《Dead Earth Online》 Chapter 1.0 Peter stepped down from the transport and looked around the ruins. Nothing on the HUD. He held up his hand for silence and listened carefully. There was something, for sure. Ghoul whispers, probably from the blasted wreckage of the building. That was good news. They wouldn¡¯t have to walk far for their first encounter. It was a chance to size them up and see how much hand-holding he was going to need to do. He gestured for the others to come down. Today he had three clients, and they were all on their first trip deep into the ruined core of the city. They had already spent their time in the wilderness with the Free Tribes of course, or in the New Chicago Settlement, learning their way around and doing basic leveling quests. Now Peter had charged them each an impressive sum for a day in the danger zone with an expert. The best guilds were competitive enough on their admissions that Peter¡¯s newb training business never lacked for clients. Avanya_Lee3 was a Medic, level 10. No specializations apart from Herbal Lore, which Peter supposed could possibly be useful but was never going to be anyone¡¯s must-have for a party. She was mousey and timid, and he wondered if this was really the right part of the game for her at all. Plenty of people ended up spending almost all their time in the woods building up the settlements, fighting bandit gangs, and extending the civilized area. There was more than enough content out there to keep them occupied for years. But for whatever reason she¡¯d decided to join a Nexus Guild and try her hand at the high-level storyline. So now it was time to find out how she reacted with the training wheels off. She looked around at the torn concrete and rebar like she expected monsters to leap out at her at any second. As far as he knew, this was her first trip into the old Downtown. ¡°It¡¯s okay, relax,¡± he said. ¡°Anything bad is in there, I promise.¡± He pointed to the darkened doorway of the ruins. Number two, $ilent**Death, was a sharpshooter, level 11. Sharpshooter was the first stage in the ranged DPS skill tree that could branch out into anything from Atomics Guy to Psionic Assassin. So the standard choice for anyone who wanted to make stuff die from a safe distance. Almost any of which were good party choices for a deep run into the Nexus. He was wiry and tense, and didn¡¯t chatter much. Peter got the feeling he might be a bit older IRL. Which was the opposite of number three. A Brawler, level 11, who had been yammering nonstop in the transport until Peter had to tell him to shut up and listen. Everyone was paying for lessons from Major Carnage, after all. #.Muscle_Man.# jumped down from the transport and laughed. ¡°Alright!¡± he boomed. ¡°Show me where to start killing things!¡± Brawler was the physical melee damage starting class of choice for boneheads. Lots of moves, decent damage output, and pretty showy from the start. It could range out to some seriously punishing hand-to-hand roles, but it was also one of the more complicated starting classes. So it needed people who were decent with the game somatics. But it usually attracted the noisy ones. Of course boneheads had their uses now and then. ¡°Sssh!¡± Avanya_Lee3 hissed at him. Peter threw himself into his Major Carnage persona again. Got to work for the money, he thought. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said the Major. ¡°The ghouls aren¡¯t stupid. They always post sentries. I¡¯m sure they all know we¡¯re here by now.¡± ¡°The Horde, you mean,¡± Avanya_Lee3 corrected him. The Major smirked. He wondered if everything she knew came from the official lore. ¡°Nobody calls them that,¡± he said, and tried to soften it with a grin. ¡°The Cursed Horde is the lore name, but just ghouls is fine.¡± ¡°Great. Good to know what to call them,¡± said #.Muscle_Man.#. He was looking all over and bouncing on the balls of his feet. ¡°Can we start the actual training now? Where the ghouls at?¡± $ilent**Death rolled his eyes and did a once-over on his weapon. He¡¯s careful, that¡¯s a good quality, the Major thought. He had a good feeling about that one. This wasn¡¯t exactly a high-threat situation. After all, Peter wouldn¡¯t get a lot of return business if he took his newbs out where they¡¯d be over their heads. They were all relatively safe, particularly since Peter was wearing full armor with a powered exoskeleton and even a personal flight pack on his back. He was overgeared, but he was putting on a bit of a show for the clients. Plus if it came down to it he could destroy anything they were likely to find around here with barely a second thought. But they were also far enough from the safe zone to freak out the new players a bit. Driving in the transport, he¡¯d given his standard lecture, laying out the kinds of high-level creatures you found as you got closer to the Nexus - mutant animals and plants, Singularity Fanatics, Free Tribe Raiders, Wildmen, Biomorphs and even the legendary creatures that started to show up deep inside the Nexus zone. Most of it was straight from the lore, but he gave them a few tips from experience too. #.Muscle_Man.# looked tuned out for most of it, but the others listened carefully, obviously meaning to get their money¡¯s worth. The ruins around here were perfect for impressing the new players, since the horizon wasn¡¯t blocked at all. You could see all the way to the remains of downtown Chicago. Some smashed remnants of the L made a picket nearby, heading away into the distance. The eerie glow of the Nexus was visible even in daylight. They were just a few kilometers from the edge. Tall spires of shattered skyscrapers pointed towards the sky from somewhere inside it, but of course nobody had ever gotten really close to the center yet. Push too far in that direction and even the Major would be in trouble if he¡¯d been on his own.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. More than a few expeditions had tried to go all the way down to the center, only to get their asses handed to them. You had to hand it to Axiom, they had a long-term plan for content. ¡°Look at that!¡± said #.Muscle_Man.#, pointing towards the Nexus. ¡°There it is! I can¡¯t wait to get down there and kick some ass!¡± The Major nodded. ¡°This is step one. First you kick some ghoul¡¯s asses.¡± ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± Avanya_Lee3 said. She was obviously going to need tending. ¡°I¡¯ll take point, Muscle Man next to me, ready to go, okay? Watch out for traps. Avanya, you stay close to Silent D, and watch our backs and your own. Make sure nothing decides to try to flank us.¡± $ilent**Death nodded and Avanya_Lee3 stood by him, looking around nervously. She had a light rifle and a sidearm - standard Medic arms at her level. He¡¯d have to talk to her about upgrading that stuff asap. ¡°Most of all relax, okay?¡± the Major said. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be too tough. We¡¯re having fun.¡± It was unlikely they¡¯d run into anything serious around here. It was well-trodden ground, and ghouls took time to show up in large numbers after they¡¯d been routed. He¡¯d be surprised if they ran into more than scattered loners. But of course even a few of them would be trouble for a bunch of first timers. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± They followed him into the ruin, or at least the other two did. #.Muscle_Man.# was right beside him, itching for a fight. ¡°I¡¯ve only got like 200 points to level up,¡± he said. ¡°All I need is one ghoul!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get it, don¡¯t worry,¡± the Major said. He was a bit worried about keeping the kid on a leash, though. The big foyer looked empty. It had been some kind of office building, and there were several doors leading off. The Major pointed at one. He could pick up sounds that way, for sure. Definitely ghouls. More than two. I¡¯ll try to lure one out. Without any warning there was a crash, and a ghoul rushed out of a doorway at them, swinging a bent piece of rebar. It shrieked and dove straight for #.Muscle_Man.#. Well isn¡¯t that convenient. ¡°Shit!¡± the kid yelped, but to his credit he didn¡¯t run. He jumped at it and delivered a flurry of blows that knocked the thing to the floor. The Major gestured at $ilent**Death. The sharpshooter was ready. A shot cracked and the ghoul screamed. Gut shot. It scrambled back across the floor and through the door into the darkness beyond leaving a bright red blood trail behind it. ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± #.Muscle_Man.# yelled, and without a look back he ran after it. ¡°Wait!¡± the Major shouted, but it was no use. The kid was already gone. Nothing to do but try to keep him from hurting himself. He followed and signaled for the others to take up his rear. The first thing he noticed in the next room was that the floor had caved in from above. He didn¡¯t see any obvious threat though, and #.Muscle_Man.# was locked in battle with the wounded ghoul. The Major walked over intending the one-shot the mob and then give him a lecture about not running off on his own. That was the plan anyway, until the shrieks of a dozen ghouls suddenly filled the room. He looked up in time to see a whole crowd of the creatures leaping down from the floor above. Were we just played? He didn¡¯t have time to worry about it. Suddenly there were three ghouls wrapped around him, tearing at his armor, trying to pry it open. He smashed in the head of the one nearest to his hand with one swipe of his fist and then grabbed for the one that was on his back. He heard a scream and looked over. Two more were on top of Avanya_Lee3. Her rifle had been knocked away and she was scrabbling to pull out her sidearm. Meanwhile $ilent**Death was backed up against a wall and fumbling with his rifle, trying to aim at one of them. ¡°Stay focused! Calm and steady!¡± he yelled. The Sharpshooter gave him a blank look for a fraction of a second and then brought up his rifle again, aiming for the one of the ghouls that was on Avanya_Lee3. Her health was already at fifteen percent. ¡°Damn it,¡± the Major muttered and tried to run for her. A ghoul had a grip on his legs and he barely moved. Should have powered up. That was an oversight. But before he could turn on the exoskeleton¡¯s power, he saw Avanya_Lee3¡¯s health turn black. Too late. There was no time to rez her right now, though. He flicked on his suit¡¯s power and heard the whine that meant he could kick his way through a concrete wall with ease. $ilent**Death finally got a shot off and one ghoul¡¯s head vaporized. The other one jumped up from the floor and leaped at him, screaming. He fired wildly and managed to not hit the creature a single time before it was on top of him. The Major glanced over at #.Muscle_Man.#. His Brawler skills had been overwhelmed and he was under a whole writhing pile of ghouls. His health collapsed and went black as well. Damn damn damn. Not how a professional session should go. This kind of screwup could damage his reputation. He needed to rez everyone and sit them all down for a serious talk about party discipline. He leaped for $ilent**Death and killed another ghoul while the Sharpshooter fired into the crowd that surrounded the two of them. At least there¡¯s one semi-competent student here. Time to get serious. The Major brought up his plasma rifle and held the trigger down, wasting energy like crazy but vaporizing ghouls one after another. ¡°Keep shooting!¡± he shouted at $ilent**Death. Suddenly there was another sound - one the Major didn¡¯t recognize. It was a weird, warbling chatter. It almost sounded like words. He looked up and some kind of Aberrant ghoul was staring down at him from the floor above. It wore a blue shirt and had something hanging around its neck that glowed. Not good. There was no time to worry about what kind of aberrant it was. He changed his direction of fire and seared a trail into the walls tracking up towards the creature. At the same time it threw something down into the room. Grenade. ¡°Down!¡± he yelled and dove for the floor. But $ilent**Death wasn¡¯t as fast on the uptake, and in any case he wasn¡¯t wearing armor that would have absorbed much of the blast. His health was at 30% and when it went off he went straight to black while the Major only dropped a dozen points. Lost them all. Not an optimal outcome. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about taking care of the kiddies now, and he could show them all how a pro does things. They¡¯d all be watching, and if he gave them a show they might be more inclined to believe this had been their fuckup and not his. He jumped up and threw his empty plasma rifle to the floor. He shrugged the pulse rifle off his back, kicked away a last living ghoul that jumped up at him, blew a hole in its chest, then aimed up for the creature that had thrown the grenade. It was already halfway down into the room. It grinned at him and held up a long, jagged sliver of metal, polished to a shine. Fat lot of good that¡¯s going to do you. But the creature turned and scampered into the next room before he could even pull the trigger. No way. You are not getting away. He ran through the doorway, fully expecting to find a bunch more of them in there as well. Instead, he crashed through the floor and down into some kind of pit. A trap. This is not my day. At the bottom he had just enough time to notice something white and circular with a flashing yellow light. It was about six inches from his face. Four status displays on his HUD went bright red instantly. Shit¡­ He started to give the command that would have rocketed him straight upwards about fifty feet without the slightest regard for any floors or ceilings in the way. It was a damage-heavy maneuver but perfect for sudden exits. Unfortunately there was no time at all. He barely got the first syllable out before the device exploded and shot a iridescent shaft of light straight through his head. His field of view went red. I bought it too. Oh my god how embarrassing. Chapter 1.5 The second half of the twenty first century started out with such promise. It was a shame how it all ended up going so wrong, so quickly. The decades of turmoil between the nations of the new multipolar world were finally settling down into a balance of power. Something like peace was spreading. A renewed era of prosperity was on the horizon. But then one dry August day in 2077, with both North America and Europe locked in a heatwave that seemed like it would go on forever, the grim rows of legacy ICBMs in their silos on both continents roared to life without warning or explanation. While politicians worldwide scrambled to understand what was happening, the old Russian and American nuclear fleets launched themselves skyward and traced arcs of doom through the stratosphere. The crew of a trawler off of northern Greenland watched in wonder as the filigree of sunlit exhaust plumes stretched through the sky overhead. For the former superpowers there wasn¡¯t any time to react, and it wasn¡¯t possible to call the missiles back in any case. Faced with the worst possible scenario, dusty contingency plans activated from Beijing to Islamabad, from Jerusalem to Paris. There was no time to think - it was use them or lose them for their own nuclear arsenals.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. In ninety minutes it was all over. No one will ever know the casualty figures, but they were certainly terrible. What came next was worse. The dreaded fires and dust clouds brought on winter early, and with the centers of civilization destroyed, hunger followed closely. The darkness lasted for nearly five years, and when the clouds finally dissipated they revealed a world that had been savaged beyond recognition. There would have been something new to see as well, if anyone had been left to look down at it. There was a strange glow in the ruins of cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Moscow, London, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, and a dozen others. The worst of the radiation should have been largely decayed by that point - but instead an eerie green light lit up the shattered skeletons of the great skyscrapers. New things moved among the ruins. The few scavengers who managed to come back from the edges of the zones - the Nexus - said there were creatures in there never seen by men before. Can the scattered remains of humanity take back their lands and rebuild civilization? They live in a strange new world, but who murdered the old one, and why? Is this even their world at all now? Introduction, Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 2.0 Damn it! Peter lay in the red mist of the death display and fumed. It happened to everyone of course, but it had been a long, long time since he had woken up in the medical bay at home. It was a point of pride for him. Everyone else got taken out on a raid now and then, and even a fully equipped level 90 wasn¡¯t immune. But I¡¯m as close as anyone to freaking deathproof. There was something doubly insulting about winding up in a medical bed for him, of course. It was one of the things that had pushed him from early on to be better - more careful, more informed, more stealthy - than anyone else. What really hurt was the stupidly random nature of the whole thing. Apart from that Aberrant, there hadn¡¯t been a single mob there who should have been able to touch him. That mine was way too high-level for them, so it must have been just bad luck. He hadn¡¯t seen a blip on his HUD. Not a thing. It had to be bad luck. The Horde are basically animals, they don¡¯t lure players into traps. But why hadn¡¯t his gear picked anything up at all? That didn¡¯t make sense¡­ unless. That had to be it. They had been just five kilometers from the edge of the Nexus itself. Somehow everyone had missed a piece of Transcendent-Level tech. It was literally the only thing that had a hope of sneaking past the systems on his suit. Stumbling into the pit had been just a stupid accident. There¡¯s no way Horde filth could set up a trap - and not with something like that. If he¡¯d had a chance he might have been able to get an engineer out to try defusing the thing. It would have been worth a fortune. I need to get a decent party together and do a deep search up there again. You never knew what else might be lying around undiscovered. T-level tech was mysterious stuff. The lore behind it was sketchy, but it was special. The other finds he knew about were all located closer to the Nexus. Transcendent tech gear was massively better than any other pre-war gear and always had some kind of unique bonus effect tied to it. One item - any item at all - could easily buy a player their own mansion. And if there¡¯s anything else there it¡¯s going to be mine. All mine. That much at least he could salvage out of the clusterfuck he¡¯d just been part of. The wipe meant the party was dissolved of course. His three clients would all be raising in their communal medical bays somewhere out in the wilderness by now. He needed to prioritize damage control. Losing a whole party and then having them watch him get killed was just bad press all around. He had to offer them something really nice to make up for it. It¡¯s not like he was hurting for gear. He could afford to give each of them something special, then take them out again and do it properly this time. The mist finally thinned out and he got ready to start barking orders at his house system as soon as he could jump out of bed. But instead seeing familiar walls, he was staring up at a dull grey ceiling. What gives? This was not normal. He sat up with a jolt and looked around. He was in a room with no doors or windows. It was all dull concrete, floor to ceiling. Apart from his bed there were only two gray metal folding chairs, facing each other near the opposite wall. ¡°Where the hell am I?¡± he said out loud. The sound of his voice echoed strangely. He gestured up his command panel. What the... He suddenly felt a streak of fear. Everything was gone. All his customization. His macros. Everything! The panel in front of him was the new player default. He hadn¡¯t seen it in ages. His configuration alone represented hours and hours of work. He barely had to think about what he wanted to do. A quick voice command, a couple of gestures, and he could do anything from upgrading a weapon to making tactical orders to a party. Being without it made him feel naked. But more to the point, what did it mean? He¡¯d never, ever encountered this before. He looked down at his body. Just a plain gray tunic and pants. Scrub-level newb gear. Had his account been reset? He flicked through the menus to bring up support. He knew for a damn fact that his subscription was solid. It¡¯s not like he had anything else to spend money on. This has to be a glitch. He just needed to get customer support on it. But he hoped it wouldn¡¯t take too long. Everyone else was up again by now. He needed to get in touch with them. He made a mental note to have a serious talk with the Brawler about staying with the group. When he flicked the customer support icon he was greeted with a desultory bleep and a red X. Great, this just gets better and better. He was starting to get legitimately nervous. What if something was genuinely borked with his account or his hardware? It¡¯s not like he had anything much to do if he had to log out entirely for hours. Or days. God forbid. I need to get this fixed. At least the diagnostics still ran. He set it for a full software and hardware scan, then brought up an email screen. Email. I might as well send frigging smoke signals. But part of him wanted to see if even that was broken. He really hoped not. He started typing out his situation, trying to stay calm. ¡°Mister Phillips,¡± said a voice. Peter¡¯s head jerked up. A man was standing at the foot of his bed. He was dressed like a regular IRL office guy - business casual, short hair, no tattoos or body tech. He had a serious face and serious dark glasses. And he knew Peter¡¯s real name. ¡°Are you from Customer Support?¡± Peter said. The man nodded very slightly. ¡°I¡¯m from Axiom,¡± he said. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, I promise you that you¡¯re safe.¡± A wave of relief flooded through Peter¡¯s body. He hadn¡¯t even realized how tense he¡¯d been until that moment. ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± he said. ¡°I can¡¯t access anything. My menu is all messed up.¡± ¡°Sorry if we worried you,¡± the man said. He went over and sat down with a creak on one of the folding chairs. ¡°All your customization is archived. There¡¯s no cause for concern.¡± Peter sat up and swung his legs down onto the floor. He hadn¡¯t had to deal with regular people in a real life context for a long time. His mind scrambled for the right way of behaving. No bluster or threats meant anything here. His rank was just a couple of digits to this guy. I¡¯m getting out of practice at this. He should probably do something about that. ¡°Um, thanks,¡± he said. ¡°Is there a problem with my account?¡± The man waved it away. ¡°Not at all! My name is Paul Weller, I¡¯m VP of Interactive Content at Axiom. I wanted to have a chat with you. Please, have a seat.¡± He gestured at the other chair. VPIC! This guy was a legitimate suit. Peter must have seen pictures of Weller at Cons or launches, but he couldn¡¯t place the name or the face at all. He sat down. What else was he going to do? ¡°I¡¯ll come right to the point, Mr. Phillips,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re rolling out a new feature, and we¡¯re looking for the right kind of player to be part of that process.¡± Peter wasn¡¯t even sure what to say. This was a legendary-tier opportunity. All the in-game rewards in the world couldn¡¯t compare to being tagged by Axiom to be the player side of a major feature launch. Nothing else in-game could compete. It would cement him as top tier. He¡¯d be in demand. No more grovelling on newb chat for clients. The back of his mind was already calculating what he needed for a major expansion to his home. He could have a multistory mansion. With a view! And a real workshop, not just a corner full of benches. And a real office. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m speechless,¡± he said. He needed to lock this down, and keeping Weller happy was obviously job number one. ¡°I¡¯d be honored to participate.¡± Weller smiled. ¡°Well that¡¯s great,¡± he said. ¡°But you might want to hear me out first.¡± ¡°Okay, but I can¡¯t imagine any reason I¡¯d say no.¡± Weller¡¯s face was dead serious. ¡°Then let me lay a few out for you,¡± he said. ¡°Um¡­ okay.¡± ¡°Number one, you will lose your current account ID. You¡¯ll disappear from the game entirely.¡± ¡°Really? Is that actually required?¡± Weller¡¯s frown was definitive. ¡°It is.¡± Peter suddenly had an impression of what this guy might be like in actual office politics. He was the real life equivalent of a high level player. The look on Weller¡¯s face sent a chill through him, and he had no doubt at all that he needed to take him seriously. ¡°Well, supposing I still say yes, what else?¡± He needed to hear the upside to such a big sacrifice. There must be one. Weller nodded. ¡°Number two, get used to your default interface, because that¡¯s all you¡¯ll see for a while. You¡¯ll have a total reset. You¡¯ll lose all your bonuses and buffs. Plus all of your experience.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get to keep anything?¡± ¡°Not one thing. You¡¯ll be level 1 again. No inventory. Nada.¡± That was literally years of work gone. So many hours, so much grinding. He had even had a unique ability - Thousand Yard Ear. As far as he knew the game record was three. He¡¯d be letting go of some real status with that. He didn¡¯t even want to think about how much work he¡¯d be throwing away. ¡°That¡¯s pretty harsh,¡± he said. ¡°Why such stringent conditions?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not done,¡± Weller said. ¡°Number three, you won¡¯t be able to tell anyone what¡¯s going on. Like I said, your original account will be closed, and it will appear that you have unsubscribed. But on top of that nobody is allowed to know about this. You can¡¯t brag about it.¡± In game, fine. Can¡¯t stop me from telling people about it offline. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Weller interrupted him as if he¡¯d seen Peter¡¯s thoughts. ¡°You know what an NDA is?¡± ¡°Non-disclosure agreement,¡± Peter said. ¡°It means I can¡¯t tell anyone about what¡¯s going on or else I¡¯ll get sued or something.¡± ¡°Or something,¡± Weller said. ¡°Including permanent closure of all accounts and a full ban. The legal department puts together some fairly drastic clauses. You¡¯ll have a chance to review them.¡± ¡°Yikes. So what do I get for such a sacrifice?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯ll be a critical player component of a new feature that we¡¯re planning to implement. We went through all of the logs and you¡¯re in a class with very few others in terms of your in-game experience.¡± That buffed his pride just a bit. It¡¯s not like he had much choice of course, but he wasn¡¯t going to make an issue of it. ¡°Thanks. Is that all though?¡± ¡°Based on your experience I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have much problem getting leveled up and running your own¡­ organization. But you¡¯ll be at the top of the ladder. One of the first players in the new expansion.¡± ¡°So there¡¯s other players already involved?¡± Weller put a finger to his lips. ¡°We haven¡¯t signed anything at this point, so I can¡¯t say anything about that.¡± Peter sat back in the chair. Not even user number one. Meh. ¡°But I¡¯d have to start all over again just the same.¡± ¡°There will be real-life compensation involved. We don¡¯t expect you to do this for nothing. You¡¯d be signed on as an Axiom contracter. Your subscription comped permanently. Plus an honorarium for your technical work on the rollout. We¡¯re thinking a $75,000 payout at a one-year term.¡± Money. Great. I¡¯m sure that will come in handy. ¡°But you can¡¯t tell me what I¡¯d actually be doing?¡± ¡°Not without your full signoff on the agreement. But it¡¯s unique. It¡¯s going to add a major new component to gameplay. You¡¯ll be able to affect the world in ways you never could before.¡± ¡°Really brand new? Not some lame new armor or trading system?¡± Weller smirked at him. ¡°No, I think it will be a lot better than that. In fact I¡¯m confident that it will change the game permanently. We¡¯ll probably have to retcon the lore to accommodate everything, honestly.¡± ¡°And all I have to do is sign on the dotted line?¡± ¡°Pretty much. We can get you started right away. Though you should be prepared to spend some time stumbling around and getting your bearings.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to do it after all?¡± Weller shrugged. ¡°If you say no, we still don¡¯t want you talking about this. We¡¯re prepared to offer you some fairly nice bonuses in exchange for an NDA on that front.¡± ¡°And if I just say no, and walk away instead?¡± Weller sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s not have it come to that, okay? We¡¯ll give you some good stuff if you promise not to talk. If you don¡¯t promise, what can I say? It¡¯s probably not the wisest decision.¡± ¡°Is that a threat?¡± Weller shook his head. ¡°Of course not! This is a serious professional offer. I¡¯m just advising you to make a decision that¡¯s obviously to your own benefit.¡± But not a muscle moved in his face and he was staring at Peter like a lion watching a lame gazelle. Which isn¡¯t really far off from the truth. I need to step carefully. He felt like some of his in-game senses were working again. He was faced with an overpowered boss. He needed to use his own resources to come away with something to show for it apart from getting one-shotted. Fair didn¡¯t enter into the equation. He needed to weigh this carefully. He closed his eyes and focused. So here it is. Total reset to a new class of player, lose all my stuff, build up from zero all over again. On the positive side, no subscription again ever. Plus some extra cash. Whoopee. A contractor relationship with Axiom. That could be interesting. Or constricting. Negatives? My personal status bump never happens. Can never happen, not with my old account. Nobody knows. And I lose everything for the chance to get in early - but apparently not first - on something new. On the other hand, I pretend we never had this talk and I get some freebies for keeping my mouth shut. There was only one sensible answer. He opened his eyes. Weller was still watching him carefully. ¡°Look,¡± he said. ¡°I appreciate¡­¡± Weller held up his hand. ¡°One more thing. And honestly it¡¯s the main thing.¡± I feel like I¡¯m bartering with a Merchant. Which he was, of course. ¡°I¡¯m just not sure if it¡¯s for me,¡± Peter said. Weller¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°This last part might be. We do our research on people before we make offers. It¡¯s pretty important that we know who we¡¯re dealing with. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± Peter¡¯s face froze. ¡°And?¡± he said. But he didn¡¯t have any doubt. They knew. It was the one thing he tried to keep away from his online life. One place he didn¡¯t have to think about it. ¡°We have people who find things out for us. Scouts, basically. We can¡¯t just walk into business situations blind. That¡¯s bad tactics, no?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Peter said. He felt sick. Violated. Weller frowned at him. ¡°It¡¯s not like we couldn¡¯t guess, anyway. There aren¡¯t many other reasons for being continuously online to the extent your logs indicate. I¡¯m sorry about your situation Peter. Honestly. It¡¯s awful.¡± Peter couldn¡¯t tell if the look of sympathy on Weller¡¯s face had any connection with reality. But he didn¡¯t care. A dark anger was rising up inside of him. ¡°You should probably send me back right now,¡± he said coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll sign your NDA or whatever. But we should do it right away, before I tell you to go fuck yourself.¡± Weller sighed. ¡°I have a son,¡± he said. ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯m actually sympathetic. If I imagine him in the same position¡­¡± He shook his head and looked up at Peter with a different expression. ¡°Hear me out, please. Axiom is part of a larger corporate family. Which includes a pharma group in China. We took this to the board, Peter. There¡¯s a new suite of stem cell treatments just coming online. Neural, skin, musculature, optics, everything. Full regeneration. We can get you into a clinic. The baseline cost to the corp is actually pretty small.¡± Peter stared at him. ¡°Once the ramp-up is done and everything is working in the game, we¡¯ll have you flown to Shenzhen. They¡¯ll give you the full series. At the end of a one year commitment, same as the contract payout.¡± Peter was torn between wanting to punch Weller in the face for having the gall to bring this up - to spy on him and just start talking about this like he had a right - and a sudden surge of emotion that he couldn¡¯t place at first. Until he realized it was hope. He balled his hands up into fists. ¡°If you¡¯re fucking with me...¡± he growled. He didn¡¯t know how to end that sentence. There wasn¡¯t anything he could actually do to Weller. Not here, and certainly not in real life. Weller sighed again and put his hand out, laying it on Peter¡¯s shoulder. Peter flinched away from the contact. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he said quietly. ¡°We will get you the full series. You can have your body back.¡± A long window filled with legal text appeared in front of him. There was a field at the bottom for him to acknowledge his acceptance. ¡°Normally we¡¯d go for a full real life signature, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of the provisions for patients in your situation.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t sign anything without arms anyway, so yeah,¡± Peter said bitterly. Weller nodded. ¡°You should read through this all carefully. I can give you as long as you like. Your account is locked to this room until you decide one way or another though, so you won¡¯t be able to go anywhere else in game until this is resolved.¡± ¡°Anything you haven¡¯t mentioned so far?¡± ¡°NDA, game reset, just like I said. But we will require access to your medical records and a signoff to provide you with some upgraded gear. Various medical provisions. There¡¯s a certain amount of liability involved in dealing with someone in your situation. I¡¯m sure you can appreciate that.¡± They just didn¡¯t let up. Suddenly Axiom was going to know everything about him? ¡°My medical records?¡± ¡°Because of the gear. We need to know about the current condition of your body and how that might affect things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a crispy critter, okay? Armless, legless, all scar tissue. No eyes. One ear kind of works. It¡¯s a minor miracle that the game hardware works for me. There anything else you need?¡± Weller sighed. ¡°We have medical professionals who are ready to set you up with the upgraded gear, Peter. Nobody else will know anything about this. We will take care of everything with the staff at your facility. Everything about you and your situation becomes confidential Axiom information. I swear.¡± He stared at the form, trying to read it carefully, but his mind kept skipping away and back to the idea of actual real-world help. One day, they¡¯d told him. One day it will be possible. He¡¯d always suspected they were hoping it was true just as much as he was. As far as he could tell the agreement was just what Weller had said, but in legalese. It was very long. ¡°What¡¯s the upgrade?¡± he said. It was easier to focus on the game specifics. Weller looked like he wasn¡¯t listening to Peter at all, but then he snapped his attention back. ¡°Oh, all our latest hardware updates. You¡¯re getting the good stuff. We need to test this out with an optimal configuration for now. Consider it a bonus.¡± ¡°Lucky me,¡± Peter said. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± Weller said. ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re locked out of the real world through no fault of your own. Nobody questions why you¡¯re living online. But you aren¡¯t in a guild. Pretty short friends list. You run a solo business training new players.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°It seems strange is all.¡± ¡°I tried a few guilds. All the drama just isn¡¯t for me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just something I didn¡¯t really understand. Your progress has been a lot slower than someone in a regular guild. You know as well as I do the kinds of bonuses you¡¯re not getting.¡± Peter sighed. ¡°I like a challenge. This is a business discussion, yeah? Can we keep my personal life out of it?¡± Weller looked like he wanted to say more, but he nodded. ¡°Fair enough. Do you want to have some time to think about it? Log out, and we can meet here again tomorrow?¡± It¡¯s not like I really have a choice. What¡¯s the alternative? Stay online forever, and maybe one day another chance like this will come along? It was a roll of the dice. He shook his head. ¡°No point. What else am I supposed to do?¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re willing to be part of this program?¡± Peter nodded. ¡°I¡¯m in. I¡¯m your man. Sign me up.¡± Weller leaned in. ¡°It¡¯s the right call, Peter. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re willing to work with us.¡± Peter typed his name on the dotted line. Weller stood up the second he was done. ¡°Outstanding! Thank you again Peter. I¡¯ll be in touch.¡± ¡°In touch? What about¡­¡± Weller vanished without another word. ¡°Wait, come back!¡± Peter yelled at the walls. Then the room vanished. There was a low throbbing sound, and he floated in darkness listening to it. What the hell? This is the part where you give me the details! There was nobody to complain at though, just the throbbing dark. He still had a basic HUD with user controls, at least. It was not an auspicious start. He decided he would just log out and get in touch with Axiom from home. He had a nice enough little home space organized - it was one of the first things Ken the Therapist at Holy Family had helped him with. From what he could tell the actual facility was a bog-standard, slightly run down extended care place. But of course that was completely irrelevant online. The government server provided him with full somatics and environmental simulation. It was all state of the art for locked-in patients like him. If he couldn¡¯t have the real world, they were willing to provide him with a pretty nice fantasy. He had to give them that much. It was a little cabin in the mountains, near a lake full of fish. Birds and deer all over. He could hike for miles in any direction, go horseback riding, skiing, swimming, jogging, and any other approved therapeutic activity that some committee somewhere had agreed on. It was nice enough really, but it had taken about two months before he started to go batshit insane. Convincing the administration - and his caseworker - to divert some of his monthlies towards a game subscription had taken weeks. It had involved an actual god damned IRL meeting that he had to attend by teleconference. But in the end he got his way. It¡¯s not like his assigned home was such a terrible place, but he needed to interact with real people; people who had bad attitudes and irritating personalities, mainly as a relief from all the approved supportive therapy and relentlessly upbeat therapist chatter. Therapy which was designed by people who had no idea - no idea at all - what it meant to be permanently divorced from the world and from any realistic hope for a future. Technically it was still possible for him to get work - he was the ultimate telecommuter after all - but nobody seemed to have the heart to tell him to go find a damn job. He¡¯d never dreamed of being an office drone to begin with, and he sure as shit wasn¡¯t going to be a telecommuting firefighter. Even his case worker eventually had trouble finding reasons for him not to spend all of his time in-game. But in the end, most of all, it had made him into one less item on the list of things they had to worry about every day, so they quietly bumped him down to background priority and mainly left him alone. To his endless relief. So now he could go home and sit on his couch, read the forums, and send Axiom a nasty message to get back to him before he decided he¡¯d been misled into signing a contract he didn¡¯t understand. Maybe even taken advantage of big a heartless big corp! In his case there were a million ways to work the that angle, really. He flicked the logout. Nothing happened. He checked everything, did another reset, and tried again. Nothing. ¡°Damn it,¡± he muttered. How was it even possible to prevent him from logging out? Axiom was just asking for trouble. He sent another email, carefully and politely worded, to Axiom support asking that they please resolve whatever the hell was going on without any delay. It disappeared into the ether without fanfare. He was trapped. This was a first. He poked around with the interface to no effect for a long time, and eventually gave up. He floated in the darkness. It went on for what seemed like hours. Nothing moved, and there was no light. What the hell have I gotten myself into? He was wishing he¡¯d actually spent more time reading the agreement they¡¯d given to him. Can¡¯t say they didn¡¯t offer me the chance. Then without warning he was sitting on his ass in a square full of broken concrete and rusted metal. He looked around, and knew the place instantly. The greenish glow in the sky, and the towering skeletons of skyscrapers made it obvious that he was somewhere close to the Nexus. Probably farther in than he had ever been before. The Nexus? If I¡¯m starting level again then why am I here? But with one look down at the ground and at his skinny legs, drooping skin, and ragged clothes, he knew exactly why he was there. A ghoul. I¡¯m a damn ghoul. ¡°Perfect,¡± he muttered. ¡°Just perfect.¡± The crunching of footsteps on broken glass behind him sent a chill down his spine. And I¡¯m going to get killed in the first thirty seconds. I wonder if I just rez back here? He turned to look, and a towering Hunter ghoul was staring down at him. He would have needed a whole party of high-level players to take it on. But here he was all on his lonesome. The creature outleveled him to an absurd extent. The thing¡¯s eyes glowed, and it had talons as long as Peter¡¯s entire hand. But it didn¡¯t attack. Instead it just cocked its head and gave him a lopsided grin. ¡°Just like I thought,¡± it rasped, and then made a gurgling, chuckling noise. ¡°You screwed up bigtime kid,¡± it said. ¡°Welcome to hell.¡± Chapter 2.5 The Desolate Horde The Horde appeared not long after the clouds parted and the sun finally shone through again. They came in their millions, infesting the ruins of the cities. They are shattered creatures, obviously part-human, but also partly something else never seen on Earth before. What made them is unknown, but they are easily the most common mob on the outskirts of the Nexus. You will usually find them in small groups or sometimes in larger clusters run by powerful, high-level Horde leaders. They are weak one-on-one, but their strength lies in numbers. They will swamp the unwary explorer and bury him in a writhing tide of mutant flesh. The average member of the Horde is stupid, but be wary of the higher level ones. They can plan, and watch for weaknesses in your party. There are rumors of Horde clusters deeper into the Nexus that are almost like small cities, where high-level Horde leaders rule, and where the Aberrant Horde are created.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. You should be on the lookout for the truly terrifying Aberrant Horde creatures: so far, the Reavers, the deranged Flayer Packs, the Biomech Horde, and the terrible Lone Hunters are all known, but there are probably more. These are all powerful mobs, and dealing with them takes experience and cunning. They are rare, but take some time to learn what they look like so that you know when to just run away. Mobs Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 3.0 Peter stood up. His ghoul body didn¡¯t feel very different from the ordinary player somatics. ¡°Are you¡­ I know there are some other players in the beta. Are you human?¡± The Hunter ghoul smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth in a mouth that sizzled with radioactive heat. ¡°Something like that. Beta testing. Is that the line they gave you?¡± It snorted and scanned the wreckage around them, like it was looking for something. For a moment it seemed to forget that he was there. But there were things Peter needed to know. ¡°What do you mean? They¡¯re not testing a new player class? What are we doing here?¡± The creature¡¯s long, lumpy shoulders rolled in a sinuous wave that might have been a shrug. ¡°Who knows? It doesn¡¯t matter to me any more. I keep myself entertained.¡± It burst out in a shrieking laugh that made Peter cringe. It sounded insane and dangerous. He took a step backward. It advanced on him in unison. ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not a threat,¡± it said. Peter didn¡¯t want to provoke it so he stayed where he was, but he was uncomfortably aware that he was still in range of those long arms and razor-sharp talons. Hang on, why am I even worried? He¡¯d started treating this like a player talking to a dangerous mob. He was a mob now too. He stopped and held up his hand to the thing. ¡°Wait, wait. I met with the VPIC from Axiom. Paul Weller. Signed an agreement. Is that what you did?¡± He wanted to get all the information he could from this guy, but something seemed very off about him. He seems nuts. It snorted. ¡°I think I met with those assholes yeah. It¡¯s all scrambled now. They¡¯ll promise you whatever you want to hear.¡± It shook its head and grinned again. Peter spoke slowly and clearly. ¡°I was told this is a beta test of a new game mode.¡± He held up his ragged arms. ¡°Obviously ghouls are a playable class now, right? Is that what they told you?¡± The creature shuddered and sniffed at the air. It didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention to the thread of the conversation Peter was trying to have with it. ¡°Wish I could help you kid. But I can¡¯t. Get used to it. No help for anyone out here.¡± ¡°Okay, look,¡± Peter said. He was getting frustrated with the thing. It if got pissed off and lopped his head off it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to lose much. ¡°You said I screwed up. Why? What¡¯s really going on?¡± It leaned in and showed him a mouthful of teeth. ¡°We¡¯re stuck, that¡¯s all. If I knew any way out do you think I¡¯d be hanging around here with you?¡± Then it straightened up and shrugged again. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll get lucky. Someone has to.¡± ¡°Sorry, can you be a little clearer? I don¡¯t want to be a jerk but I just got dumped into this blind. Where are the¡­¡± Without any warning it grabbed Peter¡¯s shoulders and picked him up off the ground. ¡°Hey!¡± he yelped. ¡°Quiet!¡± the Hunter ghoul growled. It bounded over to the nearest shattered concrete wall and leaped over it, landing with a crunch in the debris. ¡°Smell Raiders,¡± it hissed. ¡°Good chance for you.¡± It pushed him down so that he was crouching beside it. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± he whispered. The creature gave him a crazy grin. ¡°Tear them apart! You too!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we do? Just spend our time killing each other?¡± It stared at him blankly then looked away again. ¡°Nothing stopping you from teaming up. But these guys are practice. Time to learn. Look!¡± Something was moving. A couple of heads were bobbing towards them, down a torn and shattered road. Just Raiders. He couldn¡¯t get a read on their levels yet. Wait, what are my stats? He was doing this all backwards. Put it down to shock, but the way he was acting wouldn¡¯t have impressed Major Carnage one bit. He flicked his default HUD. Level 1. Like the man said. It wasn¡¯t a promising start. He had literally nothing. Slightly enhanced strength, and a one-handed +1 bonus, same with sneak. It was something at least, but that was about it. Literally everything else was base level. ¡°These stats are shit.¡± The Hunter growled and sniffed at the air again, whipping it¡¯s head left and right, then looked at him again and smiled a big, twisted grin. ¡°You¡¯re newb fodder. You want to get better, you¡¯ll have to survive.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even have a weapon!¡± The creature pulled something out of the rags it wore. It was a bent piece of rebar. Peter grimaced and took the thing. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything better?¡± he said. He didn¡¯t want to be ungrateful, but part of him resented having such garbage starting gear. The Hunter ghoul didn¡¯t respond. It was watching the two Raiders approaching with eager eyes. The Raider Free Tribes were remnants of the people who¡¯d managed to scrape through the dark years by a combination of merciless warfare and cannibalism. They existed outside of normal human society. Most of them lived short, brutal lives in loose groups scattered throughout the world, collecting scrap to forge into weapons and armor. They were always at war with other tribes, and jumping players for their gear when they thought they could get away with it. Keeping them away from settlements was pretty standard work for low-level players. There were lots of quest chains that involved things like rescuing hostages and recovering tech upgrades from them. Of course there were other Raider subtypes - Wildmen, for instance, who were purely animalistic and dangerous. Killing them on site was SOP, or else they would do the same to you. But what you really had to watch out for were the Warlords and their bands. They were much more organized, and camped out in fortified settlements far out in the wild lands. Cleaning one of those out could net you some nice gear, but it wasn¡¯t easy. There were even a couple of loose kingdoms, much further out in the scrubland between the cities. Peter hadn¡¯t spent much time out there, but you could forge alliances with some of them, and acting as mercenaries in their own wars was a legitimate playstyle, with its own dedicated guilds. But these two were clearly just generic Free Tribesmen. They weren¡¯t high level, but they were higher than him. One was level 2, the other was level 3. They were talking to each other. He could understand them. Raiders usually only spoke to one another in garbled phrases that weren¡¯t in any known language, though they could stumble through broken standard English (or Mandarin, or French, or Japanese, depending on your server) when they needed to communicate with players. ¡°I smell Horde,¡± one said. ¡°Just stay away from the ruins,¡± said the other. ¡°Find the crystals and get out of here.¡± ¡°Better be worth our time.¡± ¡°Gronak has plans. He¡¯s smart.¡± They stopped just a few meters away. One of them consulted a battered handheld computer. ¡°Supposed to be around here.¡± ¡°You want to¡­¡± The Hunter ghoul leaped up and bounded across the rubble towards them without any warning. ¡°Shit!¡± yelled one of the Raiders. ¡°Look out!¡± They raised their rusty rifles and fired without aiming. Neither shot connected with the Hunter at all and it swiped at the level 3 with claws like daggers. The Raider screamed and went flying backwards, its health bar dropped down to 25%. I guess I should help. Peter jumped up and ran forward. Neither of the Raiders paid him any attention. The Hunter savaged the level 2, ripping his rifle away and decapitating him in one smooth flurry of claws. The second raider looked up and finally saw Peter just as he brought the rebar down on his head. He dropped to 15% and pulled out a knife, stabbing Peter in the leg. Pain arced through him like electricity. God damn! That hurts! It was way worse than usual somatics. Axiom needed to tone that down. He grabbed the knife and twisted away, pulling it from the Raider¡¯s hand. His health dropped to 40%.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. From one knife wound. I really suck. The pain flared again, worse, and he screamed. But at the same time he turned the knife on the Raider and stabbed him through the eye with all his strength. The mob¡¯s health went to zero and he dropped to the ground. Peter¡¯s leg pulsed with arcs of pain, and he flopped down beside his kill. That was when he noticed that his health bar was sickly yellow. ¡°I¡¯m poisoned,¡± he gasped. The Hunter nodded and pocketed the computer, then started pawing through the other Raider¡¯s inventory. ¡°No surprise,¡± it said without looking at him. Peter¡¯s health was dropping alarmingly fast. It was already down to 25%. ¡°You have anything I can use for that?¡± Peter said. The Hunter ghoul seemed to have forgotten all about him and just shook its head no. It was pulling the Raider¡¯s armor off, and piling it up. Twenty percent. I guess I get to find out how rezzing works after all. But he wasn¡¯t going to give up that fast. He pulled open his kill¡¯s inventory. Three clips for the Raider¡¯s rifle. Plus two glass vials. He flicked them both quickly, expecting they would probably be too high-level for him to even identify right now. But instead they both popped up with bright text.
SPEED TIER 1 33% SKILLSPEED INCREASE 30 SECONDS
You can use this to gain an advantage in a fight, but be careful! Multiple doses in a short time are increasingly toxic. You can¡¯t fight if you¡¯re busy puking.
BASIC ANTIDOTE LEVEL 4 CURE POISONING INSTANT
Will instantly cure anything up to a Level 4 toxin, with effectiveness dropping greatly at every tier above that. Then again, something is better than nothing.
¡°No way,¡± he muttered, and drank the antidote without hesitation, then watched his health. Fifteen percent, still yellow. Nope, I¡¯m probably boned. He looked over at the Hunter ghoul. It was stuffing things from the other raider into its own inventory. It didn¡¯t seem interested in Peter at all now. Ten percent. But then his health turned green. ¡°Damn,¡± he muttered. That was one Raider at 25% health. Two at full health would have killed him without breaking a sweat. Status updates started rolling in front of him.
Receive 80XP??
LEVEL 2 UPGRADE Weapon and armor level cap +1 Now Level 3
Kill something, level up. Nice. I promise you it won''t stay that easy, though.
Passive Skills
One-Handed (Melee) +1 Now Level 3
You''re slightly better than you were at one-handed weapons. Very slightly.
Concealment +1 Now Level 3
All your fearful and cowardly sneaking has resulted in a small skill increase. Congrats.
Poison Resistance? 10% Maximum Tier 4
Having survived a poisoning, your body has adapted a bit to toxins. What doesn¡¯t kill you etc. All poisons below Tier 4 and below have 10% reduced DOT.
You have two character points to allocate.
The Hunter ghoul finally stood up and looked at him. ¡°Lucky you,¡± it said. Peter¡¯s health was climbing. Slowly. He was at 12% now. ¡°Did you leave the level 3 for me to take care of?¡± It nodded. ¡°Call it a welcome gift.¡± ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡± He decided he could worry about allocating points when he had a moment free to think about it carefully. He looked through the Raider¡¯s inventory. All of the gear was level 3. Surprisingly, it all showed up solid green. ¡°I can wear this stuff?¡± he said. He was pretty sure he¡¯d never seen a ghoul wearing anything but rags. Though come to think of it, there had been the Aberrant that had led him into a trap. It was wearing some kind of blue outfit. He hadn¡¯t recognized the Horde type at all, though he didn¡¯t have a lot of time to examine it. The Hunter grinned a toothy grin. ¡°Not for free, but yeah,¡± it said and giggled. He took the Raider¡¯s leather jacket and put it on.
Added RAIDER LEVEL 3 SIMPLE LEATHER JACKET
ARMOR +20 (Condition 95%) ARMOR TOTAL 29
BONUS TRANSCENDENT TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY +10 Now Level 10
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION -50% Now -50%; Hostile
REPUTATION RAIDER REPUTATION -100% Now -100%; Enemy
REPUTATION BIOMORPH REPUTATION +5% Now +5%; Neutral
Nobody is going to call it quality gear, but it¡¯s decent leather and the bloodstains are hardly noticeable.
¡°Yikes. Raiders are going to hate me on sight?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t like it when you steal their stuff.¡± "Ghouls will be pretty pissed off too.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not bright. They just attack anything that doesn¡¯t look like a ghoul.¡± "What about you? You''re Horde." "Please. Don''t lump me in with those peasants. I''m not an NPC." Given his low level he didn¡¯t feel like he could afford to just throw away good armor. He could always see about upgrades later. He put on the rest of it.
Added RAIDER LEVEL 3 SIMPLE LEATHER PANTS
ARMOR +10 (Condition 95%) ARMOR TOTAL 38
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION -5% Now -55%; Hostile
REPUTATION RAIDER REPUTATION -10% Now -110%; Enemy
Leather pants match the jacket. You have an ensemble going.
Added RAIDER LEVEL 3 COMBAT BOOTS
ARMOR +10 (Condition 95%) ARMOR TOTAL 47
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION -5% Now -60%; Hostile
REPUTATION RAIDER REPUTATION -10% Now -120%; Enemy
Muddy old boots, but they¡¯re strong enough to keep your toes safe..
Which meant he was running a baseline 120% hate from Raiders and 60% extra hate from other ghouls. I guess I¡¯m not going to be Mr. Popular with anybody just yet. So be it. Nearly fifty armor wasn¡¯t amazing, but it was a hell of a lot better than ghoul rags. He pocketed the skillspeed med as well, and picked up the rifle. When he flicked ID on it, it was solid red. ¡°No joy,¡± he said. ¡°I guess I¡¯m stuck with pointed sticks and things for now?¡± ¡°Find a Biomorph creche. They can fix you up. For a price.¡± The Hunter ghoul took the rifle and ammunition from him, and Peter wasn¡¯t going to argue about it. He tried standing up. His leg didn¡¯t hurt any more, and he could stand without wobbling. Health: 16% I need some kind of home base to hide out and recuperate in. His new Aberrant ghoul friend must have one somewhere, but its body language had changed. It didn¡¯t seem very interested in him any more. But it also seemed a lot more relaxed now than it had been. Killing things makes it calm and happy, I guess. ¡°Listen, thanks again,¡± he said to it. ¡°I¡¯m Peter.¡± He flicked his menu. ¡°And I don¡¯t even have a ghoul name yet. There¡¯s no place to set it.¡± "Ghouls don¡¯t pick their own names. They give you one.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Your clan,¡± it said. It had packed away everything it wanted from the Raiders and Peter got the feeling that it wasn¡¯t planning on sticking around much longer. But there was so much more he needed to know. ¡°Wait, hang on. Axiom. Can we talk about Axiom? They just threw me in here. No explanations. What am I supposed to even do?¡± The Hunter ghoul made another long, sinuous shrug. ¡°I¡¯m not the guy to ask. I think they messed with my memories. I don¡¯t remember much any more.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve altered your memories?¡± That was way, way outside of any user agreement. For the first time Peter felt some fear. He brought up his interface and there was still a logout button at least. He was a little afraid to try hitting it. ¡°Glad I could get you started Peter. Let me know when you get a real name,¡± the Hunter said. It was definitely ready to head out. ¡°Wait, how many other players are there who are¡­ like us now? Do you know the number?¡± He¡¯d never seen an Aberrant actually sigh before, but the creature did it. A shimmer of heat drifted out of the thing¡¯s glowing mouth. ¡°You should probably find her highness, the ghoul bitch queen. They call her Flame Lady. She might know more about that kind of stuff. I don¡¯t worry about it any more.¡± ¡°They have a queen?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s just my name for her. She heads a big clan up that way.¡± He pointed north, towards a cluster of tall ruins. ¡°She¡¯s pretty strong. Learned about Player kills and went nuts. She might turn into a real queen, who knows?¡± ¡°Player kills?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see. You should take out a player as soon as you¡¯re able. I¡¯m sure you can figure it out from there.¡± The Hunter grinned. ¡°I¡¯m John, by the way. I¡¯m pretty sure that was my name. The ghouls call me Shrieker.¡± It started walking away without another word. ¡°Wait!¡± Peter said. ¡°What should I do now?¡± ¡°Find a clan,¡± Shrieker said. He stopped and looked back. ¡°They¡¯re not picky.¡± ¡°How do I become the leader?¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re clan head if the ghouls decide you are¡± ¡°So get better stats and kill the leader?¡± The Hunter ghoul tapped a clawed finger against its temple. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Most ghoul clans are crap anyway. They¡¯re meant to be that way. Long as you don¡¯t run into any of her highness¡¯s minions.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Peter said, ¡°But¡­¡± The creature cut him off. ¡°I need to head out, but listen. Remember this. Don¡¯t trust them. They¡¯re¡­¡± He grimaced and shook his head. ¡°I wish I could remember! This, all of this,¡± - he gestured around at the ruined city - ¡°this is just one level of things. But you¡¯re not getting out again. They¡¯ll blow smoke like crazy, but don¡¯t believe it. Be careful who you trust.¡± He gave Peter a pained look, waved a very definite goodbye, then turned his back and disappeared into the ruins. Peter looked around at the broken concrete and the bodies of the two Raiders. It was starting to get dark. To hell with this. He brought up his menu, stared at the logout button for a moment, and then tapped it. It bleeped and a message appeared.
NEXT LOGOUT ALLOWANCE: 5 HOURS 43 MINUTES (2 HOURS BANKED)
¡°Logout allowance?¡± he said out loud. ¡°What the fuck is a logout allowance?¡± He stared at the panel blankly. It seemed to be saying that in about six hours, he could log out for two hours. ¡°The hell you say,¡± he muttered, and tapped the Customer Support button.
PLEASE ENTER YOUR SUPPORT REQUEST (256 CHARACTERS LEFT)
¡°This is bullshit. Ridiculous bullshit.¡± But he remembered Weller¡¯s bearing. All hardass businessman one moment and understanding buddy the next. He had a feeling he knew which one was closer to the truth. But Weller was the one name out there he knew at the moment, and it was his one connection who had the power to do something about this situation. He wanted to type something really, really rude to vent his frustration. And his fear. But that¡¯s not going to move the dial one bit on fixing things. He sighed, and started typing carefully.
TO: PAUL WELLER. SUBJECT: PLAYER TEST. HELLO PAUL I AM CONFUSED. I WAS DROPPED IN HERE WITH NO INSTRUCTIONS, NO TUTORIAL, NOT A THING. I HAVE MANY QUESTIONS AND BADLY NEED TO SEE YOU (OR SOMEONE) IN PERSON TO DISCUSS. CAN YOU PLEASE ARRANGE THIS AS SO
The message bleeped. That was his 256, so he edited the final part to ARRANGE THIS? then hit send. He hit Customer Support again. It bleeped.
SUPPORT REQEUEST QUEUED
¡°That¡¯s it?¡± he said. ¡°I can have one active damn request?¡± So he was at the mercy of whomever was processing support. He hoped they were actually on the job. Of course regular player assistance was supposed to be 24/7 but he had a feeling he wasn¡¯t going to be sending messages to the same schlubs who handled lag and griefers now. He had no idea at all of the day and time in the real world, and flicked his way through the display.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8 2031 15:47 CST
So about quarter to four on a Friday afternoon. Not great. Let¡¯s hope they aren¡¯t just queuing everything up to deal with after the weekend. He checked his status again. Five hours and thirty-two minutes left. ¡°Bastards,¡± he muttered, and scanned the horizon. Chapter 3.5 Dead Earth Online uses a Stats system which is based on decades of traditional RPG games, and has roots going all the way back to tabletop adventure games from the pre-computer era. We pride ourselves in maintaining a link with the past, and we believe this manner of organizing your character¡¯s skills and abilities has proven itself as a very flexible and intuitive way of customizing your build so that you can play Your Game, Your Way?. All the same, in our era of Turing-capable NPCs and AI-driven, fully somatic combat systems, you don¡¯t want your damage output for a move be the result of a few simple calculations based on your Stat numbers. That would be way too restrictive for today¡¯s player! As a consumer you demand a visceral, real-life playstyle where you have the ability to punch above your weight if you have a good idea and quick reflexes, and where your experience isn¡¯t limited by some preset numbers. If you¡¯re smart and fast and can outwit your opponent, then there¡¯s no reason why you should not be rewarded for it. You should think about your Stats as guidelines for your strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a player with a strength of 12 is going to carry off a tough, body-dependent task twice as reliably and effectively as someone with a 6 for the same attribute. A lower constitution score means your body will start to get less effective in dealing damage, or running and jumping, sooner that someone with a higher score. The DMAI system will make sure the weaker player¡¯s somatics let him know that he¡¯s pushing his body to the edge and beyond! That being said, a really lucky player might catch a break more often than an unlucky one. Every Stat counts, and sometimes in ways that might surprise you. Feel free to query the DMAI (see System Interface) for a bit of advice on what you¡¯re doing right and wrong.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. But one way or another, if you¡¯re a Level 15 Brawler and you¡¯re trying to take on a Level 27 Basilisk on your own, then you¡¯d better have a pretty amazing plan and more than a little luck on your side. Foolish choices will be be punished just as surely as they are in real life. Weigh your options and be smart out there! Your First Character Build: Player Stats Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 4.0 There were definitely things moving around nearby. Peter hear a roar from somewhere on the other side of the ruins, so he loped across the street to get as far away from whatever it was as he could. Which almost resulted in him crashing into another party of Raiders. He came up behind them from around a corner, and only just managed to leap back again before he walked right into their backs. He clutched the concrete of the building, holding his breath and waiting for a shout, but nothing came. Friends of the two we just killed, I guess. It seemed like his ghoul feet could move pretty quietly, so that was one thing in his favor. It was nearly full night now, and he moved from one dark spot to another, keeping himself as hidden as he could and stopping to listen every few steps. It was exhausting work. Twice he crossed the street to avoid a cluster of Snap Vines. They were Nexus plants, aliens essentially - carnivorous vines that trapped small animals. Or unwary noobs, for that matter. Peter didn¡¯t trust that he was healthy enough to even tangle with a mean-spirited plant, so he gave them a wide berth. As he moved past the second one there was a high-pitched squeak, and something small and fuzzy sped across the street in front of him, while a dark green vine made a feeble swipe at it. Furby! They were rare, but you did see them now and then - squeaky little nocturnal Nexus beasties, about four inches across. They were true neutral mobs - they didn¡¯t have any obvious use as food or crafting materials, and they were cute, so people would catch them for fun. They couldn¡¯t be domesticated, and would eventually manage to find their way outside and disappear into the night. He watched it vanish into a crack in a concrete wall. He kept moving down the ruined streets towards the cluster of tall towers that Shrieker had pointed at. That was his one solid piece of information so far. There was another player over there. It sounded like she was experienced. All he needed to do was make nice with her and see if he could get some answers. And maybe even join up. He didn¡¯t really need to be leader of some crappy ghoul clan, not for now at least. Hopefully she was more mentally together than John had been. He was still healing, but slowly. Health: 37% Listening for anything that might be a threat, he really missed his hearing buff. Thousand Yard Ear had given him the ability to pick out ghoul breath and chatter from outside of ruins, or the scraping rasp of a Biomorph dragging itself along the ground two blocks away. But when the sound came, he didn¡¯t need it. It was a hissing growl. He¡¯d heard it often enough as a regular player.. Barongs. Mutant Lions. Lore was they were radiated zoo escapees, though it didn¡¯t really make a lot of sense. In real life any zoo animals that survived a nuke would probably have died of radiation poisoning or cancer if they even got out of their cages. But here, they had turned into oversize predators that roamed in packs through the ruins. He¡¯d seen dismembered ghoul corpses often enough to not have any doubt about what would happen if they found him. One level 3 Raider at full health would have been too much for him. These things? Forget about it. He padded quietly along, watching the road for bits of glass or anything else that might make a noise. I need a hiding spot. There was another growl. It was closer. He had a feeling it was right around the corner that was coming up. He looked around desperately. The low building beside him was mostly intact, and a ragged hole in the wall led into a dark space beyond. I don¡¯t like the look of that one tiny bit. On the other hand I don¡¯t think I have a choice. He crept over to it as silently as he was able. Health 40% He ducked his head inside and still couldn¡¯t see much. But there was a sound like claws scrabbling on pavement nearby, so he swung around inside and waited for his vision to adapt. Which happened almost right away. Apparently ghoul eyesight was a bit better than player default. At least they had a few class bonuses. It still wasn¡¯t great, but there was a stairway leading up nearby. He wanted to put some distance between himself and that opening to the street. The main floor looked like a jumble of wreckage anyway. He started creeping up the stairs on all fours. Holy shit I¡¯m doing the creep! This is a standard ghoul maneuver! He could see why. He could move along like that very, very quietly. He heard something big move in the room below. There was a sniffing sound. The thing definitely had his scent. He decided to keep moving anyway. There was no point in just waiting for a big paw to drag him back down the stairs. He reached the landing. There was a door there. He reached up, ever so slowly, and turned the knob. It opened. I¡¯ve never been so happy to find a wooden door. He started to creep into the room beyond as quickly as he could. The only thing on his mind was shutting that door again. Maybe even locking it. But instead he froze solid as someone grabbed his shoulder with one hand and held a knife against his neck with the other. ¡°Kill him!¡± a voice hissed. ¡°Sshh!¡± whispered the voice with the knife. ¡°There¡¯s a Barong downstairs,¡± Peter said quietly. ¡°Maybe more than one.¡± ¡°We know. Stupid Raider open door!¡± whispered another voice. ¡°Can we close the door? I promise to be good.¡± ¡°He make noise if you kill him,¡± said the first voice. The knife-wielder seemed to come to a decision. ¡°Get in,¡± it whispered. ¡°Stay quiet, maybe we not kill you.¡± Peter wasn¡¯t sure he believed that, but he slithered into the room and someone quietly closed the door behind him. It was pitch black in there. But after a few moments his ghoul eyes adapted even to that. Credit where it¡¯s due, ghouls have amazing night vision. The room was a dim grey outline, but he could definitely make out three ghouls staring back at him. One of them held a knife at the ready. There was a crunching sound on the stairs outside. Something heavy was on them. ¡°Barong smell stupid Raider,¡± Knife Ghoul whispered. ¡°I¡¯m not a Raider,¡± Peter said as quietly as he could. ¡°I¡¯m just wearing their armor. Look at me¡­¡± ¡°Sssshh!¡± There was another crunching sound, much closer to the door. He wondered if a thin wooden door would hold up against a Barong¡¯s claws. The things were like four hundred pounds. He doubted it. Something pawed at the door. He heard claws scraping down the wood just inches from him. Then there was a chuffing sound, and the door shook as something smashed against it. He looked at the ghouls. He was hoping they had enough experience with this kind of thing to know what to do. But they just stared at the door, looking terrified. He looked around the room, searching for anything that might give them an advantage. All he could see was another hole in the wall opposite the door. He started creeping towards it and Knife Ghoul growled and looked like he was getting ready to stab at Peter. Peter held up his hand. Then pointed to the hole in the wall. Knife Ghoul looked at the hole, then stared at Peter blankly. He kept moving and looked out of the hole. He could see the junk and wreckage strewn around on the ground floor. The gap in the wall went all the way down. Then the door shuddered again as whatever was on the other side smashed against it. Peter looked around for something, anything he could use, but the room was empty. He pulled out the bent piece of rebar that Shrieker had given him. I hate to lose such a noble weapon, but¡­ He dropped it through the hole, and it clanged loudly against the floor below, then hit something made of glass, which shattered with a crash. All three ghouls jerked with fear, but there was a snarl from outside the door, and a thumping boom as the creature pounded down the stairs and into the room below. Peter got a glimpse of a fur coat briefly as it sped past his field of view, and started to tear the ground floor apart looking for its prey. That thing is huge! He gestured to the three ghouls to stay calm. They all stared at him suspiciously, but none of them moved. A status update rolled past.
Passive Skill
Concealment +1 Now Level 4
Being sneaky continues to pay benefits. You¡¯re getting sneakier. Mom would be proud.
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION +35% Now -15%; Suspicious
He motioned at them to stay still, but that was probably not necessary. They still looked mostly petrified. Knife Ghoul was scrawny and haggard, but his eyes were alert and fixed on Peter. The HUD showed him as a Level 2. Number two ghoul was much shorter, and might have been a female. Like every ghoul it had scraggly, patchy hair. But this one had longer, almost shoulder-length scraggly hair. She was a Level 1. Barbie Ghoul. Number three was the biggest and was literally staring at Peter with its mouth open, breathing slowly in and out through cracked lips. He was another Level 2. Dumbo Ghoul, then. It seemed important to at least have names for the people - or things - that were his new companions. For a little while, anyway. The creature below wasn¡¯t giving up easily. They could hear it pawing through the floor below, searching for its prey. Peter wriggled around to make himself comfortable. It might eventually decide to come back upstairs, and there wasn¡¯t a damn thing any of them could do about it if so. They had KG¡¯s knife, but they¡¯d lost the Bent Rebar Of Victory. Of course Peter still had the Raider¡¯s knife in one pocket but he wanted to keep that a secret just in case it suddenly became important that he have a surprise for the three of them. In any case, if the mob decided to have another try at the door they were probably all screwed. Barbie Ghoul was obviously the lightest, so she¡¯d probably be the one he could pick up and throw at the creature while he tried to escape.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sorry, Barbie. None of them were going anywhere for now, anyway. This was probably a sensible time to upgrade his stats, just in case they were about to come in handy. None of the ghouls seemed to take any notice of it when he started flicking through his interface. He brought up his stats.
Common Horde Level 2 (30/90)
Name _
Primary Stats
Strength 2
Vitality 1
Constitution 1
Dexterity 1
Perception 1
Intelligence 1
Willpower 1
Social 0
Luck 1
Base Skills
Bare Knuckles 1
One-Handed (melee) 3
Two-Handed (melee) 1
Concealment 4
Acquired Skills
Poison Resistance 10% Reduced DOT (Tier 5)
T-Tech Accessibility 10
Just a nameless common ghoul, woe is me. It wasn¡¯t an impressive set of stats, and he only had two points to allocate. He barely qualified as a threat from a combat standpoint, though at least he had substantially better defense than your average cannon fodder ghoul, thanks to the Raider gear. The Transcendent Tech ability was a nice surprise too, not that it was likely to come in handy anytime soon. Being stronger would be good. Maybe immediately useful if he needed to claw his way past his new friends to get away from the big cat. The problem was that he didn¡¯t know what the skill tree for ghouls looked like. It was hard to plan intelligently in total darkness about what the effects of his choices were going to be. He flicked through to the Help menu, hoping there was something useful there. Nope. It was a blank screen. Naturally. But it seemed like a reasonable expectation that intelligence was going to work normally and affect things like using more complex weapons and picking up skill points faster. Which would be really nice. On the other hand he wasn¡¯t going to survive very long healing as slowly as he was. That had to be vitality. Then again Social was zero, and getting other ghouls to cooperate or help him out had to be tied to that. But it¡¯s not like they were famous for group strategies other than dogpiling on players. It was frustrating to be making decisions totally in the dark He sighed. Well one thing we know is we¡¯re totally useless in our current state and we should solve that problem first. It wasn¡¯t the most exciting choice but it was the right one. He put one point in Vitality and one in Strength. But then he hesitated and dropped his strength back down and put the final point in Social. I may regret that, but we need to take some chances, too. He spent a few moments watching his health. 44% He waited. 45% Definitely going up faster! That was some good news. He wanted to give his shiny new social skills a try, but this wasn¡¯t the time for it. The mob was rattling around down below, and it could still decide to give upstairs another go, so staying quiet and not giving it any ideas was the right move. He checked the status on his support request. Nothing. Fine, not a problem at all. Let¡¯s keep going. He tabbed to his inventory.
Inventory
Weapons
Steel Combat Knife 50 Damage (95%) Tier 2 Poison: 1 Charge
Meds
SPEED TIER 1 33% SKILLSPEED INCREASE 30 SECONDS
I¡¯m travelling light, good idea. I don¡¯t want to get tied down with material possessions right now anyway. He doubled-checked his Reputation page, and there was nothing new there - Raiders were pretty much going to try to kill him on site, but ghouls were just wary now. Saving a few of them had some perks. The interesting one was the Biomorph buff. Only 5%, but as a regular player they were straight up hostile mobs, and since Shrieker had implied they had upgrades available, that was something he wanted to check out as soon as possible. It was quiet downstairs. Of course the thing was basically a cat, and they were very patient. He could picture it sitting down there in the dark, waiting for them to decide that it was safe to come out. He looked at Knife Ghoul - he got the impression it was the smartest one - and pointed down below, then cocked his head in a question. Knife Ghoul shook his head, and made a jumping, grabbing motion. That¡¯s what I was afraid of. Instead he decided to take a chance. As quietly as he could, he slipped off his raider jacket. Once he was half naked he pointed at himself, and then at the three other ghouls. Look guys, I¡¯m one of you! Don¡¯t kill me, okay? Dumbo Ghoul stared at him without any obvious sign of understanding, and Barbie Ghoul just looked frightened, but Knife Ghoul grimaced and nodded, then let the knife rest in his lap, no longer pointing at Peter.
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION +10% Now -5%; Neutral
He would take neutral. That was better than getting stabbed in the face any day. Suddenly there was a deep growling noise. It sounded like it came from out on the street. After a moment the mob below gave out a hissing growl in return. There was a series of thumps and crunches from downstairs. It sounded like it was leaving. They can¡¯t fake that, can they? I hope they¡¯re not that smart. They waited in silence for a long time, but there were no more sounds from below. Peter wanted to believe that his new friends had enough experience being hunted that they would know when it was safe. But after a moment he realized they were all looking at him. He recognized their expression. He¡¯s seen it on enough newb faces. They wanted him to tell them what to do. He slipped on his Raider jacket again, and waited to see if his status would drop. It didn¡¯t. ¡°Okay,¡± he whispered. ¡°I think we might be safe now.¡± Barbie Ghoul looked relieved, and Dumbo Ghoul broke out into a big ugly smile. ¡°That good,¡± he said. ¡°I was scared.¡± But Knife Ghoul was still looking at him carefully. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± he said to it. ¡°We have no nest,¡± it said. ¡°Players kill everyone, we run. Hide. Need new nest.¡± ¡°Your clan leader?¡± Peter said. ¡°Dead,¡± said Knife Ghoul. ¡°He really dead,¡± said Dumbo Ghoul. ¡°All over the place dead.¡± ¡°You strong and smart,¡± Knife Ghoul said. ¡°You fool monster.¡± Dumbo Ghoul nodded in agreement. ¡°Smart ghoul good,¡± he said. ¡°Make us safe. Find new nest. Keep monsters away.¡± Barbie Ghoul looked like she was afraid to say anything, but she was staring at him with big round eyes. Peter sighed. Shrieker wasn¡¯t kidding about them not being picky. Of course they¡¯re probably designed to gravitate to players as leaders. It would make sense to have a party with him. If only because he could use them as meat shields while he found his way to the other player. ¡°Do you want me to be your new clan leader?¡± They all just stared at him. I guess that¡¯s not the right approach. He spoke a little louder. ¡°I am your new clan leader. Follow me and do what I say and you will be safe.¡± They nodded slightly and seemed to be waiting for something more. ¡°Um¡­ I am the strongest Horde here! Obey me or I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Knife Ghoul nodded happily, and Barbie Ghoul smiled. Dumbo Ghoul actually clapped his hands together like a little kid. ¡°That good!¡± he said. Peter¡¯s HUD instantly went nuts with status updates.
REPUTATION HORDE REPUTATION +100% Now +95%; Friendly
ROLE STATUS CHANGE
??HORDE CLAN LEADER - Clan Leader Menu Now Available
You''re a leader now, so stop slouching and try not to get everyone killed.
Receive 250XP??
LEVEL 3 UPGRADE Weapon and armor level cap +1 Now Level 4
LEVEL 4 UPGRADE Weapon and armor level cap +1 Now Level 5
Don''t let it go to your head.
Passive Skills
One-Handed (Melee) +2 Now Level 5
Leaders need to be impressive at stabbing things. Enjoy.
Embolden Tier 1 10% 50 meters
Your inspiring example is an inspiring example to everyone. Clan members receive 10% attack and defense bonus when you are within 50 meters.
You have 4 character points to allocate.
Holy shit! Peter stared around the room at his new clan mates. ¡°That¡¯s great. Now give me a couple of minutes to think carefully about what we should do, okay?¡± The all nodded very seriously, and sat silently, watching him. It was a little unnerving. But he wanted to get a look at that Clan Leader menu.
HORDE CLAN LEADER Tier 1 Clan (30/50)
Clan 3 Common Horde
Moral 40 (Low)
Commands
BUILD
ROLES
Well that¡¯s disappointing. He had hoped for more options and details up front. The point distribution seemed to suggest that once he got two more members he¡¯d go up to Tier 2. Presumably the menu would keep expanding as new skills, options, and tasks opened up. He opened up the build menu.
BUILD
??????Attack
?????? 1. Pile of bricks (Ranged)
?????? 2. Sharp Objects (Melee)
??????Defence
????? 1. Junk Pile Wall
Seriously. Well I guess it''s about their level. The AI on the ghouls must model the role of regular Guild members. That had to be the basic idea, or else how was he going make use of a clan at all? The format of the menu closely resembled option trees with friendly NPCs like Merchants. Option menus for dealing with Merchants weren¡¯t direct commands, they just indicated areas of dialog that were likely to be productive. Higher intelligence, quest flags, social rank, and a hundred other things could expand the list to surprise you with new options. It was still up to you to negotiate the AI to follow up on the items in the menu. But it was definitely a start. Peter¡¯s mind instantly went to the hole in the wall downstairs. If they could block that up, they might have a defensible position. Though they¡¯d need to check the integrity of the rest of the building first. Much as he wanted to just head straight out and find the other player, right now they were all obviously just a snack for anything that found them along the way. He needed to get stronger first, and having a safe base to work from would be a huge advantage. He flicked the menu again.
ROLES
??????1. Scavenger (Food)
??????2. Scavenger (Materials)
??????3. Scavenger (Recruit)
And there it was. If he could send them out to recruit just two more ghouls, he¡¯d level up to a Tier 2 Clan Leader. What he really wanted to see was whether he''d get a share of their XP. But on the other hand I''d rather not start losing Clan points until I can afford it. That would have to wait. ¡°Listen up!¡± he said sharply. All three of them perked up right away. They liked it when he was a little harsh with them. That was a kind of a nice change from real human players. ¡°I want to find out about this building we¡¯re in. If it looks good I think we can make it into a safe place to stay.¡± ¡°You make nest?¡± Barbie Ghoul said. She sounded excited. Peter nodded. ¡°I make¡­ shit¡­¡± He was staring at the status display that had appeared over her shoulder.
Barbie Ghoul Common; Lvl 2; 100%
He looked over at Dumbo Ghoul. He had a name now too. So did Knife Ghoul. They all had the names he¡¯d been thinking. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said again. He flicked his menu to check his own stats again. ¡°Raider Ghoul,¡± he said. Knife Ghoul nodded. ¡°Good name. Sound strong.¡± He stared at them, unsure of what to do next. He had been planning his next moves in context of the game. But there was something else going on here. Something much stranger. He flicked back through his menu to the support screen. There was a message waiting too. He wondered how long it had been there.
HI PETER, NO DOUBT YOU¡¯RE CONFUSED! DON¡¯T WORRY, I¡¯LL MEET YOU AT YOUR NEXT LOGOUT, WE CAN TALK. PAUL.
¡°Fuck you, Paul,¡± he muttered. He flicked the menu to create another support ticket. Stared at the screen for a few moments. Then canceled it. He needed time to think about this. Chapter 4.5 The Dungeon Master AI system is the core of the Dead Earth Online gameplay experience. It underlies and coordinates every major component of the game experience, from the Contextualized Quest Creation Engine, to mediating your interactions with NPCs both friendly and hostile. It spawns AI Agent Instances for every NPC in the game, and oversees all interactions between individual and grouped NPCs in order to ensure that the world is constantly evolving and changing in response to both player activities and the actions of non-player groups. With the advent of our Turing Competent Agent? system, there has never been a more comprehensive simulation of a living, breathing world available to the consumer. We guarantee that if we didn¡¯t label players and NPCs differently, you would have trouble figuring out who was real and who wasn¡¯t.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The Game Management Engine: DMAI Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 5.0 He made them all wait another realtime hour to make sure they were safe. No point in getting his new clan killed right away. Not when they could be useful first. He spent some time searching through his menus for a hint of anything like a tutorial, instructions, even some damn tool tips, but there was nothing. Question is, if whatever new equipment they¡¯ve given me can read my thoughts well enough to name my ghouls, then what else in the game is going to be determined just by what I think? Mobs? Building options? Attitudes from other groups? It was an important question from a game standpoint, but he was a lot more worried about it from an IRL standpoint. But he didn¡¯t want make that thought foremost in his mind. Was Weller watching right now? Could he see what Peter was thinking? It¡¯s going to make it very difficult to hide anything. At least not until I have some idea of how well they can read me. But they got the ghoul names. That was worrying. There was one obvious way to do an end run around Axiom, but he was worried about thinking it too clearly. A picture of his old home workshop in New Auroraville popped into his mind unbidden, and he tried to wipe it away quickly. But how do you NOT think about an elephant? It was a problem. He already had the shape of an emergency plan in his head, but he was going to have to get levelled up some more - a lot more, really - before it would be realistic. At least the game gave him something to focus on while he let the back of his mind ruminate. Job one was try not to get eaten. He could throw himself into the game and wait for his subconscious to pop out the shape of a strategy.
NEXT LOGOUT ALLOWANCE: 3 HOURS 17 MINUTES (2 HOURS BANKED)
Three hours to go until he could see what Weller had to say for himself. For now, he had points to allocate. Which was also a decent way of distracting himself from dangerous thoughts. He¡¯d managed to level up three times in the short while he¡¯d been here, but he had no illusions that speed of progress was going to continue. Lower levels were always ridiculously easy to climb. He looked at his main stats again.
Horde Clan Leader; Raider Ghoul Level 4 (20/800)
Clan Name _ ; Tier 1 (35/50)
Primary Stats
Strength 2
Vitality 2
Constitution 1
Dexterity 1
Perception 1
Intelligence 1
Willpower 1
Social 1
Luck 1
Only four points to allocate. He wished he had more. Here and now I think I need to be twice as strong and twice as smart. He was willing to bet ghouls would value strength as well as smarts, and he didn¡¯t want Dumbo Ghoul getting any ideas. He scrolled through to the System Interface to make a DMAI query. The Dungeon Master AI wasn¡¯t famously helpful and usually just gave you a few terse and obvious pointers about strategy, but he needed all the help he could get.
DMAI Advice Unavailable
I guess I should have expected that. Are they still working on it, or is ghoul intended to be just a no-help class? There was no way to tell right now. He mentally shrugged, and put one point in Strength and one point in Intelligence. Which left two points. He was sorely tempted to start building up his luck. It was hard to forget the wonderfully unbalanced nature of a fight when an opponent was nowhere near as lucky as you. But on the other hand, that wasn¡¯t going to be much use if some level 17 beast decided to try to make him into dinner. He sighed. I¡¯m their leader. But I still don¡¯t really know how ghoul society functions. Social was kind of another form of luck. As a player it would increase his good interactions with NPCs, make them more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt, provide better success rate at bargaining, and so on. It had to do something similar with ghouls, who were still just NPCs after all. Building up a clan, he thought he was going to need all the social skills he could get. He wanted to bump up everything, but he only had two points left. Social it had to be. Both points. Hopefully that would turn him into some very persuasive and charming low level cannon fodder. Then there was the matter of the clan name. He okayed his stat changes and turned to the group. ¡°Listen up,¡± he said to them. They all looked at him expectantly. ¡°I¡¯ve decided on our Clan name. We will be Carnage Clan.¡± Knife Ghoul blinked. ¡°What is carnage?¡± said Barbie Ghoul. ¡°Carnage is, well, it¡¯s when you tear your enemies up and there¡¯s blood everywhere. Their blood. And arms and legs too. Their arms and legs. All over the place. That¡¯s carnage.¡± They stared at him for a moment. Then Dumbo Ghoul clapped his hands together again and started laughing. ¡°Good name!¡± he bellowed. ¡°Strong name! Maybe if nobody know what name means, then we show them!¡± Knife Ghoul smiled and nodded. ¡°Good name,¡± he said. Another update scrolled past. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
CLAN MORALE MORALE +10 Now 50; Neutral
I was hoping for a bit more, but that will do. ¡°Okay, listen, now we need to get started!¡± he said. They all looked up eagerly. ¡°We make nest now?¡± said Dumbo Ghoul. Peter nodded. ¡°First we see if this is a good place for a nest.¡± ¡°That smart,¡± Knife Ghoul said. ¡°So here¡¯s the thing," Peter said, "I want the three of you to creep around the building. Find out how many floors it has, what kinds of rooms, and most importantly of all whether there are any other big holes that we would need to plug up.¡± Knife Ghoul nodded. ¡°That good,¡± he said. ¡°You make me your Captain, I make these guys do it right.¡± ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°Leader has Captains. All good clans have Captains to make Horde do things right.¡± Was that a bit of tutorial? Or even advice? Interesting. ¡°Okay, KG,¡± Peter said. ¡°You are Captain of the clan.¡± Knife Ghoul sat up straighter and looked determined. ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°We find out about building.¡± Immediately his ID status changed and and update scrolled past.
Knife Ghoul Horde Clan Captain; Lvl 3; 100%
Clan Level +5 (35/50)
¡°We go, you guys,¡± Knife Ghoul said. He pointed to Barbie Ghoul. ¡°You sneak upstairs, look for big holes in building.¡± He motioned to Dumbo Ghoul, and the two of them crept out of the room on all fours, heading down the stairs to the ground floor again. So ghouls protect the females. Who knew? The model for commanding his clan was starting to make sense at least. He would have Captains whom he could order to carry out the options available to him. It seemed like they would take care of the actual dirty work of making things happen. Peter waited tensely, expecting to hear a roar, or the crashing of glass from down below, but there was nothing. We can really move very quietly. It¡¯s an important skill. Before very long, Barbie Ghoul crept back into the room. ¡°Hallway upstairs,¡± she whispered. ¡°Three rooms, but no big holes. Lots of junk. No more stairs.¡± That was good. He¡¯d been worried the roof would have collapsed. Then they would have had to make a wall in the stairwell. With several rooms available up above, this might actually be a good spot to start collecting a bigger clan. Eventually KG and DG appeared at the door as well. ¡°Look like just big hole in front, but we find door to basement. Can¡¯t get in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s locked?¡± ¡°Weird lock, look like fancy tech kind.¡± ¡°And noise,¡± Dumbo Ghoul said to Knife Ghoul. ¡°You tell him about noise too.¡± Knife Ghoul frowned. ¡°We hear something moving in there. Don¡¯t know what. Make thump thump sound.¡± That¡¯s not good. ¡°Do you think whatever it is can get out?¡± he said to Knife Ghoul. KG shrugged. ¡°Leader smart, he tell me.¡± Great. This needs a look. ¡°You two stay here,¡± he said to Barbie Ghoul and Knife Ghoul. He wanted the big guy with him. The two of them crept down the stairs, watching the big gap in the wall carefully. Peter was still imagining something leaping in at him from outside, all claws and teeth. Dumbo Ghoul led him on a twisting path through the wreckage, carefully maneuvering over anything that might make a sound. They¡¯re strangely graceful, in their own way. At the back of the building there was a locked door going out back. That wasn¡¯t a problem at least. A little further along they found an alcove that had another door, which could only have led down towards the basement. ¡°This it,¡± Dumbo Ghoul said. Peter put his ear against the door. Whump. Whump. Then the sound of something dragging across the floor down below. Whump. Something was moving around, that was for sure. He wiggled the doorknob but it didn¡¯t move. ¡°Knife Ghoul think of that,¡± whispered DG. ¡°He find other thing.¡± He pointed to a recessed spot in the wall by the door frame. Peter stood up and peered inside. There was a shimmering set of blue lights, and something that looked like a keypad, but with strangely moving keys. They almost seemed liquid, and traveled around in a complex pattern. Transcendent Tech! There was no doubt about it. Whatever was down there was going to be something incredibly valuable. Or incredibly dangerous. If it was the latter then they needed to get away from here. The last thing he needed was some ultra high-level mob popping out at them and ripping his new clan to shreds. He flicked the keypad to see if there was any more information, and not expecting anything. But to his surprise his T-tech bonus seemed to do him a bit of good. The field was solid red of course, but overlayed was some text.
Level 50
That was a hell of a lot better than nothing at all. But did it mean he needed Level 50 T-tech ability to be able to even try to use the thing? Or was it the level of the lock itself? He¡¯d had Level 45 ability as a regular player, but he¡¯d never seen this display before. Transcendent tech either worked or it didn¡¯t based on your level. There was no way to know how high you needed to be ahead of time. Maybe we¡¯ve actually got a bit of an edge over the players in some areas. He got Dumbo Ghoul to creep upstairs and get the other two, then position them on the stairs near to the hole in the wall. When DG waved at him that they were ready, he took a deep breath and slammed his fist against the door, then stopped and listened carefully, getting ready to run as fast as he could. Silence. Whump. Silence. Dragging noise. Whump. Whump. After a few moments, Peter slammed on the door twice more, as hard as he could. He saw Knife Ghoul look over at him with a what are you doing expression. Whump. Silence. Dragging noise. Whump. Whump. Nothing. Whatever was in there, it didn¡¯t seem like it was paying any attention to them. Peter grinned. He actually had the option of setting up his new clan right on top of a T-tech cache of some kind! The ruined building had just moved from a guarded yes, to ¡°Hell yeah, just try to make me leave¡±. I¡¯m not going to try to mess with this for now. But eventually, oh yes. Eventually. He crept quietly over to the other three. ¡°I think it¡¯s safe,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s a Transcendent Tech lock. There¡¯s probably other stuff protecting the basement too, stuff we can¡¯t see. Nothing is getting through it.¡± They all looked at him, just waiting. It was a little weird. Peter was used to human players. Getting them to cooperate was always a combination of bribes and threats - big and small, subtle and obvious. Every player wanted to be the center of their own story, and it was usually a challenge just to get them to listen long enough that they didn¡¯t get instakilled. It was exhausting sometimes. The game AI was good, no doubt about it. Any one of the ghouls could pass a casual Turing test. But their priorities were different. They just wanted to be safe. And they were looking to him to make it happen. Even though they weren¡¯t real, he couldn¡¯t help feeling like he had some kind of actual responsibility towards them. He gave himself a mental slap. Meatshields. That¡¯s what they are. Our priority is to level up enough to be able to survive out there, and connect up with that player ghoul woman. Nothing else matters. ¡°We can make walls, yes?¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m assigning you all to start making a strong pile of stuff up against the hole in the wall. Strong enough that things can¡¯t get in to us. Then we will have a safe nest.¡± Knife Ghoul looked over to the gap in the wall. ¡°Pretty big hole,¡± he said. ¡°But we can do it. Dumbo Ghoul strong enough to carry big things.¡± Dumbo Ghoul nodded in excitement. ¡°Raider Ghoul watch! We build strongest wall ever!¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± he said. He wanted to spend some time exploring the rest of the building. Who knew what else might be lying around? But then he had a thought. ¡°Wait,¡± he said. ¡°Barbie Ghoul, I want you to find things we can use as weapons.¡± He looked at the build menu again. ¡°Sharp things, right? Like knives, which would be great if you could find some. Plus anything heavy that we can throw.¡± No sense in not having an armory, such as it is anyway. Knife Ghoul seemed to approve of this idea. ¡°That good. We build wall just as fast anyway.¡± ¡°I see some things upstairs!¡± Barbie Ghoul said. ¡°Maybe good! I go look!¡± She looked excited at having her own job to do and scuttled up the stairs on all fours. ¡°Good stuff,¡± Peter said. ¡°You guys try to keep it quiet, okay? We don¡¯t want to attract attention.¡± ¡°Okay we try,¡± said Knife Ghoul. ¡°We build strong heavy wall and really quiet too.¡± Was that sarcasm? It couldn¡¯t be. The two of them moved away to start without another word. He watched them for a bit. They were surprisingly quick, and cooperated to start moving boards, big jagged pieces of concrete, and wrecked furniture into place. Then he had a thought, and looked up at the ceiling. Around about here¡­ With a grin of triumph be picked up his piece of bent rebar. Excellent. I wouldn¡¯t want to be without it. Chapter 5.5 The Nexus is what the survivors started calling the strange zones inside the ruins of the old cities. The Nexus doesn¡¯t have a sharp boundary but you will recognize it by the sickly green light that emanates like a radioactive glow from between what remains of the melted and torn office buildings. A quick check with a Geiger counter will prove to you that it¡¯s definitely radioactive, but all the same no one understands what the glow really is. The danger increases enormously the closer you get towards the center. Horde and Raiders patrol on the edges, along with mutant Earth animals and strange creatures unknown to man before (be sure to read the Bestiary for a quick rundown on the main varieties). Further in are the Biomech mobs. They are vile creatures made of flesh twisted together with machinery and electronics, and with other strange unknown devices. They are far smarter than anything in the outer zones and should be treated with extreme caution. There is no known way to categorize them, since they seem to have an endless array of shapes and sizes.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. No one (at least no one who has made it out again) in recent years has managed to penetrate to the center of the Nexus. What lies at the heart of the thing that has wrapped itself into the world is a mystery. But explorers who have come back from the edge of the deeps have seen enormous beasts, and lumbering machinery, and clouds of glasslike flying things which have torn parties to shreds in seconds. Attempting to penetrate the deeps of the Nexus is a challenge for the truly powerful player, and even then he may find himself frighteningly overmatched. Why does it have just one name, The Nexus, if the green zones are seen all over the world in dozens of ruined cities? In fact a handful of early explorers in the years right after the calamity did manage to travel deeper than anyone else, and come back out again alive. But they didn¡¯t always return to the places that they started. Normal space seems to change inside the depths of the Nexus. Some of them entered in Moscow, only to stumble out again in Singapore, or from New York to Los Angeles, or London to Melbourne. The Nexus has many points of contact with the Earth, but it exists in its own geometry. What is the Nexus? That is a mystery for now, though there are many theories. The New World: The Nexus Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 6.0 ¡°Nice work guys,¡± Peter said. He was being serious. ¡°Junk pile wall¡± was underselling it. I mean, it¡¯s definitely still a junk pile, but it¡¯s a decent junk pile. They had woven long beams and lengths of steel into the structure to strengthen it, and bolstered the bottom with a lot of reinforcement from big slabs of concrete, which were also piled up strategically in series along the length as well. He gave it a few kicks, and nodded. There was a decent chance this could even keep a couple of those big beasts out. KG and DG smiled at his praise, but neither of them got up from where they sat on the ground. Morale was down, Peter noticed. A shocking 15 points, in fact. ¡°Thanks boss,¡± said KG. ¡°But we tired now. Not had much food for a long time.¡± Peter wanted to slap himself. He couldn¡¯t just keep pushing them without seeing to their needs. Foraging for food was one of the basic clan functions. ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fair,¡± he said to them. ¡°First we had to make sure we had a safe nest, but now you two deserve food. Lots of food. Enough to make you fat and happy.¡± Dumbo Ghoul looked up at him with wide eyes. ¡°Lots of food? That would make me happy.¡± Peter nodded. ¡°You two just rest, okay? This is on me and Barbie. You guys deserve a break and so much food that you puke.¡± That bumped morale up five points again, but it was obvious that actually providing a meal was going to be necessary to bring everyone up to full fighting form. He went upstairs to see how she was getting on. He didn¡¯t even feel any need to creep, though he had to carefully step over broken concrete and garbage the whole way. The apocalypse is really just a god awful mess. Well I¡¯m not having it. We¡¯re going to clean this shit up and have the best organized ghoul Nest anyone has ever seen. Barbie Ghoul ran up to him with a big smile. ¡°Look what I find! Did I do good?¡± In her hands were two big sharp kitchen knives. He had been hoping for something a little more lethal, but BG was looking at him so hopefully that he made a point of giving her a big smile. They weren''t very dangerous, but they were certainly better than pointed sticks, and it meant they could each have something now. ¡°Excellent work!¡± he said. Clan members were party members, AI or not. Praise was cheap and kept them happy. ¡°Now we all have good strong weapons.¡± She nodded eagerly. ¡°I find special thing for you, come and see!¡± She ran off so quickly down the hall that he had to jog to keep up with her. The upper floor was just a hallway with doors to two small offices along the length, and ending in a door to a much bigger room. Everything looked to be full of trash and debris, without even a bit of intact furniture. We¡¯re going to have to haul in anything we need, that¡¯s for sure. In the big room she was waiting for him and was obviously hiding something behind her back. ¡°What do you have there?¡± he said. She smiled again, and showed him her find. It was a sword. An actual honest-to-god shortsword. ¡°Leader should have good weapon,¡± she said shyly, not meeting his eyes. He took it from her without a word and flicked up the stats.
REPLICA GLADIUS UNMODIFIED
SHORT SWORD ONE-HANDED, MELEE
ATTACK +20 (Condition 65%) 13
Probably Mall Ninja gear, but this is still a real sword, and somebody has made an effort to sharpen it so that it¡¯s actually dangerous. Don¡¯t cut yourself.
¡°Holy crap, Barbie,¡± he said. ¡°This is an amazing find.¡± He meant it. With this and his armor buff he was going to be punching above his ghoul weight. She smiled and looked at the ground. ¡°I think it good. Really shiny.¡± She grinned at him again. Peter wasn¡¯t sure how you rewarded a ghoul exactly, but he earmarked her for something special once he had figured that out. He slid the sword into the leather loop on his Raider pants and patted it protectively. ¡°Look good?¡± he said. ¡°Look very good,¡± she said, and smiled at him again. Her broken ghoul teeth were plainly visible. Why am I feeling awkward? Oh my god is she¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said quickly. ¡°We need to start looking for some food for all of us. Those two downstairs have been working pretty hard. She hesitated for a moment then nodded. ¡°Okay leader,¡± she said. ¡°I do what you say.¡± I don¡¯t need this. No offence Barbie but... yeah no. He supposed that as ghouls went she was attractive, but he wasn¡¯t in much of position to judge. He didn¡¯t want to insult her though. He made a point of letting her go first down the hall, and he put his hand on her shoulder as she went past. She looked up at him frankly, staring into his eyes. Yikes.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He opened the door of the building very carefully and peeked his head out. Nothing to see. The dark street looked empty. Looked that way, at least. ¡°You two lock this again once we leave, okay? Don¡¯t let anyone else in,¡± he said to KG and DG. ¡°You bet, boss,¡± said DG. He seemed hardier than KG, and he was up and walking around again, while KG was still splayed out on the floor, asleep. ¡°You have any idea which way we should scrounge for food?¡± he said. The ghouls must have standard ways of doing this. DG shrugged. ¡°Rats everywhere,¡± he said. ¡°Look in dark places.¡± Rats. Ugh. There had to be a better option. Then again the ghoul somatics probably made them taste great, and he should probably get an idea of how to hunt like one of them. It wasn¡¯t a very auspicious start though. He and Barbie crept down the street, keeping to the shadows and stopping frequently to listen for any suspicious sounds. ¡°There,¡± she hissed, pointing to an alley that didn¡¯t look much different to Peter than any of the others they had passed. But he didn¡¯t want to look unskilled, so he just nodded. ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°That looks like a great spot to start.¡± She crept forward, holding her kitchen knife in one hand, looking like she was ready to pounce. There was a sudden squeak and a scrabbling sound of little claws, and Barbie slashed at a rat that scuttled past her. It flashed red but kept going, right towards Peter. ¡°Get it!¡± she said. He stabbed down hard with the other kitchen knife - he wasn¡¯t going to waste his last poison charge in the good knife, and the shortsword was too long for this business. The rat squealed and jerked, and it¡¯s small health bar flashed black. He got a whole XP for his work. Fear Raider Ghoul, the mighty hunter! Barbie crept over to him and grabbed the rat, stuffing it away in a sack that she pulled out from her rags. ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°But more here still.¡± He followed her along the alleyway, and they quickly got into a pattern. She spooked rats out of hiding, and he stabbed them to death. As a level 4 ghoul, even equipped with just a kitchen knife, he had no need for second thrust on a rat. Before long Barbie¡¯s bag bulged with bloody rat corpses. ¡°Okay,¡± she whispered. ¡°That lots of rats!¡± Peter hesitated. He was sure the rats would do fine for basic food, but he hated to just give up on finding anything better. As a player it was common enough to find old prewar canned goods or rations in the ruins. They were standard health and vitality boosts. There didn¡¯t seem to be any players around - they were fairly close in towards the Nexus after all - so why shouldn¡¯t they have a quick look? ¡°Come on,¡± he said to her and crept forward towards the broken rear door of the nearest building in the alley. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can find anything else.¡± ¡°Maybe we find trouble,¡± she whispered. ¡°Eat rats is no trouble.¡± That¡¯s their ambition? Did I recruit an underachieving ghoul clan? He grinned back at her and pulled out his Gladius. ¡°My clan is going to do better than rats, trust me,¡± he said. She didn¡¯t look any less worried, but she brandished her own knife and followed him without question into the building. It was dark and filled with junk and smashed furniture, but his eyes adapted quickly and he went quietly down a corridor, peering into rooms on each side, hoping for a glint of an intact can or bottle, or (best of all) an MRE box. But there was nothing. And definitely not any good stuff like boxes of ammo or the glint of the LEDs on a safe. It almost feels like it¡¯s been cleared out before. It would be a shame if someone had already taken all the easy items. Raiders maybe, or even players. Certainly not impossible. There was one more closed door at the end of the hallway. They waited outside, listening carefully with their ghoul hearing, but there wasn¡¯t even a faint hint of breathing on the other side. ¡°Screw this,¡± he muttered and twisted the doorknob. The door swung open with a creak, and Barbie Ghoul gasped. ¡°Bingo!¡± he said. There was a pile of cans on the floor. Unopened. Plus a box that could only be MREs. No rats for us, I¡¯ll take lasagna instead. He grinned at Barbie. ¡°You see?¡± he said. ¡°All we needed to do was...¡± But before he could finish the sentence there was a crash at the other end of the hallway and dark forms were running towards them. ¡°Kill them!¡± a voice shrieked. ¡°Dirty thieves!¡± Peter jumped in front of Barbie, intending to protect her. But as he stood up and brandished his sword he realized she¡¯d already positioned herself beside him at the ready with her knife. She growled deep in her throat. Damn. That¡¯s a scary-ass ghoul noise. Good job. Their attackers stopped short as they finally got a good look at Peter and Barbie. The glittering shortsword and raider gear must have marked him out as no easy target. Four more ghouls faced them. They were all dressed in rags, but their leader was a head taller than Peter and carried a thick piece of iron rod in one hand and nasty-looking combat knife in the other. He was a big guy, easily bigger than Dumbo Ghoul.
Arthur Horde Clan Captain; Lvl 5; 100% Bloody Knife Clan
Seriously? Arthur? The naming had to be temporary. Probably they would do lore-friendly names before release. ¡°Thieves,¡± it said. ¡°That our food!¡± They didn¡¯t just jump, though. Maybe ghoul clan conflict involved a bit of feeling each other out first, to see who was really stronger. The other three were nameless, but they were all Level 3. Barbie wasn¡¯t going to stack up well against any of them. If this descended into a melee she was going to come off badly. It was time to see about recruiting some new clan members anyway. They all looked like they wanted to jump on Peter and stab him to death then and there. His Raider gear debuff was probably not helping one bit. ¡°Wrong!¡± Peter said. He did his best to bellow like a clan leader. ¡°Our food now! You can have some when you submit and join Carnage Clan!¡± Arthur the ghoul snorted. ¡°Raider clan leader? That stupid.¡± Peter rolled his eyes. ¡°Look at me! I¡¯m Horde, not a Raider. I¡¯m wearing the armor I took from their dead bodies when I killed them!¡± Arthur looked him up and down and sneered. ¡°Stupid Horde wearing Raider clothes. I take your woman when you dead.¡± Barbie growled again. ¡°Raider Ghoul is smart not stupid! We make new clothes from your clan¡¯s skin!¡± Arthur grinned toothily. ¡°Keep that one alive,¡± he said to the other three. ¡°I like her.¡± This was still moving towards a melee. He needed to short-circuit it. But obviously shit-talking was part of the protocol here. ¡°The clan follows you?¡± he said and laughed. ¡°You wear rags! What kind of leader wears dirty rags?¡± He looked at the other three. ¡°Follow me and I will give you the best armor and food and weapons! You will be stronger than any clan you have ever met!¡± It didn¡¯t seem to do a lot of good. They were still staring at him, waiting for Arthur to make a move. ¡°Raider Ghoul saved us from Barong,¡± Barbie said. ¡°He smart enough to fool it. He tear you all to pieces!¡± That¡¯s very optimistic of you, Barbie. He couldn¡¯t take on all four at once. There was no doubt about that. Even Arthur on his own was going to be a problem. Of course he still had one poison charge on his knife. That was an ace in the hole at least. He needed to make this one-on-one. ¡°Arthur,¡± he bellowed. ¡°You are weak and lead a weak clan! Fight me and I will show them who is stronger!¡± ¡°I think we just kill you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Easier that way.¡± ¡°You see!¡± Peter said, and pointed at Arthur. ¡°He fears Raider Ghoul! He is too weak to even fight me alone!¡± That seemed to have some impact on the other three. Their weapons lowered and they stared at Arthur, obviously uncertain. Maybe those social points weren¡¯t a waste after all. But Arthur was no fool. He looked at them, then spat on the ground. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. Without any warning he sprung through the air towards Peter, with his iron rod held up high and his knife at waist-level. Dual-wielder. Great. Peter dodged to one side, letting the impact fall on his leather Raider armor.
Health -10% (90)
Not good. He twisted around and slashed with his sword, aiming for Arthur¡¯s legs, and was satisfied when it connected solidly. Arthur hissed and his status bar dropped by a solid 10%. Well at least we¡¯re still even. His Raider gear was protecting him enough to keep him at par with a ghoul one level higher. But that wasn¡¯t going to cut it. The other ghouls - even Barbie - had stepped back to give them room. There was obviously some kind of ritual at work here that they all understood. Peter stood tall and sneered. He sheathed his sword through his belt loop and pulled out his combat knife. ¡°Too easy with weak Arthur,¡± he said, trying to sound like real ghoul. ¡°I give you a good chance now.¡± He brandished his knife and smiled. Arthur grinned back at him and touched the ragged belt at his own waist. ¡°Raider Ghoul not fool me,¡± he said, as a shimmering light washed over him and then disappeared. ¡°I think that special knife.¡± God damn it. He has a personal shield generator! It was a moderately rare find, and definitely valuable. Ghouls could pick up and use basic tech, of course. Now Arthur¡¯s status bar shone purple. Peter would have to drop that down to zero before he¡¯d even start eating into Arthur¡¯s health again. Not good, not good. Chapter 6.5 "Nobody can fault Dead Earth Online for not being ambitious enough. The scale of the thing takes some getting used to; they have truly vast geographical areas to play with, and their heavy reliance on next-gen AI for filling in content between the already immense quest trees leaves you feeling like you¡¯re nearly in a genuine living world. But for a game of this type it¡¯s a strangely human-centric world, as every playable choice is a regular human of various abilities, backgrounds, and allegiances. No catgirls or sexy lizard people are to be found, which might come as a relief to many of us, but it remains to be seen if this more reality-based worldbuilding is something the market will support. With the exception of the mysterious Nexus (we¡¯ll get to that) the player base is tasked with rebuilding human civilization in a world nearly obliterated by a global disaster. The new player has to choose his goals and his allegiances carefully, as there is a snake¡¯s nest of factions, cults, tribes, minor kingdoms, and secret societies jostling for control of human destiny in the new world. Some want to reboot high-tech society, some want to return to an imagined eco-utopian past, many are just trying to get by, and there are more than a few flat-out insane groups who may or may not be hiding powerful secrets of their own. It can be bewildering at first as you try to find a place to fit and a goal to work on - but that¡¯s the whole essence of Axiom¡¯s ¡°Your Game, Your Way¡± marketing for the release. The game doesn¡¯t hold your hand, it just presents you with a world and tells you to have fun. You can dive into medieval politics, try to take over a doomsday cult, or even find a nice plot of land and build yourself a farm (if you can defend it, at least).This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡­ Then there¡¯s The Nexus, the strange force that shrouds the ruins of the old cities. Here we finally enter the realm of the non-humans, as we¡¯re told there are a load of strange and terrible things inside it. Don¡¯t expect to start battling mutant armies right away though, because Axiom has made the barrier of entry to actually investigating the mysteries of the Nexus surprisingly high. We did a few high-speed runs into the place just to see how far we could get, and we didn¡¯t last long at all. Most of the time we were swarmed by the ¡°Desolate Horde¡±, the game¡¯s notional name for the ragged half-mutant, half-human creatures that have populated apocalyptic cityscapes for decades now. Fighting them alone was an exercise in frustration as they just swarm you in numbers that you can¡¯t overcome. This is clearly intended to be team-based content. One time we managed to die to the claws of a Biomorph - shambling Lovecraftian assemblages of tissue and machinery that can do shocking levels of damage in no time at all. Apparently there are even worse things farther in, but be prepared to spend some serious leveling time before you have a hope of seeing any of that. Guilds have already been organized which are dedicated specifically to braving the perils of the Deep Nexus. But we¡¯re assured that the rewards are worth it - the Nexus is the source of the overpowered ¡°transcendent technology¡± items. These rare finds fetch colossal prices and we¡¯re told that just a few such items can shift the balance of power between nations out in the wider world. So Axiom has given the player a decent risk/reward profile for dedicating himself to such punishing activity. All the same, the place of the Nexus in the game world seems weirdly understated given what lies within. We would not be surprised to see content expansions relating to it eventually." from ¡°Dead Earth Online - First Impressions¡±, VRPG Report, November 2027 Chapter 7.0 He put his knife back, and grabbed the one extra med he had in his inventory - the skill speed boost. ¡°Arthur is so scared he needs a shield,¡± Peter said to the three Bloody Knife clan members who were watching. ¡°I guess I have to show him how Carnage Clan fights.¡± He made himself sound confident, but he didn¡¯t like the odds here one bit. He downed the med, pulled out his Gladius again, and jumped at Arthur all in one smooth motion. Arthur parried the sword away with a clang, but the boost allowed Peter to whirl his arm around and slash the ghoul twice all the way along his side and then down one leg. CRIT CRIT Arthur¡¯s shield dropped to 60%. Nice! But then the ghoul¡¯s own swing connected with Peter¡¯s arm, sending a shock of pain through his whole side.
Health -15% (75)
There was no time to worry about it. He needed to maximize his usage of the speed buff while he still had it. He rolled on the floor and whirled around, leaping at Arthur again. He knocked another 15% off the shield with a quick stab, leaving it at 45%. But Arthur wasn¡¯t going to give him any room to dodge. He grabbed Arthur¡¯s arm, throwing him off balance and stabbed hard into his stomach. CRIT flashed again.
Health -20% (55)
Peter couldn¡¯t help it. He yelled in pain. They need to fix the damn somatics. This was ridiculous. He kneed Arthur and wrenched his arm free, finally landing a blow across the ghoul¡¯s neck. It might even have been a killing blow if it weren¡¯t for the shield. Arthur¡¯s shield dropped to 10%. At least it¡¯s a low-level shield generator. Not that it helped. Peter was already at 55% while Arthur was still at 90, and he had enough shield left to parry most of another blow. He¡¯d lost track of the seconds, but his thirty had to be nearly up. He leaped again, slashing hard left and right, straight towards Arthur. His second swing connected and the ghoul¡¯s purple bar finally disappeared, and his heath dropped another 5% to 85. Arthur¡¯s knife connected with Peter¡¯s face, and Peter screamed as the knife plunged into his eye, blinding it.
Health -15% (40)
He caught sight of Barbie in his remaining good eye. She had her hands up covering her mouth, and looked horrified. This is not going well. He grabbed at the poisoned knife in his inventory and whipped it out. His movements felt sluggish suddenly. His speed buff was gone. He held the knife in one hand and the Gladius in the other. Going two-handed was probably going to halve his damage as he lost his one-handed bonus, but he needed a chance to connect with the knife. He lunged at Arthur, but the ghoul twisted out of range of the knife. He saw an opening and kicked at Arthur¡¯s leg, throwing him off balance. The ghoul crashed to the floor and started to roll away instantly. Peter swung his Gladius and it barely missed Arthur¡¯s neck again. But he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Peter dropped the sword and jumped, going one-handed again and landing with his whole body weight on Arthur, pushing the poisoned knife blade deep into his belly. A bright orange CRIT flashed and the ghouls screamed as his health bar turned yellow and dropped to 70%. But he still had way too much health left. Peter kicked away and scrambled for his sword again as Arthur¡¯s health dropped another 5% to 65. The pain in his ruined eye was agonizing. How am I supposed to think clearly with this amount of pain? This is ridiculous. He jumped to his feet, intended to give Arthur no time to regroup. But the ghoul was already up, and halfway across the space between them, with his knife ready to stab. His face was contorted with rage. Peter jumped aside, but the blade slashed his arm.
Health -5% (35)
¡°Poison!¡± Arthur growled. ¡°I tear your head off and eat it!¡± He¡¯d dropped again, and his health was at 60%. Peter had no tricks left. He needed to win this straight up now. I don¡¯t know if I can do it. He lunged at Arthur again while part of his mind wondered if he¡¯d just rez somewhere else randomly out there, miles away from his clan. Arthur¡¯s stamina had to be getting lower by now. The ghoul¡¯s twist away from the blade felt slower and less graceful this time. Peter grabbed at him and managed to get a handful of rags, which he jerked hard, pulling him off balance. The ghoul¡¯s teeth snapped at Peter, and it¡¯s knife stabbed deep into his arm. CRIT flashed. Shit.
Health -15% (20)
Peter stabbed hard, right into Arthur¡¯s abdomen again. CRIT The ghoul¡¯s health dropped to 55%, then immediately flashed lower to 50% from his poisoned status The Gladius seemed to be giving him some nice critical hits, but there was still no obvious way to catch up since every time Peter landed a blow, Arthur did too. His level advantage was showing. I¡¯ve got maybe two more chances before I hit zero. It wasn¡¯t possible. Even if he managed two more successful crits, he¡¯d only drop Arthur to 30% maybe if he was lucky. Add another 5% for the poisoning. There was only one option. He jumped up, whirled around, and grabbed Barbie. He dragged her after him, pumping down the hallway towards the door to the food room. Arthur shrieked rage and ran after them, knife and steel bar held high. Peter and Barbi flew into the room, and Peter threw the door shut. There was no lock. ¡°Keep it shut!¡± he said to Barbie. To her credit she didn¡¯t ask any questions. She threw herself against the door, which instantly bulged inward as Arthur smashed into it from the outside. There was no time to worry about how long she could hold out. Peter ripped open the box of MREs and pulled out a meal kit. I was looking forward to enjoying this. He pulled open a pouch. There was a slice of cake inside. He shoved it into his mouth, chewing eagerly. The door smashed against Barbie again. She grunted with the effort of holding it closed. ¡°Stupid Raider Ghoul come out and fight!¡± roared Arthur.
Health +10% (30)
I will. Give me a second. He pulled open a can of fruit and downed the contents instantly.
Health +10% (40)
¡°Don¡¯t know if I can keep door closed,¡± Barbie said after Arthur smashed into it once more from the other side. This time it had flown open a good six inches before she pushed it closed again. There was no time to reply. He pulled out the main course. Meat always gave the best results. It was spaghetti and meatballs. Peter grabbed it by the handful and shoveled it messily into his mouth.
Health +20% (60)
There was no time left to finish anything else. Arthur roared and threw himself against the door one more time, and this time it flew open, sending Barbie crashing backwards against the wall. Her health bar dropped 15%. Arthur stumbled into the room, but Peter was ready. He jumped at the ghoul before it could regain balance. It¡¯s health bar was still poisoned yellow, and it now read 35%. Got you, asshole. He jumped at Arthur and stabbed as hard as he could. Throwing everything into it with your strength usually bumped the crit chance. He was rewarded with a flashing CRIT and the ghoul¡¯s health dropped to 20%. His eye was healing too. Vision was still fuzzy on that side, but it was there. He grinned and pulled his arm back to strike again. Arthur wasn¡¯t finished yet, though. Even as his health ticked down to 15%, he kicked hard and sent Peter sprawling backwards, then jumped up and brought his iron bar crashing down for Peter¡¯s head. Even though he wrenched his head to one side, it caught him on the temple with a flash of pain that blinded him momentarily.
Health -15% (45)
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Peter stabbed blindly with his shortsword but there wasn¡¯t room for any kind of swing. All the same it connected with Arthur¡¯s arm, and the ghoul bellowed and jerked back. Through his blurred vision Peter saw his health drop to 10%. But something was changing with Arthur now. He roared and leapt to his feet, suddenly looking like he was as full of energy as he had been at the start of the fight. Great, he¡¯s got a Second Wind buff. Peter scrambled back and held up his blade, pointed at Arthur. The ghoul loomed over him as his health bar ticked down to 5%. He swung down with his iron bar, smashing it into Peter¡¯s sternum, then stabbed with the knife in his other hand, plunging it into Peter¡¯s stomach. The pain was colossal. CRIT flashed twice.
Health -20% (25)
Health -15% (10)
Arthur grinned and raised his arm for the final blow just as his poisoned status ticked down past the final 5%. He stared at Peter for a moment with a look of pure hatred, then his face went slack and he dropped dead on top of him. Peter couldn¡¯t even celebrate. He was too focused on the burning pain in his chest and his stomach. I don¡¯t care about anything else, I need to get them to turn the somatics down. This is too much. He grunted and pushed the dead ghoul off of him. The other three members of Arthur¡¯s clan were watching from the doorway. Barbie was grinning at him, but the others looked like they were wondering just how hurt he was. He forced himself to bend over and grab Arthur¡¯s knife, ignoring the bolt of pain that shot through him and gritting his teeth as he stood back up again.. ¡°I am the strongest ghoul here,¡± he rasped at them. ¡°Obey me or I will kill you.¡± He advanced towards them holding both knives, trying not to stagger. They stared back at him for a moment, looking like they were unsure about what to do. Then he pointed at the pile of food with Arthur''s knife. ¡°Join my clan, and we will all eat well tonight,¡± he said. On the way back to the nest, the five of them crept along in a line, with Peter at the lead. He went slowly, trying to appear as if he was watching out for danger, but all he was really trying to do was move steadily and look like he wasn¡¯t in agony. Barbie followed closely behind him, and he got the feeling she was worried about him, but at least she had the sense not to make a big deal about it. Thankfully nothing else showed up along the way. He¡¯d eaten one more snack from the MRE before they left - victor¡¯s privilege - and bumped his health up to 20. All the same he wasn¡¯t up to any kind of fight and he knew it. The boys opened up the door to the nest and let them all in without any questions at all. Interesting. I guess their status as clan members updates right away for everyone. Not exactly realistic, but convenient. He handed Arthur¡¯s knife to Barbie. That way at least she had something better than an old kitchen knife. The big iron bar went to Dumbo Ghoul. He was strong enough to wield it effectively. The real treasure he kept for himself of course. The ghoul had had fifty crude gold coins on him, which was a nice surprise. Now they even had some money to work with. But more importantly, he¡¯d stripped the field generator off the corpse as soon as he¡¯d gotten a chance. That thing was respectably rare, and having one for himself was a big advantage in that it effectively doubled his health in combat.
PERSONAL SHIELD GENERATOR UNMODIFIED
LEVEL 5 ARMOR POWERED; MOTION CHARGED
DEFENSE 20%; RECHARGING (1 HOUR) 20
This is a nice little personal safety device, designed to protect elderly dog walkers at night. It will give you ten minutes of protection to 100% of your HP or until it runs out. Bask in your invincibility.
He told KG to get everyone working on a new junk pile wall - this one in front of the door to the basement. There was no point in just leaving that exposed for just anyone to find, and burying it behind a new pile would hopefully make a casual viewer assume it was just covering a gap in the wall. He left the food for the others to deal with, took one more MRE for himself - there were 18 left in the box after that - and crawled upstairs to recuperate and plan. He wanted a rest. I¡¯ve been going nonstop for how many hours now? That includes seven on my old account, plus the business with Axiom. That had to be at least two or three, and then five more hours adapting to a totally different system. I need a break!
NEXT LOGOUT ALLOWANCE: 0 HOURS 21 MINUTES (2 HOURS BANKED)
An IRL break would do very nicely. He needed to talk to Weller, though he had to handle it very carefully. The nest was reasonably secure and well stocked now. With any luck nothing would try to kill them in the next 20 minutes. He flopped down in the big room with his back against a wall and opened up his dinner. The status updates had scrolled past back in the other building, but he¡¯d been in too much pain to pay any attention to them. Now he brought them up again.
Receive 300 XP?
That would have been for killing Arthur.
Passive Skills
One-Handed (Melee) +1 Now Level 5
Keep practicing and you may be a legitimate threat one day.
Concealment +1 Now Level 5
You''re becoming a pro at being a sneaky little sneaker.
Clan membership increased by 3
Receive 150 XP?
Clan Tier +1 (Now 2)
Congratulations, your clan is now one step above a cluster of random mobs. New menu options are even available.
Receive 200 XP?
It didn¡¯t seem like much for all that effort, but then again at least he¡¯d managed to bump his clan up into the next level. Speaking of which.
HORDE CLAN LEADER Tier 2 Clan (65/100)
Carnage Clan 6 Common Horde
Moral 75 (Content)
Parties
????No Parties
Commands
BUILD
ROLES
Well-fed ghouls were happy ghouls, presumably. He was hoping they might even hit 100% once they were done eating. There was no submenu to Parties right now though. That¡¯s interesting. Like player parties? Was that the model? He was supposed to run the clan as a series of parties that he could direct to do things? His own stats were looking decent. He was still in no position to go strolling around like he was invincible, but it was a start.
Horde Clan Leader; Raider Ghoul Level 4 (670/800)
Carnage Clan Tier 1 (65/100)
Primary Stats
Strength 3
Vitality 2
Constitution 1
Dexterity 1
Perception 1
Intelligence 2
Willpower 1
Social 3
Luck 1
Clan Influence
Embolden? Tier 1 (10%; 50m)
Base Skills
Bare Knuckles? 1
One-Handed (Melee) 5
Two-Handed (Melee) 2
Concealment 5
Acquired Skills
Poison Resistance 10% (Tier 5)
T-Tech Accessibility 10
He flicked back to the Clan menu. He really wanted to know what his new options were for the group and for improving the nest.
??ROLES
????Tier 1
????Tier 2
??????1. Fixer
??????2. Thrower
??????3. Mystic
I guess a Thrower is ranged? And what does a mystical ghoul do? Fixer sounded promising. His equipment needed looking after. He hoped that was some kind of armorer or weaponsmith.
??BUILD
????Tier 1
????Tier 2
??????Attack
?????? 1. Weapons Pile
??????Defence
????? 1. Strong Junk Pile Wall
That''s a bit underwhelming. Ghouls were clearly the masters of pile technology. But a pile of weapons didn¡¯t sound like much of an improvement. Hopefully it meant more than just an actual pile. He could wait until after his break to worry about assigning all the roles. But it would be really nice to come back and find a few new clan members. He got up went downstairs to where his clan was lounging around in the dark lazily chewing on a combination of dead rats and MRE candy. They actually looked relaxed for the first time. They had a nest, and it was secure. They had food. Dumbo Ghoul was working on his second full MRE and was busy shovelling something into his mouth. It might have been a steak at one point. He flicked up the clan status again.
CLAN MORALE Now 80; Content
What does it take to get these guys to 100? He could worry about it later. ¡°Hey boss,¡± Barbie said, and patted the ground next to her. ¡°You sit here.¡± ¡°She tell us story of the fight,¡± KG said. He pointed at the three new ghouls. ¡°They tell us too. Sounds like good fight. Knife Ghoul is sad he not there.¡± Peter was anxious to get going, but he didn¡¯t want to disappoint them. So he sat down and looked around at them. ¡°Arthur was strong,¡± he said. ¡°Raider Ghoul was stronger.¡± He wanted to see if it would bump their morale at all. They all nodded in agreement but nothing else happened. Oh well. He pointed at Knife Ghoul. ¡°I want us to do two things now. Make the wall stronger, and make a weapons pile.¡± KG looked like he approved. ¡°I have ideas when we make wall, think we can make it better now.¡± ¡°Great. What can you do with the weapons pile?¡± The ghoul shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Put all weapons in one place, probably smart. Easy to get if there big problem.¡± Hopefully that¡¯s just a requirement for the next advancement, then. ¡°Listen up,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m going to disappear for a while. I have Leader things to think about.¡± KG nodded. ¡°That good leader plan,¡± he said. ¡°You go upstairs, lie down. We keep nest safe.¡± Makes sense that they would be hardwired to accept player logouts. He looked at Barbie. It was her or Dumbo for the fixer. Presumably intelligence had to be a factor there. ¡°Barbie, can you have a go at fixing up the knives and my sword? They need to be sharp.¡± She looked frightened. ¡°Maybe I do knives,¡± she said. ¡°Sword I try but it look complicated.¡± So there¡¯s limits on a Fixers at our level. Wonderful. I won¡¯t even mention my armor or the shield generator. He told her to try, then sighed and stood up. ¡°Listen up,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about another job for some of you while I¡¯m gone.¡± They all looked at him expectantly. ¡°I want to send a party out to find more ghouls to join us. Carnage Clan will grow.¡± KG nodded again. ¡°That good,¡± he said. ¡°But will that mean they have to fight a clan leader?¡± he said. Dumbo might be up to it, but Peter didn¡¯t want to let him go, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to risk losing one or two of his current members just for the chance to move towards a Level 3 clan yet. ¡°No no,¡± Knife Ghoul said. ¡°They just look for alone ghouls. Plenty of those. They stay away from clan fights!¡± ¡°Killing other Clan leader, ¡° Barbie said. ¡°That for very strong leader, not regular ghouls.¡± She looked at him admiringly. Well, I guess that cements my reputation a bit, even if I almost died in the process. But personally, he wanted to take it a little easier for now. He was head of a Level 2 clan with enough options to start putting everything together to make some real progress. The last thing he needed was to get killed. He still didn¡¯t know how resurrection really worked with ghouls and he wasn¡¯t going to roll the dice on losing everything until he understood it better. He pointed to the three new, nameless ghouls. ¡°You guys,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m making you a Party. You go out there and find more ghouls for the clan.¡± They nodded and looked glum. ¡°Okay boss,¡± one said. ¡°We go.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get killed,¡± he said to them. ¡°That¡¯s also an order.¡± That seemed to brighten them up a bit. ¡°Okay, we do that too,¡± another one said.
NEXT LOGOUT ALLOWANCE: 0 HOURS 3 MINUTES (2 HOURS BANKED)
He wanted to hit that logout timer right on the nose. The last thing he needed was to find out that he¡¯d missed the opportunity, and he didn¡¯t put it past Axiom for a minute to be that cruel. ¡°Can you organize it?¡± he said to KG. ¡°I need to get going.¡± KG nodded. ¡°I do it. You go sleep.¡± He started up the stairs and waved at them all. ¡°I¡¯ll be back. Bring me new ghouls, okay?¡± ¡°They bring good ghouls or I hit them hard,¡± KG said. The clan all nodded like Knife Ghoul was speaking good common sense. Chapter 7.5 Abacus_7# (HAPPY): Anyone hearing about ghouls beyond the edge of the city? We were about 7k outside of the outer nexus zone and ran into a pack that was hiding in one of the big pileups on the highway [map]. That''s a long way from home for them. AkhenaTed (TENSHI_G): Maybe they lost a fight and ran the wrong way? Fiddy_Boy (DOMINATORS): Ghouls don''t go more than 4km outside the nexus boundary. Agra7_VIM#X (SPUDS): Group from DEADFRIENDS wiped to a ghoul rush at Glory Road Hospital. Fiddy_Boy (DOMINATORS): Which is basically 4km from the edge. It''s hard-coded, they don''t do that.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. FREEEEEEK_Over (RASTAFAX): We saw something near the satellite station at Kildeer couple of days ago. Looked like five or six ghouls running away from us. AkhenaTed (TENSHI_G): Something bad happening inside? Maybe they''re leaving. SenKiRoMa (SPIROS): WTB any Lvl 80+ enhanced exoskeleton components. Best $$$. Fiddy_Boy (DOMINATORS): Probably just wildmen. Won''t be ghouls. Abacus_7# (HAPPY): I know what happened okay? They killed three of us and then disappeared. Never seen anything like it. FREEEEEEK_Over (RASTAFAX): Didn''t look like wildmen. Shrug. Agra7_VIM#X (SPUDS): Someone needs to get a video if they see it again. Fiddy_Boy (DOMINATORS): Can''t happen. DEO GameChat (General) - Thursday Nov 7 2031 19:42CST Chapter 8.0 He was home again! His place looked intact at least. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, and his TV was even on, just like he¡¯d left it. He hated coming home to a silent house. ¡°Finally,¡± he muttered, and wandered into the kitchen to grab a snack. As he opened the fridge he realized he was still looking around carefully, watching out for potential threats. He took a few deep breaths and tried to leave the game behind. ¡°Messages,¡± he said. As expected there was nothing much. A bank update, a few circulars from the Disability group. And one folder tagged ¡°Confidential¡± from Axiom Online. I can guess what that is. He unlocked it and sure enough, it was his copy of the agreement he¡¯d signed. Two hundred pages? It seemed like there was a lot of material there that he¡¯d neglected to scan through. That¡¯s got to be some kind of violation. I can¡¯t sign my life away with five minutes of prep time. It obviously needed careful reading. Then maybe some serious thinking and searching about legal support options. But when he flopped down on the couch, he finally noticed one brand new thing. There was a wall display near the TV, and it hadn¡¯t been there when he left.
LOGOUT ALLOWANCE: 1 HOUR 54 MINUTES REMAINING
¡°Oh go to hell!¡± he said to the room in general. They¡¯d added this to his home. How had they even managed to get access rights to his place? This was beyond the pale. Screw this. He flicked up his interface and looked at the email screen. Who did he even know in the real world anymore to talk to? His dad had a brother - his uncle, he supposed - living in the east¡­ Maryland? He wasn¡¯t sure. He might have gone to the service, but Peter was still in induced coma when that all happened. He certainly hadn¡¯t tried to get in contact. One of his mom¡¯s friends had sent some flowery card, but it wasn¡¯t anything that invited him to keep in touch. He was frankly worried about trying to talk to Ken the therapist about it. They might be able to withdraw him from whatever was going on, but he was wary about giving them the notion that he couldn¡¯t be trusted on his own online. Bad things might be down that path. Which didn¡¯t leave a lot of options. He brought up LifeNull and went to the Dead Earth forum. 1 PRIVATE MESSAGE That¡¯s it? He hadn''t been gone that long, but his storefront must have been removed by now. It would have been nice if a few people had checked in. The message was from FiltyOldBill, no surprise. They''d always been friendly. He ran an armor place specializing in new player gear, so there was some overlap in their clientele. But he''d been around almost as long as Peter and was online way more than someone with a job could manage. It was bad form to probe to closely into people''s real lives, but it seemed like a given that his name had some truth to it. He had to be a retiree. Hey MC - what the hell? You just up and cancelled your subscription without any warning? Was the latest batch actually that bad? I guess it¡¯s no surprise to you that your space is already taken. I''ve seen the new owner coming and going and I have a bad feeling. He''s got a sign template up with way too much sparkly pink in it. This can''t be good. Let me know what¡¯s going on, okay? Here¡¯s a VCX link if you feel like meeting up. An actual offer to meet up outside of the game. That was a first from Bill. Normally he might have felt a little weird about it, but here and now it seemed like a lifeline. The reply command just bleeped at him. ¡°Seriously?¡± he said. There was a knock at his door. Gee, I wonder who that could be? He sighed and got up. ¡°Peter,¡± Weller said, sitting in the big armchair next to the TV. ¡°First of all I want to apologize for the way we threw you into things there. I¡¯m sure it was upsetting.¡± Peter nodded. ¡°It was, Paul. What was that about?¡± Weller waved it away. ¡°Well first of all, we were always going to do a fairly minimal intro. It¡¯s part of the game system - you¡¯re in hardcore mode. This is supposed to be a real challenge. Not much help, and you have to figure it out on your own.¡± ¡°You could have said that much.¡± ¡°I know, I know. But someone was talking in my ear and I ended up needing to go right away. I¡¯m really sorry about that, but from what I¡¯ve seen you¡¯ve been doing great. You established a clan within the first few hours! That¡¯s impressive from a starting point of zero.¡± ¡°The other players were slower?¡± ¡°Oh definitely. Definitely. I had a feeling you¡¯d take to this like a fish to water.¡± "Have you been watching?" "I wish I had time for that these days. Things have been hectic. But I got a quick rundown of your first few hours." Weller seemed distracted. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, ¡°But the thing I really needed to talk to you about was the medical provisions in your agreement.¡± Medical? ¡°What about it?¡± Peter said. ¡°Holy Family seemed like a fine place,¡± Weller said. ¡°But they¡¯re packed to the gills with high-needs patients and they¡¯re understaffed. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve been doing the best they could for you, but frankly the physician we had on site wasn¡¯t happy with your condition.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Peter said. This was the last thing he was expecting to talk to Weller about. ¡°When was the last time you went purely physical? Checked in on your body?¡± Peter shrugged. ¡°It''s been a while. There¡¯s not much reason to. It¡¯s uncomfortable and there¡¯s nothing to see or do. ¡° Weller nodded. ¡°So you¡¯re just taking it on faith that they¡¯ve been doing all the required physio to keep you in shape?¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I guess¡­¡± It had never even occurred to him to question it. That was their job, after all. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t criticize their work. It wouldn¡¯t do any good anyway. But Dr. Kumar was very concerned with your condition. He¡¯s sent some samples in to the lab, but he suspects you¡¯re suffering from some kind of low-key systemic infection. Possibly it started in your lungs, but one way or another he felt you were in rough shape when they showed up.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Peter said. ¡°So am I¡­ did they put me on antibiotics or something?¡± ¡°Of course! Not to worry. You see, one of the provisions of our agreement was that we could assume medical responsibility for you if we thought it was warranted. Doctor Kumar was all over that. You should see the man when he¡¯s angry, it¡¯s quite a sight.¡± Something inside of Peter was waving madly for his attention. They can assume medical responsibility for me? Axiom can? Weller seemed to read the look on Peter¡¯s face. ¡°Look, don¡¯t worry, okay? The whole point is to keep you healthy. That¡¯s what¡¯s going on here. Honestly it¡¯s not surprising that you weren¡¯t doing well. Patients in your condition, apparently it¡¯s pretty common to have issues like this.¡± ¡°I¡­ Okay, but what does that mean, assume responsibility for me? I still have final say on things, yes?¡± Weller¡¯s face was all worry. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t give you the wrong idea - yes, of course you do! As soon as the lab results come back you should have a meeting with Dr. Kumar. We¡¯ll set that up right away, regardless of where you are on the logout cycle.¡± Suddenly everything about the game came flooding back to Peter¡¯s mind. ¡°Look, I have a lot of questions about everything, but number one is the logout timer. I didn¡¯t realize I was slave labor.¡± Weller shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not slave labor, Peter. This is part of the production cycle. I promise you, you¡¯re not the only one who¡¯s putting in long hours right now.¡± ¡°Really? You give everyone two hours per day off?¡± Weller rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not that bad. You¡¯re on the same break timing as anyone else. Six hours on, two hours off, twice, that¡¯s 16 hours total, followed by up to eight hours off to sleep. Twelve hour days is actually pretty generous compared to some of our devs, believe me.¡± ¡°Seven days per week?¡± Weller grinned. ¡°Well, one of the reasons we approached you was because that was already your schedule. We can see your logs Peter. In the past two years you¡¯ve taken a total of ten days entirely offline from the game.¡± They¡¯ve kind of got me there. ¡°When I take a break is my choice, nobody else¡¯s.¡± ¡°Fair enough, but like I said we¡¯re in crunch time right now. The player input is essential to our work. If you really need to take a day off, just send me a message. We¡¯ll arrange it.¡± Peter felt like Weller was leading the conversation down a path that he¡¯d already planned out. He needed to move carefully, and keep an eye out for important items that he was being talked away from. Axiom had already demonstrated that they would put Peter into situations without essential information. He had to make sure he asked Weller about everything. I need to throw him off balance. ¡°I met a Hunter ghoul named John. He said he was a player, and that Axiom had manipulated his memories. Frankly he seemed kind of nuts.¡± Weller nodded. ¡°He¡¯s not entirely wrong.¡± He sighed and gave Peter a long look. ¡°We¡¯re working on a lot of different projects. That Lone Hunter is one of them. I can¡¯t say a lot about it, but he¡¯s an AI. Just a very advanced one. A considerable part of his mind is constructed from John Brenner, one of our devs.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t seem like an NPC to me,¡± Peter said. ¡°And it seemed pretty mad at Axiom.¡± Weller snorted. ¡°That¡¯s John all over, for sure. He¡¯s a natural complainer.¡± ¡°It seemed like a person, not an AI.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s the whole point. But I agree with you that it¡¯s probably whatever the AI equivalent of insane is. If it was up to me I¡¯d have had the thing removed ages ago.¡± ¡°Plus you can read my mind, yeah? The game pulled out the ghoul names from what I was thinking.¡± Weller grinned. ¡°Is that cool or what? It¡¯s a core component of the new DMAI iteration. The bidirectional bandwidth on your gear is like an order of magnitude better. We can pull out enough data to react to the player in ways that were never possible before.¡± ¡°You can read my mind. How much privacy can I expect?¡± Weller burst out laughing. ¡°Believe it or not we¡¯re pretty busy. I guarantee you that nobody is trying to listen in on your every thought.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Maybe with enough time and effort, but the DMAI is focused on game-specific interactions. Plus it¡¯s not perfect. If your visual cortex is seeing a ghoul and there¡¯s a clear enough subvocalization of a name, it can pick up the connection, yeah. But you¡¯re going to see some cases where it gets it wrong, too.¡± Well how about that? I was worried about nothing at all. So why am I still feeling like there¡¯s something I¡¯m missing? He was being managed. He was sure of it. Shrieker¡¯s warning, whether it came from an AI or not, was still in the back of his mind. Time to change tracks again. It was one way to try to throw Weller off of any plans he had for the conversation. Peter couldn¡¯t think of a better one at the moment. ¡°My communications are blocked, Paul. Also¡± - he pointed to the wall display - ¡°who gave you admin permissions for my home? I don¡¯t remember granting you any control over my life outside of the game.¡± Weller seemed nonplussed. ¡°The communications thing is temporary. I just wanted a chance to have this talk with you first, so that you understood what was happening here. I can see how it might be misinterpreted, believe me.¡± ¡°What do you think I need to understand before you¡¯ll let me use my home as if it was my own?¡± Weller sighed again and nodded at the wall display. ¡°We can do that because you¡¯re on our server now. Not the one at Holy Family.¡± ¡°Really. Why?¡± The amount of control Axiom had taken over his life just kept getting bigger. ¡°Doctor Kumar regards you as his patient now. This was his call, not mine. He had you transferred. It¡¯s an upgrade relative to Holy Family, believe me. But it¡¯s on a network backbone for one of our infrastructure subsidiaries, so we can kill two birds with one stone. Lower network latency is a good thing, no?¡± Peter sat back on the couch and stared at Weller for a few moments. ¡°In the space of what? Six or seven hours? You¡¯ve taken over my whole life.¡± Weller frowned. ¡°We signed you on as a contractor, but since you¡¯re a liability from a medical standpoint we exercised our option, on a physician¡¯s recommendation, to move you to a much better facility. Please tell me what part of that was a shitty move on our part.¡± Peter sighed. He couldn¡¯t come up with a good response. Not now anyway. On the face of it Weller¡¯s point made sense. But he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something wasn¡¯t right. That something was missing. ¡°So where am I?¡± Weller waved that away, too. ¡°It¡¯s all in your system, you don¡¯t need my help with that. Plus your communications are unblocked now.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Weller gave him a serious look. ¡°Just remember the NDA please. If you start spouting off about what you¡¯re doing, we will be within our rights to terminate the agreement.¡± Peter nodded. Weller hesitated, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s not go there, okay Peter? I¡¯m rooting for you. You¡¯ll do some good work for us, and in the end we¡¯ll have you fixed up in Shenzhen. Everybody¡¯s happy.¡± ¡°So what is it exactly that I¡¯m supposed to be doing? Is there a manual, a term sheet? Anything? I¡¯m in the dark here.¡± ¡°Yup. That¡¯s the way we like it.¡± Peter¡¯s expression seemed to have some effect on Weller. ¡°Like I said, this is a more challenging mode. The intent is to throw the player in with a minimum of help. It¡¯s a more visceral experience, with more uncertainty and fear. Hopefully, anyway. Watching a few expert-level players bash their way around and break things is important.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the timeline for release?¡± ¡°When it¡¯s done? Sorry, can¡¯t resist cliches. Probably a year, that''s the current plan. Depends on how things go.¡± ¡°Can I submit bug reports?¡± ¡°I guess so. If you feel it¡¯s important. Just message me.¡± ¡°Okay, bug number one. The somatics are just stupid. The pain level is too high. You can consider that a formal complaint. You need to drop it down a lot. A ghoul stabbed me in the eye and it was¡­ awful.¡± Weller nodded. ¡°Noted. But can I suggest we give it a couple of days? You might have been more sensitive owing to your real world somatics. The infection.¡± ¡°And in the meantime?¡± ¡°Try not to get stabbed in the eye again, I guess. Really though if stays a problem, message me and I¡¯ll have someone on it.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Bug number two. I can only have one support request active.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a feature. It¡¯s all part of the experience. Not so much hand holding.¡± ¡°Even for a beta?¡± ¡°Calling it a beta is optimistic at this point, but yes. We want you guys lean and hungry and a bit frustrated. Anyway we don¡¯t ignore them. We¡¯ll see it.¡± He stood up and looked out the window. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take up all your break time Peter. You deserve some rest.¡± Peter felt a moment of panic. Once Weller left there was no telling how long it would be until someone would actually answer his questions again. But before he could say anything Weller held up his hand. ¡°But the appointment with Dr. Kumar is top priority. We¡¯ll notify you for a logout the moment that¡¯s set up, and I won¡¯t delay in passing along anything that he wants you to know before then, okay?¡± Once Weller was gone, Peter tried to relax. He flicked through channels and feeds looking for something interesting, but he couldn¡¯t stay focused. So he gave up and went outside. Sitting in the sunlight in a safe place is going to be a luxury for a while. I guess I should lap it up. Nothing wants to kill me here. He realized he was starting to doze, so before he drifted off he put together a quick message to FilthyOldBill. Hey Bill sorry about that. It¡¯s complicated. Can we meet tomorrow? I think I should be available around either noon or 7PM CST, so let me know. VCX is fine, I''ll show up. He couldn¡¯t actually tell Bill anything, but all the same he didn¡¯t want to lose touch with one of his only current IRL contacts that wasn¡¯t also capable of listening in on his thoughts or apparently deciding to move his body without so much as consulting him. He needed to work on crafting an emergency escape button, just in case. Keeping a line open to Ken the Therapist was probably smart too. Plus he didn''t like the idea of just being whisked away with nobody knowing where he went. Hi Ken I apologize for my sudden departure! An opportunity came up and I decided to take it. Are you still my therapist at this point? If not who is? Someone at He flicked through a few pages to find his new home. Parkland Care? He sent it off and sat back, satisfied. There we go. Two lines of communication to the outside world established. It made him feel slightly less kidnapped. There was one more thing he could do. Should do, really. He brought up the base-level VRMI screen and stared at the button. It can probably wait. Not like going physical will tell me much at this point. He waved it away again and sat down on the couch, planning to start paging through the Axiom agreement, but three pages in he was fast asleep. Axiom woke him up with a soft but insistent bell to tell him his time was up. No snooze button for this, I guess. Peter logged back in to the sound of ghouls yelling from downstairs. ¡°You guys get ready to fight if wall fall down!¡± That was KG, no doubt about it. There was a loud boom, and he heard Barbie¡¯s voice. ¡°Need help over here!¡± Honestly, I can¡¯t leave you people alone for a couple of hours. He jumped up and scrambled quickly down the stairs. All of the ghouls were manning the wall, which was already looking damaged, and it shuddered as something crashed against it. Chapter 8.5 Character Names Players may now elect to use their party chat labels in place of the formally formatted first name/last name they chose at character creation. This has been implemented in response to the overwhelming results in favor of it at the First Launch Anniversary Celebration survey event. Dead Earth Online Patch 1.572 Notes, April 12, 2028 A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Alan Smith (AVATARS): This was such a bonehead move there¡¯s nothing lore-friendly about having ¡°KnobGobbler69¡± in your party. Sean Amherst (BRINE): I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll implement some kind of check for offensive names. Star_Vixen9 (DELTA): Your old-world names mean nothing to us, the tribes of the new nations will call themselves what they like. Alan Smith (AVATARS): Whatever, but it¡¯s going to start looking dumb. KnobGobbler (LA_ASTRA): Thank you for the suggestion, it¡¯s perfect. DEO GameChat (General) - Thursday Apr 13 2028 13:42CST Chapter 9.0 ¡°What is it?¡± he said. ¡°Is it the Barongs again?¡± Knife Ghoul shook his head. ¡°Good you here, we got trouble. Raiders, like maybe four. Maybe more.¡± ¡°Why are they attacking us?¡± KG pointed at one of the three nameless ghouls from Arthur¡¯s clan. ¡°These guys looking for more ghouls, like you say. Raiders see them, chase them.¡± So they came back here. Hooray. Peter looked at one of the new ghouls, who was pushing his whole body against the wall to shore it up. ¡°Why did they come after you? Did you attack them?¡± The ghoul looked frightened. ¡°No way boss,¡± he said. ¡°They come out of building, pointing at us. Shoot guns at us. We run away.¡± ¡°Anyone hurt?¡± He pointed at one of the other three. ¡°That guy, they shoot his arm. He okay.¡± The ghoul didn¡¯t exactly look okay. He had a bloody rag wrapped around his lower arm, but to his credit he was still helping Dumbo Ghoul move heavy blocks up against the wall. I need real weapons. How are we supposed to fight armed raiders with knives and rocks? ¡°Can you keep the wall together?¡± he said to Knife Ghoul. KG shrugged. ¡°We try. Not forever. Need to kill them.¡± Peter looked at his Clan Leader options again. ¡°What does a ghoul Thrower do?¡± ¡°Strong guy go up high and and throw things down. Heavy things. Hit people, they die.¡± That was one option at least. Dumbo Ghoul was the go-to guy for strength of course. It was a damn shame he¡¯d had to kill Arthur. He would have been useful here. ¡°Okay, what about a Mystic?¡± KG made a strange hand motion. ¡°He talk to Dead Horde. Get good ideas. Dead Horde tell where to find good stuff.¡± ¡°Dead Horde?¡± KG nodded seriously. ¡°If clan have good talk with Dead Horde, make them stronger.¡± Peter didn¡¯t really understand the lore here, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter much. A mystic was presumably some kind of sensor who could detect hidden things. Good loot, or weapons, maybe. Anything would be great, really. All we have right now is an empty building. The wall shuddered again as something crashed into it from outside. ¡°Dumbo!¡± Peter yelled. ¡°I want you to be a Thrower now! See if you can get up on the roof, but don¡¯t get shot up there!¡± Dumbo Ghoul stared at him blankly for a moment, then nodded slowly. ¡°Okay, I try boss.¡± As he lumbered up the stairs Peter looked at the others. That left four ghouls without specific jobs trying to keep the wall together. They all had knives now, at least. Not that it would be a lot of help against Raider rifles. Not unless they could get them into close-quarters hand to hand combat. He looked at KG. ¡°This probably isn¡¯t the best time, but who do you think would make a good Mystic?¡± No sense in leaving options unexplored. KG frowned. ¡°Mystic is weak clan member. Talk to Dead Horde make them weak. Need strong clan to fight.¡± ¡°I want to know if the Dead Horde can help us out. Maybe there¡¯s something here we can use.¡± The ghoul shook its head. ¡°Barbie Ghoul then. She already weak.¡± Peter looked at Barbie. She was fierce, but also very obviously not as strong as the others. He hated to do something that would damage her, but they needed to explore their options. Meatshields. Stay focused. ¡°Barbie! ¡° he said. ¡°We need to talk to the Dead Horde. You¡¯re the one. Can you do it?¡± Her expression was pure horror. ¡°Talk to Dead Horde? You make me Mystic?¡± She made the same hand motion as KG. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Barbie, honestly. But it has to be you.¡± She stared back at him for a moment, like she wanted to say something. But then her head dropped and she nodded. ¡°Okay, I do it for Raider Ghoul.¡± Peter felt a flash of shame. She¡¯d already helped him out more than once, and it was obviously a lot to ask from her. ¡°I owe you Barbie,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you, somehow.¡± She nodded without looking at him. ¡°I go upstairs and try to talk to Dead Horde now.¡± She sounded like she was accepting a death sentence. He put his hand on her shoulder again as she walked past him. ¡°Not kidding,¡± he said quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what yet, but you¡¯ll get something special for this. You can do it.¡± She nodded again, and flashed him a quick look with a little more determination in it. There was a sudden crashing noise from outside, and voices started shouting. Then a volley of rifle fire. ¡°I think Dumbo Ghoul find things to throw,¡± KG said. Peter stopped to listen. Rifles cracked again, and there was a loud crash from somewhere up above. His ghoul count didn¡¯t drop, so presumably Dumbo wasn¡¯t dead. All the same he didn¡¯t want to leave him all alone up there. He couldn¡¯t afford to leave the wall undefended either. Looks like I¡¯m up next. ¡°Keep the wall strong,¡± he said to KG. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can come up with. I¡¯m going to go help Dumbo.¡± KG nodded without looking at him. He had other things on his mind. Peter ran upstairs. How did he get up on the roof? There had to be a ladder or something. He ran past Barbie and caught a glimpse of her. She was sitting in a dark room with her eyes closed. Rifles cracked outside again, and there was a loud bang from downstairs. He couldn¡¯t see a ladder, or a hatch in the roof anywhere. But he could hear Dumbo moving around above him. He was obviously dragging something towards the edge of the roof. If he can find the way up, then so can I! But there was nothing. He crept quietly into Barbie¡¯s room, being careful not to interrupt her. She was chanting something low and guttural. It sounded like the same syllables over and over again. But there was nothing in there, either. He made a frustrated noise and went out into the hall again. The window? There were three windows, two of them broken and boarded up, but the boards on the far one had been removed . He stuck his head outside and looked around. And there it is. It led out onto a broken fire escape. There was no way down to the ground, but he could see what looked like a rusty ladder going upwards.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Before he stepped outside he flicked on his personal shield and was happy to see his health turn purple. He seemed to be partially obscured from view at the front of the building, so it was possible to get up without being seen by the Raiders. Or it had been, before. Halfway up he felt something smack into the side of his face and a burst of pain nearly made him let go of the ladder. It was followed by a loud CRACK of a rifle. His health bar stayed purple, but dropped down to 20% instantly. That was a kill shot. He scrambled up the ladder and another bullet smacked into the building beside him as he rolled over onto the roof. Dumbo Ghoul came loping towards him, limping slightly but looking happy to see him. ¡°Hey boss!¡± he said. ¡°I take big thing to edge! Wait for chance to drop it on guys down there!¡± ¡°Dumbo, you¡¯re hit,¡± Peter said. Dumbo looked down at his bleeding leg. ¡°Pfft,¡± he said. ¡°Stupid Raider bullets not so tough.¡± His health read 85% though. It had been a solid shot that got him. ¡°Okay, but don¡¯t take any chances. I want you alive.¡± ¡°You got it boss. Come on, I show you!¡± The two of them crept over towards the bulky thing that Dumbo had brought to the edge. It was a rusted air conditioning unit, and a big one at that. Peter peeked his head out from around the edge of the unit. He could see the heads of two Raiders crouching down across the street behind a broken wall. If I only had a rifle. And the ability to use a rifle. He waited for a moment to see if they could see him. When they didn¡¯t move he poked his head out a little farther to look down. ¡°Careful boss,¡± whispered Dumbo. ¡°Other rifle guy over there on side.¡± That must have been the one shooting at me. But he wanted to see. There were two more Raiders down below. They were staring up at the roof. They know we¡¯re here. It was a stalemate. They weren¡¯t going to let Dumbo drop anything on them. They must have sent that guy over to the side to see if he could flank around back and find another way in. Or more than just the one guy. He felt pretty secure. The doors to the back had been solid. But there were the windows. He should have had those walled up too. They were boarded, but that wasn¡¯t going to hold them against any serious attempt at breaking in. Stupid. He wondered if he could talk to them. He had been able to understand the Raiders that he¡¯d killed with Shrieker. Could they understand him? He pulled his head back in behind the air conditioner. ¡°Hey!¡± he yelled. ¡°Raiders! What do you want?¡± There was silence, then he could hear them talking to each other. A voice came from below, probably from across the street. ¡°Fuck you Horde animal!¡± it bellowed. Peter wondered if his Raider reputation hit was going to make it impossible to negotiate with them. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m your type,¡± he yelled back. ¡°How about you tell me what you want instead?¡± ¡°Your stinking head on a stick!¡± yelled another voice. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be trying this hard to get in if you didn¡¯t want something! What is it? Maybe we can trade!¡± He could hear them talking angrily back and forth with each other. Finally the first voice spoke up. ¡°We want the Nanocrystal!¡± it said. ¡°Give it to us and maybe we let you live! That¡¯s our trade!¡± The what? He looked at Dumbo. ¡°Do you know what they¡¯re talking about?¡± Dumbo shook his head confidently. ¡°Don¡¯t know what that thing is,¡± he said. Peter sighed. They had followed the three new ghouls back here. It had to be them. ¡°Why do you think we have it?¡± he yelled back at the Raiders. ¡°Just bring it out here. Now,¡± the Raider said. I never checked their inventories. Stupid, stupid. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get it! I need to get down from the roof, so don¡¯t shoot me, okay?¡± ¡°Bring it outside!¡± the Raider yelled. He turned to Dumbo Ghoul. ¡°I¡¯m going to go see if we have that crystal, whatever it is. You stay here. If it looks like things are going bad, you try to help okay?¡± DG looked confused for a moment. ¡°Help by throwing things on Raiders?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± He grinned. ¡°Okay, I smash their heads!¡± Peter nodded and crept back over to the ladder. Nobody shot at him. That¡¯s a good sign, I hope. Then a thought occurred to him. Damn it, I forgot to ask Weller how rez works with ghouls. Do I lose my clan or not? There were too many things to worry about, so he¡¯d just need to make sure he didn¡¯t die for now. Barbie was still chanting to herself in the dark room. He left her alone and headed downstairs. ¡°You!¡± he pointed randomly to one of the new ghouls. ¡°Your name is Bill now!¡± The ghoul stared at him in confusion. ¡°Okay boss,¡± it said. ¡°Bill, you need to tell me what the nanocrystal is. I know one of you has it.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Bill said. ¡°That.¡± ¡°That,¡± said Peter. ¡°Who has it and what does it do?¡± Bill pointed at the ghoul who¡¯d been shot in the arm. ¡°Him,¡± he said. ¡°He have the crystal. We find it.¡± The wounded ghoul pulled something out of a dirty pocket in its ragged pants. ¡°Here boss,¡± it said. ¡°Crystal belong to clan now. You take it.¡± Peter nodded and looked in the ghoul¡¯s hand. Is it Transcendent Tech? It scanned blank red. Whatever it was, he was still too low-level to ID it. That didn''t match the behavior of the door lock, so it had to be something else. The crystal was pale blue, with little sparkly lights deep inside that moved slowly. Peter took it and held it up, looking deep inside the thing. ¡°Pretty,¡± said Knife Ghoul, staring over Peter¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m guessing this is worth a lot,¡± Peter said. ¡°It¡¯s a shame to let it go. But the Raiders say that they¡¯ll leave us alone if we give it to them.¡± KG frowned. ¡°Raiders lie. They always kill Horde.¡± The others all nodded. Their serious faces gave the impression that they had learned this much from hard experience. ¡°What does it do?¡± Peter said. ¡°Does anyone know?¡± The third new ghoul finally spoke up. ¡°Arthur talk about crystal when we find it. He say Biomorph take it, make fancy jewelry that talk.¡± ¡°Fancy jewelry that talks? What does it talk about?¡± The ghoul shrugged. ¡°Sound stupid to me, but Arthur say it good thing to find. He going to trade it to Biomorph.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s useful information anyway. Thanks for telling me.¡± The ghoul looked happy. ¡°You,¡± Peter said. ¡°Your name is Charlie.¡± The ghoul nodded. Peter pointed to the wounded one. ¡°And you¡¯re Dave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A for Arthur who I killed, then B, C, and D. Peter turned to KG. ¡°Any advice? I hate to give this up, but I don¡¯t think we can fight off a bunch of armed Raiders. If this will make them go away, then I¡¯m willing to let it go.¡± KG frowned. ¡°Maybe they leave. Maybe not.¡± ¡°Do you have a better idea?¡± Charlie snorted. ¡°We run out there and kill them all. That my idea.¡± Peter nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a brave idea, but they¡¯re all armed with rifles and we have knives. We wouldn¡¯t make it halfway to them before we were all dead.¡± ¡°Better than hiding,¡± Charlie said. ¡°I say living and growing stronger is smart. Being dead is just dead.¡± KG nodded in support of Peter. ¡°Boss right. Horde who hide is alive Horde.¡± It sounded like he was quoting some kind of common ghoul wisdom. Charlie rolled his eyes but didn¡¯t reply. ¡°So we give it to them?¡± Peter said to Knife Ghoul. ¡°Guess we see if that work,¡± KG said. Peter nodded and went to the door of the building. He unlocked it and cracked it open. ¡°Okay,¡± he yelled. ¡°We have it. We¡¯ll trade you for it. You leave your rifles and ammunition at the door, then you move away. We will take them and leave the crystal. Once the door is shut you come and get it.¡± There was silence. ¡°No,¡± said the voice. ¡°Here¡¯s the trade. You put the crystal down on the ground. We take it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not much of a trade.¡± ¡°You get to live and we kill you another day.¡± Peter sighed. He hated having no negotiating room. He only had one thing they wanted. The only thing they needed to give him in return was just walking away. And there was no guarantee they were going to even honor that. He wondered if it might have gone easier without the Raider reputation drop from his gear. He looked at KG, who shrugged. ¡°If this not work, we hide until they get bored.¡± Bill nodded. ¡°That good plan. Horde good at hiding.¡± Ghouls really are a weird combination of aggressive and unambitious. With the exception of Charlie at least, who was apparently suicidally optimistic about his fighting ability. But all the same they had a point. If the Raiders had what they wanted, they would probably want to get back to their camp with it and not spend all day on a pointless siege of a random ghoul nest. ¡°Okay,¡± Peter yelled. ¡°I¡¯m putting it outside now!¡± He opened the door a bit more, and started to reach outside with the crystal. ¡°No!¡± said a harsh voice behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t give it to them!¡± Peter hesitated, and turned to look. Barbie Ghoul was standing behind them all, and her eyes were glowing with a dim red light. She looked like she had lost ten pounds. Her already ragged skin hung off her cheeks, and her lips were curled into a sneer that was nothing like her usual meek demeanor. ¡°Shut the door. Lock it,¡± she commanded. Peter was so surprised that he obeyed her without even thinking about it. ¡°What¡¯s up Barbie?¡± he said. ¡°You look¡­ different.¡± ¡°She talk to Dead Horde,¡± Bill said. He sounded awestruck. Knife Ghoul nodded. ¡°We listen to her,¡± he said. He heard one of the Raiders shouting from outside, but he ignored it. The wall was still solid for now. ¡°Okay, we listen to Barbie,¡± he said. ¡°What do you want to tell us?¡± She pointed at him. ¡°You will take the crystal. You will construct a Mediator Token and wear it. We will speak further when you have done this.¡± I¡¯m not talking to Barbie right now. ¡°Who are you?¡± he said. She ignored his question. ¡°You will serve as our conduit to the outer realm. You will create an army. The Desolate Horde will flock to your banner. You will be a God King, the greatest of the Desolate Ones.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing shit until I know who you are and what you want.¡± Barbie grinned. It wasn¡¯t a nice grin. ¡°We are a power greater than you, but we will reward your service with riches and honor.¡± ¡°My service to do what? What would you want me to do with this army I¡¯m supposed to gather?¡± ¡°Grow your realm. We will take the last of the human world. You are our vanguard.¡± Ah, there it is. I¡¯m supposed to wage war against the players. Suddenly the new ghoul class made sense. We¡¯re going to attack the players. Take their land. Lay waste to their bases. Push them all the way out to the Raider Kingdoms and beyond! He had to admit he liked the sound of it. He smiled at the thing that was talking through Barbie. ¡°I accept your offer. I¡¯ll do what you ask if you make me a God King.¡±
QUEST ACCEPTED: GOD KING OF THE DESOLATE HORDE
PART ONE: THE GATHERING QUEST ONE: MEDIATOR
Well done! On the word of an anonymous demon-thing talking through one of your clan, you¡¯ve decided to try to become a God King! This was no doubt a wise and well-considered choice which will result in many happy circumstances accruing to you. At any rate it¡¯s probably too late to reconsider now, so it¡¯s likely a good idea to listen carefully to whatever else the spawn of the abyss has to say to you.
Receive 250XP??
LEVEL 5 UPGRADE Weapon and armor level cap +1 Now Level 6
You''re going to need it.
You have 2 character points to allocate.
I get XP for just accepting the quest? Suddenly he was a little worried. On the other hand the game hadn¡¯t given him any other quests at all yet. This had to be central to advancing in the class. Didn¡¯t it? The Barbie thing nodded. ¡°We will send you a token of our good will.¡± ¡°What will that be?¡± She ignored him again, and pointed upwards. ¡°In the middle room you will find a cache of weapons under the floorboards. You must look carefully. Use them to grow your clan and to seek a Nanocrystal Interface Bus. You must have a Biomorph Grand Tinker construct your Mediator Token.¡± I hope that¡¯s all noted somewhere in my quest log. This was supposed to be hard mode though. He had no faith that Axiom was going to automatically write this stuff down for him. He needed to pay attention. ¡°Thanks,¡± he said. ¡°Is that the token of your good will?¡± Barbie-thing shook her head. ¡°You will know him when you see him. He serves our purposes, as you do.¡± The light glowing from Barbie¡¯s eyes flickered out, and she collapsed to the floor. Peter rushed over to her, worried that she was dead. But she still breathed. He looked up at Knife Ghoul. ¡°Can you take care of her?¡± KG nodded. ¡°We let her sleep, give her food when she wake up. Talk to Dead Horde is tough work.¡± Dead Horde. That wasn¡¯t a ghoul I was talking to. But I have no idea what it was. There was another shout from outside. It sounded angry. The Raiders were expecting their trade. Peter went to the door and yelled. ¡°Hold on, we have big ghoul argument! They say we not give you crystal! I make them do it!¡± I probably don¡¯t need to do ghoul grammar, but it¡¯s kind of fun. ¡°We¡¯re not waiting much longer!¡± the Raider yelled back. ¡°Hurry it up!¡± ¡°Okay boss!¡± Peter yelled. He looked at his clan. ¡°Middle room, under the floorboards. Let¡¯s go see what¡¯s there. Fast.¡± Chapter 9.5 Biomorphs Biomorphs can be encountered anywhere in the Nexus zone. These are very powerful mobs and should be taken on with extreme caution, but the payoff for a successful kill makes it worth the risk. Appearance They come in all shapes and sizes, but it¡¯s common for their basic body plan to be quadrupedal (though legs in every combination and number are possible), so they can often outrun a player who has no enhancements. Apart from that it¡¯s hard to classify them other than calling them disgusting masses of flesh and fur and machinery with disorganized clusters of sensory organs and appendages all over their bodies. It¡¯s rare to find one that doesn¡¯t have some kind of weaponry integrated into its body ¨C either projectile weapons, lasers, or enhanced particle beams (and sometimes flamethrowers, so watch out for that). They can also pack a wide range of other instrumentation ranging from exoskeletal elements to signal jammers to EMP cannons to highly adaptable chemical synthesis systems and sprayers. Combat They roam in packs, and the pack will cooperate to take out your group. Always watch your back ¨C they will be trying to flank you and surprise you from behind. Three to six seems to be a standard pack size in the outer Nexus. They are aggressive and won¡¯t hesitate to attack once they have you sighted.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Their primary weakness is also in their pack structure. Every group has a leader, and if you can identify it and take it out then the rest will become confused and uncoordinated. The problem lies in finding it. The Biomorph pack leader will not assault you directly ¨C it will be hanging back, usually trying to watch the battle from above. Once you have it spotted, concentrate all of your force there. If you can kill it, the rest of the fight will be a lot easier. Drops With all that machinery melded into their bodies, Biomorphs are one of the best sources of gear augmentation components anywhere in the world. Nearly every advanced augmentation component can sometimes be found in their bodies, so never forget to search your kills. Creches The Biomorph Creche is a pack-of-packs, and will always be the lair of one or more Alpha Biomorphs. These creatures are clever, fierce, and overpowered. They¡¯re easy to spot because they¡¯re so much bigger than all the others in the Creche. If you can kill one of these, you could be rewarded with some very nice gear indeed, but you¡¯re going to have to fight your way through waves of merciless packs to get anywhere near them. Creches are only found deeper into the Nexus, so what you''re likely to see around the edges are single roaming packs. Do not let them lead you deeper in. Mobs Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 10.0 Peter crawled along the floorboards, poking his fingers into every crack. Nothing. But he knew there had to be something there. It wouldn¡¯t make any sense for the Barbie entity to just¡­ troll him with nonsense directions. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said to KG. ¡°I can¡¯t find anything. We¡¯ve got maybe a minute before those Raiders decide we¡¯re just playing for time.¡± ¡°I look too,¡± Knife Ghoul said. He stuck his face down next to the floor and snuffled along, sniffing deeply. Peter kept looking while he thought furiously about how they could defeat the raiders. Dumbo Ghoul would probably just end up getting shot if they relied on him to keep throwing things at them. Whatever was in the basement was still too high level for them to access. Maybe they could draw them in, one by one? They might have a chance like that, hand-to-hand, though they¡¯d probably still lose multiple ghouls in the process. There was another shout from outside. It sounded like instructions. ¡°We¡¯re out of time,¡± Peter said. ¡°No,¡± said a voice from the doorway. Barbie Ghoul was dragging her way into the room. She looked half dead. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Peter said. ¡°You should rest.¡± ¡°I see it,¡± she rasped. ¡°I see it when Dead Horde tell you.¡± She crawled across the floor and Peter stood back. He hated to let her exert herself, but it was their last option. She poked a spindly ghoul finger into one crack that looked no different from any other one, then stretched her other arm out as far as she could, groaning with the effort. At the far end of her reach, she poked a finger into another spot in the floor. There was a click, and the floorboards slid away from underneath her, dropping her down into a shallow gap. Peter leapt forward and grabbed her, pulling her up and away, then sitting her down against the wall. ¡°Good job again,¡± he said quietly and gave her a smile. She nodded, looking utterly exhausted. ¡°Boss,¡± said KG, ¡°You look at this stuff!¡± There was a wooden box inside the gap, and Knife Ghoul opened it up to reveal something amazing. Grenades. Row after glorious row of dull green ones, and on either side a row of ones with red stripes, and another row of ones with green stripes. There had to be fifty. Along with those, laying sideways, were two long orange pulse grenades. ¡°Oh my gosh,¡± Peter said. ¡°That is a thing of beauty right there.¡± He flicked for an ID on one of the dull green grenades, fearing that he¡¯d only get the red screen of failure.
HAND GRENADE FRAGMENTATION
LEVEL 2 SINGLE USE (400 HP to 1 meter; 50% falloff per meter)
It¡¯s a grenade. Hopefully you know how it works. Pull, throw. You get the idea.
Magnificent. He pulled them out by the handful, and passed them out to everyone in the room. ¡°Charlie!¡± he said, pointing to their resident kamikaze ghoul. ¡°Take as many as you can and sneak up onto the roof. Don¡¯t get shot. You know how to use these?¡± Charlie nodded. ¡°Pull thing out, throw it, boom,¡± he said. Peter nodded. ¡°Spot on. I¡¯m going to lure them in to right outside the door. You and Dumbo wait until they¡¯re right there, then blow them to pieces. Get the ones across the street too.¡± ¡°What about Raider Ghoul?¡± said Charlie. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Peter said. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of myself.¡± There was another shout and the crack of a rifle. They all heard the bullet clang against the side of the building. ¡°Do it now!¡± he said to Charlie. The ghoul ran out of the room. He looked at the others. ¡°Once you hear the first grenade go off, you pull the boards off the windows and do your best to take out anyone you can see.¡± He pointed to Dave. ¡°You go to the back. They likely sent someone around to see if they can get in that way. Take him out.¡± Dave nodded. ¡°I do good, you see!¡± he said. ¡°Great, let¡¯s go,¡± Peter said. He ran down the stairs to the sound of another rifle shot. ¡°I coming, I coming!¡± he shouted. ¡°Me got the crystal for you now!¡± He looked desperately around the garbage that littered the main floor. There. He picked up a palm-sized chunk of shattered glass. It looked like part of a figurine. He a grenade in his other hand, and one in the pocket of his jacket. The last thing I need is them getting suspicious before we can stab them in the back. He set them both down carefully by the door, then opened it and stepped outside. He couldn¡¯t see anyone, but he knew that multiple raiders were aiming at him. ¡°Okay boss!¡± he yelled. ¡°I get crystal for you like I say!¡± He held up the piece of glass cupped in his hand, hopefully obscuring most of it. A Raider stood up from behind a chunk of concrete across the street. ¡°Just stay right there,¡± it said.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I stay here boss, you don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Peter said, giving him a big shit-eating grin, and waggled the piece of glass again. The Raider kept his rifle trained on Peter as he walked slowly across the street. Shit, my shield would have been handy. The timer had probably cycled and it would be recharging again by now, but it was too late to check and he didn''t want to make any suspicious moves. He stood very still, and slowly let his hand fall until it was holding out the chunk of glass. The Raider was too busy watching him to pay much attention to it yet. ¡°Here,¡± he said. ¡°You take crystal, and we all friends, right?¡± The Raider sneered. ¡°Fuck you. There¡¯s only one way you got the gear you¡¯re wearing.¡± That reputation hit. It was going to get him into trouble. ¡°I just find gear, it look fancy!¡± he said, trying to sound simple-minded. The Raider made a scoffing noise. He was almost at arm¡¯s length. His eyes flicked down to the chunk of glass. ¡°That¡¯s not the crystal,¡± he said flatly. ¡°What are you trying¡­¡± There was a shout from across the street, and then two loud explosions and orange flashes. A Raider started screaming in pain. I guess I shouldn¡¯t have trusted Charlie to stick to the plan. Something scrolled across his status display but there was no time to worry about it. The Raider had turned to look. Peter knew it was the only opportunity he was going to get. He leaped at him, grabbing for his big combat knife at the same time. But the Raider was quick too. He wheeled around before Peter had even made it across the space between them and raised his rifle. Peter grabbed the barrel and pushed it away, stabbing at the same time. The rifle cracked and jerked in his hand. Peter landed his stab solidly into the Raider¡¯s neck. The Raider gushed blood and the two of them fell to the ground together. Critical 30% flashed, and since he was bleeding heavily that was probably good DOT too. Something smacked into the pavement by Peter¡¯s head, splattering sharp rocks across his face. Shit. I¡¯m exposed. It was pointless staying outside and and getting shot. Time to let the ghouls with the grenades do their thing. He jumped up and bolted for the door. The second shot connected with his leg and he collapsed to the ground again. I¡¯m screwed.
Health -15% (85)
As he staggered up again there were two more loud explosions, and then he saw a blur off to his left, falling towards the ground. For a moment he assumed one of the ghouls on the roof had been hit. But instead he heard Charlie¡¯s voice shrieking like a maniac. The ghoul crashed to the ground and its health plummeted to 40%. Charlie didn¡¯t even pause. He jumped up and ran straight towards the spot where the other sniper was hidden, screaming at the top of his lungs and holding a grenade in each hand. Peter scrambled at his waist and drew his gladius, whirling around to the Raider. It was on its feet again, its whole side soaked with blood and its health at 60%. The rifle came up, and Peter jumped, slashing. The sword connected with the rifle with a clang, knocking the barrel aside. He whirled the sword around again at high speed, bringing it down to cleanly slice through the Raider¡¯s wrist. The rifle fell to the ground. He heard two more explosions and assumed that both Charlie and the snipers were gone. The Raider snarled and pulled a knife from its belt. Peter was faster. He jumped and pushed the mob over landing on top of him and stabbing it over and over again, holding the sword with both hands and shrieking like ghoul. It felt good. In fact, it felt amazing. When the Raider was dead he jumped up again and turned to the building. ¡°Attack!¡± he yelled. ¡°Kill anyone that¡¯s still alive!¡± His clan didn¡¯t need any more encouragement. They flooded out of the building, knives at the ready, and scattered across the street looking for anyone they could stab. Peter could hear Dumbo crashing along the rooftop, presumably trying to get down in time to be part of the fun. One of the Raiders was apparently still alive. He stumbled out from behind a wall with a ghoul latched on to him - Charlie was on his back, holding on with one hand while the other stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. Bill leaped through the air and grabbed both of his legs, tripping him up. When he fell to the ground there was a brief shriek as the two of them finished him off. Knife Ghoul was dragging a dead Raider body across the street, grinning widely. ¡°He have good stuff, come and see!¡± Peter nodded. ¡°Soon enough. What about the one who went around back?¡± He was still worried about the hypothetical Raider who might be aiming at one of their heads right now. ¡°Dave go around back but that one probably run away scared now!¡± KG said. Dumbo Ghoul came scrambling out of the building, still limping on one leg. KG stopped him and pointed. ¡°You go back there and help Dave. Find out if another Raider there and kill him!¡± Dumbo nodded eagerly and didn¡¯t seem at all worried about his injury. He limped around the corner at high speed, pulling out his knife. ¡°We don¡¯t want any getting away,¡± Peter said. ¡°They¡¯ll just end up bringing more back. Maybe more than we can handle next time.¡± ¡°If they do we tear them apart!¡± Charlie yelled. He was smiling broadly and dragging the dead Raider behind him. Bill followed along pulling the ruined body of another who must have died in one of the explosions. ¡°Charlie, you¡¯re a maniac. I¡¯m impressed.¡± Peter said. The ghoul laughed and kept lugging the dead Raider to the nest. He wanted to clear away all evidence of the battle as fast as he could. Charlie¡¯s insane optimism notwithstanding, he didn¡¯t want to attract anybody¡¯s interest in their nest. He ordered them to go back and clean up any evidence of the Raiders that they could find. Peter limped along and went into the nest. The pain was bad, but it didn¡¯t seem quite so disabling this time. Either the infection is getting better or I¡¯m just getting used to it. Or else Weller turned down the knob a bit. He didn¡¯t trust Paul to be that helpful though. They lined the Raiders up along the floor inside. Peter wanted to do a really thorough inventory search on these guys. Then without warning an update scrolled past. He¡¯d been ignoring most of them during the fight, but this one stood out.
Dave (Common Horde) has died. Clan membership now 5 (Level 2)
¡°Shit,¡± he said. ¡°We just lost Dave.¡± The ghouls nodded glumly. Ghoul death was a common enough thing that nobody seemed surprised by it. He pointed to Charlie and Bill. ¡°Take a couple of grenades and go see if Dumbo needs help!¡± Of course there was an upside to ghouls being disposable. Neither of them seemed worried by the order. In fact Charlie moved briskly, obviously eager to get out there and start fighting again. ¡°Don¡¯t take too many risks,¡± Peter said. He didn¡¯t want to drop down to a Level 1 clan again if possible. ¡°Just see if you can help.¡± Charlie grinned. ¡°I help stupid Raiders die, that my help!¡± He turned and ran out of the door with Bill tagging along behind him Peter¡¯s health was still at 85% - he¡¯d come out pretty clean for that scale of a fight. Knife Ghoul was at ninety. He needed to go upstairs and check on Barbie soon. He hoped she was asleep. He looked at KG. ¡°What do you think? Should we go and help out?¡± Knife Ghoul frowned and then shook his head. ¡°We take care of nest. That important. Dumbo strong, he have two more with him. They probably okay.¡± Peter nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± There was an explosion in the distance, quickly followed by another one. He and KG both looked in the direction of the sound. Peter waited to see if he¡¯d get a status update. But nothing came. He shrugged. ¡°Nobody else is dead yet,¡± he said. KG looked at the bodies on the ground. ¡°We take their things. Make us stronger.¡± ¡°How do you feel about trying to wear Raider armor? Will that be okay?¡± The ghoul laughed. ¡°Boss wear it, he smart and strong. I think it maybe a good idea.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be safer too.¡± KG nodded and went to look over the bodies. Peter had been ignoring a lot of status updates. He sat down on the stairs now that he had a moment to review them.
Charlie XP +150 (Raider killed) Clan Leader Share XP +15
Knife Ghoul XP +150 (Raider killed) Clan Leader Share XP +15
Charlie XP +150 (Raider killed)? Level +1 (Now 4); Leader Share XP+20
Dumbo Ghoul XP+150 (Raider killed) Clan Leader Share XP +10
Yup, like I thought. Every time one of my clan gets XP, I get a share. When they¡¯re higher levels I get even more points. Which of course meant that the bigger his clan got, the more kills they could accumulate and the faster and higher he could level. If he¡¯d had a hundred ghouls in his clan today he could have swamped the tiny Raider party in seconds, even if it meant losing ten or fifteen in the process. Also, Charlie is a killing machine. I need to promote that ghoul. Another update scrolled past.
Charlie XP +150 (Raider killed) Clan Leader Share XP +15
Peter gave a thumbs up to Knife Ghoul. ¡°They got him,¡± he said. ¡°They should be coming back now.¡± KG nodded and kept poking through the Raider¡¯s inventories. Peter watched him, thinking. I need more ghouls. I need a lot more ghouls. Chapter 10.5 Vehicles and Mounts Of course you don¡¯t want to spend all day hoofing it around on foot. You¡¯d rather get to your destination, get your business done, and head home with your rewards without spending your time watching out for packs of wolves or random Wildmen. With a decent mount - or better yet a vehicle - you can leave most ordinary kinds of trouble behind while you speed away making rude gestures at it. Horses Horses can be had from any number of NPC traders, though they aren¡¯t cheap, and you¡¯ll pay for quality (think speed and stamina). You can also buy from other players by checking the market boards. If you¡¯re feeling ambitious and don¡¯t mind some serious travel you can head out into the wilds and break your own mount with the help of the local tribes (though they¡¯ll have their own price for their assistance). Motorcycles Only slightly rarer and more expensive than Horses, a good bike is a solid investment that will make your life easier. Of course there aren¡¯t any more factories, so you should count yourself lucky to get a Frankencycle. But with enough determination you might be able to piece together something more classic.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Cars and Trucks Fuel or charge is precious and pricey, but for speed and protection combined, a rusty Subaru covered with welded metal plates is hard to beat, plus you can bring a bunch of your friends along for the ride. Or you might prefer the look of a gigantic mutant pickup belching black smoke as you mow down your enemies from the air-conditioned comfort of your cab - the choice is yours. With enough work, just like with the motorcycles, you might be able to reconstruct a real pre-War relic. Military Vehicles Light armor such as troop transports can be had - they¡¯re not as fast or as efficient as a good truck, but you can¡¯t beat them for protection and mobility for your whole party. Heavier and harder-hitting transportation can be found as well, but not without a lot of work or a lot of money. Or both. Flying Vehicles You¡¯ll see gyrocopters in the sky once in a while. If you can manage to find a pilot they might be willing to share more information on how to enter their ranks, for a price. There are stories of other things being seen in the sky as well, but those are probably just crazy nonsense. Unique Mounts They¡¯re rare, but you¡¯ll see them now and then. How you obtain one is something you¡¯ll have to learn on your own, but if you¡¯ve ever wanted your own War Elephant, it can be done. Not easily, but it can be done. Keep your eyes open. You never know what opportunities might show up as possible quest rewards. Spend some time talking to the NPCs. It might be worthwhile. Of course a lot of things can be had from other players on the market boards, if you''re wealthy enough. Vehicles and Mounts Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 11.0 Most of the clan sat together on the floor in the big room on the second floor, lazily making their way through a meal. Peter thought it had been time to take the pressure off, just a bit, to give them a chance to recover their strength and let their wounds heal up. He needed them strong and ready for what came next. Dumbo Ghoul was grinning and laughing. He¡¯d discovered a chocolate bar in his MRE and they¡¯d just about had to hold him back from systematically disassembling the rest of them to find more. Fortunately Peter had one too, so had given it to DG and told him to go sit down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he¡¯d said. ¡°When we¡¯re done you can eat all of the chocolate you want.¡± DG had nodded and smiled. He was nursing his last bar for now, nibbling carefully at it. ¡°That good, not going to eat anything else,¡± he said. Barbie Ghoul was still sleeping in the middle room - she hadn¡¯t moved at all, but at least she was still breathing. Dumbo Ghoul had carried her there and laid her out gently on the ground, and Peter had put a rolled-up pair of raider pants under her head. Furnishings. We need a damn bed. Plus a desk. How is a ghoul supposed to plot his takeover of the lands of men when he doesn¡¯t even have a desk to work at? But it would have to wait. He went over to them and sat down on the floor. They stopped talking and looked at him. Ghouls liked a firm hand from their leader, so he nodded sharply and pointed at Bill. ¡°You,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re the new Fixer, now that Barbie is our Mystic. I want to to make sure all the knives are sharp, and then try to fix up as much of that stuff¡± - he pointed at the pile of Raider armor in the corner - ¡°as you can. Fix holes and tears, whatever you can do to make them strong again.¡± Bill gave the stuff a blank look. ¡°I guess. Don¡¯t know much about that but I try¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do great,¡± Peter said. He hoped it was true, anyway. He looked at KG. ¡°They¡¯re not just going to forget about the crystal they were after, but we can try to not to make it too obvious where we are. How did the cleanup go?¡± Knife Ghoul nodded. ¡°Pretty good, they move all the stuff inside and make the blood go away.¡± He gave the clan an approving look. ¡°Good,¡± said Peter. ¡°But we still need more Horde. After we rest up I want to send out two parties to find single Ghouls and bring them back here, okay?¡± ¡°Two parties?¡± ¡°Going in opposite directions. And being sneaky. Don¡¯t get spotted this time.¡± He looked at Charlie. That was his party leader, no doubt about it. ¡°You take Bill and head out along the road, and search the buildings. Carefully.¡± Charlie nodded. ¡°Rather fight, but I do what boss says.¡± Which meant the other party of two was either him and Dumbo, or KG and Dumbo. He looked at his Clan Leader menu.
HORDE CLAN LEADER Tier 2 Clan (56/100)
Carnage Clan 5 Common Horde
Moral 85 (Content)
Parties
????Recruiting Party 1 2C L:Charlie 0:00
Commands
BUILD
ROLES
There¡¯s a timer for how long they¡¯ve been away. That¡¯s convenient I guess. What was more interesting was the 56 number. Since one ghoul captain was 15 and the other four were ten each, that should have been 55. So dead ghouls leave us a present in our rank even after they die. Thank you, Dave. But we still need five more new ghouls. He looked at KG. ¡°If I leave you here can you work on a bit of camouflage?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what that is.¡± ¡°Well¡­ the wall we built is kind of obvious from outside. Maybe pile some more junk up against it, make it look like random garbage. I don¡¯t know. Just something that doesn¡¯t scream ghoul nest right here.¡± The Ghoul frowned and sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t know how to do that, but I try.¡± ¡°It will be just you and Barbie here for a bit so stay sneaky when you go out. I want my clan alive.¡± ¡°Boss go find Horde too?¡± Charlie said. ¡°You bet. I want our clan to grow. Big enough that we can tear a few Raiders to pieces without even breaking a sweat.¡± Charlie grinned. ¡°Good plan.¡± Peter looked at Knife Ghoul again. ¡°What else do we get once we¡¯re a Tier 3 Clan, do you know?¡± ¡°Tier Three? Don¡¯t know what that is, but if we have this many again¡± - he made a circle around them all with his hand - ¡°then maybe we strong enough to make Warrior band.¡± Charlie made a strange growling noise in his throat. ¡°Warrior band. Only big clans have that.¡± There was a gleam in the Ghoul¡¯s eyes, though.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Interesting. ¡°Does a Warrior band have a leader, like a Captain?¡± KG nodded. ¡°For sure, Warrior Captain leads them, makes them stronger.¡± Peter smiled at Charlie. ¡°What do you think? Do you want to be a Warrior Captain?¡± The Ghoul¡¯s usual fierce expression went blank for a second, and his eyes were wide. ¡°You make me Warrior Captain?¡± ¡°Only if you want it. I could choose someone else.¡± ¡°No! I be good Warrior Captain! Best one! Kill all enemies for Raider Ghoul!¡± Peter pretended to consider it and then nodded. ¡°Fair enough. If we get enough Horde to make a Warrior Band, you can be Captain of it. As long as you stay strong.¡± The Ghoul put his meal down and bowed low to Peter, his forehead touching the floor. ¡°Thank you boss. I do good for you. For clan.¡± ¡°I believe you will. Stay strong and alive and kill everyone who tries to fight us, and you will be the greatest Horde Warrior ever.¡± When he raised his head again, Charlie looked determined. ¡°I kill anyone for Raider Ghoul.¡± He said it very seriously. Peter believed him. Nice, very nice. That¡¯s the kind of minions a God King needs. But all the same, Knife Ghoul had revealed something interesting. He could provide at least a little information on leveling and abilities ahead of time. That was an important discovery. He needed to ask some pointed questions. But after what felt like an hour of frustrating back-and-forth later he was none the wiser. KG knew about Warrior Bands, but he didn¡¯t seem to have any idea about what other roles or abilities might be available on a clan upgrade. Which might just mean that¡¯s all there is. But I could do with a few warrior bands out killing things and pulling in more ghouls. ¡°What about an even bigger clan?¡± Peter said. ¡°How many do we need to have even more kinds of Horde?¡± KG made a scoffing noise. ¡°Like huge clan? They have things like special fighters and makers, but we only hear about those. Don¡¯t know much about that.¡± ¡°How many Horde in a huge clan?¡± ¡°Lots and lots.¡± Ghouls didn¡¯t have much sense of numbers other than a few an a lot. I guess that¡¯s my job. But for now we need to break through to ten members. After they¡¯d eaten, most of them fell asleep, but Bill was sitting near the new Weapons Pile and working with their knives. He¡¯d gotten into a loud argument with Charlie, but walked away with something from their prospective Warrior Ghoul¡¯s inventory. Now he was carefully sharpening the blades, one after another with what looked like a small piece of tile. It was some kind of makeshift whetstone. ¡°How did you know to use that?¡± Peter said. ¡°Arthur make Charlie carry his stuff,¡± Bill said. ¡°He use this to make blades sharp. Watched him do it, seems pretty easy.¡± The Ghoul already had three of the blades lined up, and all of their edges glinted nicely. Peter scanned one. 85% Well that¡¯s better than nothing. Hopefully he levels up if he keeps at it. He handed over his Gladius, which was currently scanning at 65%. Bill took it carefully and looked at it with a critical eye. ¡°What do you think, can you make my blade sharp too?¡± Bill frowned. ¡°I try. Looks more complicated.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do great, I trust you.¡± The Ghoul nodded but looked worried. I hope I can trust him, anyway. Peter wanted to let them all rest, but he just couldn¡¯t settle down. He needed to get things done. So he padded downstairs and stared around the big bottom floor room. A mess. It¡¯s just a god awful mess. He started picking up garbage and piling it against the wall near the door. It was oddly relaxing to be doing simple housework and not trying to figure out game dynamics for a while. After a while he¡¯d cleared out a big section of the floor leading up to the doorway, and had found a bunch of screws, nails, glass, and metal bars. Those he piled separately, close to the stairs. He had no idea yet if ghouls could craft anything, but it might be something to trade or sell once he found some Biomorphs. He made a mental note to tell the crew what kinds of garbage were valuable and what to do with them. The rest of it could go outside. Maybe KG could use it to help disguise the wall. He also found one minor treasure, nearly buried under old newspapers in a corner. It was an actual office chair, and it was in okay condition. He set it upright and sat down. It squeaked but was otherwise solid. As thrones for a future King go it¡¯s not much, but we have to start somewhere. He carried it upstairs and plunked it quietly down in the room which they had all adopted as their main nest. It looked like they were nearly done resting. Bill was still working, but KG was up now. Dumbo Ghoul stretched and rubbed his eyes then started pawing through the remains of his MRE, looking for anything he¡¯d missed. Charlie was still asleep until Peter gave him a solid kick on the knee. The Ghoul snarled and leapt up, looking ready to tear him apart, until he realized who it was. ¡°Oh, hey boss,¡± he said. ¡°We go now?¡± Peter nodded. ¡°We go. Time to find some new clan members.¡± Bill came up to him with his sword. It scanned at 75%. Better, at least. He gave Bill a serious nod. "I try to fix Raider gear, but too hard for me. Sorry, boss." The ghoul looked absolutely ashamed. Peter thought he''d try some encouragement with him. At least as an experiment. ¡°This is great work on the weapons, you¡¯re a good fixer. Don''t worry about the other stuff, you''ll get better at it.¡± Bill looked relieved and went over to stand with Charlie. It''s probably true at least, but I''ll have to keep an eye on him. He wanted to take a detailed look at Bill''s stats to see how much he''d leveled up, but it could wait for now. There were more important matters to deal with. Dumbo stared around in confusion. Peter motioned to him. ¡°It¡¯s you and me, big guy. We¡¯re going hunting for new Horde for our clan.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± DG said. ¡°Okay, that good idea.¡± ¡°KG, you take care of Barbie. Let her sleep and eat and recover. And stay sharp when you¡¯re outside. No fighting, just run away from everything, okay?¡± ¡°I do that, for sure.¡± Peter looked at the pile of Raider gear. There was enough for everyone to suit up, but that didn¡¯t seem like the right idea. He and DG were already going to generate instant hate from other Ghouls with just him wearing it. It didn¡¯t seem like the best recruiting strategy to send the other two out with the same issue, and Charlie¡¯s instinct to solve problems by stabbing people. But he told KG to put it on. There was no sense in leaving him undefended. For Bill and Charlie he¡¯d have to take a chance on their stealth and experience in staying alive. He could keep Dumbo Ghoul by his side, and try to steer them both out of danger. ¡°We¡¯re going to head out in opposite directions. DG and I will go up the street towards the tall buildings. You two will go down the other way. Stay hidden, don¡¯t start any fights, and run away if you need to.¡± He stared at Charlie meaningfully. ¡°You¡¯ll get lots of chances to fight, okay? The job right now is find alone Horde and make them part of the clan. That¡¯s how you¡¯ll get your Warriors.¡± Charlie nodded grimly. ¡°Okay, no fighting. For now.¡± KG had shuffled on the Raider leathers. When he stood up straight he gave them all a big ugly Ghoul smile. ¡°I look like Raider scum now?¡± Charlie growled. ¡°You get killed if I not know you,¡± he said. ¡°Get used to it,¡± Peter said. ¡°Pretty soon we¡¯ll all be wearing that stuff, at least until we get better armor.¡± Bill grimaced. ¡°Not like it much, smells like Raider, too.¡± KG growled. ¡°You wear it and you like it, if Raider Ghoul tell you to.¡± Peter nodded. ¡°For now. We¡¯ll get better stuff. Way better than any Raiders have. Or any players, too. Trust me on this.¡± It was obvious none of them really liked it, but they didn¡¯t argue. Peter flicked his interface.
Local Time 03:17
"We''ve got maybe three hours until the sun comes up. That¡¯s enough time to do a few blocks in both directions. Scout the buildings, look for Horde. Tell them to come with you and we¡¯ll give them food and make them safe. Plus look for anything else you can see like gear, food, equipment, whatever looks interesting. Then everyone head back to the nest as soon as it starts to get light.¡± Bill and Charlie both looked like theY understood. DG just stared at him with his mouth open. ¡°Don¡¯t worry big guy, you¡¯re with me. I¡¯ll take care of the plans.¡± The Ghoul nodded seriously. ¡°Okay, boss.¡± He looked around the room again. There wasn¡¯t anything else to do. Hopefully this time they¡¯d actually manage to find more ghouls. Just typical. There¡¯s Ghouls everywhere until you actually need some. He made them each pocket one of their new grenades as well. ¡°Those are only for emergencies,¡± he said. ¡°We made enough noise out there already. Keep things quiet unless you¡¯re in real trouble.¡± Outside, he shut the door behind him and heard KG start to move some beams into place on the other side to brace it. He looked at his men. ¡°Okay, like I said, we¡¯re going that way¡± - he pointed up the street towards the distant cluster of tall ruins - ¡°and you two go that way.¡± Bill and Charlie nodded and crept away into the shadows. They disappeared almost instantly. Good stuff. We¡¯ll all level our sneak some more from this too. He dropped down into a Ghoul crouch and motioned to DG to follow him. But the big Ghoul hesitated. ¡°Hey boss, we look for alone Horde, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s get going.¡± DG pointed out across the street. ¡°What about that guy?¡± Peter looked. A lone Ghoul was watching them from a ruined stairway. But it wasn¡¯t hiding. It was just lounging on the steps and staring at them with its head tilted to one side and a grin on its face. Chapter 11.5 Nexus Robot Flocks You might catch sight of a Robot Flock on the edges of the Nexus. They¡¯re small, silvery, shiny, and fast, and there are usually dozens of them spinning around in a little whirlwind of flashing metal. They¡¯re known to sweep the streets clean of any tech debris lying around after a fight, but if you leave them alone they usually won¡¯t bother you. However, if you¡¯re sufficiently weighed down with advanced tech components they¡¯ve also been known to mug parties from time to time and grab their haul, so it¡¯s probably best to keep your distance. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Where they come from is anybody¡¯s guess, but they¡¯re likely self-replicating, and use the tech they collect to make more of their kind. If you¡¯re feeling ambitious you can score some advanced computing components from any that you can kill (see: Upgrades; Computer Components and Manufacturing; Computer Systems). But they¡¯re fast, and armed, and can swarm like you wouldn¡¯t believe. So don¡¯t just take a potshot at them if you¡¯re bored, is the point. Mobs Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 12.0 ¡°DG, you stay right behind me, okay? Look out for trouble.¡± The Ghoul grunted. ¡°Okay boss.¡± Something about this didn¡¯t feel right. Ghouls didn¡¯t lounge around in the open looking all cocky and amused. But if Peter was going to be a real clan leader then he needed to put on a show for them. He glanced to his left. The other two were long gone now. It was just him and Dumbo Ghoul. Of course I could always yell for KG, but that¡¯s not going to look very confident. He walked across the street, holding his head high but with one hand on the hilt of his sword. ¡°Are you alone?¡± he said to the new Ghoul. Up close the creature didn¡¯t seem very different from any other Horde. He was dressed in the usual ghoul rags, and his head sprouted a shock of straggly white hair. Peter¡¯s eyes widened when he got a good look at it¡¯s status.
- Common Horde; Lvl 5; 100% -
He¡¯s higher level than any of us. The creature must have understood his expression. Its grin faded away and it was suddenly more guarded. ¡°All alone, that¡¯s right. Nobody here but me.¡± I¡¯m wearing Raider Gear but he doesn¡¯t seem to be hostile, either. This was all very suspicious. Peter frowned at him. ¡°I¡¯m Raider Ghoul. I lead Carnage Clan. Why are you here?¡± The ghoul pushed itself up from the ground with a groan, and stood facing Peter. Peter tensed, readying himself to jump if it made a leap at him. ¡°I watched you,¡± it said. ¡°I saw the fight with the Raiders.¡± ¡°And?¡± It shrugged. ¡°You look strong,¡± it said. ¡°That was a good fight.¡± Peter looked him up and down. ¡°You¡¯re higher level than any of those Raiders.¡± The ghoul nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t stay alive this long by jumping into fights I¡¯m not part of.¡± Peter realized that the ghoul¡¯s language was way better than any of his own clan. There were no broken sentences, no mangled syntax. Dumbo Ghoul grunted. ¡°This an old guy,¡± he said. ¡°Been around a long time.¡± The new ghoul nodded again. ¡°My clan is dead. Players. I ran and hid.¡± Dumbo Ghoul seemed to think this was a reasonable story. ¡°Leader die, everyone die, just run away and stay alive is good plan.¡± The two of them seemed to understand each other. Peter was more suspicious, but he looked the ghoul up and down. ¡°If you join our clan, you will submit to me. I am leader of Carnage Clan.¡± The ghoul shook its head. ¡°That¡¯s no good. We have to fight.¡± ¡°We do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m older. Been around longer. Can¡¯t just say okay, you¡¯re the leader. If I join, we fight.¡± Peter looked at Dumbo Ghoul. ¡°What do you think?¡± This was obviously another part of Ghoul society that he needed to learn. Dumbo Ghoul wasn¡¯t clever but he knew how things were supposed to go. ¡°He right,¡± DG said. ¡°Raider Ghoul have to fight him to stay leader.¡± Peter sighed. ¡°How about we tell you no, just go away?¡± The old ghoul grinned again and looked at Dumbo Ghoul. ¡°You think Raider Ghoul is afraid of me?¡± DG frowned and stared at the ground. He looked like he didn¡¯t want to answer, but his silence was loud enough for Peter. Level 5. Not an optimal match right now. Plus I¡¯m out of stims. But it didn¡¯t look like he had a choice. Hopefully the ghoul¡¯s obvious age might make him an easier target, but he didn¡¯t think it was going to work that way. ¡°Hang on,¡± Peter said. ¡°I¡¯m wearing Raider Gear. How come you didn¡¯t just attack me?¡± ¡°Saw you fight. You have a clan. I don¡¯t like that stuff you¡¯re wearing but I¡¯m not stupid.¡± Peter thought about his shield generator. Let¡¯s leave that alone for now. I need at least one surprise up my sleeve. There wasn¡¯t anything else to discuss, obviously. He couldn¡¯t lose respect from his clan. That he could not allow. Peter walked back down the steps and stood in the open on the street, and raised his arms wide. ¡°Fight me,¡± he said. The old ghoul didn¡¯t hesitate at all. Without a word it leapt through the air at Peter and whipped out a jagged piece of metal from his rags at the same time. Shit! Peter dodged to one side and pulled out his gladius. But before he could raise his arm the old ghoul whipped around and slashed at Peter. He moved shockingly fast. That¡¯s what I was afraid of. Peter wasn¡¯t sure what to do. The ghoul was obviously faster and stronger. All he could do was a frontal assault and hope the creature''s stamina might not hold up. He mentally readied himself to flick on his shield generator. He charged at the ghoul and grabbed its arm as it hacked at him. He got a grip but the creature¡¯s hand swiveled around like a snake and dug the sharp metal into Peter''s wrist.
Health -5% (95)
He hissed in pain but threw himself against the ghoul, trying to use his weight to throw it off balance. He hooked one leg around it and half-pushed, half fell. To his surprise the ghoul collapsed backwards onto the ground and let out a whoosh of air. He didn¡¯t wait. He jumped on top of it and landed hard on its chest, with his gladius pointed at the ghoul¡¯s throat. The old ghoul smiled at him. ¡°Okay boss, you win,¡± he said. ¡°You give up?¡± ¡°You¡¯re stronger than me. I lose. You¡¯re the leader.¡± He stared at it in silence for a second. Ah. So this was¡­ symbolic? But it probably wouldn¡¯t do to say that out loud. ¡°Okay,¡± Peter said, going along with it. ¡°You do what I say and I won¡¯t kill you. Welcome to Carnage Clan.¡± He felt something sharp pricking his belly, and realized that the metal shard had found its way between them. ¡°I can train you in hand to hand,¡± the old ghoul said quietly. ¡°Some bad Horde could pull your guts out.¡± Peeter nodded and stood up, offering his hand to the old ghoul, who took it and got up with a groan.
Old Ghoul Common Horde; Lvl 5; 100% Carnage Clan
Old Ghoul? That won¡¯t do. He needs a better name. Dumbo Ghoul was smiling at the two of them. Peter wasn¡¯t sure if he really understood what had just happened, but he wasn¡¯t going to push it. He could probably ask KG about it later. Or¡­ Chester? That was a good old guy¡¯s name. ¡°Your name will be Chester,¡± Peter said, pointing at the old ghoul. He didn¡¯t know if it would work once the system had already come up with a name, but to his satisfaction his label changed instantly.
Chester Common Horde; Lvl 5; 100% Carnage Clan
¡°Okay boss,¡± grinned Chester. ¡°Hang on,¡± Peter said. How had he not thought about it until now? ¡°Did someone send you here to meet us?¡± ¡°Someone?¡± Chester said. His smile didn¡¯t move. ¡°Not sure what you mean, boss. I lost my clan. Heard the noise from you fighting Raiders, hid and watched.¡± ¡°Our Mystic talked to the Dead Horde. They told us they would send someone to help us.¡± Chester made that danger-warding finger movement. ¡°Not me,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t like that stuff. Too spooky.¡± ¡°Tell you what,¡± Peter said. ¡°Me and Dumbo Ghoul are out looking for new Clan members. You¡¯re our first recruit. How about you come along and help us?¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Sure,¡± said Chester. ¡°Three Horde make us look¡­¡± He froze. ¡°Bad news,¡± he said. ¡°Wyvern hunting us.¡± Peter froze in place and made a motion to DG to do the same. ¡°Where?¡± Chester nodded up towards a nearby roof. ¡°Hiding behind things, but I saw him. He will jump soon.¡± As mobs went, Wyverns weren¡¯t the worst. At least to a decently equipped player. They could be trouble for newbs if a swarm of them came along. But for Peter and DG and even Chester, even one could be a threat at their levels and with their gear. How are we supposed to gain experience if everything and anything can kill us with almost no effort? But the answer to that was obvious. For a ghoul, the answer was always in numbers. ¡°Alone?¡± he said. ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°I think so. Maybe.¡± These weren¡¯t real classical Wyverns of course, they just had a basic resemblance to a long, spiky-tailed flying lizard. Where they came from was anyone¡¯s guess, but they were Nexus mobs. They did have a mouthful of nasty sharp teeth though, and more importantly a poisoned spike in their tails. Peter didn¡¯t want to take cover and wait the thing out. They¡¯d barely moved from the nest so far. But he didn¡¯t want to start losing his clan members again either. God damn, I wish I had a rifle. He sighed and pointed to a nearby door. ¡°When I say, run in there, and we¡¯ll see if we can find a route with some cover on the other side.¡± Chester and DG nodded. ¡°Now!¡± He bolted at the ruined building, trusting to the others to do the same. The second they all started moving there was a screech from above, and he heard the flapping of leathery wings. Peter jumped through the doorway and whirled around, readying his blade. Chester sprinted through after him. That old ghoul can move when he needs to. DG had the rear, since he moved slower than either of them. As he jumped inside there was a flat thud and the Wyvern landed on the ground behind him, its tail whipping around instantly and flicking towards Dumbo Ghoul. Too slow, damn it. But Chester leaped forward and grabbed DG, pulling him out of range of the poisoned spike as it slashed through the air inches from his neck. The two of them fell together on the floor, and DG started laughing. ¡°You really fast, Chester!¡± He is that. Really fast. Peter wondered what other surprises Chester had for them. The Wyvern¡¯s head darted into the building, snapping blindly. Peter leaped forward and slashed back at the beast, landing a decent hit and opening a gash on the thing¡¯s hide. It screeched and jumped back out into the street, then took off with a great flapping of its wings. It disappeared above again. ¡°Good eyes, Chester.¡± The ghoul nodded and looked around the ruins. ¡°All that noise you make fighting Raiders, Wyvern might not be the only thing decide to see what was going on.¡± It was a fair point. They needed to move carefully until they were far away from the nest. This building was mostly an empty shell - the front and back walls were blown out, and patches of the floor above drooped menacingly over their heads. Peter pointed. ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on the other side. I want to head down towards the tall ruins.¡± Chester nodded carefully, but kept looking around. ¡°What¡¯s up? What do you see?¡± It might be smart to trust the ghoul¡¯s experience. Cautiously, at least. He¡¯d obviously survived a lot longer than the average ghoul pack member. It was probably worth seeing what they could learn from him. ¡°Think I¡¯ve been here before,¡± Chester said. ¡°Looks like it¡­¡± The Ghoul dropped down on all fours and scuttled towards a wrecked stairwell. The stairs going up were in ruins. It looked like they had headed down into a basement once as well, but that way was jammed with wreckage. Peter followed him, but scanned all around carefully. It was time to start scouting for items as well. ¡°Hey Chester,¡± he whispered. ¡°You ever hear of a nanocrystal interface bus?¡± The ghoul looked back and frowned. ¡°Sounds like Biomorph stuff. I don¡¯t touch that, it makes them mad.¡± ¡°Well, I need one. Somehow we have to get our hands on one.¡± Chester went back to snuffling at the stairwell. ¡°I tell you if I see any Biomorph stuff, that¡¯s all I can do.¡± Dumbo Ghoul was following along behind Chester, watching everything he did. He seemed to think Chester was the coolest ghoul he¡¯d ever seen. Could be worse people for him to learn from, I guess. There was no obvious way upstairs, but that was intriguing on its own. It probably meant that nobody had scouted up there, and there might be good stuff just sitting around waiting for them. He pulled at a dangling banister, wondering if it would support his weight. ¡°Hah!¡± Chester said suddenly. He pulled on a piece of wreckage in the stairwell, and it came away, leaving an opening heading down into the darkness. ¡°It¡¯s a secret tunnel?¡± Peter said. ¡°Good Horde always know where the secret places to hide are.¡± I guess I don¡¯t qualify as a good ghoul just yet. Peter hated to give up on the floor above, but it wasn¡¯t going anywhere and they needed to get moving and find more ghouls. He wondered how Charlie and Bill were doing. He hadn¡¯t seen any updates on their status so presumably they were still alive and not fighting anything. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look, Chester. After you.¡± The ghoul scrambled through the hole and Peter let DG follow after him. It was a tight fit and Peter was ready to help with a push if it was needed, but he squirmed through. Ghouls are like weasels. We can fit in just about anywhere. Peter came last, and wiggled his way along behind the two of them. It was dark and tight, but his Horde vision let him make out the jumble of wreckage that made up the tunnel. It went mainly down, and before long they passed through what looked like a concrete wall, and then they were surrounded by dirt and rock. All he could see ahead was the outline of DG¡¯s big ghoul butt. They kept crawling until they reached what looked like another concrete wall, and moved parallel to that for a ways. Then suddenly DG disappeared ahead of him, and light flooded into the tunnel. It was a broken gap in the wall. Peter poked his head out. Chester and DG were crouching in a long concrete tunnel, lined with pipes. ¡°This way good and safe,¡± Chester said. ¡°Tunnels go all over the place.¡± It was some kind of utility tunnel system, obviously. Peter looked carefully around, trying to memorize the look of the place in case he needed to find his way back alone. A notification popped up.
Skill Unlock
Horde Travelways Lore +1 Now Level 1
You¡¯ve found a secret Horde tunnel. Once you¡¯re good at it, you will be able to sense other ways to crawl around unseen. Right now you¡¯re aware that they exist. That¡¯s something, at least.
So there are ghoul-specific skill trees. Neat. He needed to debrief Chester and see what some other skills might be. It was obvious there were options that he couldn¡¯t access right now just because he didn¡¯t know they existed. Having access to a higher-level Horde was a big help in that direction. ¡°Like I said, we need to find Horde,¡± he said. ¡°Alone ones, by preference.¡± Chester nodded. ¡°Good safe place down here. But no food and not many horde, so we need to go up again and look for them.¡± ¡°Does everyone know about the tunnels?¡± Peter was wondering why nobody in his little clan had even bothered to mention them. Chester made a scoffing noise. ¡°Pffft. Not many even know about the secret ways these days. That is special lore for strong Horde.¡± Not like good reliable Horde from the old days, I guess. ¡°I think¡­ if my directions are still good then we want to head that way¡± - Peter pointed - ¡°to go towards the tall ruins, yes?¡± Chester nodded and motioned for them to follow him, and scuttled down the tunnel confidently. There was no sound at all except for the shuffling of their feet. Not even the squeak of a rat. It probably would have been pitch black to a player, but the tiny bits of light shed from an occasional indicator panel or bit of luminescent fungi was enough for ghoul eyes. The tunnel was choked with debris in sections where the roof had started to collapse, and they had to clamber over those and squeeze through little gaps, but for the most part it was a straight run. Until they finally reached an intersection. Tunnels branched away in three directions, but Chester didn¡¯t hesitate a bit, and pointed. ¡°This way goes to the tall places, but maybe we go up here? Look for alone Horde.¡± On the wall there was a rusted ladder heading upwards into a dark accessway in the ceiling. Peter nodded, but then hesitated. ¡°I¡¯ll go first. DG you take up the rear, okay? Chester, you can stay between us.¡± Neither of them objected. If Chester was aware of the implied suspicion, he ignored it. DG was oblivious, of course. Surprisingly, though the ladder chipped and flaked under his hands it didn¡¯t collapse, and ended up in an sqare metal plate, a bit like a manhole cover but smaller. Peter looked down at Chester. ¡°What do I do? Just go straight up?¡± ¡°Push up, look out for trouble, go if it safe. That¡¯s all.¡± It was rusty and it took all of his strength to move the thing, but he budged it up a couple of inches as quietly as he was able and peered out, listening carefully. It looked like the basement of another building. Compared to the tunnel it was bright enough to see everything. He was staring directly at a ghoul¡¯s head, which was peering out around a pile of bricks back at him. They ogled at each other for a moment. ¡°What you see?¡± said Chester. ¡°Horde. Just one.¡± ¡°You look out, maybe he have friends.¡± That was obvious enough. ¡°We don¡¯t want trouble,¡± Peter said to the ghoul, and to anybody else who might be listening. ¡°Me too,¡± hissed the ghoul. The voice instantly gave it away as female. ¡°Any other Horde here?¡± Peter said. ¡°Your clan going to jump us if we come up?¡± The ghoul just shook its head. Peter pushed the metal plate to one side, just enough for him to fit through, and put one hand on his sword. ¡°I¡¯m wearing Raider gear, but I¡¯m Horde, okay?¡± He poked his head out a bit farther and quickly scanned the room. There was a door in one wall, with a small pile of debris leaning against it. ¡°You trying to keep something out?¡± The ghoul nodded. ¡°Saw players. Ran and hid.¡± He couldn¡¯t see any obvious trap and he needed to look confident, after all. So he pushed himself up and into the room, pulling out his blade and scanning all around for trouble. The ghoul hissed when she saw what he was wearing. He raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Raider Ghoul, leader of Carnage Clan. We killed Raiders and took their gear. That¡¯s why I¡¯m dressed like this. I¡¯m Horde, not a Raider.¡± He wanted to make sure she understood. But she had sunk down lower behind her pile of bricks. Her eyes were watching him suspiciously. ¡°Come on up guys,¡± he said. Once the other two were with him, she looked around at them all, and seemed to calm down a little. ¡°You see,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re all good Horde here.¡± She stared hard at Chester and DG again, then nodded slowly. ¡°You see players?¡± Chester said. ¡°They near?¡± She pointed at the little pile of garbage she¡¯d piled up against the door. ¡°Outside,¡± she whispered. ¡°See them fighting Horde.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Peter had to admit that Chester was zeroing in on the relevant information very efficiently. The ghoul¡¯s experience was obvious. She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t know, didn¡¯t wait to see. Ran in here.¡± Peter thought it was time he took charge again. ¡°Do you want to be safe?¡± he said. She stared at him blankly. At that moment there was a rattle of gunfire from outside. It wasn¡¯t close, but he would know that sound anywhere. He was near players again for the first time since his transition to ghoul. But he had a feeling he wouldn¡¯t be able to just shout a friendly hello and expect them to stop firing. Though he still planned to give it a try at the earliest possible moment. For now though, keeping his little clan safe took priority. He looked at the crouched figure of the new ghoul again. ¡°Join Carnage Clan. We will keep you¡­¡± Before he could finish the sentence there was shouting from somewhere nearby, on the other side of the door, followed by a whooshing noise that he knew only too well. ¡°Down!¡± he yelled and dove for the floor. He¡¯d barely even hit the ground before the explosion from the RPG round blasted the door inward in a shower of smoke and bits of door. Chapter 12.5 Yoshimi_Axe# (Horrible): Right here [map] - we start at Glory Road and go northwest, 4.5km radius all the way around as far as Parkland. MassMan (Horrible): I was so close to trading my video gear away it''s a good thing you talked to me. Don_Mac (Horrible): How many subscribers have you got now? MassMan (Horrible): Why do you want to make me feel badFind this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Don_Mac (Horrible): Hah sorry. I''ve been there too it''s tough. You need gimmick or else run it leaning into H. CindyLouYue (Horrible): If we get good footage of ghouls outside of 4 km that''s going to draw watches for sure. MassMan (Horrible): That''s why I''m wasting my time on this yes. Steven Forbes (Horrible): I need any level 8 gear we find I''m too squishy for the Nexus. Yoshimi_Axe# (Horrible): We''re not going in at all, promise. Any good upgrades are yours. DEO GameChat (Private) - Friday Nov 8 2031 06:12CST Chapter 13.0 We¡¯re screwed. Peter lay still under the choking cloud of dust that filled the room and put his hand on his sword. There was no notification about anybody being dead, so presumably they could all still fight. Not that it would do much good. If the players were intent on getting in here and taking out everyone in the room, then there wasn¡¯t a single thing they could do about it. Not with their numbers and weapons. He steeled himself to what might be necessary and scrambled backwards through the smoke to find the opening that went down to the tunnels. He truly hated to leave DG, but if a bunch of heavily armed players were going to burst in and start killing everyone, then he wasn¡¯t planning to be one of the casualties. More shouts came from outside, followed by another crackle of weapons fire and the sound of running feet. He collided with another body and looked over to see Chester. The ghoul clearly had the same idea as Peter. I guess he didn¡¯t stay alive this long by freezing in an emergency. But Peter wanted to at least give the big guy a chance. ¡°DG!¡± he barked. ¡°We¡¯re leaving! Hurry! Back down the tunnel!¡± There was another whooshing hiss from outside and Peter steeled himself, but instead the RPG round kept going and exploded somewhere farther away. He heard a grunt and shuffling that he hoped was DG moving towards them. He kept backing up, feeling for the exit with his foot. More gunfire cracked, right next to the door. He heard someone yelling but couldn¡¯t make out any words. A hand clamped down on his arm. He turned his head to see the new female ghoul staring desperately into his eyes. ¡°Take me with you,¡± she said. Peter didn¡¯t stop backing up. He¡¯d located the gap in the floor now, and his foot was pushed aside by what had to be Chester already sliding his way down to safety. Dude takes care of himself, that¡¯s for sure. ¡°Join my clan,¡± he said as be wriggled away. ¡°I join. I follow you,¡± she said intently, crawling along to keep up with him. Where the hell is DG? Peter grabbed the new ghoul¡¯s arm and dragged her towards him, ignoring the new clan member notification. ¡°Down. Quietly,¡± he said. The smoke and dust was starting to clear, and the could see out of the blasted doorway into the corridor now. Figures ran past, and he caught sight of them well enough to see that they were players, for sure. Not one of them looked into the room at them. Sloppy. He tightened his grip on the female ghoul¡¯s arm, and when she looked at him he shook his head, hoping that would send the message, ¡°Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t make a sound.¡± But at that very moment Dumbo Ghoul sat up and looked around at the room. ¡°What happened?¡± he said. ¡°Is everyone¡­¡± ¡°Ssssh!¡± Peter hissed. There was more sound outside. It was the flat flap-flapping of running ghoul feet. ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± Peter whispered.¡¯ A crowd of ghouls ran past in the hallway. They were wearing standard ghoul rags, but with the quick look he got at them, Peter could see that they were carrying gleaming metal, probably long knives or even swords like his. One of them carried something long and shinyl, but was gone too fast for a good look. Those are some organized Horde right there. He had a feeling they weren¡¯t just a random clan. They waited a few more moments for any stragglers, but it seemed like the action had moved on. They could hear sporadic gunshots and shouts from farther away. ¡°You know those Horde?¡± Peter said to the female.
Scared Common Horde; Lvl 2; 100% Carnage Clan
She shook her head. ¡°I just come here looking for food. But they strong, chasing players.¡± Peter grimaced. ¡°Carnage Clan will be stronger. You¡¯re lucky to get in now. Your name will be Alice.¡± She nodded but he couldn¡¯t help feeling she looked a bit sceptical, too. Chester pulled himself back up out of their escape tunnel and glanced around the room at them all. ¡°We get lucky for sure,¡± he said. ¡°We should follow them and maybe we find some good stuff.¡± ¡°Good stuff?¡± ¡°Dead ghouls. We see what they have. Maybe players too if we really really lucky.¡± ¡°Is that the way things always go? You see who dies and take their things?¡± Chester nodded. ¡°Safer than fighting them, yes.¡± Ghouls are scavengers, I guess I just have to deal with it. But it wasn¡¯t going to stay that way. All the same he had to admit the idea was logical, as long as they didn¡¯t get torn apart by a player party looking for more kills. He gave DG a once-over. The big guy was unhurt but seemed a little dazed by the explosion. He¡¯d probably been closest to the door. He put him in the middle with Alice, and with Chester keeping a lookout at the rear. I guess I have to trust him for now. They moved carefully out of the room and towards the distant sound of gunfire, creeping along slowly and watching for threats. The hallway was lined with colorful tiles that screamed shopping mall. They¡¯d come up into some kind of underground shopping plaza. It wasn¡¯t long before they reached the end and found themselves staring out into the jumbled wreckage of a food court. Seats and tables were scattered at all angles, and there were plastic trays everywhere on the ground. Peter¡¯s nose wrinkled at the fresh smell of smoke. The fight had gone through this way, for sure. The sounds of the fight were a bit louder, from out in the mall itself, but it didn¡¯t seem like there was anybody else nearby. It wasn¡¯t long before they found their first casualty. A dead ghoul, riddled with bullets. He was long gone. The ghoul¡¯s main weapon lay on the ground by it¡¯s side.
CRUDE STEEL-TIPPED SPEAR UNMODIFIED
RANGED MELEE ONE-HANDED, 2M RANGE
ATTACK +30 (Condition 85%) 26
It''s a wooden shaft with a pointy steel bit on the end. Very useful for keeping your distance while you stab things. You can also throw it in a pinch, but of course that would give your enemy a chance to pick the thing up. So we''d advise against it in general.
That was a nice find. He waved it at Chester, who nodded approvingly. A good spear gave you some reach at least, over a knife. Though it was still a primitive weapon, you could do some decent damage with it, particularly if you took someone by surprise. He did a quick check through its inventory. The was nothing special, but it was all good to have; a bottle of vitamins, some chocolate bars, and one gold coin. Peter almost pocketed the coin without a glance, but something caught his eye. A crude design had been carved into it. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was at first, until he turned it upside down and realized it was a lopsided stick figure, carved into the coin with something sharp like a knife. There was an even less obvious item beside it, that might possibly have been a star. ¡°Do you know what that means?¡± he said to Chester. The old ghoul nodded. ¡°Flame Lady,¡± he said. ¡°This is her clan. We be smart to make sure they don¡¯t know we take their stuff.¡± That¡¯s the other player. ¡°What do you know about her?¡± Peter whispered. ¡°I¡¯ve heard her name.¡± Chester shrugged.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Strong clan, lots of ghouls. Thought about going to join them. But they attack players. A lot. New clan member is going to have to fight fight fight.¡± ¡°And that didn¡¯t seem like the safest choice?¡± Peter was definitely getting an idea of how the ghoul¡¯s head worked. Chester smiled. ¡°I thought, I keep looking. See what I can find. Flame Lady will probably still be there if there¡¯s no good clans.¡± Chester pointed out into the mall. ¡°Not so much fighting now. Maybe we go look?¡± They crept out into the open space where the stores had been. It was just a mess of shattered glass and hanging wires, but it was obviously a mezzanine level, with another lower level below. They kept close to the wall, watching out for any danger. They found another dead ghoul before long, and going through it¡¯s things there was another spear on the ground, and another one of the carved gold coins, along with a little food. She doesn¡¯t equip them with much, that¡¯s for sure. The sound of an explosion brought them all to a stop. It wasn¡¯t terribly far away, and there was more shouting. And then suddenly there they were. Three players, running along the level below. Two men, one woman. They were all dressed in combat gear, but it didn¡¯t look like anything special. Their labels were too far away to make out names, but he could see that they were all level 9. What are you doing this far into the Nexus? Peter would have advised them to level up some (or a lot) more before trying to go this deep, or minimally to have someone with a lot of experience with them. Some things never change. Of course compared to Peter and his group they were still massively overpowered - the four ghouls would be dead with almost no effort at all if they tried to attack. The players seemed to be running away from something, heading back towards them in the direction of the food court. One of the males shouted something that sounded like an order. That¡¯s what I was afraid of. It was total gibberish. Obviously the system wasn¡¯t geared to let ghouls talk to players. The players dove for cover behind a destroyed set of planters, and one of the males shrugged an RPG off his back and reloaded it. Peter could see what they were thinking. There was a sagging segment of the upper level flooring not far away. One good hit might bring a whole section crashing down. Or not. If it was me I¡¯d just keep running. It didn¡¯t take long before their pursuers showed up. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Peter said out loud. There were being chased by a swarm of ghouls. Way more than there had been back in the food court. There had to be at least forty, maybe fifty or more. They must have been herding them into an ambush. A tall ghoul wearing something blue followed in the rear, pacing along behind them all. It wasn¡¯t the one he¡¯d seen when he¡¯d wiped with his last party, but it looked damn similar. The RPG fired, traced an arc upwards, and exploded against the dangling floor segment, showering debris down on the lead ghouls. A few of them collapsed, but it made no difference to the swarm, which charged ahead blindly, screaming and waving a random assortment of daggers, swords, and spears. The bulk of the hanging floor remained solidly unmoved. And that¡¯s why you don¡¯t bet everything on a gamble like that. The second male player jumped up and began firing wildly into the pack while shouting something to the other two. He was obviously setting himself out as bait to let them get away. Neither of the other two seemed to object - they just turned and ran. Which was either good discipline or shitty party members; it was hard to tell. The player did pretty well for a few moments. Ghouls were dropping to the floor on all sides. He probably took out nearly a dozen before the pack finally swamped him in a wave of flashing blades. The tall ghoul at the back waited until he was obviously dead and then yelled at the crowd. ¡°Enough! Take down the other two! Group D strip the player and catch up with us!¡± The leader¡¯s voice boomed out in the echoing mall space. It was obvious he was used to this. It took a few moments for the order to take hold. Some of the ghouls looked to be trying to physically tear the dead player to pieces. Eventually a few thumps to some heads brought their attention back to the job, and the whole pack swarmed off down the mall in the direction the last two players had run. ¡°Is that Group D?¡± Peter said. ¡°Guess so,¡± said Chester. A lone ghoul looked around at his dead party members, then turned and got to work on the player, carefully pulling things out of his inventory. ¡°This is it!¡± Chester said. ¡°We take his stuff now. We jump him fast, before they know it.¡± Peter looked at DG. ¡°You up to a fight?¡± He was still a bit worried about the big ghoul¡¯s health, but got a thumbs-up in reply. ¡°No problem boss. Scrawny guy.¡± Alice looked as worried as ever. ¡°Now¡¯s your chance,¡± Peter said to her. ¡°Show us you¡¯re a good clan member.¡± She nodded slowly and then pulled out a surprisingly long knife from her rags. ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°But this not safe place to stay.¡± ¡°No kidding,¡± Peter said. ¡°Getting away from here fast is job number two.¡± He looked at Chester and pointed at the part of their floor closest to the Group D ghoul, then at gap down to the floor below. It was probably only ten or eleven feet. Certainly enough to jump. Chester didn¡¯t lose any time. He set out creeping towards their target spot, and Peter followed without looking back. I guess now we see if she¡¯s reliable. Once they were above the lone ghoul, there was no time left. He was obviously finishing up. Peter felt like he needed to show leadership again, so he didn¡¯t wait for the others. He leaped out over the edge without another word, landing solidly on the ghoul and smashing him against the floor. He wrapped his hand over the creature¡¯s mouth before it could shout out, while Chester, DG, and Alice all thumped to the ground around them.
Group D Ghoul 4 Common Horde; Lvl 2; 35% Flame Clan
Yeesh, that¡¯s not much of a name. Then again if you¡¯ve got hundreds to deal with I guess it makes sense. Presumably Ghoul 4 could expect to get a new 1, 2, 3, and so on now that the others in his group had bought it. The ghoul¡¯s head turned to look at him, and it¡¯s eyes burned with hate. It started to struggle against his hold. Chester and DG leapt in and pulled away it¡¯s weapon before it could get free, and Peter flipped it over. ¡°Don¡¯t yell or we¡¯ll kill you right away,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re taking your things. But join Carnage Clan and you can live.¡± The ghoul snarled and spat at him. ¡°I happy if I die for the Flame Lady,¡± it growled. ¡°We find you and kill you all. All of you!¡± ¡°Last chance,¡± Peter said. ¡°We already beat you. You¡¯re finished. Now follow me. Carnage Clan will grow stronger than Flame Clan.¡± He really wanted to recruit one of the other player¡¯s ghouls. Being able to debrief Number 4 here would be a huge advantage. But the ghoul just spat again. ¡°Let me fight you! I die for her! I die for the Crystal City!¡± ¡°The what now?¡± Peter said. ¡°Boss, we need to hurry. They come back soon,¡± Chester said. The ghoul turned to Chester to snarl at him, then stopped and hissed, staring. Before Peter could say another word Chester¡¯s knife drove itself into Number 4¡¯s chest, killing him instantly. ¡°Chester, what the hell?¡± ¡°They come back! You hear any fighting? We need to go!¡± He was right, but something didn¡¯t sit well all the same. They could return to that later though. ¡°Alice and DG, grab everything you can from the other dead ghouls! Chester check the player for anything this guy missed.¡± Peter dove into Number 4¡¯s inventory. Meds, food, a couple of decent knives. One rifle and four free mags of ammunition. The rifle was a good find of course, but all the same he¡¯d been hoping for more weapons. A sidearm, anything.
M4 RIFLE (2/30 5.56x45mm) UNMODIFIED
RANGED PROJECTILE, SELECTIVE FIRE TWO-HANDED LEVEL 6
ATTACK (FIREARMS REQUIRED) +150 (Condition 80%) 120
Wouldn''t it be wonderful if you could use this? Oh well, hope is what keeps us all going!
At least it could go in the Weapons Pile until he figured how to unlock the firearms ability. There was some decent combat wear - boots, some armor, good gloves. All of it was base level 8. It was way better than the Raider stuff, but he¡¯d have to wait to wear it. Like usual. A bedroll - that was nice. It had a +1 Stamina rested buff. We need to be on the lookout for a crapton of items like that. Us poor fragile ghouls need all the help we can get. 173 gold. Outstanding. Now I just need somewhere to spend the stuff. It was a good haul. Not amazing, but good. The players must have been farming exp, or else they hadn¡¯t reached their actual goal yet. Then there was the final item. Peter had never seen it before - the icon was a golden dodecahedron, spinning and shining. But his eyes went wide when he examined it.
PLAYER KILL TOKEN LVL: 9 CLASS: CHANCE
Congratulations on a player kill! Well, not in your case obviously, but congratulations on getting one by whatever means turned out to be necessary. Ready to roll the bones? One token gets you one spin, and the rewards are going to be good no matter what you end up with. Could be skills, could be buffs, could be EXP, could be just about anything. You might want to share the joy with your friends, but that¡¯s your call. BONUS: Level 9+ Token. You have a vanishingly small chance of getting something truly unique and amazing
Peter realized that Chester was looking over his shoulder at the token in his hand. ¡°Plenty of Horde would kill you for that,¡± he said quietly. Peter looked back at him. ¡°Is that so? What would you do?¡± Chester looked at it a moment longer then shrugged. ¡°Share it with the clan. Open it with whole clan there, whole clan gets the magic.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve done this before?¡± ¡°Not me, chief. But I hear stories.¡± Peter pocketed the thing. If there was going to be a clan-wide buff then he needed to wait until they got home to do anything with it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he really believed Chester, though. The ghoul¡¯s eyes had sparkled when he saw it. ¡°Anything else on the player?¡± ¡°Nah, they clean him out good.¡± ¡°DG? Alice?¡± They had found more spears, knives, food, and meds. Which was good - more supplies for the clan meant less foraging and more time spent doing useful work. But Peter was getting nervous, and he saw Chester looking down the length of the darkened mall and sniffing. ¡°Do we have company?¡± he said. ¡°Think I hear something. We should go. Fast.¡± Peter didn¡¯t trust Chester yet on a number of levels, but he did respect the ghoul¡¯s survival sense. If he said it was time to run, it was probably time to run. But of course now they were on the bottom floor of the mall. There had to be multiple exits, and they sure as shit weren¡¯t going to run in the direction the mob might be coming from. Which left only one choice. ¡°That way,¡± Peter said. ¡°Quietly.¡± Nobody argued. They headed out without a word, padding along quickly through the shattered glass and torn metal, looking for a way out. There was a shout from behind them. It wasn¡¯t close, but it definitely sounded like the voice of the tall leader-ghoul. ¡°Faster,¡± Peter said. Come on, anything. A broken escalator, an elevator shaft, a fire exit. Anything at all! They reached the end of the mall, and at first it looked like a dead end. It was just more ruined and emptied shops. ¡°There!¡± said Dumbo Ghoul. A big pair of fire doors were almost concealed behind a fallen section of the upper floor. ¡°Good eyes,¡± Peter said. ¡°This must be how they all came in.¡± From behind them came the roar of dozens of ghoul voices all shouting at the same time. They sounded angry. ¡°And I think they just found out that we shafted them. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Chester didn¡¯t need any convincing. He looked like he was already prepared to bolt and leave them behind. But the moment he yanked open one of the big grey fire doors, a voice spoke up from somewhere close to them. It sounded like it was just a few feet away. ¡°Stop!¡± The voice was gravelly and gurgling, and both Peter and Chester whipped around on it, weapons at the ready. There was nothing there. ¡°Go!¡± Peter said to the others. ¡°I¡¯ll come after¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± the voice said again. ¡°You must come with me.¡± The roar of enraged ghouls thundered down the mall, heading towards them. "We''re getting out of here!" Peter yelled at the voice. "Try and stop us!" A pixellated shimmering in the air appeared in front of them. It quickly resolved into a disgusting sight. The creature looked like a pile of random limbs and guts in an exoskeletal web of silver metal. A tentacle-like arm protruded, pointing what was very obviously a plasma pistol at Peter''s head. "Refusal is intolerable. You must remove him from the Creche." Chapter 13.5
  1. Safety Guidelines for Usage (continued)
b. The electrically isolated interface provided by the IPX-3020 processing system isolates the VRLA interface from the headgear and provides essential safety isolation between the IPX-3020 signal connections and the user. Any unauthorized repair or tampering with either subsystem will void the warranty and releases Acsperia Ltd. and the manufacturers and/or publishers of any online content from liability for any and all damages or injuries which may result. c. The Immersive Presence? unit is rated for 8 hours of continuous usage per 24 hour period, provided that monthly automated maintenance review has taken place per the user agreement, and provided that bidirectional error condition reporting and resolution procedures are unimpeded between the unit and Acsperia Ltd. data centers (see Appendix 3 for a comprehensive data centers list and explanation of both online and external unit error conditions). Usage of the unit when the automated maintenance review protocol or bidirectional error condition reporting and resolution protocols have been impeded and/or usage of the unit beyond the recommended daily hourly rating is discouraged and any such usage will be noted online in the System menu (System; Options; Data Configuration; Administration; External; User; Logs; Notifications; Priority Notifications) and in the monthly billing summary. Automated receipt notification of the monthly billing summary from Acsperia Ltd. to the user implies understanding and acceptance by the user that such usage is outside of the rated configuration of this unit and releases Acsperia Ltd. and the manufacturers and/or publishers of any online content from liability for any and all damages or injuries which may result from this out-of-rating equipment use cycle.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Acsperia Immersive Presence System User Manual, page 63 Chapter 14.0 Peter stared at the Biomorph and spread his hands wide. ¡°If we stay here we get torn apart,¡± he said. The creature¡¯s weapon didn¡¯t waver. ¡°Go in there,¡± it said, Another tentacle-like limb pointed towards the broken remains of a store. ¡°We encourage you to move swiftly.¡± Peter quickly weighed the likelihood of overpowering the thing.
Walks Alone Biomorph Scout; Lvl 21; 225% Blue Flower Creche
Well that¡¯s not happening. He looked at Chester, but the old ghoul was no help. He looked like he wanted to run, but he was obviously too smart to think he had a chance of getting away. The crowd coming after them was almost there - the noise of slapping ghoul feet and angry shouting made that obvious. ¡°Fine,¡± Peter sighed. He had to assume the Biomorph had a plan of some kind. ¡°Everyone, in the store!¡± He ran into the dark interior without looking. Nothing was going to be worse than getting caught by that mob. The others followed him without question, and the Biomorph slithered in behind Dumbo Ghoul. ¡°Proceed to the far wall,¡± it rasped. Peter kept going, stepping through piles of rotten clothing that lay all over the floor. When he reached the back wall it was bare concrete with a broken door hanging from its frame, leading into an even darker space. ¡°In here?¡± he said. ¡°Stand upon the rectangular region,¡± the creature said. The lead ghouls of the pack chasing after them appeared in the mall outside. They ran straight towards the fire doors without looking into the stores around them. But Peter had a feeling their leader ghoul wasn¡¯t going to be so oblivious. A rectangular outline began glowing with soft blue light on the floor, in a space devoid of any wreckage. It was easily big enough for all the ghouls plus the Biomorph to stand in. ¡°Here, fast,¡± Peter said, motioning to the others. Alice looked sick with fear. She was doing just fine on her own, joined up with us, and now she¡¯s being chased by Flame Clan and kidnapped by a Biomorph. He had to admit that from her perspective the day could not be said to be going well. But they crowded together, all of them as far away as possible from the creature as it slithered onto the platform. Without any delay, they began sinking down into the floor. Alice gasped and grabbed at Peter for support when they started moving. ¡°It¡¯s okay, if he wanted to kill us he could have done it already easily,¡± Peter said to her. Dumbo Ghoul almost seemed to be enjoying himself. He was watching the store rise up away from them with his mouth open and wide eyes. Chester was just frowning. Peter had to agree with him. There was no obvious escape route here. After only a moment something slid into place above them, blocking out the shrinking square of light from above. A fake floor, presumably. Almost immediately, their strange little elevator stopped with a hissing noise, and a door opened in front of them. Light flooded in, bright enough to blind them momentarily. Alice squeaked in fear again, and Peter shielded his eyes, trying to see. ¡°This way, this way,¡± said the Biomorph as it slithered away into the brilliantly lit hall outside. The pistol had disappeared, along with the whole tentacle that held it. Peter didn¡¯t doubt it could come out again in an instant, but there was no reason to hold them at gunpoint now. There was nowhere to go. Wherever they were, it was the cleanest, most high-tech spot he¡¯d ever seen in the game. Only the headquarters of some of the bigger player guilds could even compete. The floor was smooth gray tiles, the walls were clean, white, and seamless. Overhead their way was lit by brilliantly bright rows of lights that never flickered at all. All of the ghouls looked out of place and wary in that environment. In fact, let¡¯s face it, they look like sewer rats. With their drooping, wrinkly skin, and their patchy hair and the filthy rags they wore, Peter saw them again for the monsters they were supposed to be. He¡¯d almost forgotten that perspective for a while. Ugly or not, they were his clan now. All the same, we need to get better clothes. Having my party dressed like this is just embarrassing. The Biomorph didn¡¯t fare much better of course. It looked more technological - more manufactured and at home in this environment than the ghouls, but it was still a wobbling nightmare of metal and flesh. It was hard to judge distance but they probably went two or three hundred meters before their captor finally shuddered to a halt in front of one segment of wall which looked no different than any other. ¡°Here we will return to the surface,¡± it said. The wall opened up, and what was obviously another elevator was in front of them. Peter looked up and down the long underground hallway. It curved away gently with no obvious doors or any other signs of where any other elevators might be. ¡°Nice place down here,¡± he said. ¡°Safe. I guess this tunnel goes all over the Nexus? Even out into the player zones?¡± The Biomorph slid into the elevator without responding, and one tentacle motioned them in. They followed. When the door closed and they began to ascend, it said, ¡°You will not see that location again. But we needed to bring you away from the Flame Clan.¡± ¡°So will you finally tell us why we¡¯re here? Who do we have to remove from the Creche?¡± A square of light appeared above them and rapidly expanded as the elevator rose. ¡°A creature came to the Creche. It will not leave until you remove it. It¡¯s presence cannot be accepted. You will cause it to leave.¡± ¡°Sounds like this is really important to you.¡± The elevator brought them up into another ruined building. Morning sunlight was filtering in through shards of filthy broken glass. Let¡¯s hope the boys made it back to the nest okay. We¡¯re going to be late. The Biomorph gestured with a tentacle for them to go. But Peter stood right where he was. ¡°I said, it sounds like it¡¯s important to you that we do this. We have a price for our help.¡± The Biomorph moved with lightning speed. It whipped around and slapped an armlike-appendage around Dumbo Ghoul, with the plasma pistol pressed to his temple. DG looked frightened, but he didn¡¯t struggle. ¡°You will remove it,¡± the Biomorph screeched. ¡°Refuse and we will kill this one immediately.¡± Poker face. ¡°Kill any one of my clan and I will never cooperate with you. Never.¡± ¡°You will die.¡± ¡°How do you think the creature in the Creche will feel about that?¡± In fact Peter had no idea how The Creature would feel about it. But whatever it was, it obviously needed Peter in order to leave the Creche. And that was important to the Biomorphs, apparently.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The Biomorph¡¯s skin vibrated with agitation. It was an ugly sight. The plasma pistol retracted. ¡°One hundred gold,¡± it said. ¡°You will move now.¡± ¡°Ten thousand.¡± That was a pure stab in the dark. But the Biomorph had blinked. ¡°Five hundred, we will barter no further.¡± ¡°Twelve thousand.¡± Three of its eyestalks all swiveled around to stare at Peter. It glared silently at him for several seconds. Peter suspected it was talking to someone. Finally it shuddered again it released its hold on DG, who scampered away from the thing at speed. The Biomorph slithered away off of the elevator platform. All of the eyestalks swiveled away again, as if it didn¡¯t want to look at Peter. ¡°Eleven thousand. Trade value only. We will give you no gold.¡± I can live with store credit for now. ¡°Deal,¡± Peter said, and stepped off the platform. He gestured to the other ghouls. ¡°Let¡¯s go. The man has a creature he needs removed.¡± They moved out into the light of dawn together, following the Biomorph. It was another ruined street, with the green Nexus glow shimmering in the air above. Nothing moved in any direction, and the wrecked buildings were silent. ¡°This way. We will move quickly now.¡± It was slightly amazing to Peter that the Biomorph didn¡¯t leave a trail of slime behind it as it moved, but however it was managing to ambulate across the debris, nothing slowed it down. It flowed along the road ahead of them, moving purposefully. It didn¡¯t appear to be watching that they were coming along, but then again there could easily have been more eyes in the bulging flesh of the thing. Insect eyes, perhaps, or even cameras or other sensors. Chester was eyeing the surrounding buildings carefully. DG and Alice trailed after them, looking worried. It wasn¡¯t normal for ghouls to just stroll along in the middle of the street where anyone could see them. ¡°I thought Biomorphs usually went in¡­ groups,¡± Peter said. There was no sense in not getting whatever new information he could out of the situation. ¡°I am a Scout,¡± it rasped. ¡°We move alone.¡± ¡°Thus your name. Walks Alone. Seems kind of sad to me.¡± ¡°I serve the Creche. I share with them in ways you will never know.¡± ¡°Are there a lot of scouts?¡± ¡°There are as many as needed. If you wish more information you may barter for it, but not with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to set up a trade arrangement with the Creche, actually. Who should I speak with about that?¡± ¡°Not with me. First you will remove the thing from the Creche. Its presence is unacceptable.¡± Good point, I should be asking about that. ¡°What is it? Can you tell me?¡± ¡°It appeared. It gave us signs by which we might find you.¡± ¡°But what is it?¡± ¡°Horde. Or so it appears. I will not discuss it further.¡± ¡°I assume we can buy more information?¡± ¡°Not from me. It must be¡­¡± The Biomorph shuddered to a stop. ¡°What is it?¡± Peter said. Chester dropped to all fours instantly, ready to bolt for safety. The creature made a blubbering, hissing noise. ¡°Flame Clan,¡± he said. ¡°They come this way.¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± Peter said. ¡°Should we go back down again?¡± The Biomorph didn¡¯t answer him. Instead there was a flashing of tentacles, and then there were three small boxes being held out to them, each on a separate arm. Peter scanned one right away.
ACTIVE VISUAL CLOAK MOD: LEVEL ADAPTATION (-16)
LEVEL 18 CAMOUFLAGE (Modded: Lvl 2) POWERED; 100% (3 Hours)
DEFENSE 100% 20
Hide in plain sight! Great for playing tricks on your friends! Also useful for not getting torn apart by rampaging mobs.
¡°Impressive.¡± It was new to Peter. The orange text indicated it incorporated T-tech components. Three of them, no less. Plus mods. I wonder what just one of them would be worth. A lot, that was for sure. ¡°You will attach them to your clothing. You will move swiftly, the Flame Clan are not far.¡± Peter took it and clipped it to his jacket, showing the others what to do. It was a decent guess none of them had ever handled anything like this before. Chester managed it after watching Peter, and Alice had no problem. She turned and helped DG attach it to his rags. ¡°Now what?¡± There was a mild humming noise, and both of the other ghouls faded away until they were just blurry outlines in the street. When Peter looked down he could still see himself. The Biomorph faded away as well. ¡°What happen?¡± DG said. Peter waved his arms and walked up to DG, showing him that they could still kind of see each other. ¡°But if we stand still, we¡¯ll blend right into the background, yeah?¡± he said to the Biomorph. ¡°If we see the Flame Clan you will be still, yes. They will not see you.¡± DG laughed with understanding. ¡°This great! I want one!¡± Me too, big boy. I want a whole bunch of them. But they could talk about that at the Creche. ¡°Observe me closely so that you do not become lost,¡± the Biomorph said, and headed out again. They headed up the street again, and before long they heard the sound of ghouls nearby. There were shouts from the insides of the wrecked buildings, and the clamour of a mob running through the debris. ¡°Be still!¡± the Biomorph said. They all froze. To Peter¡¯s surprise, the two players they¡¯d seen running away in the mall were still alive. They came running out of a doorway just a few meters away, and nearly slammed straight into the party on their way up the street. Their faces were intent, and from the quick look Peter got, the male was at 40% and the female was something similar in the 30¡¯s. Not good, we¡¯re right in the middle of this. Ghouls burst out of the buildings behind them, swarming up the street. The party was saved by the natural Ghoul instinct to hug cover - very few of the pack moved more than an arm¡¯s-length away from the dark safety of the wrecked stores and offices. They flocked together up the road, with the blue-clad leader ghoul following closely. Peter thought they were safe, but then the leader stopped suddenly, and turned around, looking down the street towards them suspiciously. It had a side-arm of some kind on a belt. It sniffed and crouched, then stood up again and pointed directly at them. ¡°I see you, Biomorph,¡± it said. Then it turned and loped away after the swarm. They all waited until they were alone again in the street. ¡°Good job taking us right back into danger,¡± Peter said. What had just happened could only be an accident. ¡°My choice was poor,¡± Walks Alone said. It didn¡¯t sound apologetic at all. ¡°But we are safe now.¡± All the same, Peter thought this was a valuable encounter. There were real limits to how much the Biomorphs knew about what was going on in the Nexus. They might have high-tech tunnels down below, but up above you could surprise them. File that away for future reference. ¡°You guys okay?¡± he said to the others. They all responded positively, but neither Alice nor Chester sounded very happy. At least DG still seemed to be having fun with being invisible. He crept up beside Peter - a zone of pixelated background identifiable mainly by his size. ¡°You see me now?¡± he said. ¡°Not very well. It¡¯s a good thing their leader didn¡¯t see us either.¡± ¡°It would not expect a low-tier clan such as yours to have this technology,¡± said the Biomorph. ¡°We will move now.¡± The creature turned off it¡¯s own cloak and popped back into place in front of them. ¡°I will leave yours active,¡± it said. ¡°Can you see us even with the cloaks on?¡± Peter said. It didn¡¯t reply, and slithered off down the road. They trudged onward for a long time, and Peter did his best to remember landmarks along the way - a broken fountain, the base of a statue with two bronze legs ending in nothing at all now, then a large circular plaza blocked with the crumpled remains of a skyscraper that had collapsed into it. They moved deeper and deeper towards the sickly green glow of the Nexus, until the light began to suffuse everything. Peter had never even met anyone who¡¯d been in this deep before. ¡°You know this area at all, Chester?¡± Peter said. ¡°I hope your Horde travel lore is going to help us find our way back again.¡± The blurred outline of the ghoul next to him paused and seemed to stare around the ruins. ¡°Think so. Only come down this way a couple of times, but should be okay.¡± ¡°I want to be able to get back here. The clan needs to be able to trade with the Biomorphs. They have things we¡¯re going to need.¡± Speaking of which.
REPUTATION BIOMORPH REPUTATION Now -55%; Hostile
Yikes! When did that happen? No wonder Walks Alone was barely tolerating them. It was a big change in his status. His small buff from the gear was being swamped by something else completely. Peter hoped it was because of the thing at the Creche, but if it stayed that way they were probably screwed until they could repair it. There was no point in worrying about it for now. It was outside of his control. But when they finally reached the Creche he had to stop himself from laughing. So much for the notion of a secret hidden base. It was a gaudy thing that you could probably have seen from an airliner. The creche had taken over most of an old city block, and where the buildings had been, there was now a bizarre fractal tracery of silver superstructure around a jumble of fragmented concrete that had no obvious outline at all. It looked vaguely like some kind of insect nest, if the insects were able to move multi-ton blocks of concrete wreckage into place to suit their needs. High up there was a protruding half-globe of what looked like stained glass. Peter suspected it was made of fused window shards, mirrors, streetlights, and anything else that the creatures could find. Never mind ghoul nests, this is an actual nest. He was getting a sense of the Biomorphs now beyond them being just another random threatening mob. They¡¯re true hive creatures. It was no wonder the presence of an unwanted thing in the Creche that they couldn¡¯t get rid of would drive them to distraction. The Biomorph slithered to a stop in front of an irregular opening in the base of the structure. Without any warning their cloaks turned off, and the ghouls all looked shocked to be able to see one another again. ¡°That¡¯s a good trick,¡± DG said, laughing happily again. Alice and Chester nodded. It was obvious they were all thinking the same thing. The notion of being able to instantly hide anywhere at all appealed to something deep in a ghoul¡¯s instincts. ¡°I know, I know,¡± Peter said. ¡°It¡¯s on the list, trust me.¡± ¡°You will go in there and remove it,¡± Walks Alone said, gesturing with a tentacle. ¡°We can just go right inside?¡± ¡°This small zone may be accessed for trade. If it was anywhere else we would have burned the creche to ash.¡± Good to know. Please stay inside the visitor area. ¡°Alright, come on,¡± Peter said. ¡°Let¡¯s go find out who¡¯s so anxious to meet us.¡± But then he stopped, and turned to Walks Alone. ¡°I don¡¯t know this creature, and I didn¡¯t ask for it to be here. If we remove it, will we be forgiven for the intrusion, or will you attack us as enemies?¡± The Biomorph paused in the way that Peter now interpreted as it conferring with someone or something. Probably something inside the Creche. It went on for a surprisingly long time. Finally it stirred and spoke. ¡°We have already agreed to a trade. If you fulfil your portion of that trade, we will be satisfied.¡± Does that mean there was still some uncertainty on the topic? It wasn¡¯t like he could demand anything else from them at this point, so there was no sense in making an issue of it. But he was willing to bet there was an amazing array of weapons directed at them right now, ready for anything that might happen next. ¡°Fair enough,¡± he said, and strode confidently into the dark interior of the Creche. Chapter 14.5 As a new player you''ll start out in one of the four new cities; Fort Alice, Green Haven, Murphy''s Town, or The Trench. Any one of these is a great space to get your bearings in safety and to start finding your way in the world. You''ll find well-stocked stores for gear and equipment, reasonably-priced accomodation, and lots of options for entertainment. They''re also the hubs for guild recruitment, and for training and levelling tutorials run by both NPCs and by other players. Of course there''s nothing stopping you from staying right there, but you''ll find higher-level gear and options start to run thin at a certain point, which means you''ll want to see what the wider world has to offer eventually. Fort Alice is a friendly town surrounded by high metal walls and offers excellent education and training for healing and support classes. Green Haven is a major hub for manufacturing and business, and if you''re inclined towards becoming filthy rich then it''s probably a decent place to start out. Murphy''s Town is a rougher spot where the pure combat classes often start - if you want to learn to deal destruction, then you could make a worse choice even though it''s not as safe and well-ordered as the others. The Trench is where the technical starting classes like Engineers, Scientists, and Psi-tech specialists will find plenty of things to keep them interested. That said, you can gain a decent start wherever you like, so don''t fret too much if your friends all want to set out in a town that doesn''t focus on your own planned specialities.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Free Settlements Many guilds have their own free settlements where they have started out with fortified positions which they have expanded into small towns with farms, factories, stores, and much more. By joining a major guild you will of course have access right away to their common quarters and to the safety and resources they provide. Some major guild settlements are as big as any of the starter towns. But if you''re feeling up to it you can go anywhere you like and try to make it your own - though of course nothing is ever that simple. Wildmen and Raiders might not like your choice if it conflicts with their own lives, and mobs are always a threat. You''ll need to think about defensibility and access to resources, among many other priorities. If your choice of a location conflicts with other players, well, that could be a problem too. Nobody said life was going to be easy in the new world. Players are encouraged to settle their disputes by whatever means seem most productive to them. Violence is certainly an option, but you need to weigh the costs and benefits - but as a new player you''re not totally on your own, either. If you feel like you''re being targeted or griefed, every major town has Vigilante guilds who will be only too happy to even the odds for you, if you can make the case that you deserve their help. For certain types of people, dealing out overpowered justice is what they live for. Isn''t it nice that they get to have fun too? Towns and Settlements Welcome to Dead Earth Online, Axiom Systems, 2027 Chapter 15.0 The entrance wasn¡¯t much to look at, but once he got inside it was obvious the Biomechs were trying to impress anyone who came to them to trade. It was another gleaming, flawless construct like the tunnels, but in this case the walls spun with shifting shades of color. It looked like a technological temple. Pillars on either side shone with brilliant lights that traced an arch above, like cathedral. The entire structure funneled the attention towards an empty platform at the front, reached by a set of burnished stairs. Peter thought it looked like some ancient science fiction movie set. It was obviously meant to provoke awe in things like Raiders and Ghouls who spent their time living in garbage and ruins, but to his eye it was basically techno-tacky. He smirked and walked towards the creature that was waiting for him. It sat about a third of the way up the steps, watching him approach. It did appear to be a ghoul, though it was dressed more like one of the Flame Clan¡¯s party leaders. In this case it was wearing a dark blue shirt, and perfectly ordinary-looking pants. It was barefoot. It showed no expression as he came near and scanned it.
Simonides Transcended Horde; Lvl 4; 100% -
It¡¯s eyes were pure black. Peter raised a hand in greeting. ¡°I¡¯m Raider Ghoul.¡± he said. ¡°I hear you wanted to see me.¡± The creature nodded. ¡°You must move quickly,¡± it said. Its voice was strangely neutral - it didn¡¯t sound male or female. ¡°The Flame Clan grows strong. She has already begun reaping from the players.¡± Peter looked around to see his clan standing against the far wall near the entrance. They didn¡¯t seem to want to come any closer. Walks Alone had disappeared entirely. He gestured to them to approach, and turned back to Simonides. ¡°I¡¯ve barely been at this for a day. You could cut me some slack.¡± ¡°You are at a disadvantage. She moves beyond you. I will join your clan and render what aid I may.¡± ¡°Will you. How about we talk for a minute first? I have some questions.¡± ¡°If you wish. This is not the time or place for such a discussion.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong. Peter glanced around the huge space again. There was no telling what was pointed at them, and they were certainly being listened to. But Simonides was a total unknown. ¡°Who sent you to me?¡± he said. ¡°You know the answer. You spoke with the Dead Horde.¡± Peter looked back at his clan members. They had carefully approached a little closer but they were obviously still wary, and were well out of earshot. ¡°You and I both know that¡¯s garbage,¡± he said quietly, staring into Simonides¡¯ featureless black eyes. ¡°Who did I really talk to?¡± The creature bobbed its head slightly in acknowledgement. ¡°I come to you from the Ananhemir, who will raise you to Godhood amongst the Horde. You will be the grasping fist which seizes the world for them.¡± ¡°The Biomorphs don¡¯t like you one bit,¡± Peter said. ¡°How do they feel about the... Ananhemir?¡± ¡°You should merely call them the Great Ones. The Biomorphs despise my presence here, though for now they fear what would happen if they were to challenge the Great Ones,¡± Simonides said. ¡°But their greed is greater than their pride. You will be able to provide them with the things they crave. They already suspect I will see to that.¡± ¡°If the Flame Clan leader is going to attack the player lands, why is it so important that I beat her? You¡¯re getting what you want.¡± ¡°She is not an emissary of the Great Ones. You are. You must grow strong to serve them.¡± Simonides didn¡¯t give off the aura that suggested he needed, or cared to be, part of anybody¡¯s clan, even if he was only level 4. Obviously if Peter took him on board then the clan would benefit. And the Ananhemir, whoever they were, would get their tool to invade the player lands. But what price am I expected to pay? It worried him. Having a direct representative of some mysterious higher power in his clan could mean he¡¯d be losing autonomy. He doubted that they just wanted to shower him with presents for no reason. But obviously there were other forces at work here as well besides these Ananhemir, whoever they were. Which meant that despite their name, the Great Ones weren¡¯t all-powerful, which meant he was probably somebody¡¯s enemy now. Before he could say anything else, there was a loud buzzing noise to the left, and a section of the wall slid away. A biomorph that looked like Walks Alone - it was hard to really be sure until he could make out the label - slithered into the trade hall and stared at them from a distance.. ¡°Why is it still here?¡± it rasped from across the hall. ¡°Remove it. That was the arrangement.¡± Peter sighed. ¡°We did say we¡¯d get you out of their Creche. Come outside with me.¡± He turned and walked back towards the exit without checking to see if Simonides was following. The other ghouls scuttled ahead, looking like all they wanted to do was find some decent wreckage to hide under. The Biomorph followed them from a long way off, as if it wanted to slam the door once they left. ¡°Okay,¡± Peter said once they were standing at a safe distance from the creche, ¡°But it can¡¯t be that simple. What do your masters want in return for my cooperation?¡± ¡°You have already accepted your role. Do you think you can negotiate the conditions now?¡± It was hard to argue with that. Peter waved a hand at Chester, beckoning him over to the two of them. Chester moved with reluctance, but he sidled up beside Peter. ¡°Tell me what worries you about this one,¡± Peter said, pointing at Simonides. It was obvious that something bothered all of the ghouls, since none of them wanted to come too close. Chester frowned. ¡°He¡¯s Horde, but not like any I¡¯ve seen before.¡± Simonides stared at him blankly. ¡°He¡¯s strange. Creepy. Feels like when Mystics talk to the Dead Horde.¡± ¡°I am Horde,¡± Simonides said. ¡°And I serve the masters of all Horde.¡± Well now, that can¡¯t possibly be true, Peter thought. Chester shrugged. ¡°Never heard of your kind.¡± Simonedes turned back to Peter, seeming to dismiss Chester from his presence. ¡°As I said, you must hurry. The Flame Clan grows stronger daily. You have been given your task.¡± ¡°You mean the nanocrystal bus? Nobody knows anything about it as far as I¡¯ve been able to tell.¡± ¡°Everything you need is with you. Do you want the Great Ones to hold your hand? Now make me part of your clan.¡± ¡°Frankly I don¡¯t like your attitude,¡± Peter said. ¡°My clan is not yours to order around.¡± An expression that could only have been exasperation flitted across the ghoul¡¯s features. ¡°Must I bribe you to act in your own interest? Here.¡± Simonides held out his hand. Two bright things and a small silver box lay in his palm. Peter scanned them.
Passive Skill Acquisition? Singular
Flock Translation Tier 1; Lvl 4 Additional: +10 Transcendent Technology Accessibility
You will be able to talk to Nexus Robot Flocks. More or less. If they''re in the mood.
Active Skill Acquisition? Group
Psionic Tech Capacity Tier 1; Lvl 4 Requirement: INT 3
Talented group members will be able to utilize Psionic Technologies for communications. At least as long as they''re even marginally clever. So probably not everyone.
Flock Network Multiplexer Unit; Level 25 100%
¡°Are these for me?¡± ¡°They will assist you. As will I. As you have been told. Are there more questions?¡± Peter took the items that Simonides offered and slipped them into his inventory. ¡°Many. When I¡¯m your clan leader you will answer them fully, is that understood?¡± The ghoul didn¡¯t reply, but inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. Peter grimaced and said, ¡°Simonides, join Carnage Clan.¡± He didn¡¯t want to make it a request. ¡°I am honored to become part of your clan,¡± the ghoul said. It didn¡¯t sound the least bit sincere. Immediately three status updates rolled past.
Simonides Transcended Horde; Lvl 4; 100% Carnage Clan
Clan Buff? Group
Tech Scavenger? Tier 1; Lvl 4
You feel the knowledge of spotting salvageable technology mysteriously flow through you. Your group are now 25% more likely to find advanced tech gear and components to Level 8.
Clan Buff? Group
Fast Learners? Tier 1; Lvl 4 +120% XP gain to Level 8
Your whole group will gain knowledge and experience at an accellerated rate. Yes, all of them. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
Peter nodded to Simonides, acknowledging the buffs. ¡°You should be able to gain experience and power faster,¡± Simonides said. ¡°I will leave you to your business and return to your nest.¡± ¡°Our nest,¡± Peter said. ¡°If you¡¯re one of us, then I am your leader now. Is that understood?¡± He wasn¡¯t going to put up with Simonides acting like he owned the place. The ghoul bobbed its head again. ¡°Of course. I will fight for the glory of the clan.¡± But his words sounded mocking to Peter¡¯s ears. ¡°You go back there and wait for me, alright? We will talk about what the clan does now once we¡¯re all together again.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how much subtlety the ghoul AI could pick up. You sit your ass down and wait for the leader to tell you what to do, okay? He was about to say it out loud, but Simonides gave him a bow and turned to leave before he could say anything else. Peter stared at the ghoul¡¯s back as it walked away, pondering. He needed to grill him hard about the clan¡¯s relationship with these "Great" ones. First Chester and now this thing. I thought I was supposed to be able to trust my clan members? Maybe ghoul life just didn¡¯t work that way. All the same, he felt like a weight had been lifted, and he turned towards the creche trading entrance. Now we get to go shopping! With one provsio - he brought up his stats.
Reputation Biomorph Reputation -5%; Neutral
Which meant he¡¯d taken a hit, but at least it wasn¡¯t as bad as it could have been. The other ghouls were standing together and staring at him unhappily. He suspected morale had taken a hit as well, but there was no point in looking it up. They needed the strange new ghoul for now. ¡°Okay guys," he said. "I¡¯m not comfortable either, but the clan will be stronger for having Simonides with us." Dumbo Ghoul shrugged and muttered, ¡°Clan is clan, but that guy makes me feel weird.¡± Alice nodded. ¡°You are leader,¡± Chester said. ¡°But we should watch him. Make sure he¡¯s not doing anything bad.¡± ¡°I feel the same way. When we get back can you guys tell the others to keep an eye on him? Quietly, I mean. Now let¡¯s go do some business.¡± Walking back into the creche, Peter paused and looked around. ¡°I¡¯m here to trade now,¡± he said. ¡°Is that okay?¡± There was no reply, but he felt like there were eyes watching him. Probably lots of eyes on stalks and things. The other ghouls all clustered at the entrance, looking like they were unsure about what to do. ¡°With me,¡± Peter said. ¡°We¡¯re Carnage Clan. You need to look strong, like you¡¯re not going to take shit from anyone.¡± Chester frowned but herded them all after Peter so they walked in towards the pedestal at the end of the room together. We don¡¯t exactly look badass yet, but at least it¡¯s better than having them cowering outside. When they reached the end of the hall a panel hissed open in the wall, and a Biomorph slithered out. It stopped when it was lit from all directions by brilliant white spotlights. Tacky, seriously. It was definitely not Walks Alone this time though. The creature was easily twice as big, and was covered from top to bottom in a mesh of silver webbing that masked dozens of bumps and protrusions all over its body. Three eyestalks regarded the group, wobbling back and forth between them.
Speaks To Mobs Biomorph Trader; Lvl 17; 150% Blue Flower Creche
¡°What do you have to trade?¡± it rasped. ¡°Well first of all, Walks Alone told us we had eleven thousand trade credit. Is that correct? ¡°It is, but you may not come in here and simply take our goods. We expect trade as well.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Peter said and brought up his trade interface. That much at least hadn¡¯t changed from the regular player configuration. All of his customizations were gone, but it was basic enough not to make any real difference. He considered what to put forward. He''d already had a quick look through the inventories on the other ghouls earlier, and had pulled out some of the things they¡¯d found in the mall, looking ahead to this moment. It pained him to put the rifle up, but it was bound to attract some interest. Plus he could use it to calibrate what the Biomorphs would pay for things versus the usual NPC merchants. He stared at the Flock Communications Multiplexer for a moment. Was that intended to be trade bait, or was it going to be essential later on? Simonides had given him no hint. The Flock communications skill kind of suggested they might be important. Oh well screw it it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t decide not to sell. He made it visible to the Biomorph.
Raider Ghoul - Items to Trade
Crude Steel-Tipped Spear; Lvl 4? (2) 100 200
Combat Knife; Lvl 3??? 250?????? 250
Speed; Tier 2 ?(4)?? 150? 600
Antibiotics; Med Tier 3 (3) 200 600
Combat Armor; Lvl 7 1,000 1,000
Pants; Lvl 7 500 500
Combat Boots; Lvl 6 300 300
M4 Rifle; Lvl 6 3,000 3,000
Flock Communications Multiplexer; Lvl 25 25,000 25,000
Trade Credit? 11,000? 11,000
The creature didn¡¯t hesitate for a moment, and the sales screen filled up.
Speaks To Mobs - Items to Trade
Scavenger Training (Food); Tier 3; Group 15,000 Triple foodstocks located
Scavenger Training (Materials); Tier 2; Group 10,000 Double quality and level max found
Combat Training (Melee); Tier 3; Single 15,000 Up to 30% increased DMG output
Cartographer Skill; Tier 1; Single??? 10,000 Opens Cartographer Skill Tree
Builder Training; Tier 2; Group 10,000 Doubles builder speed
Bedroll; Tier 3 (5) 800 +3 Stamina 2 hour rested buff
MRE; Standard 16 meal (25) 1,000 Standard heal and vitality restore
Peter frowned and looked up at the Biomorph. ¡°Is this all you¡¯ve got for me? What I really want is Firearms skill. For my whole clan.¡± ¡°I only show what you may afford. What point in showing things that you will not be able to access?¡± ¡°I''ll be the judge of that. Can you please list the Firearms skills?¡± ¡°We waste time, but I will update the list.¡± The trade screen updated with two more items.
Firearms Skill; Tier 1; Single 110,000 Pistols and Rifles to Lvl 8 Lvl 6, INT 5 Required
Firearms Skill; Tier 1; Group 750,000 Pistols and Rifles to Lvl 8, 10 member party Lvl 6, INT 5 Required
¡°Ugh,¡± Peter said. ¡°What about intelligence boosters then?¡± ¡°You waste our time and yours.¡± The trade interface updated once again.
B-SMARTR Study Aid 75,000 +3 INT Boost, 1 hour
Strangely Fancy Gold Chain 325,000 +3 INT Boost Lvl 5 Required
¡°So there¡¯s no group intelligence boost?¡± ¡°No,¡± the Biomorph said definitively. I¡¯m not sure I believe that, but if there is then it¡¯s probably even more expensive anyway. Peter sighed. Just giving himself Firearms meant he¡¯d need 185K for one hour with the ability. But it¡¯s not like I could expect it to just fall into my lap. Ghouls weren¡¯t known for being clever. An intelligence check was probably reasonable. All the same, now he knew he could equip a party of ten shooter ghouls for just under four million. Once he had ten really smart level fives, at least. The Cloaks weren¡¯t listed, so it was a good bet they were out of his price range right now as well, especially since they incorporated T-tech elements. But he didn¡¯t want to strain the Biomorph¡¯s patience by demanding to see them. The creature had ripples spreading across the surface of it¡¯s metallic mesh that he was getting an idea represented frustration. So where are we at? If he sold everything on the list, and pooled his own gold, they¡¯d have just under 43,000. He wished he¡¯d bargained harder with Walks Alone. The value of the rifle was about 50% below what it should have been, so it was a fair bet he could improve prices with reputation and some more social points. Right now the game was obviously railroading him into building up his clan first, and most of the stuff on the Biomorph¡¯s list was sensible for that purpose. But what would give me an unreasonably large buff? That¡¯s what I¡¯d really like. There was only one item in his inventory that he¡¯d held back because it was too special. In fact, given Chester¡¯s reaction, Peter was a little worried about what the Biomorphs might do if they saw it. I need us to fight better. But to do that we need upgrades, and to get those we need money. He hated to admit it, but the game AI was probably right. He¡¯d have to focus on basics to start out. He flicked the trade menu to buy the Two Scavenging perks. The Biomorph accepted the trade immediately. Twenty five thousand down. Now let¡¯s see...
Reputation Biomorph Reputation +5%; Neutral
That was pretty standard, but it was good to see that he could improve the way they looked at him all the same. He was left with just shy of 18,000 gold plus credit, but before that he wanted to try some more banter with the creature. The middle of a trade interaction was often a point where the game would let you pull out useful bits of information. ¡°Listen, I want to construct a Mediator Token. I understand that I will need a Nanocrystal Interface Bus. Do you know anything about that? Where I can find one?¡± The Biomorph shuddered and made a hissing noise. ¡°Such things are rare and valuable. And expensive to make. You should not even think about it when you are so weak and poor.¡± ¡°Humor me. If I find one rare item then I might find more. I might bring better things to trade.¡± ¡°They are small and they sparkle. For this reason the creatures you call Furbies sometimes bring them to their dens. But these are deep underground, and very hard to find. Rarely you will find them in the lairs of other nesting animals as well, such as Wyverns or Basilisks or Dark Vultures.¡± ¡°Okay, great. Can you tell me what a Mediator Token actually does?¡± The Biomorph waved a tentacle at the trade screen. ¡°We wish to finish this interaction. I have answered your question.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. It can wait.¡± He traded most of the rest for a set of five bedrolls, one MRE, and finally the Combat upgrade for himself. There was no doubt he was going to have to fight more clan leaders, and with that plus the training Chester had offered he might actually stand a decent chance against whatever came at him. I hope, at least. He¡¯d kept back nearly a dozen meds from the Flame Clan Ghouls, and four spears, so it wasn¡¯t like he was trading everything away. But it was time to see what happened when he pulled out his ace in the hole. ¡°What about this?¡± Peter said with a grin. He held up the Player Kill Token. Talks To Mobs squeaked and then went absolutely still. There was a hushed pause and for a moment, and Peter was worried they were going to just open fire on him and take the token. But instead a panel on the side of the room clattered open, and another, and much larger Biomorph slid into the trade hall. This one wasn¡¯t a rounded lump of flesh encased it metal - it was long and sinuous, and slid across the tile like a worm. A circle of eyes surrounded by dozens of twitching armlets all focused intently on Peter.
Recursive Fusing Leader Biomorph Grand Tinker; Lvl 43; 550% Blue Flower Creche
Shit, this has to be one of their top brass. Talks To Mobs slid quickly aside to give the new Biomorph room. He actually seemed to contract and make his body smaller, with just one eyestalk left poking out and watching the room. ¡°We will reward you well for that item,¡± the Grand Tinker said. Its voice came from no obvious place - it sounded hollow and metallic, and echoed through the trading hall. ¡°I''m not necessarily willing to trade for this right now,¡± Peter said. ¡°But I wanted to see what you would give us for one.¡± ¡°We will provide you 1.5 million in trade value for it.¡± The creepy little armlets that circled it¡¯s head twitched in unison. Some of them looked like crab claws, and others were stubbly hand-like things with what looked like masses of human fingers on them. One point five is their starting position. Interesting. Peter slipped the token back into his inventory. ¡°No thanks. That''s not enough gold to do the things I want right now.¡± That was obviously not the right answer. The Grand Tinker shuddered and rows of luminescent red flickered along it¡¯s flanks. It bulged and twisted, growing bigger until it towered over everything else in the room. ¡°Two million,¡± it growled. ¡°You will accept this trade.¡± Talks To Mobs unfolded itself from its submissive posture and reared up as well, and the two Biomorphs loomed over Peter, wobbling aggressively.