL. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess. I don’t really care, just as long as they don’t hurt our efforts.”

  “Alright, Big Chief.” Malkyr flashed me another of his big, boyish grins. “I’ll leave you at it for now. My own smithy is coming along nicely. That magic anvil I brought back just begs to be used. I’ll see you later.”