Finding a Body (The Dark Herbalist Book #4) LitRPG series Page 7

  Just after the director’s assistant left, I ran to the computer. I had so much left to do today! First of all, I started putting together a video clip about the adventures of my big-eared Goblin Herbalist. I had so much interesting material, it was a breeze. And that was putting it lightly. My little goblin had become the Dark Sovereign today! That alone would have been enough to enthrall and even shock the viewers. But I also had three new servants, an army and a castle, the duel with the rougarou and much, much more. No, I wasn’t going to totally reveal my plans and secrets, but I was going to partially raise the veil of secrecy around the mythical Dark Sovereign’s life, which I thought would be very, very powerful.

  However... The computer here in the office was still very seriously limited in what it could access online. I couldn’t download free video editing software, make purchases in the Boundless Realm online store or write comments on the forum. No, I couldn’t stand for this! I wrote tech support, but not the main address, to an employee by the handle “support_013” the very same who had been watching me talk with my sister. That employee knew I wasn’t allowed to freely walk around the building, so explaining my demands to him seemed like the easiest option.

  He answered me almost at once. But instead of a positive decision providing the necessary programs and access, I just kept getting the runaround. Stuff like:

  “Amra, what do you need to fuss around with the video clip for? Hand that off to the marketing department. They’re professionals and will do it all to the nines.”

  Or another example of an exceptionally inept reply:

  “Allowing financial operations from that computer would require long discussions with various departments. And it’s night right now, so the people who make those decisions aren’t even here. Maybe instead of all these complications, just tell me how much you want. Would five thousand credits to your card from an anonymous source be enough?”

  My objections and complaints that my viewers would be bored by a video clip someone else made were not taken into account. Just like the fact that a strange transfer of such a huge amount would probably have the tax man asking questions. They didn’t want to give me full access to the forum, or the internet shop, making excuses about some internal instructions and rules.

  I had to use some pressure and threaten to complain to the director of In-Game Security Andrei Soloviev, or maybe even President Thomas Heywood. I mean, these guys were getting in the way of the most important event the Boundless Realm Corporation had ever put on, preventing the Dark Sovereign from doing his job. And that worked. My requests were finally approved. Took ‘em long enough!

  I was expecting some tech support worker to come into my office to set everything up, but it was all done remotely: the cursor ran around my screen on its own, opening and closing various windows, and entering service commands. In no more than three minutes, the same support_013 was telling me everything was ready. Finally!

  * * *

  DONE!

  I couldn’t hide it, I was very proud of my work. And I managed to fit everything into one thirty-minute clip going from the hike through the mountains to the castle to my elevation to Dark Sovereign and first orders as new Boundless Realm superboss. I drew attention to the contrast between the appearance of my tiny harmless Goblin Herbalist and his new profession as the embodiment of universal evil. I made a lot of jokes and biting commentary. I purposely emphasized my subjects’ lack of loyalty, showing the ghastly monsters refusing to obey the meager Amra.

  In the very end of the clip I said I would be putting the coordinates of the Dark Sovereign’s castle up for sale. Just ten game coins — a pittance for such valuable information! The price seemed not only affordable but even low, so I was sure that many players would be intrigued.

  You think I acted foolishly and rashly by revealing such secret information about the location of my lair? Not so. Getting to the Dark Sovereign’s castle would still be very difficult even for those who did know its location. Nearly impossible without flying mounts. Even with them, it wasn’t exactly a cake walk.

  What was more, in one way or another the coordinates of the Dark Sovereign’s castle’s would fall into the players’ hands soon enough. By triangulation with magical messengers, the general location could be quickly sussed out. I had just simplified that mission by removing the extra steps, making myself a mint in the process. And if I was going to sell the coordinates of the Dark Sovereign’s castle, now was the time. In a few days, every player who was interested would already know. What was more, I figured this was the best time. With the new patch and big flashy advertising campaign the Boundless Realm Corporation was running, any information about the new big boss would be sure to arouse some interest. And all the more so if I said right where to find him.

  I finished the video clip and made a post selling the coordinates, then decisively closed every program and browser tab connected with Boundless Realm . Sure, it would have been nice to take my sister’s advice and buy maps of the neighboring regions and big cities, and take a general look over everything I could find about building castles. But my eyelids were sagging, I could barely think and I was afraid of doing something stupid. But before I went to sleep, I had one last thing I couldn’t put off. I opened a search engine and tried to find any information about a street racer named Andre who had lost both arms in an accident. I was Val’s older brother and only relative, so I needed to keep an eye on who she was talking to! What if it was some kind of fraudster or gangster, who spun a yarn about racing electrocars for my sister, but in fact had lost his arms for stealing in the Muslim quarters of the metropolis or in a bloody skirmish with fellow gangsters?

  I found the information instantly. The tragic incident had been widely discussed online. There were diametrically opposite opinions and comments on the topic, ranging from “it’s a pity such a handsome young boy’s life was ruined,” to, “we let this new generation get away with too much, that’s why he lost his arms. I hope the rest of them can learn from this.” Andre was indeed a young racer. At a blind corner, he had crashed at massive speed into a pile-up of several other electrobikes.

  I looked at the photographs from before the race. They showed a boy with curly brown hair, who looked to be eighteen. He was tall and had a slim build, charming smile and cheerful eyes. He was posing in front of an expensive sport electrobike holding a racing helmet in his hands. Ugh, if only Andre had known then how this race would end...

  Among the many headlines I found online, one caught my eye: “Second-place racer shocked by son’s accident, will be leaving sport.” I clicked the article. Woah! It turned out this Andre was from a racing dynasty! His father Paul Hernandes was a very famous driver from one of the best crews on the planet. He had taken second place four times in Formula Zero, so his fans had given him the nickname “Mister Second Place.” The thirty-eight-year-old veteran was having one of the best seasons of his career, with decent chances at taking first place and four races left until the end. But his son’s tragedy had overturned all of “Mister Second Place’s” ambitions.

  And Andre’s mother... I had to stop and catch my breath. Could it really be “Iron Jeanette?” The famed captain of a team of virtual gladiators called the Digital Amazons , fifteen years ago she was the cyber-athlete par-excellence . Yes, it was definitely her! In elementary school, I had a whole binder full of trading cards from chewing-gum packs that depicted famous male and female cyber gladiators, and the Digital Amazons occupied its most-honored first page. I had never even in my boldest fantasies dreamed I might one day meet this legendary star of cybersport. But my sister Valeria was already on friendly terms with her eldest son Andre... Wow, life was truly more surprising and unpredictable than any computer game.

  I stood from the table and walked over to the window. Behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass, I could see millions of glimmering lights in the darkened metropolis. The skyscrapers of the planet’s largest corporations glowed, and electric cars raced down the nearby autoba
hn. But the photo of Andre from before his fateful ride just haunted me. What a proud and confident gaze the young racer had, he simply radiated power and confidence. Too bad scientists hadn’t invented a time machine yet. I would love to go back and warn that optimistic happy boy, maybe try to talk him out of it. Although... then my sister would never have met him.

  Day Two. New Opportunities, New Problems

  AFTER A LONG SLEEP, I was feeling very well rested. My chest stitches didn’t even hurt anymore, and I was feeling fighting fit. I took a shower, shaved, ate breakfast and walked over to the computer. I purposely drew that all out as long as possible, because I was very nervous. How had the viewers taken my clip? How had the players taken the fact that Goblin Herbalist Amra was now the Dark Sovereign himself, whose coming had all Boundless Realm in tremors? The monitor lit up and my eyes immediately went wide.

  WHAT THE HELL??? My clip already had eighteen million views, and the counter was constantly ticking higher, adding tens of thousands every second. Pretty sweet! I was also happily surprised by an email from the video hosting site saying my channel was now in the top ten most popular Boundless Realm channels, sitting at number six in subscriber count. Along with that, they sent me a boilerplate contract for monetizing the channel with ad revenue. I had to admit, all that had me in a state that was very near shock.

  Finally I got to how many had bought the coordinates of the Dark Sovereign’s castle. There were one million three hundred forty thousand purchases just in the first morning!!! I mean sure, I suspected my map coordinates would be highly sought after, but not this highly... My legs shaky, I stood from the computer desk, walked to the fridge and took out a can of cold, even tooth-ache-inducing beer. I needed to come to my senses.

  Was I now a millionaire? Seemingly. Even considering the one percent commission on all in-game transactions and the fees and taxes I’d have to pay converting such a huge amount of Boundless Realm currency to cash, it was very possible I might end up with more than one million credits. And although Amra didn’t have the physical cash in silver coins, just promissory notes from the Subterranean Bank of Thorin the Ninth, and the Most Reliable Bank of Gremlins, which first would have to somehow be converted into game currency, that was a purely technical issue and an easily solvable one at that.

  When Tina had very recently called me a “potentially a millionaire,” I just laughed in her pretty face, not able to believe her. But in the end she was right! I’d have to apologize to Tina when I got the chance and give her a nice little gift. But that would have to wait. Now I needed to decide what to do with all the wealth that had just crash-landed on my head.

  Would I really just be withdrawing these funds from the game and converting it into credits in my bank account? I could, sure. But what would be the point of that? I had no need for money in the real world. I had around three hundred thousand in my bank account already, and my sister’s treatment was already paid for, as was her virtual reality capsule. I had no other large expenditures in the foreseeable future, either. What was more, I was feeling cheap and didn’t want to lose hundreds of thousands of real credits to income taxes, which would only apply once I withdrew the game currency. Should I just leave the thirteen million coins and change lying around? That would also be foolish. Money should always work. That rule was just as true in the game world.

  But what to do in this situation? First of all, clearly I’d have to visit a branch of one of the game banks and convert my notes into silver coins so I could make full use of my money. But where was the nearest branch of the Subterranean Bank of Thorin the Ninth or the Most Reliable Bank of Gremlins? In the underground city of the dwarves Dotur-Khawe most likely...

  And then I had a thought that struck me with its novelty: why should I go there on my own when I could just open a branch of the bank right here in the lands of the Dark Sovereign?! Bankers were generally happy to be able to expand their business, so I could probably make an arrangement. As a matter of fact, two of my dwarves were headed to Dotur-Khawe now, so I could send an offer to the subterranean bankers through them.

  I looked at the time. It was just past ten. Hrmmm... I was seemingly too late to send the message through the dwarves. Valeria generally entered the game early in the morning, at seven or even earlier, so she had probably already made portal scrolls and handed them out to Max Sochnier, Tondik Exuberant, and Gnum Spiteful. Most likely, my dwarves had even left their home city a few hours ago. Although I did still have the Steward. He was a gremlin by race, so he could probably tell me how to get in touch with the other bank. With that thought in mind, I headed quickly for my virtual reality capsule.

  Loading... I appeared next to the very gates of the castle, where I had exited the game. It was a warm windless day, a bit overcast, not too hot and eminently comfortable. With such pleasant daytime weather, I could hardly believe how cold I’d been just last night. I mean, that was the kind of deep freeze that could kill anything. But I didn’t have time to come to my senses and take a look around before a laundry list of Fame-increase messages flickered past:

  Fame increased

  Present value: 23

  Fame increased

  Present value: 24

  ...

  Fame increased

  Present value: 37

  These changes were probably caused by the rapid spread of the news that my modest Goblin Herbalist had become Dark Sovereign. Although it was also possible that this was from my entreaty to all NPC’s, and my name was gaining notoriety as a potential master. Well, Fame was a very important stat that influenced NPC opinion, and my negotiation prowess. It would come in handy. But what the heck was this?

  A few steps away, wisps of mist started gathering into a dense cloud, becoming darker and thicker with every second. Boom! A huge black rider emerged from that darkness on a steed the color of a moonless night. And clacking its hooves on my cobblestone square, it came to a stop.

  Dark Rider

  Emissary of the Dark Sovereign

  So then, here was my rider and representative! But what did he want from me? Not coming down from his mount, the heavily armored knight gave me a salute with his spear and thundered out so loud it echoed off the castle and distant hills:

  “Sovereign, invasion! At the distant approaches to your lands above the river of death, five silver-Pegasus riders have been spotted. They’re flying this way, and very quickly. They’ll reach your castle in just seven hours!”

  Silver Pegasuses, and all five of them at once? I see. The leaders of the Legion of Steel wanted to exploit their unique advantage over all the other players and use flying mounts to reach the Dark Sovereign’s fortress before anyone else could. And that was very, very worrying news. Five level 300+ players could wreak plenty of havoc here all on their own, but if they opened a portal for the remaining soldiers of their fearsome and most powerful clan... That would be the end of my whole army, as well as the Dark Sovereign himself.

  Seven hours? That was still more than enough time to react. I turned to the Dark Rider:

  “Say, can you make it quickly to these flying pegasuses?”

  “Yes, Sovereign. I have the power to appear anywhere darkness or fog reign. And there is always fog along the Styx, so I can always reach any point on the banks of the river of death.”

  Ah, that was nice. I’d have to keep that in mind for the future. The emissary would make a great envoy, who could carry my orders and small packages all throughout my lands practically instantaneously. Just then, Valerianna Quickfoot left the castle and joined our conversation. But I could barely recognize my sister. Instead of a gaunt green-haired girl in a light dress, before me now was a tall fearsome war-chieftess draped in a magical black robe with silver seams that went all the way to the floor. And my sister had a black-velvet hooded cloak over the robe embroidered with silver runes. It covered the upper half of the little mage girl’s face completely. All you could see now were her blood-red lips and sharp predatory little teeth underlined by her acut
e white chin. But higher in the lowered hood in the darkness, the flickering orange and red eyes of the Sister of the Dark Sovereign looked especially haunting. Overall it was very scary but also intriguing. My sister had clearly tried very hard to achieve just such an effect with her new appearance.

  After a quick greeting and saying that she’d sent the Ogre Fortifier and some cyclopes and giants to build a dam on a mountain stream, Valerianna turned to the Dark Rider:

  “Say, could you shoot the flying players or their winged horses with your deadly Midnight Wraith arrow?”

  Hey yeah, that was a good idea! I now also wanted to know and was waiting with bated breath. The Midnight Wraith contained in the tip of the cursed arrow was always two times higher level than its strongest enemy. And so, if the leader of the Legion of Steel Till Quick_Fingers was on one of the pegasuses, as the highest-level player on the Southern Continent at level over 350, he and his allies would be up against a deadly flying monster of an absolutely sky-high level. Certainly over 700, and no player in all Boundless Realm could face off against something like that. But the Dark Rider’s answer left me disenchanted:

  “My masters, I’m afraid I have no more Cursed Arrows. I had one, but I used it when I shot the Sovereign’s Mythical Hound. My three brothers still have their Cursed Arrows. But none of us would be able to hit such a nimble target flying so high up...”

  What a shame... Using a Cursed Arrow seemed very intriguing, but it wouldn’t work in practice. And hey, I took advantage of the opportunity, opened my inventory and handed the Dark Rider the deadly object that once belonged to it:

  “You can have your arrow back.”

  The Dark Rider gave me a salute with its spear and stuck the deadly arrow back in its quiver. Valerianna shook her head in disapproval. Seemingly, my sister thought the Cursed Arrow might have a better use.