Conviction, page 8
Xeal’s main concern with the force beneath the ground was the unpredictability of much of it and the chances for surprises. It was for this reason that every player who had been with him for the trap dungeon and had received the Headband of Trap Detection, was included in this force. All of them would be kept near the front, as they acted as part of the forward parties that was responsible for clearing any monsters. Though this group would be constantly changing out, as the focus was on suffering as few casualties as possible. Even so, Xeal expected to lose around a quarter of the NPCs that were following him into the darkness and he didn’t take that lightly.
(*****)
Morning April 6 to Evening April 20, 2269 & ED Year 9 Days 61-105.
The next few weeks in reality seemed to just pass Alex by, as other than the few hours he spent with each of his wives for a bit of alone time with them, he just played with his children. He knew that this was only possible as those around him handled all the little details that would normally require his attention. It also helped that the whole world was watching the situation in Nium and knew that he was beyond busy. Though, that didn’t stop more than a few attempts to secure or even demand parts of his time, as a few individuals attempted to do.
Apparently, Kate had to get lawyers involved a few times, as what she classified as attempts by Abysses End to sideline him continued. This had included multiple lawsuits that had less ground to stand on than an ocean liner did when out at sea. The reality of these was that they created enough headaches and wasted time, but as of yet Alex had been able to completely ignore them. That would continue until the lawyers Kate had on retainer couldn’t keep things tied up in the legal system. Thankfully, all of the actions taken were also only civil suits and no real attempts to claim that Alex was criminally liable for something were even entertained. Part of Alex knew that this was thanks to Kate and all the political influence that she had garnered for him with politicians from most major groups. Though Kate had also made it clear that Alex could never take any stance outside the ones directly related to ED, or plural marriage.
Even so, Alex was well aware that at some point he would have to spend some time in a courtroom dealing with these frivolous lawsuits and that thought infuriated him. Though Kate assured him that when that time came, Abysses End would be the ones who paid for everything. After all, counter suits were a thing and Kate was ensuring that each and every lawsuit had a counter suit attached to them, and even as they were dismissed the counter suit was not. While all these counter suits were seeking was the costs associated with battling the lawsuits plus a little extra for the distress that the suit caused Alex and his family, they would add up. To make matters worse, Kate wasn’t rushing judgment on any of them, or combining them any more than necessary.
At the same time as all of this was ongoing, two other individuals were locked in their own conflict as Ellayina Walsh and Kevin Hansen had multiple meetings surrounding the situation in reality and ED. Both were focused on ensuring ED continued to build up the momentum that it was still compiling and cement itself as the future of VR gaming for the foreseeable future. They just had different ideas on how to do so. Ellayina wanted to go all in on what she knew from talking with Xeal and the main system’s AI. While Kevin was focused on keeping the biggest players happy and despite FAE making them plenty of credits, it didn’t have the history to back any of that up. So it was that they were once more speaking on Tuesday the 13th, and the topic was once more the conflict between FAE and Abysses End.
“Kevin, I just don’t understand why you won’t cut our losses and abandon the super workshops by ending all of the side benefits that you are giving them.”
“Ellayina, do you have any idea just how hard it was to get them to abandon every other VR game? Then right out of the gate, Jingong goes and almost completely collapses, and you tell me that you can’t fix your system and get them released from their punishment. What was I supposed to do when the other four threatened to diversify and save the other VR games, some of which are still holding on despite them losing players every day?”
“Not guarantee that you would keep them from failing while making it seem like nothing was amiss. What do you think would happen if it was known that they each had access to a special shop that let them buy in-game goods on credit? How long do you think it will take for others besides FAE to realize that they are able to get their hands on far more goods than should be possible? I am just happy that only goods mithril-ranked and below are accessible through that shop, as I doubt we could hide it at this point otherwise.”
“You know that most think that we are actually backing FAE and Xeal, right?”
At Kevin’s question Ellayina looked annoyed as she knew Xeal’s tendency to continually find the best items was the speculation of many rumors. The fact that he already had an untouchable-class magic weapon and had cloned it with her help was not helping things. In fact, the only reason Kevin didn’t point to the trade she had made with him that allowed him to get the duplicate, was that he had agreed that pulling that much gold out of circulation was the right move. It had been a rare moment where he had actually complimented Ellayina for making a good business decision. Even if she had mixed some details up to hide the true nature of the exchange when explaining it to him. It was also what gave her the confidence to respond with what she was about to.
“We need to start cutting the power of every guild and focusing on the long-term health of Eternal Dominion. The blatant manner in which Abysses End is buying things on credit should be addressed, at the very least. Tell them that until they pay off what they own the shop is closed to them, or something. Then if they give us issues, let the other three know how bad it is and that we are ending the program because of Abysses End’s actions. Really, offering them an unlimited credit line so long as they could justify the need was rather irresponsible on your end of things.”
“They were never expected to have to pay it back anytime soon, and there are daily limits based on what they are able to obtain on their own and have in their vault. If anything, it is the actions of FAE that have caused this mess, as the simulations you ran on the war had it taking several more years before any continent could unify, if any did at all.”
“That is the second thing that I want to address. Right now 50% of all players are wanting to start in Nium and the system will not allow that. It is trying to maintain a balancing act as it works to avoid any one area being overwhelmed by players, like the first few weeks were everywhere. As such, I think I have a solution for several of the problems that are facing us, to include nurturing a new player base that won’t be overwhelmed by war and the issues of stronger players.”
“Let me guess, you will only implement it if I agree to end the super guild credit program?”
“No, I am not going to be so petty. It is simply to create a starting world. Three of them actually. Each would only be a single continent and allow players to obtain almost everything that they can in the main ED world there. It will have a few disadvantages, so we will want to let players decide if they want to go to a starting world or the main ED world still, but it should be a great solution overall.”
“The system has the resources to run these side worlds at the same time as the main ED world?”
“Yes, though NPCs will never be released from the main system’s control and…”
Ellayina went on to detail out how each world would only accept new players for one year in reality and that after three years all players would be forced into the main ED world. The players there would also be free to transfer over any time after reaching tier-3 as well, but she expected that most would wait until they were at least tier-5 for travel reasons. Kevin, for his part, asked a few probing questions about how it would affect balance and if there would be a way to increase the profitability of the world. To which Ellayina told him that he should open up a system that would let players in the main ED world sell goods to players in the starting worlds for credits. This would keep the gold from the starting world from flowing too freely into the main ED world before the players transitioned over and at the same time increase ED’s profitability.
She also stated that gold would need to be far rarer in the starting world and that prices should place one silver there as being worth as much as one gold in the main ED world. This would encourage players to convert all coins into material goods and then sell them in the main ED world when they arrived. While this would still cause a ripple in the value of gold every three ED years, it would keep the actual supply down and allow it to correct itself rather quickly. Once she was done with her explanation, Kevin seemed to think for a long moment before nodding and responding.
“I think that is a great third anniversary announcement and it will allow for new powers to be created in these starting worlds, as the players there will have enough time to reach tier-7 if they wish. Heck, I can see many struggling guilds doing a full restart for most of their members and solidifying themselves there, before reestablishing themselves in the main ED world.”
“It will also be a great opportunity for the larger guilds to have members develop there, rather than having to waste resources on guarding promising new members,” added Ellayina. “However, any who reach tier-7 need to find themselves removed from that world as tier-6 will be the peak there. So, are we a go for it?”
“I need to think about the tier limitations and perhaps a few others, but I think it is likely something I will support once I dig into the numbers. How long will you need to have the first world ready?”
“A week, but a month would be better.”
“Alright, I will look at it from a few different angles and let you know by the end of May. That should give you plenty of time to adjust from what I figure out on my end.”
“Alright, now back to ending the bleeding that is the credit lines you have created for Abysses End and the other super guilds?”
“I will hit Abysses End with a penalty and tell them that the situation in Habia is no longer something that they can use to justify its continued use. I will also set a limit on how much they can touch for anything other than defending their main strongholds in Vefreora.”
“That’s better than nothing. I just wished I knew why you think that they are even necessary at this point.”
“Confidence. You would be surprised how far projecting confidence can get you when dealing with others. However, when it comes to backing up that confidence, I need to have something to point towards. Speaking of that, I think that is why I hate Xeal so much. He had nothing to back up his actions and yet he kept succeeding over and over again. Now he has what it takes to back up his actions and I can’t stand it.”
“You just hate new money and that is what he is to you. Though with Kate next to him you should stop seeing him like that already. She at least knows how to steer him to avoid many of the issues that plague those who don’t know how to handle their newfound wealth. Besides, has he done anything besides marrying a bunch of women in one of the most public power plays ever?”
“If it weren’t for the fact that he was getting double duty for the credits he spent making sure his city would get built without issue, I would call what he did the height of stupidity. Now, well, Ellayina, have you ever thought about being someone’s second wife?”
“Sorry, Kevin, you’re not my type. Besides, if we were in a relationship, just imagine what our fights over the direction of Eternal Dominion would cause.”
“Wasn’t talking about you becoming mine, just figured that I would ask and see if he disgusted you.”
“He’s too interesting for me to care about how many wives he has. At least he actually commits to them, unlike so many others who string them along until they get bored. Can’t think of anyone like that. Oh, wait, perhaps I can and that’s why I wouldn’t mind seeing a certain group lose some privileges.”
As Ellayina said that, she smiled as she walked away, knowing that Kevin had nothing to say about the morality of those in power. Often times those at the very top thought that they were above it all and while Kevin wasn’t the type at least, he was often forced to entertain them. She knew that it was a necessary evil to ensure ED’s exponential growth, but she was fine with losing a few billion credits and keeping her soul.
When Xeal returned to ED on day 61, he wasted no time in ordering the departure of both invasion forces into Habia. For his own part, this saw him aid in two major breakthrough battles and massive player armies numbering in the millions clashed at both sites. Though none of the players fighting on Nium’s side were part of the official invasion force. Instead, it was all of those who were staying behind for one reason, or another. Some of them were just too low of level and others couldn’t maintain a reliable schedule for the whole campaign. As for the Habia side of things, their forces had started out light, but quickly swelled as every player in Habia received the invasion defense quest, just as all of those in Nium received the invasion assistance quest. While most players ignored these prompts, many didn’t and so, day 61 turned into a pure bloodbath as every time players came online, more rushed forward.
While Xeal had expected this and remembered battles like them in his last life, it was still humbling to see them directly once more. Even as Nium’s side won out, as his hopping between the battles and sending electrical attacks at the defenders had been enough to create openings for the attackers, he wasn’t in a mood to celebrate. All he saw was the results from two human waves colliding, and over ten million players being killed before the battle was over and the main forces moved out. Like that things continued as both main forces continued to march, siege towns and fight one battle after another. Thankfully, none of these turned into human wave attacks as the first few settlements were subjugated.
Even so, the number of players on Nium’s side who fell during these battles resulted in progress only being slightly faster than when they invaded Paidhia. However, that was a tradeoff Xeal was more than happy to make, as only a few NPCs lost their lives in the early stages of the invasion. Of the few that did, most were fools who had no place on the battlefield, as it seemed that Habia had emptied out all of the border settlements of any NPCs who were capable of fighting. Xeal frowned as he realized that it was likely that they would face a massive battle at one of the key forts, where they would be faced with a force of well over 20,000 tier-6 and up NPCs.
Still, Xeal’s focus was deep in the earth as his party acted as one of the forward scouting teams for the dark elf subjugation force. This saw them fighting many monsters, both humanoid and non-humanoid, as they were no longer being careful to avoid areas that would avoid underground settlements. Though the first notable ones of these they came across inhabited by dark elves, only had 100 individuals living within it. Xeal knew that this was an opportunity to gather information and with there only being three exits, he turned to his expanded party and thought about how he would like to handle things.
With Enye, Kate, Aalin, Gale, Dyllis, Mari, Eira, Daisy, Violet, Luna, Selene, Lingxin, Bula, Alea, Rina, Ekaitza, Lughrai, Malgroth, Lumikkei, Ceclie and Dafasli all with him, he felt safe in several options. He even expected that the 22 of them could handle the whole settlement. From their count and the information from two captured tier-6 dark elves, there were only five tier-7s among them and only two dozen or so were tier-6. The rest were tier-5 or below and some were just children who were still unable to leave the village to level up, and none of them were above level 10 yet. Thinking about how limiting the amount of death would be for the best and hoping that the current subjugation didn’t turn into a genocide, Xeal settled in on a plan. First, Enye and Eira had the task of finding their way to the two other entrances as Xeal walked into the settlement alone.
After giving Enye and Eira a 30-second head start, Xeal made his way forward while letting enough of his aura out to make it clear that he was a danger, but not so much that five tier-7 dark elves should run from him. The entrance to the village was blocked by stone spikes, that were pointed outward and done such that they could become a ramp from the other side, simply by pushing over the short gates on either side. With this particular opening rising over 50 feet high, fully blocking off the ten-foot opening was impractical. Still, Xeal could see a net of fine thread that had been stretched over it, and was likely enchanted for strength and made from the very hair of the dark elves. While that didn’t sound like it would cause him much of an issue, Xeal knew better than to underestimate the enchantment that could be on them. There was a reason that a village could exist in an area that was regularly attacked by monsters and it certainly wasn’t the residents’ ability to physically hold them off at all times.
However, Xeal’s attention was on the pair of tier-6 dark elf women standing at the entrance, as they looked at him in a mix of confusion and fear. It didn’t take long for a shout to go out and for them to close their gate as they took a position behind it. Still, Xeal didn’t rush, or even speed up his approach in the slightest, as he simply walked casually towards them until he was ten feet in front of the spikes. At that point he just waited and a few minutes later curiosity seemed to have gotten the better of one of the five tier-7 women of the settlement. She stood on something that gave her enough height that her chest was visible, but her belly was still behind the wall and as she gave Xeal a closer look, she frowned before speaking.
“What business do you have with us, surface male!?”
“Simple, I come to offer you a chance to surrender and willingly offer me information, and I promise that none of you will be harmed so long as you remain obedient.”
