Limitless Lands Book 3: Retribution (A LitRPG Adventure) Read online

  Narbos grinned in satisfaction as his executioners chopped the remaining Haven guard members to pieces. The guard did put up a bit of a fight despite not being able to move, and the sergeant was even able to drop an executioner before he succumbed to damage. Narbos gathered the surviving executioners and continued once again toward the city of Bharga, which contained his seat of power. The seat of power was the focus of the overlord class and allowed him to oversee both the administration of the areas under his control and the forces at his command.

  You have defeated your foes: 255 experience and 8 gold recovered.

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 10. *Note the evil overlord class requires you to be at your seat of power to level-up your character.

  Narbos smiled at finally reaching level 10 and was still in a good mood when the town of Bharga appeared on the horizon. From what he had heard on the message boards, level 10 was a landmark level that unlocked more powerful abilities for the player. His assault of Haven had been defeated, but he would return, now more powerful than he had been in the last attempt.

  The city of Bharga was surrounded by open plains on three sides with the sea and a small harbor bordering the north. Enclosed in a defensive wall built of vertical logs, there were stout wooden gates on each of the three sides not bordering the sea. Bharga had taken on an appearance to match Narbos’ control of the area. The walls and buildings of the town were dark and foreboding. The people of the town dressed in drab clothing and seemed to stoop under the unseen burden of an evil overlord. Even so, people under Narbos’ rule didn’t have it as bad as the gloomy décor suggested. Taxes were set at the low to moderate level and his town guard didn’t bother anyone unless there was a specific threat to the town. The people were protected and safe, the drab appearance being a result of the AI adjusting the visual appearance of the town to match the flavor of its master’s class.

  Narbos walked through the southern gate and into the city, the squad of town watch that protected the entrance bowing at his approach. The town watch were equipped with leather armor, spears, and wooden shields. The watch’s gear was dyed a grey or black to match the rest of Narbos’ forces. There had never been an attack on the city directly, so Narbos couldn’t really gauge how effective the watch would be. The watch couldn’t leave the areas they were assigned to and were unable to participate in the assault on Haven. If Narbos had to guess based on their stats and gear, the watch’s effectiveness was a step above the pathetic reavers and well below the executioners. As with all his minions, the watch were the same level as Narbos, improving in numbers and gear as the city upgraded. Now that he had leveled, Narbos would have to spend some time improving the gear for his forces as well as upgrading the holdings in the zone if he wanted to complete his control.

  The evil overlord class was a blend of many things and Narbos—who’s name in the real world was Brandon—loved it. He enjoyed the town management aspect of it almost as much as he did conquering territory with his army. He and two other students at his university were given Limitless Lands accounts as an experiment to see what type of government performed best in a fantasy environment. He had chosen the dictatorial power of the evil overlord. In the neighboring zone of Hayden’s Knoll, his classmate Matt Delling had chosen a free system of government with low taxes. Delling was the most serious threat to Brandon winning the experiment and the attached graduate school scholarship. He had to begrudgingly admit that Delling was doing a good job with his lands and had lucked out in getting a dungeon placed right next to his town. Much of Delling’s success had to do with another player that had joined up with him that controlled a group of military forces. Narbos had already set plans in place to deal with Delling’s friend—plans that should come to fruition shortly.

  The final competitor was a student named Danica. Danica was trying to create a socialist utopia in her zone. She called herself the great overseer and had set about creating a blend of the old Soviet Union and Chairman Mao’s regime. Thanks to her inexperienced leadership and the timely intervention by Narbos’ agents, Danica was failing miserably. Narbos had paid-off several factions in Danica’s zone of Ironloch, keeping the area in a state of constant civil war.

  With the dissolution of the guild Chaotic Outcomes, Narbos’ funds had begun to dry up. He was making a decent income from the areas he controlled in the zone of Bharga’s Crossing, but that was barely enough to continue funding the zone’s growth. To carry out nefarious plots against his competitors . . . that took the cash that the real-world benefactors of Chaotic Outcomes had been providing. There was nothing he could do about that; the guild was gone and his big-pocket benefactor along with it. Thankfully, the funding of the plot against Delling’s friend Raytak had already been completed ahead of time. The plot to suppress Danica would now collapse as he lost the funds to pay the rabble-rousers causing trouble in her zone. Still, Danica was far behind the other two and it would take some time for her to exert complete control over her war-torn zone.

  Narbos walked into the town hall, several minions and servants making obsequious gestures as he passed. The town hall was a modest wooden structure that created a secure and spacious headquarters. At the far end of the room, flanked by several executioners and lit by gothic candelabras was his seat of power. The chair looked like a king’s throne from a movie: a throne for the evil villain. The seat was covered in soft black velvet and the woodwork was ornate, the arms of the chair ending in sculpted skeletal fingers grasping skulls.

  “Finally, time to level up,” Narbos said to himself as he sat in the seat of power. The chair molded to his body, the most comfortable chair he had ever sat in. The overlord class was a strange hybrid. His options came in the form of choosing the path he wanted to take and not in selecting individual skills or abilities like most standard classes. The game would often surprise him with the outcome of his choices. Many players would have been angry and frustrated to not be able to manipulate every tiny detail but Narbos thought it fit him just right. He was more interested in planning and plotting, not placing every ability point here or there.

  Your seat of power has been upgraded upon reaching Level 10.

  Ominous Presence: The seat of power now grants the overlord a +2 intimidation bonus to all negotiations conducted in its presence. Range 50 yards. *Note, the overlord is required to be seated for the bonus to apply.

  Zone path choices. Choose one of the following options to lead the zone in the direction you would like. *Note, this option can be changed at any time. There is a one-week cooldown required before switching paths.

  Option 1: Commerce and Trade. Zone resources will be prioritized in favor of improving the infrastructure and encouraging trade and commerce. This option will increase the tax revenue in the zone slightly without affecting morale. This upgrade will also begin construction of the following upgrades.

  a. Pirate trading cove: Your port area will have a black market that attracts the nefarious. Stolen goods, slaves, and items banned in other lands will be traded here. The overlord will take a small tax on every transaction that occurs as well as having the option to order exotic items.

  b. Improved mines: Your mines will be set up more efficiently, allowing for faster resource gathering and the potential to find new, untapped veins of ore.

  c. Roads, bridges, tunnels, and port facilities: Your transportation infrastructure will slowly upgrade. Paved roads will be created in the capitol and then stretch toward other towns and critical locations.

  d. Trade center: The trade center allows you to sell trade goods and crafting resources to traveling merchants without having to visit the auction houses located in the larger cities. The amount received for goods sold in the trade center will be less than the market rate. Further growth in the zone will bring your returns closer to market price.

  Option 2: War Footing. Activity in the zone will be geared toward preparing for war. When on war footing the following options are available.

  a. Conscription: You can
conscript a portion of the population into your army on a temporary basis. The number, quality, and effectiveness of the forces conscripted will vary. You will be able to select which town/critical locations will provide troops. Troops are conscripted for thirty days and then will automatically be returned to their previous tasks. While a location’s citizens are conscripted, that location will suffer a penalty to productivity. Should the conscripted forces be destroyed, productivity will be hampered until the citizens respawn. Respawn rates for battle casualties among conscripts are longer than the norm.

  b. Improved defenses: Guard towers and defensive buildings will be built at critical locations, providing a permanent guard force that will remain even after the zone options have been changed. Roadblocks and roving patrols will spawn to enforce your rule in the zone.

  c. Mercenary guild: A guild hall for mercenaries will be constructed in the zone capitol. You can recruit various forces from this location. The quality, quantity, and duration of service will affect the price of the mercenary’s hired. *Note, excessive losses to mercenary forces will result in higher costs, morale problems, and even mutiny with your hired troops.

  Narbos considered his options. His choices in earlier levels were less dramatic, mostly focused on the build order of different buildings in the capitol city of Bharga. After pondering a bit, Narbos chose to go with the commerce and trade route for now; he needed to build a strong economy to fund everything he had planned. His final attack on Haven should be easier now that he had leveled. No need to cripple the economy to conscript folks just yet. War footing could wait until he was ready to invade the neighboring zone of Hayden’s Knoll.

  You have selected Commerce and Trade. Changes will begin immediately. *Note that structures and roads will take varying times to complete.

  Level 10 personal path options are unlocked. Please choose two of the following.

  1. Master of Magic: Your character’s personal spell list and mana pool will be improved. An overlord that is a master of magic can buff his armies and bring down destruction on his enemies’ forces. Mages to support your troops can now be recruited by the overlord at his seat of power. * Note, choosing this option will slow the growth of your regular forces, causing you to receive fewer new troops per level.

  2. Arcane Forge: The arcane forge option will upgrade your seat of power to allow the instantaneous summoning of gear and equipment upgrades for your various forces. The standard gear of your troops will now improve slightly as you level. The option to purchase better quality upgrades for gold will be available at the seat of power.

  3. Pact with a Dark Power: Your evil conquest has attracted you a dark patron. This patron has decided to provide you with creatures to support your cause. This option will unlock new units of monstrous creatures that will join the overlord’s army. The type, quantity, and quality of the forces summoned will improve as the overlord levels. *Note, choosing this option will slow the growth of your regular forces, causing you to receive fewer new humanoid troops per level. This option will lock the warlords call option. This option may require the overlord to perform various actions for their patron in return for improved creatures . . . what these actions may be is unknown. It is always advisable to use caution when dealing with your dark patron.

  4. Warlord’s Call: This option will send word of your success far and wide. New warbands will join you and your forces will swell in number. This option will increase the number of humanoid troops you gain per level. *Note, choosing this option will lock the pact with a dark power option.

  This was another tough choice for Narbos. He loved the magic abilities he had, but he realized his strength was in plotting his moves and not in slinging spells at his enemies. There was a definite need for better equipment to equip his forces with, making the arcane forge one of the options he would choose. Hordes of troops had served him well which made warlords call attractive, especially now that his troops would be bolstered with improved gear.

  “Who am I fooling, Breaker? There’s no way I’ll pass up having monsters to command. Maybe it’s a mistake, but I’ve got to try the pact with a dark power over the warlords call,” Narbos told his npc captain. He made his selection and then took a final look at his new troop totals.

  Arcane Forge option selected. The gear for your troops has been upgraded. Choose the forge tab in the seat of power interface to purchase additional upgrades.

  As soon as he selected his options, Narbos could see the forge tab open in his interface. Trying it out, he found that the icon greyed out as soon as he moved more than ten feet away from the seat of power. A cheer was heard sounding from the reaver camp as their gear upgraded. Narbos watched as the executioners in the room had their gear upgraded as well. Their chainmail was now made from iron and was at least an average grade for their level, providing a +10 bonus to defense. Their axes also now had larger iron heads that gave them a more intimidating look, the item-level increasing from 20 to 50. To top things off, the executioners received an iron helm that covered their faces. The eerie red glow still emanated from behind the new helm, an effect that reduced the morale of their foes by 1. The helms also now provided a +2 bonus to defense.

  Narbos had a guard summon one of his reavers to see what their gear upgrade had been. The change was apparent but less dramatic than the executioners. The reavers now had sturdy, one-handed bronze war axes, increasing their weapon item-level from 15 to 30, and their leather armor now provided +2 defense bonus. Their off hands held a sturdy wooden shield which added another +2 to their defense. All in all, the reavers’ gear looked serviceable, but it was still below average for similar leveled npcs. Still, it was the best that Narbos could expect from the upgrade without spending more coin. They should do much better when they fought the forces at Haven again, provided the defenders didn’t get some upgrades of their own.

  Clicking on the pact with a dark power, new prompts appeared.

  Pact with a Dark Power selected. You have been granted your first boon. Enjoy the benefit of these new creatures that will supplement your forces. What horrible thing have you bound yourself to, overlord? The forces of darkness will exact a toll from you in the future.

  Narbos looked up in concern as he heard a vague muttering fill the chamber. His executioner guards readied their axes and looked about the room for any threats. A dark swirling portal began to form in the middle of the room. A furry snout peeked through, sniffing the air for a bit. Apparently satisfied with what it had smelled, a giant rat the size of a Doberman trotted in from the portal. The rodent looked at Narbos and tilted it’s head, staring inquisitively before walking up and laying at Narbos’ feet. More and more rats emerged until there were fifty of the creatures rooting around the room, gnawing on anything that looked edible.

  “So, these are my gifts from the dark patron? Guards, take them to the stables, I guess. Find them something to eat. We should have a few prisoners that would make suitable lunch for my new critters,” Narbos ordered. The executioners hustled the compliant rats from the audience chamber. The one curled at his feet inflicted a damaging wound to the executioner that tried to lead it away. Narbos waved away the guard, wanting to keep his new pet close by. Pulling up his available forces tab, the new totals were revealed.

  Current forces.

  Reavers: 122/650

  Executioners: 22/30

  Dire Rats: 50/50

  The rats had mottled black hides covered in a coarse fur. Chisel-like fangs as large as a man’s hand protruded from their mouths, the teeth appeared strong enough to pierce armor. Narbos reached down and began to scratch his dire rat behind the ears. The rat then rolled over and whined at Narbos until he rubbed its belly. “Just like a big disgusting puppy. Hope you can fight better than the reavers, little rat,” Narbos said to the content rat.

  “Wow! When did you get pets, or do I need to call an exterminator? Do those rats talk back to you?” Darkfallow the necromancer asked as he walked into the room.

  “Sorry Darkfall
ow, was just talking to myself. That’s something evil villains do, right?” Narbos joked.

  Darkfallow was the only player to stick around after their guild dissolved. He had gone from an annoying but useful minor player in the guild to his only ally in-game. The necromancer was beginning to grow on him and had proven his loyalty for the time being. Darkfallow was still a bit of a hot-headed idiot at times, but beggars can’t be choosers; none of the other players had been willing to throw their lot in with Narbos after the big paydays ended.

  “You’re right, Narbos, keep on talking to yourself . . . it doesn’t mean you’re going crazy if you’re an evil villain. You do need to get some glowing black and red upgrades to your chair to make your throne look more menacing,” Darkfallow said as he walked up and tried to pet the dire rat. The rat snapped at his hand and Darkfallow wisely moved back a few paces.

  “We lucked out by the way. Leighton was at the first place I looked and is implementing the plan against Delling’s friend as we speak. I still need my cut if you don’t mind,” Darkfallow stated. He was willing to stick around and help Narbos—if the xp and coin kept flowing. The overlord class was able to issue quests and offer rewards to other players. Darkfallow felt that having a friend give him quests and rewards was much easier than mucking about and finding quests on his own.

  Narbos considered his financial situation. The small fraction of the tax on sales and goods in the zone was, for now, mostly being funneled into improving the zone. There was only a small amount allocated to coin for the player to use directly. Darkfallow’s promised reward of 150 gold represented the majority of his dwindling reserves. He had offered the reward and quest while the guild bank was backing him. Still, it didn’t pay to cheat your only friend in-game. He would just have to wait as the zone improved over time and the taxes started growing. Handing over a pouch with the required coins, he completed the quest for Darkfallow. Having people complete the quests he generated gave him a bit of experience as well. Once he took control of Haven, he should have enough xp to reach at least level 12 from all the open quests that conquering the town would complete.