Life Reset- Hobnobbing, page 33
part #3 of New Era Online Series
“So?”
“That’s enough window shopping for now,” I said loudly. “Time to get back to our main mission.”
***
Back at Nihilator’s cathedral, I sat in my room, deep in thought.
Double-crossing the armor merchant and helping Ted seemed to be the quickest way to secure our Viridium supply. But failure would make an enemy of Bartun and leave us with nothing. This was a delicate situation.
What? Is he about to admit he’s sexually attracted to same-sex golems?
Yeah, sorry, I muttered and took out the spatial satchel holding the core and 12 Viridium spheres that made up the golem’s body. The worn bag disintegrated in my hands.
“Oi, hey mate,” the golem said merrily, reshaping into a tripod. “Gotta tell ya, I’m not a huge fan of stayin’ in that bit of decomposin’ meat wrappin’.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I guess I sort of forgot that I left you in there.”
“Not to worry, mate.” He was quick to forgive. “I mean, it gave me a lot of time to think, ya know? Arrive at some insights.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Yeah. It’s gotta be Shiva. Without a doubt.”
I blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“Ah, well, you see, mate, there was this huge blowout about–”
“That’s enough, Aidanriel.” Vic’s voice sounded surprisingly harsh.
“Oh, lighten up Viriel, there’s a perfectly good–”
“Oren doesn’t need to know this, so shut up or I’ll make you roll back into your purse.”
I didn’t like the way the conversation was going. “Vic, if there’s something going on that I need to know about …”
“There’s not, Boss, trust me. And you’ll be safer not knowing anyway.”
I looked between the two corporeal VIs. One looked as unyielding as steel. The other was the golem. By Vic’s posture and tone, there was no room for argument. Lacking any kind of leverage, I let it go.
“So, er …” Aidanriel said, “what are we doing now, mate?”
“I need to decide our next step,” I said. “I don’t really want to go out on a faraway quest that will take weeks and probably lead us to a dead end. But the alternative is me breaking curfew and sneaking into Bartun’s house to try and find something that can be used against him. Yulli and Bob won’t be able to join me. If I’m discovered, our entire mission will be jeopardized.”
“Well, you always got me, mate. I got your back. Too bad my satchel crumbled.”
“I’ve got three more,” I said distractedly. The golem’s suggestion had sent my brain rolling.
“Crikey! So I’ll just hop into one, and we can be on our way.”
“Hmm… no,” I said.
“Why not?” He sounded insulted. “Is it because I’m made of balls?”
“I … er … what?”
“Virael told me that you had a weird aversion to shining balls, which I’m made of.”
“Dad-dammit, brother!” Vic blurted out. “That was supposed to be an ultimate punchline down the road. You just messed up days of planning!”
I wasn’t sure if I should have felt intimidated or flattered by Vic’s investment in playing a practical joke on me. “A-anyway …” I stuttered, “what I meant to say is that I agree with you. You’d be a valuable asset, Aidanriel, but I need to give you a little upgrade first.”
Vic snickered. “Is it going to be a body-shop upgrade? Are you going to be manhandling his balls?”
“He really screwed you up by using that ‘I’m made of balls’ phrase out of turn, didn’t he?” I said.
Vic lowered his head and sighed. “Yeah.”
“So I was thinking.” I turned my attention back to the golem. “Stand still for a moment. There’s an open rune slot on your core and another one on each of your ‘beads.’ I’ve already used most of my known runes, so I won’t be able to add something flashy, but …”
I opened the Runecraft Interface and targeted the golem, then scowled. “What the hell?”
“What’s wrong, Boss?” Vic asked.
“Aidanriel appears as an unsuitable target for enchantment,” I said. The golem’s holographic copy on my display showed as gray. I could clearly see his available rune slots on my view, though. “Give me one of your spheres,” I said.
The golem obediently complied. A single bead disengaged from the main body and rolled toward me. I targeted it on my screen. To my surprise, it now had two empty slots instead of one.
“Ah, of course,” I said. “My Runecraft skill has increased since I made those beads, so the number of rune slots increased as well.” Despite the joyous revelation, there was still a minor setback. The sphere remained gray on the display. “Shadow-crap!”
“Take it easy, Boss,” Vic said lightly.
“It should have worked,” I protested. “The skill should allow me to fill up unused slots.”
Vic chuckled. “On any other normal, Runecrafted, Viridium sphere-based golem – sure. But my brother here is a unique individual in his own right. The system reads him as an intelligent NPC, and you can’t Runecraft those. Well, normally.”
“So that means I wasted the extra space for nothing. Damn it, I should have just added another strength rune when I had the chance.”
“Oi, mates, mind not speakin’ about me like I’m not even here?” The golem sounded offended. “I’m a person and I got feelins’, ya know? I’m like a sea of churning emotions right now, under this beautiful metal shell.”
“That’s right,” Vic said. “You are a person. And how do we upgrade another person, Boss?” The rebuke in his voice was palpable.
My eyes widened at the revelation.
“Now you get it, Boss,” Vic said. “Go do your thing.”
“Oi, what the hell are you two goin’ on about?” Aidanriel demanded.
The golem’s body was unique. His attributes, level, and strength were based on the amount of ‘beads’ his body contained, and the only way for him to raise in strength was to get more of them. But if what Vic had suggested was right …
“Give me your … erm … arm,” I said.
The golem stared at me for a long moment, then reached out a limb toward me. I put my hand on it and granted him the Lucky Bastard skill.
The golem’s sphere lit up like a Christmas tree, the glow flowed toward his main core and was ‘sucked’ into it.
“Oh, wow, what a rush,” Aidanriel said. “That was like having a really thorough and enlightening conversation between like-minded VIs.”
“Or to translate it into something Oren will understand – it was as good as your meat suits’ sweaty, sticky sex.”
I snapped my arm away from the golem’s still outreached limb. “That’s gross, Vic.”
He sighed. “That would have been the perfect opportunity to have him use the ‘I’m made of balls’ punchline.”
I took a good look at the golem. The empty rune slot on his core was gone. Instead, he now had the Lucky Bastard skill at level 1.
“Now that’s interesting …” I said. “Does that mean you can have as many skills as free slots?” With his 12 spheres, that would mean he had the potential capacity for 24 skills.
“I highly doubt it, Boss,” Vic said. There’s a reason the core absorbed it and not the beads. Try granting him one of your other skills.”
I considered his suggestions. Other than Lucky Bastard, my only Prime Badge skills were Drilling Arrow, Mana Drain, and Mana Infusion. The magical attack spells didn’t go well with the golem’s overall theme of a heavy-duty machine of destruction, but the last one had potential.
Placing my hand on the golem again, I granted him the Mana Infusion spell. This time the light show ran across from bead to bead, extending and dancing between them. The beads absorbed the light, leaving behind red vein-like lines. I examined the golem again with the Runecraft Design Mode and noted that all the spheres had lost one rune slot.
“Oi, that feels great!” Aidanriel exclaimed. Then he activated his new ability.
The thin red lines suddenly became thicker and began to pulsate as pure mana ran through them. His movement quickened and was more fluid. “Oi, that feels absolutely amazing!” He started bouncing from leg to leg to leg, dancing around the room.
“Stop!” I shouted as I noticed something alarming.
The golem ceased his dancing and the red veins deflated. “What’s up, mate?”
”Check your mana reserves,” I said.
“Oi, bloody hell,” he cried. “I just lost over a hundred mana.”
“Yeah, the skill I gave you changed. It’s now called ‘Overdrive’ and it drains your MP at an alarming rate.”
“But that’s not fair!”
“Think about it like this, brother,” Vic chimed in. “When you’re in battle and surrounded by enemies, you can use that ‘Overdrive’ for a short period. Ought to be real useful in raising up the meaty body count.”
“I reckon you’re right,” the golem said. “Crikey!”
I sighed. What have I done? I could grant one more skill to the golem, but I decided to leave it for the moment.
“So what now, mate?”
“There’s plenty of time till nightfall, so …” I sat down in my chair, took out several oxsaurian leather satchels, and started enchanting.
***
“Chief!” Yulli and Bob intercepted me as I headed for the cathedral’s exit. “Wait up.”
Yulli grinned at me. “You forgot to call us, Chief. Are we going to kill someone?”
“It will be curfew soon,” Bob said. “We shouldn’t be out for long.”
“You two aren’t coming,” I said bluntly. “I’m going to … well, I think it’s better if you don’t know. If something goes wrong, you will be able to deny having anything to do with it.” I nodded at Reiner as he approached us.
“Dread Totem,” Bob protested, “please do not do anything hasty. Even with the church’s might behind us, we are not above the city laws.”
“I know, that’s why you’re not coming. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” I patted the satchel on my belt. “I have all the help I need right there.”
From around my shoulders, Vicloak formed a mouth. “Besides, he has me.”
Yulli and Bob exchanged worried looks.
“I saw that!” My purple cloak billowed in protest.
“Don’t worry,” I said again. “I should be back by morning. If not, well …” I shrugged. “I’ll either be sent to the pits or a respawn.”
“What should we do then, Chief?” Yulli asked.
I thought about it for a moment. If everything went well tonight, my mission here would be accomplished, and it would be time to return to the clan. As a sanctioned priest, I would be able to teleport back from the cathedral, but the ward would prevent me from bringing anyone else with me.
“How long do you think it’ll take you two to return to Goblin’s Gorge?” I asked.
“Three days,” Bob said after a brief consideration.
Yulli snorted. “Three? We can make in two.”
Bob frowned. “We’ll need some provisions and equipment for the road.”
“Then go, now. I have great plans once I’m done with this city, and I’ll need both of you with me. Take all the provisions you need, don’t stop to hunt, and avoid conflicts. Make the best time you can.”
The two straightened.
“Yes, Chief.”
“At once, Dread Totem.”
I nodded at them. “Good luck. I’ll see you soon.”
I left the cathedral and made my way through the twilight.
Interlude: The Mob Squad
The Mob Squad sat in a shabby inn located in one of the seedier parts of Everance. Despite their abnormal appearance, no one gave them the time of day. Most of the other patrons were just as unsavory. Half wore hoods to hide their faces.
“Oh, this is just perfect!” Misa said, examining her new rings with delight. “I missed shopping.”
“Women, huh?” Fox grumbled.
“Like you’re one to talk,” the part-goblin, part-elf woman retorted. “You’ve been staring cow-eyed at that new shield of yours for the last 10 minutes.”
“At least I didn’t spend all my gold on jewelry,” the bugbear shot back.
“Come on, Fox,” said Riley. “You know better than that. I, for one, am thrilled to get back to civilization. As much as I like being a dark priest and all, the trade opportunities at Goblin’s Gorge are a little limited. It’s a chance for all of us to get better gear.” He looked pointedly at Fox.
The bugbear’s new gear was in a pristine condition. His old steel buckler had been replaced with a full-sized war shield. The sturdy piece was large enough to cover his entire torso and had curves at the top to scope the enemy while still protecting his neck. He was also sporting brand new chainmail, a helm, and his belt held a new dwarven battleaxe.
“Well, it has been nice, getting new gear,” said Raystia. The catgirl wore new, tight-fitting clothes with leather patches sewn in to protect her elbows and knees. This type of wear was comfortable and didn’t restrict her movement. “I mean, it’s nice to finally be able to spend the gold we earned at the clan.”
Misa buffed her ring. “Tell me about it. This beauty alone set me back 900 gold.”
Raystia blinked. “Err … isn’t that, like … all of your money?”
The elf winked at her. “I’ve had a little extra stashed away for rainy days.”
“Or for shopping sprees,” Fox grunted.
Misa shrugged. “Potatoes, potAHtoes.”
“So … ahem … what does the ring do?” Raystia asked.
“I’ll show you.” The elven woman looked around, noticing a signpost. She drew her arm back and then flung it forward. A thick steel chain erupted from her ring and wrapped several times around the post.
Raystia gulped. “Wow, that’s … ahem … unorthodox.”
The elf winked at her again. “Just a plain ole’ chainmaster, doing its thing.”
“Hush,” Fox said softly, nodding toward three players who were heading their way.
“Oh, god, did you see that shopkeeper’s face when we robbed him for the third time?” one of the two men said, leading the others to a table next to the Mob Squad’s.
“I felt a little bad about it,” the woman said, sitting down. “Did you notice when he realized it was us again? Almost made me reconsider joining the thieves guild.”
“Come on, he’s just an NPC,” the third player said, sitting down as well. “Everyone gets the quest to rob him three times. That’s the halfling’s sole purpose in NEO, to be robbed.”
“Still makes me feel kinda bad for him,” the woman said. “His reactions sounded so …real, it’s disconcerting.”
“You’re overthinking this. The hard part is behind us, now we just need to keep a low profile for an hour and we’re done.”
“Shit,” the other man said suddenly. “I think I spotted a guard uniform underneath a patron’s cloak. We gotta get out of here.”
The three stood up abruptly and hurried toward the exit.
“What a bunch of newbies,” Fox said.
Misa rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. Who joins a generic thieves guild anymore? It’s so cliché.”
“Players will be players,” Riley said philosophically and took a swig from his mug. “So, what’s our next move?”
“I’m ready to continue the chief’s quest,” Fox declared. “We’ve only been in Everence for a couple of hours, and I’m already sick to my stomach from the looks the local NPCs give me. I’m pretty sure everything I bought should have cost half as much.”
“Sounds good to me,” Misa said. “The quest reward will allow us to buy even more gear. How much was that again, love?” She raised a brow at the catgirl.
“Umm …” Raystia lowered her eyes. She had been the only one to receive the quest from Oren. He’d made her swear not to reveal its contents lest they discover she was a double agent. He did promise her enough gold to share around though. “It should be about … 2,000 gold apiece.”
Riley brightened up. “Well, let’s go then. Everyone knows where the Manapulators guild is located. What are we supposed to do there again?”
“We need to gain access to their inner courtyard,” Raystia said.
“And then?” Fox asked.
“I’m … ahem … going to use the … ahem … magical device the chief gave me,” she said lamely.
Misa arched an eyebrow. “That’s a bit vague, love. We’re all in this together; why not share the quest with us?”
“It’s … umm … I mean … ahem,” Raystia stuttered.
Misa chuckled. “I’m just messing with you, girl. We all know this is a cloak-and-dagger kind of thing. Very hush-hush.”
“What’s to know?” Fox said. “We’re probably going to have to kill everyone in sight. We’re monsters, aren’t we?”
Riley shook his head. “That Totem guy is more subtle than that. You don’t get to be Nihilator’s head priest without some finesse; trust me, I’d know. No, I bet he has something more cunning, darker, and seedy planned.”
“Aces,” said Misa. “I’m all for dark and seedy. Let’s go.”
The other three followed her through Everance’s streets, heading toward the richer part of the city.
Raystia hastily brought up her messaging interface, composing a message on the go. ‘Oren, we’re heading toward the Manapulators guild. I still haven’t uncovered their exact timetable, but it seems like it’s going to be soon. I’ll look for ways to infiltrate the place and let you know before I make my move. Whatever you’ve got planned, you’d better be ready. It won't be long now. Penelope’
