Mark carefully stumbled through the dark to the door of the hut. After only a moment of fumbling he found the doorknob. He took one glance back as sunlight peeked in to reveal Amelia’s sleeping form. ‘Good,’ he had not disturbed her. He carefully closed the door behind him. It was a crisp morning with the sunlight just streaming out from behind a plateau far in the distance. Only about a tenth of their clearing was currently illuminated, with the rest still in shadow.
A glance to his right revealed the shade’s still diligently working. Six mined the black crystal coal, while the other two manned the bellows. The two at the manna bellows hardly seemed to be doing anything. A full compression of the bellows took around 10 minutes, and then it took another 5 to refill with air, so their movements were slow. Half the time it looked like they were just leaning against them.
Mark had briefly inspected them yesterday and could tell that compressing them would take a lot of force. It would likely take a good sized group of goblins to manage. Then there was the fact that goblins would need rest, and their morale would probably plummet if given the task. It was good that the creators had given them dedicated henchmen to take care of the menial work for the dungeons, or it could have been a real headache to manage.
Speaking of the goblins, Mark only had to walk around the hut to see the four he had summoned last night. The four yellow hob goblins were each 4 ½ to 5 ft tall. Their skin was similar to a human’s except with an obvious yellow hue. Their faces were more angular down to a pointed chin. They reminded him of representations he had seen of cavemen with a very defined brow ridge above their eyes. Their noses seemed to be the most discernible characteristic for them since they ranged from bulbous to very narrow and sharp. Not one was like the other.
They each had arrived with the standard loadout, which was currently a club although some more resembled a policeman’s cudgel on top of their auxiliary equipment of water pouch and sash bag that carried sling, 5 stones, and a food ration. Apparently, unless Mark specified the standard loadout when summoning units, they would arrive with any assortment of the standard weapons available. After noticing the slight difference Mark had queried the encyclopedia and learned that they arrived with weapons that were most suitable for them.
Despite having the same attributes and stats, there were differences in personality and preferences. Mark had not delved into it too much last night. He had been too tired. He had simply told them to guard the dungeon core, and what a job they were doing of it, Mark thought when they came into view.
Three of them were clearly asleep, snoring faintly. The other was sitting and picking at its big bulbous nose. The creature’s club lay good several feet away. If attackers came it would likely take a good 10 seconds for them to notice and ready themselves. So far the one that was awake had not noticed him. It was clear that he would need to take more measures to keep the core guarded. He brought up one of the hobgoblins screens.
Yellow Hobgoblin 2 (4/125) Warrior lvl 1 (conscript) Power lvl: 0.8 Morale: 48 (content) Strength 7 Attack: 3 Defense: 2 Endurance 9 Abilities/Skills Agility 8 Vitality 8 Intelligence 6 Wisdom 4
The goblin did not have a name, just a number after its goblin type name. Right now he had up to 4, but he could build up to 125 with a level 1 dungeon. Evidently, how many units he could have of a single type were limited. A quick check of the encyclopedia showed that the cap was based on a unit's power level and was a 100 for a level 1 dungeon. Yellow hob goblins had a base power level of 0.8 so he could only build 125. For green goblins, the cap was 333 since their base power level was 0.3.
The fact that Mark had given these goblins a warrior class which should have technically brought their power level up 10% to 0.88 when they had been summoned did not factor into the cap. The cap was based on the base power level. Which was good. Otherwise making his units stronger would mean a trade off with how many he could build.
It only took a minute for Mark to determine why the power level for the hob goblin’s screen was still at 0.8. The culprit was the word conscript snuck in right behind the warrior class. Mark spent the next minute reading through the encyclopedia about this. All the while wishing he had an actual encyclopedia that he could read through. He was getting really tired of being surprised by something new. He could not read the encyclopedia about a topic unless he first knew to ask about it. Because that would just be too easy.
However, this surprise was a welcome aspect of the game as far as Mark was concerned. It delved into a unit’s experience. The levels ranged from conscript, recruit, regular, veteran, and expert. Above expert, there were unique titles that would depend on the unit and what they had been through, but not like he would see one of those soon. There was no indication what it took for units to move from one to another, but the encyclopedia did mention that progression slowed the further they went.
For now, Mark was limited to conscripts which actually had a 10% penalty for their power level. In this case the warrior level 1 class negated the penalty. It was a little annoying losing power to a penalty, but the other dungeons would be dealing with it as well. Overall Mark liked the thought of his units having this avenue to grow. Expert gave a 50% bonus to a units’ power level, and there was no telling what a unique title would give.
The power level itself was a little ambiguous, but Mark had read through the section in the encyclopedia at least twice yesterday. The main factors seemed to be the unit's stats, skills, and abilities. The units attack and defense played in slightly less so. A unit with a power level of 1.0 would likely have stats that averaged just below 10 with the other characteristics filling the gap. Attack and defense factored in at a reduced rate, so it was possible for a unit to have a high power level, but also be very vulnerable due with a weak defense. From this Mark determined that a power level was a good estimate of a unit’s capability, but should not be to be completely relied upon.
Mark swiped the translucent screen away with a thought, and started moving toward the core. The hobgoblin watch finally noticed him and snapped to his feet, and then less than gently roused his comrades, who were less than thrilled to get up.
“Ooow, why do dat,” the hobgoblin with the narrow pointy nose said in a nasally voice as he slapped at the offending foot, but then he also noticed Mark and snapped to his feet. The other two likewise grumbled and then fell into place after noticing Mark.
“wut plea you matter,” the hobgoblin on watch spoke as Mark stopped a few strides in front of them.
Mark just stared at them for a moment. Not a very professional bunch. One of the hobgoblins was even scratching his butt while waiting for Mark to give them orders. Not exactly what came to mind when he pictured soldiers, but then again perhaps they would get better with more experience.
Right now their morale was sitting at 48. It had been 50 when summoned last night, but Mark guessed that sleeping out in the open without supplies might have contributed. They just wanted him to spend more of his MP. Mark disregarded it for now. They would be considered content as long as their morale was in the 40-59 range. While each number did have an effect, switching categories had the biggest effect.
Whatever, it was time to send these hobgoblins out on a mission. “As soon as I’m done speaking, I will be summoning 44 green goblins. Each of you will take charge of 11 and form a patrol. I will send two of you to either side of this plateau to the South of us.” Mark indicated the nearest plateau. It was below them on the tactical map, so he was going to go with South.
“The other two teams will head to the north. Once you reach that far plateau you will go opposite ways and sweep through the area till you run into the other teams doing the same from the South. Basically I want everything in this valley area in between all of the plateaus to be thoroughly searched. Any questions?” Mark asked.
At the very least none of them seem confused, facial expression wise. Then again with their grotesque goblin faces, who could tell. Finally, one raised his finger indicating he wanted to ask a question. Mark nodded for him to speak.
“wut do, when find sumthin?” a bald hobgoblin spoke up.
“If you find something interesting, note the location. If you find a threat, you can take it out if you think you are capable of doing so. If not, report back about it…” Then on an afterthought Mark decided to add. “If you think the threat can be reasoned with, you can try, regardless, send a runner back in case it fails and your squad is wiped out.”
The bald hobgoblin scratched his head. The others looked similarly slightly confused. Hopefully when he gave these guys their squads and they became sergeants they became smarter.
“Okay, I’m going to summon the green goblins now, and let you all sort them out. Once you have your squad I will leave it up to you to decide on which if any you make corporals.” With that Mark created 44 green goblins. He decided not to give them a class. It did not seem worth spending an additional 10 MP per goblin when most of the green goblins would likely just be used like fodder.
[Mark Fields has summoned 44 green goblins for 1100 MP.]
Green goblin 28 (44/333) (conscript) Power lvl: 0.3 Morale: 50 (content) Strength 4 Attack: 1 Defense: 0 Endurance 6 Abilities/Skills Agility 6 Vitality 3 Intelligence 3 Wisdom 2
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Mark stepped back to let the hobgoblins get to work sorting which green goblins they wanted in their squad. What followed would have been hilarious if it were not for the fact that they were his troops. The hobgoblins immediately went through the green goblin ranks picking and prodding at each green goblin they passed. Well ranks were being generous, a rabble was more accurate. The disorganized green goblins were fidgeting around in a clump elbowing others away when they got to close..
Mark did not know what criteria the hobgoblins were using to decide but when they did find one they liked they escorted or forcefully shoved the green goblin out of the clump of others to a spot away from the other hobgoblins. More than once the hobgoblins squabled with each other over a prime candidate. Everything between childish tantrums to bonking the other on the head with their club seemed to be par for the course.
Mark would have thought it would hurt, but then remembered reading that the goblin head was several times harder than a human’s head. The hobgoblin swinging the club did not seem to be putting any power behind the strikes, and the recipients of the club str ike hardly seemed affected. So Mark guessed it was normal.
The fighting and bickering continued till the last few green goblins were left. Each time a prime candidate was selected, there was one more green goblin in the pile that was better than the others after all. Mark could only shake his head till the sorting was done. He did not have to do anything else for the interface to recognize the squads since he had apparently already declared his intentions.
[Mark Fields has formed 4 squads and appointed 4 yellow hobgoblins as their leaders. The 4 yellow hobgoblins have been given the rank of sergeant, and have been given the ability to appoint their own corporals.]
Mark assigned which direction each of the squads would go. He had learned his lesson from allowing them to sort through their troops. Last thing he needed was for the hobgoblins to bicker and fight about which direction that they would head. Soon the four squads were heading off into the woods.
Mark checked his units tab. He now showed 4 squads each with the 12 members. The hobgoblins each had Sgt in front of their name, and a couple of the green goblins had already been designated as one of their squads 2 possible Cpl. Each of the squad’s morale indicated 60 despite all of the individuals comprising it being at 48 or 50. Just one of the benefits of having military organization.
Without Military Organization Mark could have still formed groups, but they would not get any bonuses. The group could also be easily fractured since the individuals each had their own morale and group cohesion was weak.
Troop Troop size Eligible top Rank Benefit
Team
2-4
Corporal (Cpl.)
5% increase to power lvl. Squad 5-12 Sergeant (Sgt.) 10% increase to power lvl.
Patrol
13-36 Lieutenant (Lt.) 25% increase to power lvl. Platoon 40-120 Captain (Capt.) 50% increase to power lvl. Division 150-360 Colonel (Col.) 75% increase to power lvl. Regiment 450-1200 General 100% increase to power lvl. Army 1400+ Commander 150% increase to power lvl.
With Military Organization Mark could form companies ranging in size from a team of 2 to 4 all the way to an army that had 1,400 plus. Doing so gave increased morale, since units felt more secure not fighting alone. It also allowed Mark to use the Military Organization’s other feature, ranks.
Ranks ranged from a corporal all the way up to commander. A corporal would get 5% added to their power level. A sergeant would get 10%. Then the troops under them would also get an undefined boost that depended on their respect for their leader and other factors. Which was the reason Mark decided to let the hobgoblins choose their own corporals. If he arbitrarily had picked one that was deemed inferior it would lose that undefined boost, bring down morale and have other negative consequences.
The ranks would give his forces an edge but it was also a double edged sword. Losing a leader could have severe consequences. In that respect they were like heroes in several games he had played. They had spheres of influence that positively affected the troops around them, but if they were slain the troops could have an adverse reaction. Regardless, it would be foolish not to use the edge that their specialization had gotten them a tier before everyone else.
Mark sat down in the grass and spent a few more MP to get something to eat. In a few hours. He examined his interface. They were currently sitting at 485. He planned to summon 4 more hobgoblins, but he would wait till after he was finished eating. He needed a moment to himself. Besides he needed at least 520 MP to buy 4 more hobgoblins with classes. He should have enough in another 20 minutes.
“How are we doing?” Mark spun toward the soft feminine voice. Amelia was approaching. She was wearing a new outfit than she had the day before. Mark did not even need to look to know where she had gotten it.
‘Yup there goes another 50 MP,’ Mark grimaced as he examined the notices. She had bought the clothes, some sort of lotion that apparently cleaned and neutralized odors, but at least she had only spent 3 MP on breakfast. She not so subtly held out the lotion bottle and shook it in front of his face scrunching up her nose. Mark belatedly took it and started to rub it up and under his shirt all over his upper body. The lower half would have to wait till later.
If it had not cost 17 MP Mark would have really liked it. The lotion sort of fizzed on his skin, and after a few seconds it seemed to evaporate from existence, apparently taking any grime it contacted with it. As an engineer, he felt extremely curious on how it worked. It did not seem to operate under any sound scientific principles that he was aware of. When asked about it, Amelia just shrugged, so it would have to remain a curiosity. The encyclopedia had only detailed its use, not how it worked. Still it was hardly a marvel from a people who could ‘pooof’ him from his world to here.
Once done, Mark debriefed her on the morning events. It was nearly 0800 now, so it had at least been an hour since the squads had departed. She listened while looking curiously at the 4 new yellow hobgoblin guards lounging near the center of the clearing. Mark had relocated after summoning them for obvious reasons.
“Thanks for taking over yesterday. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and couldn’t think straight,” Amelia said shyly.
“It's what champions are for,” Mark replied dryly. “Are you going to start making me check in with you before doing anything?” he then added.
“No,” she chuckled. “I won’t say I’m incapable, but I don’t think I would do as good a job as you will do. I’ve seen you nerding out over the interface. If you can just keep me apprised, I think that will be enough.” she stared off into the horizon and hugged herself with her arms. “This must seem pretty pathetic coming from a woman contending for the throne.” Her voice sounded sad.
“I wouldn’t say so,” Mark said cheerily. “The best thing a leader can do is delegate to capable people. They don’t have time to nerd out about every little thing after all. Just look over there. You don’t see me over there telling the goblins how best to guard the most important thing in our dungeon. They’re bickering and picking at their noses just fine without me.”
“I might have to reconsider, letting you run things if you classify the goblins as capable people,” she replied with a smile spreading across her face.
They both then just stood there enjoying the tranquil morning. It did not last long. Five green figures came bobbing out of the woods cursing and bickering at each other. Mark glanced at his tactical map and confirmed that they were five belonging to his dungeon. Luckily or unluckily there was nothing coming after them. Mark flipped to his unit's page already suspecting what he would find. Sure enough the yellow hobgoblin 4 and seven of the other green goblins were already dead. They were grayed out with a bold line through each of their names.
Mark kept his tactical map open in the peripheral of his vision just in case something was following. The green goblins were headed straight toward the core, so Amelia and Mark moved to listen in as they debriefed the hobgoblins. The five were shouting over each other, so what they were trying to say became muddled. Luckily, one of the hobgoblins fixed the issue.
‘Bonk,’ the hobgoblin clubbed one of the goblins solidly. The other four shut up instantly. It had been much harder Bonk than any of the other times that Mark had witnessed, but he did not need to be concerned. The recipient quickly crawled away and snapped back to his feet.
“U say wut hap’d”
The green goblins were even less intelligible than the hobgoblins. The words were so broken, it might as well have been grunts using slightly different annunciations. The hobgoblin’s seemed to understand well enough, so they translated.
“Lil bit’s gag’le fine big cave, wen tacked ba big bear. De hit bear wit lubs but it no oose. Lil bits urry way. Cum back ere.”
“Okay, I’ll leave these five under your care for now,” Mark said walking away.
Amelia hurried to catch up looking at Mark with questioning eyes. She had not understood the hobgoblin even a bit. A little princess like her had likely never been around many drunks who slurred their words. It was not quite the same, but close enough.The lil bits appeared to refer to the green goblins. The squad had found a cave and then been attacked by a big bear. These 5 had run away after the leader fell.
“It’s not exactly the best of news, but they were gone for over an hour so the bear’s cave should be a couple of miles away. The group came back from the east side of the south plateau, so we will just avoid that area.”
“Shouldn’t we eliminate the threat,” Amelia queried.
“Sounds like they were completely mismatched. The bear is probably one of those that is solitary with a high power level, that you mentioned. We might send a hundred goblins at it with clubs and get the same result. It would be better if they had real weapons. Spears to hold it at bay and archers to shoot at it from a far. Something like this is why I chose to start to research crafting first. Even stone tipped spears, hatchets, and arrows would increase their fighting prowess several fold. Not to mention when we get metal weapons,” Mark said ruefully.
Unfortunately, it was not the only bad news for the day. Two of the goblin parties returned early in the evening. They had reportedly scouted their quadrant with no issues. Mark waited a couple of hours for the last squad to return, but it never did. Eventually he had thought to check the units page. Every member had a line through its name.
He queried the encyclopedia. An hour after a unit died outside of their territory, the news traveled automatically back by interface. There was a significant delay equivalent to how long it would take for a unit to slowly walk back to their territory. If it was multiple days away it would delay 8 hours simulating a night’s rest each day. So if he had units die a week out it might take 9 or 10 days for news to get back to him. They would take up a spot among his units till the news populated.
It was good that the news eventually came back and they did not just disappear and hang out as missing in action forever, but it was a little annoying that it would take so long. If only they could link with the unit and watch its progression?
That was the magic thing for Mark to look up in the encyclopedia. It clearly stated that a single unit or group of units with Military organization could be linked to the dungeon core. Their progress could be watched in real time. However if the unit or group was wiped out or ceased functioning as a unit the link would be lost.
Mark felt like he could just strangle the interface or creators, whoever… There was a great feature that they had not even been aware of and their specialization had even given them a leg up over their enemies, and yet they had almost continued on completely clueless. It was frustrating, but Mark was glad to learn of it now. It was almost worth losing the 710 worth of MP the units who had died had cost.