“Or at least give us a cut-down version,” Pete added. “We’re kind of on the clock here.”
The little goblin frowned. “I apologize. The telling of such personal histories is a staple of my kind. I forgot that you humans are not so enamored with the telling of tales.”
“Oh, we love stories,” Sam protested. “Just not the extended director’s cut. Besides, there’s a storm standing between us and the Novice Arena, and we don’t have time to dick around.”
Craig nodded. “Again, I apologize.” He turned to Pete. “I thank you muchly for your aid and, if that is all you require, I will take my leave.”
“You’re just going to leave?” Pete said.
“Of course. I have a great deal to do if I’m going to survive this contest and make it back to my kin in one piece.”
Coop chuckled, shaking her little head. “Boy, you just got yourself crucified. Why in hell would you go wandering off on your own again? You’re almost completely naked, you’ve got no weapon, and you look like a strong breeze would knock you down.”
“She’s right,” Sam said, looking down at the little goblin. “I hate to say it, but you’ve got a better chance of survival if you stick with us. Nero, do we get any bonuses or anything for adding a goblin to the crew?”
[Nero] No bonuses as such, and I would strongly advise against adding Cragmire Gaul to your party. Given that the goblin is technically an NPC, he will only bring his existing skills and attributes to the party. Due to the fact that he was previously a member of The Pious Path of the Penniless Penitents, he will have little to offer. In addition, unlike players, he will be unable to substantially develop his skills and attributes as he progresses through the contest; thus, he will likely become an increasing liability as you advance from arena to arena.
“I have no wish to join your party,” Craig insisted. “I’m done with parties and cults and organizations of any kind. I’m done with all of this shit!”
Pete held up his hands in mock surrender. “We’re not gonna force you. I just think you’re gonna have a hell of a lot better chance of surviving with us than you will on your own.”
“Perhaps,” the little goblin said. “Perhaps not.”
“Hey,” Coop said, jabbing a paw toward the goblin. “Why don’t you speak like those other green bastards? You talk more or less normally.”
Craig chuckled in response. “It’s all part of the show. They do something to their heads, make it so that they can’t speak properly. The fact is, people don’t want to see goblins speaking intelligently. They want us to be screeching and thrashing about, ranting and raving. That’s what the viewers want, so the System makes sure they get it.”
Pete looked out over the carnage of the battlefield, the corpses still littering the ground. He’d wrongly assumed that the goblins and hobgoblins he’d encountered so far were brutish and of low intelligence, but he supposed that was the point.
“And they all sign up for this?” he asked. “To get their brains dumbed down?”
Craig nodded. “Some of them, yeah. Some go the other way, though. Some of the goblins you’ll face at higher levels have had their intelligence heightened, but they’ll still speak the same. It’s comforting to the viewers to hear us speak like we just crawled out of a cave. The System does it with a bunch of other species as well. Orcs, dwarves, dragonkin, ratfolk, and a dozen other species. Some are made smarter; some are dumbed down. Some are given special augments that make them better fighters, some are provided with engineering expertise, or—”
[Nero] A word of warning! We have drifted into an area of conversation best left unexplored. I would recommend against further discussion of the System and the nature of the contest and will remind you all that we are currently being monitored. We are ALWAYS being monitored.
“Craig! Craig!”
The group turned to see two robed figures picking their way through the battlefield. Pete recognized them immediately as the two Path followers who had been standing behind Craig when they’d first encountered the group. Their formerly white robes were now stained with goblin blood and dirt, and the pair looked utterly disheveled, as though they’d crawled through a trash heap on their hands and knees.
“Craig!” the female repeated as the pair moved closer, still holding the religious text followers of the Path carried, even though it looked a little worse for wear. “We thought you were dead.”
“What are you doing here, Grizzle?” Craig barked. “Why did you follow me?”
“The Path,” she said, eyes wide and beginning to tear up. “The scriptures say that whenever a follower strays, it is our solemn duty to—”
“It’s all lies, Grizzle! All of it. The Path hasn’t really existed for hundreds of years. We’re all just playacting for the sake of the System. We’re like dancing puppets!”
She shook her head, clinging tighter to the book at her chest. “You can’t mean that, Craig. You were such a fervent believer!”
“I was PRETENDING!” he insisted. “I worked my way up to Proselytizer because they get the best perks, that’s all. We get better food rations, access to the gift shop, and there’s a bonus at the end of the season.”
The female goblin’s mouth gaped open, as did the shorter figure standing behind her.
“But you—”
“None of it is real,” Craig went on. “Look, I’m sorry, but we were both kind of lied to here. I was told that my family debt would be canceled, and I’d return home a hero, that the chance of being hurt or injured was next to nothing. Then I get splattered with hobgoblin in the first five minutes of turning up here in the game!”
Grizzle shook her head. “That’s because you left the Path and were no longer protected.”
Craig stepped forward, walking right up to the other goblin and putting a hand gently on her shoulder.
“You know what I saw before I was picked up by these dice-hurling bozos and pinned to a spinning wheel? Followers. Dead followers. That’s how the Dice Barons picked me up in the first place. I was standing there staring at two Path followers that had been cut to pieces when they grabbed me. Apparently, it’s some kind of sport with the NPCs in the contest; to see how many Path followers they can kill. It’s… barbaric, but the System doesn’t do anything to stop it. Hell, I’m beginning to think it encourages our mistreatment.”
[Sam] I think we should leave these guys to it. There’s still a bunch more loot to clear, and we’ve got a boss loot box to open. Plus, the achievements, remember!
[Coop] I vote we stay. It’s just starting to get good. I had no idea goblins were this good at melodrama.
Pete backed away from the three goblins, motioning for Sam and Coop to follow. The little ferret moved away from the trio only reluctantly, muttering to herself as they walked back towards the dead High Roller goblin.
“We failed the achievements quest,” Pete said as the sounds of Craig and his companions talking receded into the background. “I only got six achievements.”
“Three for me,” Sam said, eyes wide with worry. “So, we’re close, but not quite there.”
“Well, aren’t you both glad old Coop is here to save the day?” the little ferret said, standing close to Wolfy and, for once, not freaking out about the hellhound. “Three for me too.”
Pete frowned. “Okay, so we did it then? Why hasn’t the—”
>> QUEST COMPLETE: Achievement Bonanza!
Congratulations! You did the impossible, the improbable, the slightly unlikely, and picked up more than 10 achievements in a single encounter! You gambled against the house and actually won!
QUEST REWARD: 5 Core Attribute Points.
Pete grinned as the unassigned attribute points were registered. A quick look over at Sam and Coop confirmed that they’d also picked up points.
“Nice,” Sam said with a grin. “We should maximize those points where we can, seeing as we might not have enough time to get any more before we have to take out the big boss.”
“Agreed,” Pete said, opening up his player profile and looking through his options.
>> DOMINION ULTRIMAX PLAYER PROFILE
NAME: Pete – Vault Breaker, Dice Doomsayer
CLASS: Penny Pincher
LEVEL: Novice
>> CORE ATTRIBUTES:
Credit Rating [Constitution]: 1
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Asset Leverage [Strength]: 0
Liquidity [Agility]: 4
Market Insight [Intelligence]: 0
Capital Stability [Wisdom]: 0
Investor Confidence [Charisma]: 0
Speculative Yield [Luck]: 0
>> AVAILABLE POINTS TO SPEND: 7
“I’m gonna keep pushing the agility route,” he mused, “but I might stick a little in Strength and Constitution too.”
[Nero] I would suggest adding at least a point to your Luck attribute. A little goes a long way, and it will help your attacks penetrate more effectively against an elite boss. In fact, I would suggest that you do likewise, Sam. Coop, you are going for more of a tank build, so the Luck attribute is less important. You would do better to keep stacking Constitution and Strength.
“Tank, huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Means you jump right into the action and keep the enemy busy while we pick them off,” Sam said, concentrating on her own profile and assigning points as she spoke. “Means you’re basically indestructible, but you hit like a bitch. Your job is to survive, keep the enemy busy, and keep them focused on you so we can take them out.”
“Indestructible,” the little ferret said. “I like the sound of that.”
[Nero] You are not indestructible yet, Coop. At higher levels, should you survive that long, you may develop additional abilities, which will make you a formidable tank. For now, you have some solid shield options whose effectiveness can be increased with higher Attribute numbers and additional spells that will be made available as you progress. But you can still be harmed.
“You won’t be alone, though,” Sam said, nodding down towards the hellhound sitting obediently beside her. “Wolfy here will help tank. Between the two of you, the enemy will have plenty to keep them preoccupied.”
“Just keep moving,” Pete said, “and use your shields to get out of trouble. Don’t worry too much about killing enemies, though, just do what damage you can, and we’ll handle the rest.”
Pete finished assigning his points, spreading them out a little but concentrating the bulk of them on Agility so as to maximize the class bonus to that stat.
>> CORE ATTRIBUTES:
Credit Rating [Constitution]: 2
Asset Leverage [Strength]: 2
Liquidity [Agility]: 10
Market Insight [Intelligence]: 0
Capital Stability [Wisdom]: 0
Investor Confidence [Charisma]: 0
Speculative Yield [Luck]: 1
He felt no special thrill of power or other change in his body after he’d added the Attribute points, but such a big jump at such a low level was sure to make a difference when the fighting started. That boost to agility was the big-ticket bonus, and he guessed that his abilities with the bow and even the machete would be significantly enhanced by the new points.
Still, Pete was struggling to determine exactly what kind of fighter he was going to be. Burst damage, critical chance, surprise attacks, stealth, and anything else that related to agility would be the mainstays of his approach, and they were obviously suited to the Penny Pincher class, but then there was the matter of the soulbound weapon. Once they reached the Novice Arena, he’d have to choose a weapon that would follow him throughout the rest of the contest, and that raised an important question.
Should he choose a ranged weapon or a melee weapon? A bow or daggers? Either way, he’d be relying on his stealth ability to maximize damage and survivability, but he could do that with either ranged or close-up attacks. Both would be the preference, but he could only choose one soulbound weapon.
He resolved to use the next day or so to test out his skills and land on a preferred option. He’d fight at range and up close and try to analyze which would be the best approach once he reached the Novice Arena and picked up the soulbound weapon.
“Okay, so we’ve got two tanks,” he said, pointing to Coop and Wolfy, “two damage dealers,” he pointed to Sam and himself, “what else do we need?”
“A healer would be nice,” Sam suggested. “I’ve got a little healing I can use for myself, but I’m not a high enough level summoner to do much for anyone else. A dedicated healer could be good to keep us going in a fight.”
Pete frowned. “Nero, is there such a thing as a healer class in this game?"
[Nero] Yes indeed. The Philanthropist. They are capable of both healing allies and doing vast amounts of damage, but very few players tend to choose the class because it is quite difficult to progress at lower levels as a Philanthropist unless you already have a capable party to team up with.
Pete pulled out his communicator, quickly checking to see whether Ollie had managed to unlock his own device. His name still showed that the connection hadn’t been fully made.
“Guess that would be a little too convenient,” he said with a smile. “Plus, I doubt Ollie would pick the Philanthropist class. He’s more likely to go with high damage. Probably a casting class, like an elementalist.”
[Nero] The Market Manipulator class would probably be the best path for someone with a propensity for ranged spell damage. Would you like me to see if your friend Ollie has been registered with the Mammon Codex as a Market Manipulator?
“Wait? You can do that?”
[Nero] Of course. All players are registered in the Codex the moment a class is chosen.
“Well, why the fuck didn’t you say that when I said I was trying to get in touch with Ollie?”
[Nero] I apologize. I did not think the information was pertinent, given that you were yet to make contact. Would you like me to search for your friend now?
“Yes! His name is Ollie Barker.”
[Nero] Searching now. Ah, yes, he has registered for the Treasury Paladin class. Would you like to know the basic parameters of that class?
“Yeah, let me have it.”
>> TREASURY PALADIN CLASS DETAILS:
A sanctified defender whose vault of coin is as sacred as their oath. The Treasury Paladin guards both wealth and life, treating every battle as a sacred ledger to be balanced. Gold fuels their miracles—spend freely to bless and heal allies or invest wisely to unleash devastating smites of radiant finance. To the Treasury Paladin, every coin is both a shield and a sword, and every debt will one day come due.
KEY ABILITIES:
+| VAULTED RESERVES: Collect a portion of all damage dealt by allies as “stored assets,” then convert those assets into a radiant burst of healing distributed evenly across the party or an area of effect damage aura affecting all enemies within 10 feet.
+| GOLD STANDARD: Use Belch Bucks to establish a protective shield that mitigates 80% damage for as long as you have it activated. Shield is activated by spending 50 Belch Bucks and maintained by spending 1 Belch Buck per second (up to 120 seconds with a 30-second cooldown). Ability scales with level increased, and if costs are doubled, the shield will extend to all party members at 25% efficacy.
+| BALANCE OF JUDGMENT: Strike a foe with a golden coin of law. On heads, deal radiant damage equal to 150% of your attack power; on tails, heal all allies for the amount of damage inflicted.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS:
+| Golden Guarantee: Your wealth safeguards your health. Whenever you would take fatal damage, you may automatically expend 10% of your current Belch Bucks to survive at 1 HP instead. This effect can only trigger once per combat.
+| Compound Interest: Healing you provide generates residual energy. Allies affected by your heals receive a “Dividend Shield” equal to 10% of the total healing done, which lasts for 10 seconds.
Pete couldn’t help but laugh. “Makes total sense he’d pick the Paladin. I should have known.”
“He’s got heals though,” Sam said. “So, if we can get him into the party, it’ll improve our survivability a ton.”
“Yeah. Ideally, we need to get to him before we have to fight the big bad. That would hike up our chances of survival for sure.”
[Nero] The paladin also utilizes quite a few abilities that buff and protect allies, so they present significant benefits to the group in addition to being solid defenders, healers, and attackers.
“Of course they do,” Pete said, shaking his head. “This is Ollie’s move every time with every game. He’ll pick the class with the best defense and just wear you down. He likes hitting stuff too, so the Paladin makes total sense. Can you see where he is?”
[Nero] I would recommend checking your Novice Area map. You should be able to locate him directly.
Pete turned to Sam, who rolled her eyes and pulled up the map, displaying it so that everyone could see. She moved the map back and forth, scanning past NPCs, kiosks, and other items before finding a red skull symbol to the west of the Coinflayer storm.
“What’s that?”
[Nero] A reaver. A player who has decided the best path forward is to hunt their own kind. Given that the skull is already crimson, that character must have already killed at least one human player.
“Shit!” Pete blurted. “I can’t believe there are people killing other players already.”
“Why not?” Sam said. “We’ve killed a bunch of enemies ourselves. It’s kind of required for the game.”
“Yeah, but killing players isn’t required. If you’ve got the choice between fighting alongside someone, why the hell would you choose to kill them instead? It just doesn’t make sense, particularly early on when you don’t have good weapons and you haven’t leveled up or anything.”
“Maybe they already had weapons on them?” Sam suggested.
“Maybe, but what kind of sicko would you have to be to start killing people right away?”
“Plenty of sickos in this world, boy,” Coop replied flatly. “This little invasion has just given them an excuse to be despicable.”
“There! I’ve got him!” Sam said.
Pete squinted at the map, spotting a green dot that looked like it was a long way away.
“Where is he?” Pete asked. “Is that—”
“The reservoir,” Sam said. “He’s almost as far away from that Coin Lord boss as we are, but in the opposite direction. It might take too long to reach him in time and get back to kill the boss, rig up the lure, and get to the Novice Arena ahead of the storm.”
[Nero] By my calculations, there is still sufficient time. You have forty-one hours until the Novice Arena closes, and it would likely only take two to three hours to reach your friend. If he agrees to accompany the party and you return to face Coin Lord Grindle, that may add another hour or two. Even in the worst-case scenario, you will still have ample time to deal with the elite boss and set up the lure. However, that is assuming that you suffer no delays or significant obstacles in reaching your friend.
“I say we go for it,” Pete urged. “We’ve got that gas tank now, so we should be good for fuel, and we can always siphon more if we need it. We’re all a little stronger now, so we should be able to handle anything we come up against, and we don’t have to actually fight. We could just try to get past any enemies along the way until we reach Ollie.”
He looked over at the others. Sam was smiling back at him while Coop was staring at the three goblins still hashing it out behind them.
“You don’t need to convince me,” Sam said. “I think another party member is a good idea, particularly if we’re going to be facing an elite boss. Just having another target to divide the boss’s attention is worth the trip.”
“As long as he doesn’t move further away from us,” Coop said, turning back to face Pete. “You can’t speak to him, so he might head in the wrong direction. We could spend half a day chasing him.”
Pete nodded. “It’s still worth the risk, I reckon. Plus, hopefully he’ll get his comms unit unlocked, and if he does that, I’ll tell him to head towards us. That could cut our time down.”
Sam slapped her hands together. “Good. It’s settled then. We finish looting, then head north and meet up with your friend. Then back down to the elite boss, and we can finally pull the damned Coinflayer Storm away from the Novice Arena.”
“And what about them?” Pete asked, pointing a paw towards Craig and his companions. “If we leave them on their own, they’ll probably be dead within the hour.”
“Maybe,” Sam agreed. “But taking all three of them with us is gonna make things tricky. They’re not fighters either, so they’d basically be passengers. We’d probably be fine with taking Craig, but three pacifist goblins means three more party members we need to look out for. If we have to protect all of them and fight enemies, that’s gonna make everything more difficult.”
Craig turned and caught Pete’s eye.
“You’re probably right,” Pete admitted. “But if we let them just wander off on their own, I don’t think they’ll last long. We’d basically be condemning them to death.”
Sam turned to look in the direction he was facing. The female goblin was still speaking passionately to Craig, but he was simply staring straight ahead, looking blankly into the distance.
“Not our problem,” Coop said, her mouth once more filled with Copper Chew. “And they’re not our responsibility. We didn’t drag them into this damned contest or make them sign a contract or dress like a choir. If we start thinking of ourselves as a charity, we’re never going to survive this damned thing. Have to be smart.”
Pete nodded. She was right, of course. They both were. Bringing Craig and the other goblins with them would make everything harder, and it would spread resources thin. Most importantly, their attention would be divided in a fight, which could end badly for everyone. It wasn’t worth risking their own lives just to save three NPC goblins.
And yet…
“Fuck it!” he blurted. “They’re coming with us.”