Finding a Body (The Dark Herbalist Book #4) LitRPG series Read online

  The Storekeeper immediately came to his senses, put on a happy face and hurried to carry out my order. I then ordered the Steward to come bring me to the throne room. I wanted to use my crystal ball and see what was happening outside. I was also planning to go investigate the dam the Ogre Fortifier and other giants and cyclopes were building in the mountains with the Wood Nymph’s designs. What had Valerianna Quickfoot thought up now? Maybe the dam and pond were going to be part of the defensive structures surrounding my castle.

  I did indeed appear in the throne room... but I was not nearly the only one there. There were thirty rougarou warriors on bended knee from the Clan of the Laughing Otter, with the shaman at their head patiently awaiting me. It looked like they’d been there since early this morning. I had totally forgotten about them.

  Without showing any surprise or embarrassment, I got straight to work:

  “Shaman, are these really the best of the best? Have you explained to these warriors what awaits them?”

  The gray-haired shaman respectfully bowed even lower and said:

  “Yes, Sovereign. These are the very strongest soldiers of the Clan of the Laughing Otter. And they’re all happy to serve the adopted daughter of our lord and proud to have been trusted enough for this mission.”

  “Great! Then how about they hurry up and find Princess Chai-nee Shu in the nearby woods to help her hunt. Although... wait!” I stopped the muscular soldiers as they stood up and walked over to one of them. He was clearly different from the others. His clothing and weaponry were more expensive, and his description was not just cookie-cutter. Instead of Warrior, Scout, or Bowman and level number, he had more detailed information:

  See-Uhn-Rhu

  Claimant to the Chiefdom of the Clan of the Laughing Otter

  Level-112 Rougarou Bowman

  A claimant? He was even physically reminiscent of the brothers I’d killed. I turned and looked at the two furry grimacing heads stuck into the back of the throne. Yes, there was definitely a certain resemblance.

  “A claimant? Shaman, who is in charge of the Clan of the Laughing Otter now?”

  “No one, Sovereign. The two elder brother chieftains were killed yesterday, and the third younger brother was one of the thirty strongest soldiers in the clan so, in accordance with your order, was assigned to defend Princess Chai-nee Shu.”

  Come on, what foolishness! Was it really so hard to realize that the last member of the ruling dynasty had to be kept out of this elite division of soldiers from the Clan of the Laughing Otter? And this had nothing to do with humanitarian interest, a differing opinion of the aristocracy or some desire to maintain the old authorities. It was simply that NPC groups and clans were like little kids. Without proper supervision, they would immediately get confused and start to wander off. The laws of Boundless Realm were harsh. NPC’s were made to live collectively so, without chieftains and key players, they were supposed to just die. Their behavior algorithms were just too simple and the processors assigned to every commonplace NPC were just not powerful enough. In the end, such a character would lack the quick thinking needed to survive in this harsh world.

  Most likely, the corporation did that to save money, otherwise no programming staff and no computing power would be enough to run everything that happened in the huge Boundless Realm . And perhaps it was to also make things more predictable. After all, NPC’s were created to entertain the players, and few undying enjoyed having their prey or personal servants behaving too independently. In one way or another, NPC groups were generally doomed to die out after losing their key characters.

  I had read about many times when NPC clans and even large NPC villages ceased to exist in Boundless Realm after their chieftain and other key characters died. It damaged the interrelations between NPC’s, made them start behaving chaotically, and soon all their industrial, professional and personal connections came crashing to the ground. Not too long ago, a once complete and successful team broke down into a bunch of individual characters, and they just started wandering aimlessly through their lands even attacking one another, then quickly died out. And although there was still a shaman in the Clan of the Laughing Otter, he was clearly the only key character left. I stopped the Rougarou Bowman and suggested he return to his clan. However I met unexpected resistance from the claimant:

  “Sovereign, as with all other Rougarou here, I was summoned to serve your daughter and swore an oath to do so, so my former clan is already behind me.”

  Stubborn bastard! And although under different circumstances I might have used my authority to pressure him, the oath stopped me. The gods of Boundless Realm punished oath-breakers harshly and swiftly. But I also didn’t want to leave the five-hundred-strong Clan of the Laughing Otter completely rudderless and under the care of just the decrepit shaman, because these rougarou were important to my further plans. So I thought up a new plan and, using my new abilities, bent the game world to my needs:

  “See-Uhn-Rhu, everyone knows you care deeply about my adopted daughter Chai-nee Shu, so I understand why you want to stay near her and protect her. But as the Princess’s guardian, I would never give my approval for her to associate with someone who has proven himself unreliable and abandoned his clan when the going got tough. And also as a potential groom, without a strong and rich clan behind you, you’re of no interest to either me or my daughter. So go lead the Clan of the Laughing Otter, prove yourself a wise and valiant chieftain, steep yourself in military glory, and reaffirm your loyalty to the Dark Sovereign and his daughter! That is how you shall prove your right to be near Princess Chai-nee Shu, and not just as one of her thirty bodyguards, but as her legal husband! And the gods of Boundless Realm will only be glad to confirm your observance of that oath!”

  You have used 2 Direct Intervention Points

  You have 149 points remaining

  Diplomat skill increased to level 24!

  Foreman skill increased to level 74!

  Just one sentence, reinforced by a few points, and the Bowman was now inspired and love-struck, glowing with happiness and thanking his Sovereign for trusting him. He nearly ran out of the throne room, hurrying to take leadership over his orphaned clan. And along with See-Uhn-Rhu, his shaman also left the throne room with the rest of the rougarou. One problem down!

  Then, finally making my way to the Eye of the Sovereign, I wanted to look at the area around my castle. But as soon as I got a grip on what was happening, I started moaning in frustration and despair! Over the brief half an hour that I had not been watching, a squadron of minotaurs had cut down a cyclops female, and was already butchering her enormous carcass for meat. And the ratmen of one squadron had chomped through a large portion of our supplies in a field kitchen, and were now fighting with orc pirates, who were trying to protect at least a few scraps. The undead had discovered some sunlight through a gap in the clouds which was very rare for this area, and were now densely packed into the bright spot, already partially decayed and crippled by the direct solar rays.

  What had I done to deserve this punishment?! Why the hell did I even agree to play the Dark Sovereign? Why couldn’t I just stay a simple happy and silly Goblin Herbalist, gathering rare flowers in distant regions of Boundless Realm ? Now I had to fill my head with how to supply a whole army and maintain order in its ghastly ranks. And almost all my warriors were higher level than me, which put my authority in peril...

  Day Two. Evil Gets Rich

  I WAS STILL dispirited and depressed when Valerianna Quickfoot discovered me, popping into the throne room an hour later. But what kind of throne room even was this? Such a bombastic term implied a luxurious space for holding festivities and receiving delegations from foreign countries. But this was just a simple large empty room with nothing really in it other than the crystal ball and a throne...

  “What happened here, Tim? I saw a gallows on the square before the palace!”

  I tore my gaze from the crystal ball, which I was using to observe the group of cyclopes returning from
building the dam. The one-eyed giants were lamenting as they wrung their hands, wailing over the corpse of their murdered compatriot and shouting curses at the minotaur tents and my palace.

  “I had to punish a few minotaurs and ratmen for disobedience, murder and theft. I killed the leaders of the upstart squadrons myself,” I said pointing at the two new fanged heads in the back of my throne, “ I also improved some skills and leveled up three times, all of which improved the throne. It now generates five Direct Intervention Points per hour. And I punished the other criminals to prove a point, hanging them before my whole army. I really hope this execution will serve as a lesson to teach the others that they must never kill allies or rob their own! But basically I feel like if we don’t go to war in the next day or two, this savage army will tear itself to shreds!”

  “Alright then, send them somewhere! Did you buy maps of the neighboring provinces like I asked yesterday?”

  I had to admit that I hadn’t. There had just not been time. But my sister took my negative answer in her own way:

  “Amra, if you don’t have any money, just say so. Don’t be embarrassed! I’ve got one thousand eight hundred coins here, it should be enough for maps and the bare minimum for your army. I picked them up where the five Legion of Steel leaders died. And in the desert I also grabbed you a vial of Silver Pegasus blood. When else could you get such a rare thing? And for me, I took this,” the fearsome sorceress showed me a very fine necklace inlaid with huge glimmering emeralds.

  Because my Goblin Herbalist had low Intelligence and thus couldn’t read about the jewelry, the mavka explained:

  “This an item from the legendary Elven Amazon set for TOP players over level-280. It reduces mana expenditure by a third when casting spells and gives pretty good bonuses to Perception and accuracy with a bow.”

  “What do you need that for, Valerianna?” I asked in surprise. “You’ve never held a bow a day in your life!”

  “Me? Oh no, this necklace is no good for my character, plus I’d never be able to get it on. The description says, ‘only for elves or dark elves.’ But without this necklace, the former owner loses the full-set bonus which gives a very solid buff to shooting accuracy for their whole squadron and the ability to become immaterial three times a day. I’m sure Kristina Mozzi would be willing to pay very dearly to get this little thing back!”

  I tried to conjure up a memory of the elven warrior from the Legion of Steel . She was rumored to be dating the clan leader, and I agreed with my sister that finding the item was a great boon and it could be sold for a lot of money.

  “Although it’s possible that the Lords of Chaos or the Keepers would pay more to make sure such a valuable item never returns to the Legion of Steel . It gives them a great chance to gimp one of the strongest and highest-level enemy players before the PVP clan tournament next month. In any case, you can keep the proceeds. I’ve got more than enough coins. I’ve already got around nine million in the chests in the castle storerooms, and soon there will be even more.”

  “How much now?!” the sorceress stumbled and nearly fell over. I had to prop the Wood Nymph up. “So what are you waiting for, big-ears? Spend it all buying maps, weapons and everything you need while there’s still time!”

  “But what about... Don’t you think we’d better withdraw it into the real world to live on? You could go to a good prep school, and we need to buy our own place...” I started arguing. And Val was vigorously opposed:

  “Timothy, if as the Dark Sovereign you are the poorest of all rulers, but still manage to hold out against all Boundless Realm or at least put up worthy resistance, I’ll be much prouder of you than if you don’t use all the funds you have available and lose the war on day two or three. What’s more,” here the sorceress lowered her eyes to the floor and started whispering, “I don’t doubt that Kira Tyle is watching you very carefully and deciding whether you’re worth making up with and spending time around. Don’t disappoint us both!”

  * * *

  “AND TAKE THIS magic tectonic bomb too!” Valerianna said, pointing at another item in the Boundless Realm online shop.

  “But why?” I didn’t understand. “It costs seven hundred coins, but it’s practically worthless. It isn’t powerful enough to make a real earthquake, just maybe to scare the enemy. That money would be better spent on another level-one-hundred Drow archer or orc healer. Those NPC’s will at least be useful on the walls of the castle or fighting in mountain passes.”

  The sorceress frowned and shook her head in dismay:

  “Tim, you said yourself that buying more soldiers was wasteful and pointless! You’ve already got a whole army of thirty thousand you barely know what to do with. Also consider that thousands of warriors should be coming soon, so it would be just stupid to buy another couple dozen or even hundred NPC’s! Better to train the ones you’ve got and level them up! But we do need a tectonic bomb — I’m going to plant it in the dam.”

  My sister’s words had me intrigued, and I asked her to tell me more about this mass-scale project. I’d recently noticed that my sister thousands of my soldiers tied up with building, mostly the beefy giants, minotaurs and cyclopes.

  “It’s all pretty straightforward, Tim. There’s a mountain stream way up there. It’s icy, angry and gushing with water. And it used to flow down a different course, but a rockslide long ago must have blocked it. On the way to the castle, we walked for a few hours down its dried-up older bed, and even then I noticed the sheer walls and many-mile-long narrow canyon. If there was a flash flood, our whole squadron could have drowned there. Are you getting the idea?”

  Yes, there was no need to explain any further, I already understood the basics. Based on Valerianna Quickfoot’s designs, the giants were now building a dam to store a critical mass of water high up in the mountains. At the same time, other groups were clearing the old bed and blocking all alternate paths the water might flow down. And all that was so, if an enemy army arrived at the approaches to the castle of the Dark Sovereign, we could blow the dam and release all the water down the narrow canyon, which would wash away all the attacking enemies no matter how many came. It was a good plan and it had every chance to work, if enemy scouts didn’t get into my territory and discover our preparations.

  “Alright, we’ll take the tectonic bomb! And just to make sure let’s get five!”

  “Three is easily enough, why waste the money...?” my sister tried to object, but I was unstoppable.

  I selected five bombs and ordered them for urgent delivery via magical messenger. It was unusual to use all these trade interfaces and catalogues from inside Boundless Realm. It immediately destroyed my sense of immersion. I used to prefer leaving the game before calling up the guides, forum or any other useful information but now there was no other way for my sister and I to coordinate.

  Trading skill increased to level 44!

  Meanwhile, the game algorithms had a very positive opinion of buying all these items and NPC’s in the Boundless Realm online store, generously raining down new levels and Trading skill on us to induce further purchases. I led my gaze over the skill pop-up and explained myself:

  “If there are left over bombs, we’ll leave another couple in the narrowest part of the canyon to make rockslides, trap in the water and keep more invaders from coming! Alright, what else?”

  The Wood Nymph skimmed our purchase list, all the while softly commenting to herself:

  “We should get maps of all nearby cities and villages of a decent size, then get portal scrolls to most of them. We’ve got more than enough armor and weaponry for your soldiers even considering their various races and preparation levels. We bought enough magical and healing elixirs. We bought alchemy ingredients for a year in advance. We bought seedlings, seeds and grain for our future settlers. We also got more than enough building tools. And sure it’s minimal, but we also got interior decorations for your castle. We bought a whole thousand dark elf archers and scouts to protect the mountain passes, too... I still
don’t know why you bought them, but I’m not going to try and prove it to you anymore. The money is already spent. So, we also ordered a goblin guard to protect the castle of the Dark Sovereign and as a bodyguard for both of us. And we even bought thirteen beautiful NPC magesses to heal and recharge my mana. And let me give you an extra thanks for that!”

  Yes, I insisted on that, even though Valerianna Quickfoot first hesitated and tried to insist that her Wood Nymph didn’t have any problems surviving, so she didn’t need support or guards. But that was before. These were different times, and we were expecting different guests. Not some unremarkable and commonplace undying, but very strong players from all over the Southern Continent of Boundless Realm . To be more accurate, there would probably also be plenty of commonplace players, but I was confident my army would be able to stop them. Still, it was at the very least naïve to hope that the skeletons, orcs and minotaurs outside my walls could overcome the best players in Boundless Realm . I would need much stronger beings for that. Like the goddess Hel, for example. By the way...

  I closed the list of extra magic ammo we hadn’t yet bought and went to a totally different part of the game store. I was suddenly interested in fishing in the game and everything that went along with it.

  “Are you thinking of fishing in the mountain lake?” my sister asked in surprise, to which I shook my big-eared head.

  “No. I just happen to know a god that loves to fish in his free time between ferrying souls, and I want to give him a nice little present. First of all, to remind him of me. And second to get some divine support down the whole Styx, where an enemy army will soon be marching. I think this magical spinning rod with catch-size bonus will take his fancy. Also this indestructible fishing net is perfect. Charon said he dropped his old one in the water a few centuries back. And a whole box of cold and flu elixirs. Plus a barrel of nice dark beer... Alright, my gift is ready!”