Hours Earlier.
“Plus three battle fortune,” Ollie said, hefting his crowbar and eyeing the hobgoblins as they drew near. “That should help a fair bit, right?”
[Nero] At higher levels, such an addition would be negligible, but given your current level and status, yes, the additional battle fortune should assist you greatly. It will not add critical chance to your attacks or improve your other Core Attributes, particularly because you do not currently have any, but it will assist in matters where a certain action could go well or badly. If you are attempting to strike an enemy, for example, but you slip during the attempt and there is a chance your attack could go wide, increased battle luck will mean that the strike is more likely to hit than miss. In this sense, it may slightly increase your hit chance and improve the likelihood of success when you attempt something risky or when you are not firmly in control.
Ollie snorted at that, moving back from the edge of the roof and looking around the rest of the skate park, searching for some viable exit route. “Not firmly in control, huh? Well, shit. That describes my morning right there. Okay, so you’re my guide. Tell me how the fuck I get out of this one.”
[Nero] For the moment, the zombies seem to be unable to reach you. That may change if they are able to climb atop one another; however, they are still moving relatively slowly and lack the ability to wield their weapons effectively. They seem to also be damaging one another in an attempt to reach you, and that is to your advantage. While not the most intellectually gifted enemies, the hobgoblins will be more challenging to face. They are strong and smart enough to know that they will either need to climb up to the rooftop in order to face you or simply knock you down.
Ollie considered that last comment. All of the hobgoblins seemed to favor large machete-type weapons, but one of the brutes seemed to have a crossbow or some similar firearm strapped to his side. This was readily apparent because the brute was grinning and unhooking the weapon from his belt as several of the other hobgoblins pointed and barked insults.
“We is gonna stick you in the mucky muck!” a larger specimen with bright red paint on his arms said, jabbing a finger in Ollie’s direction. “We’s gonna get yous wif the shooter right in the mucky muck!”
Ollie stepped back from the edge of the roof, considering his options while the hobgoblin with the crossbow raised the weapon and took aim. He didn’t want to think about what the term ‘mucky muck’ referred to but decided that the best course of action would simply be to lie face down on the roof.
He did just that, pressing himself against the roof and moving up close enough to see the enemy. The hobgoblin with the crossbow was pointing the weapon at Ollie, holding it at arm’s length and squinting. Before he could fire, however, several of the zombie goblins broke off from the pack still trying to climb their way up to Ollie and shambled toward the hobgoblins.
They were quickly dispatched by one of the brutes, much to the delight of the other hobgoblins, who all chuckled in delight. More of the zombies noticed the larger brutes as their fellow dead heads were dispatched and began shuffling toward the group.
“We is gonna eats yous, mucky muck!” the hobgoblin with the crossbow said, the end of the weapon bobbing up and down as he did so. “Gonna cook yous up real good!”
Ollie backed away a little, ducking his head back over the lip of the roof just at the moment the crossbow was fired. There was a whistling sound as the shaft flew through the air above him and sailed off into the distance. He crept forward again, spotting the big hobgoblin that had already dispatched several of the zombies finishing the job along with two of his companions.
“Guess that takes care of one problem,” Ollie said, getting back up to a crouch as the brute with the crossbow loaded his weapon. “Need to get the fuck out of here though.”
A screech rose from the wooded area to his left, and Ollie spun around, focusing on the tree line. A second screech came from the opposite side, and he spun around as figures began shuffling out from a nearby street, moving much faster than the other zombies and holding weapons in a manner that suggested they knew how to use them.
There were a few larger goblins among the pack. They weren’t quite the same size or dimensions as the hobgoblins, but they moved with purpose, milky eyes locked on their brutish cousins, mottled hands gripping blades and blunt weaponry. As Ollie squatted on the rooftop, brandishing his crowbar and watching two mobs of zombies converge on the area, he realized that, while they’d been summoned by his earlier efforts, their attention was now fixed squarely on the hobgoblins.
“Nero, what’s that thing I get whenever I kill zombies?”
[Nero] Are you referring to the Death Pulse, or the Stink of Death debuff?
“Both! Remind me what they do.”
[Nero] Of course. The Death Pulse is sent out whenever you kill one of The Refunded Dead and has a 30% chance of alerting undead enemies within a half-mile radius. This is what allows players such as yourself to ‘farm’ Belch Bucks when you come across a group of undead such as this. Note that the first waves of zombies will be the oldest, slowest, and most decayed, whereas later waves will have only been dead for a short time, so they will represent a significantly higher threat.
“Got it. And the stink thing?”
[Nero] The Stink of Death debuff simply means that you have a chance of attracting undead enemies wherever you go. I can confirm that you have acquired the debuff, and it is set at five hours.
The zombie goblins from both sides continued to charge, moving in a half-fall, half-shambling gait toward the waiting hobgoblins. The hobgoblins themselves were beginning to notice the oncoming horde, and now they all held their weapons ready, grinning faces somewhat more serious. The crossbow shooter was still preparing to fire his weapon, however, having loaded the crossbow and now beginning to aim once more.
“So, they’re attracted to me, but because they see the hobgoblins first, they just attack them.”
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[Nero] It seems so, yes. Even the fiercest zombie goblins are not particularly intelligent, Ollie. They tend to act on instinct rather than considered thought, and that instinct is to eat whatever enemy they detect within range, focusing on the brain where possible.
An idea started to form as Ollie ducked down again and, once more, a crossbow bolt missed him. This time it thudded into the side of the building just below the rooftop, burrowing into the brickwork just a few inches below where he was lying. The angle was completely wrong, however, and Ollie quickly understood that, as long as he stayed with his belly against the roof, there was no way that crossbow was going to hit him. A second realization hit him at that moment.
“Nero? If I damage any of these zombies, or even hit them with something, and the hobgoblins kill them, will I get partial credit for the kill?”
[Nero] Indeed you will, Ollie. You may not even need to make contact with the zombies. You simply need to show sufficient intent to fight them, and the System may recognize that as assisting in the kill. You will not receive the full kill reward, however, but you will be credited with part of each kill and will gain some of the reward money.
As the zombie hordes converged, Ollie searched himself for something he could use to throw at the enemy. He just needed to show intent, not to actually kill any of the zombies, but hitting them from up on the rooftop with his crowbar or the hammer he’d taken from one of the zombie goblins.
He noted the small amount of Belch Bucks he’d amassed thus far and considered throwing those at the enemy as they started to attack but dismissed the idea as he turned around and caught sight of the random bunch of crap that had obviously been tossed up onto the roof over the years. There were a few tattered ball caps, drink bottles with some liquid still inside, a shoe, half a dozen spent vape pens, and even a tennis ball or three.
Desperate to have his intentions known before the hobgoblins finished off the zombies, he bent down and picked up the tennis balls first, running to the edge of the roof and hurling them at the zombies. The balls were almost bald, the formerly bright fur covering them now little more than a memory, like the last wisps of hair on a balding man’s head. They were also lighter than he expected and began to crumble in his hands.
But the balls flew at the zombies, bouncing harmlessly off their heads and backs as Ollie returned to the garbage on the roof and started hurling bottles, hats, and anything else he could find.
>> KILL REWARD [ASSISTED]: 5 Belch bucks
The notification appeared as a nearby goblin’s head was taken off by a savage sweep of a hobgoblin’s machete. What was particularly noteworthy was the fact that Ollie hadn’t directly hit that goblin but had only managed to hit one of the nearby zombies with a tennis ball. That trend continued, however, as more and more of the zombies were killed and the System recognized Ollie as playing some part in their deaths.
As the fight wore on and the zombies were quickly dispatched by the hobgoblins, Ollie soon found that he only needed to throw a few items for the System to register that he was engaged in the fight.
>> KILL REWARD [ASSISTED]: 5 Belch bucks
>> KILL REWARD [ASSISTED]: 5 Belch bucks
Notifications came thick and fast, and Ollie stepped back from the edge of the roof, watching as the hobgoblins brutally slaughtered the zombie horde.
>> KILL REWARD [ASSISTED]: 5 Belch bucks
>> KILL REWARD [ASSISTED]: 5 Belch bucks
Money kept pouring into his wallet, and Ollie found that he was grinning as he watched the scene unfold.
“Nero? How many more zombies do you think there will be around here?”
[Nero] It is difficult to say. These kinds of zombie swarm events are quite rare, so the System will typically allow them to go on for some time, either until the player is dead, retreats, or the viewers lose interest. The question as to whether more zombies will spawn after this group really depends on how engaged viewers are with the fight.
“Okay, so how do I find that out?”
[Nero] You will need to unlock your portable communications device by purchasing a Legacy Unlock gauntlet augment. Then you will need to unlock the Ultrifeed application. While this won’t specifically inform you as to how popular the current fight is, it will give you an indication of how many views, followers, and likes you have. If you monitor this closely during a fight, it is possible to get a rough gauge as to the popularity of a given engagement. If you pick up one of several technical building skills that become available at higher levels, you may even be able to design an augment for the Ultrifeed application that could provide real-time data that shows the popularity of each fight and even suggests ways in which to make the fighting more entertaining to viewers.
Ollie sighed, watching as the last of the goblin zombies was dispatched. Even with their faster speed and increased ability to use their weapons, the zombies were no match for the hobgoblins. In Ollie’s book, however, the fight had been a complete success. He’d managed to acquire a hundred Belch Bucks without really lifting a finger and with no danger to himself whatsoever.
>> ACHIEVEMENT: Killing at a Distance!
Congratulations! You’ve just killed 20 zombie goblins by means of a hobgoblin gang! Some might call it cowardice. Others might insist that you climbed up onto a backroom block and soiled yourself while the big, nasty hobgoblins did your dirty work for you! Either way, the job got done!
>> ACHIEVEMENT REWARD: 200 Belch Bucks
“Fuck yeah!” Ollie blurted, catching sight of the hobgoblin with the crossbow just in time to duck down against the rooftop again as another bolt whistled past.
Lying on his stomach, he moved to the edge of the roof and looked down at the hobgoblins, hoping to hear the sound of more zombies approaching and wondering what on Earth he was going to do if they never came. The hobgoblins looked pissed off now. Gone were their cruel smiles and snarky jibes. Instead, they wore bloody murder on their faces.
Their weapons were coated in green blood and gore, and several of them had received injuries from the encounter. That raised another troubling possibility.
“Shit! If they get bitten, are they gonna turn into zombies?”
[Nero] It is possible, yes. The System-induced virus which animates dead creatures can be transmitted via a bite. This is typically how players who fail a zombie horde event end up dying. The hobgoblins are naturally resistant to such viruses, however, so they may be able to shrug off a bite or two.
“But not me? If I get bit, I’m basically done for, right?”
[Nero] Given your comparatively weak human physiology, yes. Your body’s immune system would be unable to prevent the virus from spreading. If you were bitten by a single zombie, you would likely die within ten minutes or so and be turned into a zombie yourself. If you sustained bites from several zombies, that timeframe would be accelerated.
“Fuck! Glad I’m up here then.”
The now-familiar sound of shrieking and moaning came from all around, and Ollie felt a moment of relief as figures began running from the surrounding area. That sense of relief quickly shifted to panic as he saw how quickly the latest group of zombies was approaching.
Most were moving at a brisk walking pace, and some were even running, albeit with one leg dragging or with the zombie zigzagging left and right. Instead of moving in a slow shamble, the mob was attacking at speed, closing in on the hobgoblins, who seemed to recognize the danger immediately and looked to have forgotten about Ollie altogether.
As the two forces met, Ollie began throwing objects from the rooftop again. He was able to stand up because the crossbow-wielding hobgoblin had abandoned the weapon in favor of a machete in one hand and a large axe in the other.
The brutal savagery of the resulting clash raised the troubling possibility that perhaps the hobgoblins wouldn’t be victorious. Perhaps they’d be overwhelmed, and then Ollie would have not only a horde of zombie goblins to contend with but a newly turned pack of hobgoblins.