Melkier insisted.
<Yeah, whatever.> I wasn't about to try to show an idiot how much of an idiot he was. I was realizing that Melkier was a guy who only learned by practice. <The biggest mistake was mine though. I'm usually the leader of the party so you expect me to, well, lead. I didn't do it in time and that made you, Daggers, attack alone. Bear stayed to protect me but when I told him to move, the enemy isolated us because we weren't in a party to properly synchronize our movements. If we had been in a party, we would have at least stood a chance to not suck that much.>
<Ha! See that wo- Daggers?> Bear said, almost slipping and calling Daggers 'woman.' <Ugly-face recognizes how awesome I am!>
<He just indirectly called you a meat-shield.> Daggers counter-argued.
This started an argument, but it was a lot less heated than before. It seemed that calling Daggers 'woman' really pissed her off for some reason, but as long as Bear played nice, she would be willing to do so too.
Melkier unlinked our party chat from the other zombies' and didn't say much. They were clearly upset.
The sooner I began to train them, the better.
6. Gonna Fly Now
<Now!> I gave the order.
A few moments later, the ten zombies attacked two unsuspecting players that were unfortunately walking by us at that moment. Without any time to even defend themselves, they were easily cut to bits.
<So, about two seconds' delay between the order and the attack,> I concluded.
We were testing and getting used to the party system's command structure. Melkier was responsible for passing my orders to the zombies.
<What if I die?> He asked, only now realizing that he was the sole link between chats and that we would have issues if he died.
I had noticed this problem as soon as the chain-like system became known to me but I had decided to let them 'find out' by themselves so I could praise them like good puppies and they could associate their pride for being smart to my praises.
<Good question, especially because we can't add people to a party while in battle, so I couldn't just replace you. This makes you extra important. I guess if you died, we would just go back to the good old yelling. We would lose the secrecy of commands, but that's life.> I felt stupid just for saying that but I needed someone else to come up with the obvious solution.
<Why not create codes for certain movement patterns and orders, sir?> Daggers said. <That way, the enemy wouldn't be able to tell what the orders are, even when you yell them.>
<Maybe.> I said. <But there's probably a better solution using magic or Valia's own systems. No point in creating something overly complicated only for it to become obsolete in a few weeks when we discover the right way to do things.>
<We do not need to create anything, sir,> she insisted. <I can teach military hand gestures for you all.>
<No,> I said promptly.
<Why not, sir?>
<I have my reasons.> I sighed. <Please, trust me on this one.>
To be honest, I hadn't thought about using codes and I liked the way Daggers thought out of the box, but if I was going to use a secret hand signal language, I didn't want the Zombies 4 Life clan members to know it.
<Why not use redundancy?> Bear came with the suggestion I was expecting. <We could just add someone to our party who's also at one of the other parties, and if Melkier dies, this person links the chats again,> Bear said.
<That's... Brilliant!> I acted excited. <Four of the people in all parties could be in two parties at the same time.> Party leaders weren't allowed to be in more than one party, so they were excluded. <It will be a logistics hell to create a structure like that but it would be perfect. Wait, no. We can't do that.>
<What?! Why?> Bear asked.
<The redundancy tactics would only work on small to medium groups,> I explained. <I mean, imagine linking thousands of people together, it would be incredibly hard for it to be done correctly. And if people die and the chats must be linked again, I doubt there wouldn't be a few parties left out. Not to mention there'd be so many people in the huge chat that I doubt orders could even be relayed. What's the point of linking chats now if we won't be able to do it in the future?> This time I added some of my thought process to it before again faking idiocy.
<You are looking at this the wrong way, sir,> Daggers said. <We should crave to be effective using any number of methods we can. That way, no matter the situation, we will be proficient in it.>
For a few seconds, I pretended to think about what she said. <You! Are! Right!> I said, sounding even more excited than before. <Great brainstorming, people. Any volunteers to do the logistics of placing everyone in two different parties in a smart way?>
No one was interested and I had to log out and use drawings to figure out the way the parties should intersect with each other as optimally as possible.
We kept killing random players on the way and I eventually grew confident that we could take someone stronger than us just by using the right tactics.
Now, zombies and tactics were two words that should never, ever, be used together, but before our journey came to an end, they could even attack without trying to eat the enemy one time out of five.
I'm that awesome at training beasts.
Well, Daggers and Bear helped more than I believed they would, but I was the leader, which meant the credit was all mine. We were civilized, after all. If minions started to get credit for all the things they did right, instead of being forgotten by history while their masters bathed in glory, the world would end in chaos.
The successful training wasn't even the most noteworthy thing in the trip. A week had gone by since the last level up of two of my core traits, so they leveled up again. Plus, I got a new trait.
Adept Controller increased to 23 (+1)
» Max distance: 230 meters
» Path correction: 336 degrees
Adept Energizer increased to 15 (+1)
» Damage for disruption: 11
» Mana to damage conversion on disruption: 114%
Trait received: Commander
Giving orders and being obeyed is proof of your commanding skills.
You can now mentally contact people outside of your party.
» Max people: 1
» Restriction: The target must be hierarchically under you
» Swap time: 5 minutes 30 seconds
When I tested, the new trait had worked with all my twelve subordinates. The swap time was the period in which I had to cease using the trait with the last person before being allowed to contact another.
Even though the trait was limited in its usages, it was still a great trait to have and I considered replacing one of my current core traits with it. In the end, I decided against it though; I didn't want to stop leveling either of my current core traits for now.
Wondering why there were some traits that looked so much like skills — this one gave me an active ability and everything — I checked about it with Zenhit.
<Traits are like titles,> the Destiny Spirit's child voice said in my mind, <in that they are given by the gods when you act in a certain way. Traits have fewer requirements than titles to unlock, but can be even more powerful when they level up enough. But it's very hard to do so.>
<What about evolving titles?> I asked, remembering the Warmonger title, which had turned into Warlord.
<That's a rarity which happens when there is more than one way to get a title and you manage to do both. A title having more than one way to unlock it is a rarity in its own account, and when it happens, both are exceedingly difficult to achieve. However, if you evolve a title, it's buffs become twice as good, and its debuffs are halved.>
Wondering about the 'exceedingly difficult' part, I realized that making two countries start a war, or becoming the Resistance's General, weren't things just anyone could do. And the odds of the same person doing both were even smaller; a General would usually be fighting in existing wars, not starting them. The only plausible way was for someone to
do things in the order I did them.
<Right,> I said. <But how is it any different from skills?>
<Weren't you listening?> Zenhit asked annoyed. <Traits and titles are bestowed by the gods under prerequisites which are set in stone. Skills can be learned by anyone who finds a willing teacher or the right skill book. Traits are divine, while skills can be divine, but are usually mundane.>
That reminded me of the divine magic used by the Ruined Mage Kings in the Slums. Divine skills were much stronger than their mundane counterpart. <Do all divine skills have 'divine' in their name, like divine magic?>
<I see,> I said. <What about the titles' prerequisites? I got the Archmage title by blowing the prison up, so if I blow up another prison the title would evolve?>
<You got the title by showing an unprecedented feat of magic, not by blowing things up,> he said exasperated.
<So, with another unprecedented feat of magic...>
Zenhit sighed, which was weird since it had no visible respiratory system. <Yes, you can evolve your Archmage title.> His voice and tone made it clear that he didn't expect me to accomplish it any time soon, and by soon he most likely thought never.
<Right. You were surprisingly helpful. I...> I made a pause and mentally counted to five before continuing. <I understand now what I missed by not having you with me in my first month in Valia. Thank you for your help.>
He didn't answer but I was sure the seed had been planted. I needed the zombies to see me as their superior and I needed my relationship with Zenhit to improve. They were tools I would need to use sooner or later.
The trip took us three days total, and I had purposefully slowed our pace so we could train a little more. Only Valia's anti-boredom system allowed the players to travel for so long without getting downright pissed at the long distances.
When we finally saw Margs Market, I steeled myself. It was time to steal from Robert, the Great.
* * *
The stone-walled city was in the center of a big cave chamber, the same chamber where the entrance to the Great Maze was.
We approached it with caution; we had been killing players the whole way. It was possible that some of the people we killed were from Margs Market, and had already revived there.
Even with this possibility, I didn't think we should've done things differently; we needed the training to work as a group, and battling against the players we found along the way was more efficient than taking detours to search for monsters. Also, I had to provide each of the ten new zombies in the group with at least twenty gold coins, and stealing was easier than working for it.
By now, I calculated that after selling everything we'd looted from the victims, then splitting it equally, each of us would get about seventy silver coins. Not great.
"Hold!" A guard at the city gate yelled even though we were only five meters away from him.
Margs Market had a single entrance, about wide enough for two giant lizards to walk side-by-side and tall enough that we could have all passed through it standing upon each other's shoulders.
Further in, it resembled a tunnel more than anything else, with lots of murder-holes in the ceiling from where nasty stuff could be thrown at the people below.
In front of the entrance, no fewer than ten guards in plate armor, all wearing brown cloaks, stood guard. On the walls, I could see five mages, with morbs floating above their heads, and five archers.
"What is it?" I asked in a bad mood. I had researched Margs Market online and I knew there were no tolls or anything of the sort to enter the city; the lack of a queue of people waiting to pay was proof of that. The obnoxious guard, on the other hand, was a common occurrence.
"What business do you have in the city?" His voice wasn't filled with cheer either.
"My business is my own, just as yours is your own," I replied. "I'm not interested in creating difficulties for you, why are you creating difficulties for me?"
<Calm down,> Melkier said. <If he denies us entry, things might get tricky.>
<You're pragmatic when it comes to money, but still too inexperienced in human interactions,> I said. <I can detect a bully just by the way he said 'hold.'> It was true, even though I had been forewarned this time. <The way to deal with bullies is to not allow yourself to be bullied.>
"Lower your voice, stranger," the guard said angrily. "I'm the first line of defense this city has and it's my job to ensure no undesirables enter."
"Really? The way I see it, the three guys behind us are the real first line of defense."
Everyone in my group turned to look. Their perception attribute wasn't as good as mine and they hadn't seen the translucent figures, which marked people using stealth, when we got close to the city. They still couldn't see anyone, obviously, but that didn't stop them from trying.
That seemed the right thing to tell the guard. "Very well. Have a nice stay," he said after a brief staring contest with me.
My online research about Valia had revealed that the average adult fighter in the Underworld had about thirty to forty points to his main attributes — strength for standard fighters, dexterity for agile fighters and archers, intelligence for mages, and so on — and less than that to other attributes. With thirty-eight points to perception, I was clearly not average and the guard probably didn't want to chance a fight with me. Bullies only picked on people when they believed they could get away with it.
Stealth in Valia worked in a complex way. The stealth skill level was the most important thing, followed by dexterity, agility, and even willpower. For others to see through the invisibility, perception was the most important attribute, followed by willpower to a smaller extent. No one knew the exact math though, and some even said that intelligence might also be a factor for piercing the stealth of others.
<Watch out for the murder-holes,> I said as we approached the tunnel. The guard probably wasn't strong enough to do anything to us while we were outside, but once we got in the tunnel, it was a different story altogether.
We passed through quickly enough without being attacked. The simple act of surviving a potentially deadly trap without having to fight for my life, was one of the nicest things which had happened to me since I started playing Valia Online.
Inside the walls, the city revealed itself to us.
Margs Market was a gigantic open market. And when I say gigantic, I mean it: there were no visible structures, only merchant stalls as far as the eye could see. Giant lizards and catrons — basically, giant cats — could be seen coming and going, and so could a myriad of sentient species.
<Where do they sleep?> Bear asked.
<In pocket dimensions,> I answered.
<Pocket dimensions?> His tone was confused.
I put up a scholarly tone. <Do you know why this place is called Margs Market?>
<Do I look like I care, ugly-face?> His tone was bored.
I smiled at that. If it bored him, I wanted to tell the tale even more. And it was an educational history, after all. <Margs is the name of an experiment. The Maloi Atothil Relir Ganna Sor, which means something like 'Study on Creating Multiple Pocket Dimensions in a Limited Space.'>
<What language is that, sir?> Daggers asked.
<This place is owned by a merchant guild who specializes in spatial magic,> I explained. <They also have their own language, based on a mix of elvish and sorinish, to make it harder for outsiders to steal information from them. Fun fact: all words in this language have an odd number of characters.>
<Space magic, sir? I never heard of it.>
<I don't know how to obtain it, but it exists. That's how our enchanted backpacks are created.> I bet that it had something to do with gravity magic, hence my desire to learn it. <There are pocket dimensions of various kinds,
from enchanted bags to entire cities, divided into two main branches: mobile and fixed.>
<I guess mobile is like the bags and fixed is when you can't move the dimensions entrance?> Melkier said.
<Yup,> I said. <Pocket dimensions distort the space around them, making it unstable, and can explode if the enchanter lacks power or skill when creating new ones nearby. Creating any kind of pocket dimension next to another fixed dimension is extra hard for some reason.>
Bear gave out a loud yawn but Melkier was showing interest and I didn't stop my explanation. It was a good opportunity to further my objective of setting myself up as intellectually superior to them.
<So,> I continued, <the guild decided to experiment on a few theories to find ways to prevent pocket dimensions from messing with others nearby. The result was a secret technique that all space mages would love to know, and this city was where they used and perfected the technique. It's said that there's a pocket dimension for every square meter in this place.>
And, if Zenhit hadn't lied to me, the guy who led this experiment had probably become an Archmage for the unprecedented feat of magic.
<Amazing,> Melkier said, and Daggers agreed with him.
<But where do people sleep?> Bear asked as if I hadn't said a single word.
I sighed. <The houses, inns, and all structures are inside invisible magical portals,> I toned down the explanation so his tiny mind could understand. <See that guy behind that metal stall with 'Green Hawk Tavern' written on it? He is the doorman to a tavern. If you speak to him he'll let you in.>
<Hey, that's awesome!> He said like a little child and Melkier laughed.
<Let's sell our loot first,> I lead them into the market.
We started walking amidst the chaos that was Margs Market. People yelled, catrons meowed, a magic battle happened somewhere far from us. Guards patrolled everywhere, but it wasn't enough to cover the whole place.
What I found most interesting were the purple and silver portals appearing everywhere, and people using them to reach the pocket dimensions which lay beyond. It was certainly different from how enchanted bags worked.