Five men sat around a conference table in a white room. Even though Jesus stared down on them from a ceiling-high cross drawn on the wall, the conversation was not in the spirit of loving thy neighbor as thyself.
"We have to secure the Champion spot. With the quest influencing power of the Yellow High Faction, we can change to make this world a more Christian place, a better place." A white-haired man with a sharp bridged nose said. "Tell me about your plans."
"We devised an accelerated training regime for our Champion." Another white-haired man, with round cheeks, said. "We'll spare no resources to push his level 1 stats for the competition."
"The strategies to side-track the other candidates are underway, your Grace. We are focusing on the false Champion and the Mormon." A third man with bushy eyebrows said. He was younger than his colleagues and the only one with his hair still brown.
"What exactly do you have planned?" The round-cheeked grandpa asked. "We don't want to go overboard. This mustn't fall back on us."
"Of course, my Lord Bishop." The brown-haired man, his tone less respectful than before.
"Don't worry, brother. We are in a game, after all. Those young people will expect a few hurdles. It wouldn't be fun for them otherwise." The fourth old man laughed.
----------------------------------------
When Flora logged out of the simulation grounds and the workshop, she found herself on the job site of the training hut. Not that she would admit it to anyone, but she had forgotten about the ongoing construction.
"Hey, Auntie, how was your nap? We are nearly ready, but Mia brought some strange nets we couldn't find in the plan. Where should we put them?" Hub hollered from the roof.
"They are for the pool area," Flora said while looking around. The hut seemed fine. They even managed to remember the second door. A narrow bridge connected the mezzanine floor. To reach it, you had to cross the balancing beams with morningstars out to kill you, though.
"What pool area?" Hub asked.
"Right. Best, I should build it before you'll think you have completed all work." Flora went into the tunnel to the Gym Hut on the ground floor. Using the construction interface, she created a ramp downward, building a staircase. Then she excavated the room below the gym. Virtual Reality was awesome like that. She stabilized the walls and transmitted the deployment plan of the generator nets to the Riverstones.
"I'll be back before you know it!" Flora sent to Robby and sprinted towards the teleportation circle.
Flora would love to craft right now, building the tanks and the sleeping boats, but it would be so wasteful to do it in her own workshop and not in time dilation in Deriga's. The irony having a top-notch workspace, but using a standard version because of time constraints, wasn't lost to her.
"Maybe I should ignore efficiency and just tinker to my heart's content." Flora mused, taking the portal to Talpica. She returned to the front of the Trainings Academy, where had she left the Cradle yesterday.
Aito sent a link to Flora: "Three things I wished I had known on level 1."
"That's a clickbaity title if I ever saw one." Flora quipped, but asked Aidan to summarize it for her.
1. Even though you could play every content at every level, some achievements are level specific, so you have to tackle them when you are in the appropriate level range. Examples: Leaderboards
2. The system doesn't squeeze your stats below the value you had when you were at that level through mechanisms like level normalization or Training Time Suppression(TTS).
3. Don't put level-up points into Magical Regeneration. MR isn't as important as it seems.
"Uhm, what? Let's start with issue three. Mana Reg is awesome! I can get more turrets with it, rank up my mech-suit, or apply nice boosts. What is there not to love about MR?" Flora exclaimed.
"Actually, Aito highlighted the second bullet point, Milady," Aidan said. "But to your question, the article explains that boosts amplify your stats by a factor. So the attributes have to be high for the boost to be effective. The author argues that MR is the easiest stat to train up; therefore, no points should be wasted on it until you really understand your build and its necessities."
"Alright, we think about it when we level up. What's up with issue two? I don't understand the sentence."
"Excellent segway, Milady. It means if you level up before 5 o'clock Saturday One, your stats will never fall below the value at that time. This rule was established because casual gamers complained that there stats got reduced to the starting value of ten, just because they hadn't time to play for a while. Cases like yours, people who discovered effective training methods before two weeks are over are rare, and the mechanic is a valuable exploit. You should train to the most excessive extent in the days up to Saturday, at least until you reached level 100 in every attribute."
"Wow. I don't know what to think about that." Flora said as she speeded over the trees of Talpica. She had cast Pray for Stamina and Ora et Labora as a boost to offset the stamina loss from Sprinting, Agility Boost for more grace, and Divine Radiance because she liked the glow. "How are the chances of leveling the attributes to 100 in time if I won't use any boxes or subspaces?"
"Zero. Even with your most optimal training, it's questionable whether you reach 100 in the perceptions. With just regular gaming like questing or conquering dungeons, the probabilities are zero even for Magical Regeneration. To bring the level 95 MR to 100, it would take 244 hours of regular training."
"That puts a damper on my plans for this week. I still have to sort out the clergy of Evailyn and finish the church in my lair. Additionally, I wanted to conquer HI3 and get the Animator class. Maybe learn Alchemy and plant some herbs in my roof garden. And let's not forget about those extra OV points from achievements, I should get some of them too before level 2, right?"
"Yes, Milady. The OV bonuses are more important than any extra attribute points past level 100."
"Okay, make a plan how much time I have to spend each day in a box + workshop + simulation ground box + … let's leave what kind of subspace I'll use free. Ignore the Perceptions."
"Without time dilation, eleven hours per day, including Saturday One, excluding today."
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Totally doable, especially if I have Deriga's workshop to tinker. We aim for 22:00 to 10:00 and include time dilation to build a buffer. Please, remind me if I deviate."
"Your Scrying resistance just rose, Milady."
"Oh, from what?"
"That's the issue, Milady. Nothing we do levels scrying. Someone might be spying on you, or it might be the police. You are exceeding the speed limit for tree walking again."
"I know, but I'm pressed for time… and I'm having fun." Flora grinned until the police stopped her again. She paid the fine as fast as she could and resumed running and smiling.
When Flora entered the temple, Bishop Nomizo hurried towards her.
"We have a problem, Champion. In the last hours, reports arrived that our sacred places are getting defiled. Even the temple in Zauberberg was attacked." The Woodling said. Her posture radiated concern.
"Please, prepare a report. Do we know who the culprits are?"
"No. It takes no genius to suspect it's a fallout of yesterday's events."
"What kind of countermeasures are we taking?"
"Most of our people are out there investigating," Nomizo said after a short pause.
"Where is Ceart? At least we should double the guards around the temples. I noticed no increase from my previous visits. At the opposite, there were fewer guards on the entrance than that time you wanted to delay my visit." Flora wasn't amused. She still wasn't too sure about the responsibilities of a Champion, but implementing basic security shouldn't be part of it.
"Ceart is at Zauberberg, leading the investigation."
"Where is Deriga?"
Nomizo checked a datapad. "She is repairing a shrine in Marino."
"Please, call her back. Is she alone?" Flora grew concerned. She hadn't hidden her attachment to the young novice. If someone would want to hurt her, using Deriga for it would be a viable way.
Nomizo consulted her datapad again. "Yes, I'll call her, and she is alone."
"Please send out only teams of three people. We have to keep our clergy safe."
"But that would delay the repairs! We can't leave our sacred places defiled." Nomizo exclaimed.
"I'm sure Evailyn will understand. Places can be rebuilt, people not. Do you have a way to issue player quests?" Flora sat down on a bench. Her brain churned out ideas.
"Yes, but we have no funds for it. You have to pay at least 10 000 credits to the world god and then additionally rewards for completed quests."
"We might be able to make lemonade. Give me a moment to think it through." Flora pursed her lips. Evailyn needed more followers. The first step was to bring her to the attention of the players. Flora hasn't met a player yet who knew of the existence of Evailyn. Even the well informed Mia had never heard of the most awesome Goddess of Home Appliances.
A quest would be a nice advertisement. Now, Flora only needed to make it juicy.
"Aidan, tell me again what players covet the most in such games. You had condensed that bragging ranking last week…"
"Users brag about their stats, levels, achievements, rating, ranking, equipment, clan, money, and unique quests, Milady."
"Hey, now I know what everything on this list means. I'm making progress!" Flora cheered and checked her finances. Her VirDos and VirDias had diminished because of the Training Hut, but she still had over six million Credits.
Together, Flora and Nomizo fiddled with the quest interface.
Quest: Restoration of the Shrines (Church of Evailyn)
Description: Restore broken, defiled, or ramshackle Shrines of the Goddess Evailyn.
Possible Rewards:
* Up to 1000 ( * Tier of Zone of the Shrine) Credits
* Extra crafting XP
* Reputation with the Church of Evailyn
Possible Penalties:
* Fine if you defile, blight, or destroy the shrine
* Reputation loss with the Church of Evailyn
Difficulty: C
The options for the rewards furthered Flora's understanding of quests. You could customize the amount of money you gave out based on the difference of rating of the shrine, the resulting rating in relation to the level of the restorer, and the improvement. This system rewarded the quality of work, the artistry, and the effort.
Flora calculated some combinations and was satisfied, so she left the default values as they were.
Craidla, the world goddess or responsible AI, demanded 10% of all credits rewarded and the crafting XP in credits. Reputation for the church was free. Flora just fed the quest interface three million credits. The quest would be available once a day per person until the funds ran out.
The money should cover not only the damages from the attacks but also regular restorations of the over 4000 shrines of Evailyn.
"Aidan, run an advertisement campaign for the quest in the player forum."
Next, Flora thought about further quests. Money was pretty low on Aidan's list, and she already knew that VirDos were more popular than Credits. She needed equipment to attract players. Therefore, she jogged to the crafting wing.
In the production hall rows of workstation lined the floor, only half of them occupied. Flora spotted a few familiar faces and greeted them with a nod when they looked at her. More people stopped their work for staring at her, and silence filled the room.
Finding herself at the center of everyone's attention, Flora didn't know what to make of the situation. Did they fear she would excommunicate them? Where they angry because she failed to save Bibus?
"Thank you, Champion. You saved me." A fireling finally broke the silence.
"Thank you, Champion!" More voiced joined in.
"Uhm, well, yes," Flora stuttered. "My pleasure."
Now, she was even more confused. It was the first time in her long live someone thanked her for saving them. She just had done what everybody would have done, right? However, she appreciated the gratitude. It was like a warm toast after a walk in the cold, though it still overwhelmed her, maybe like a double chocolate marshmallow toast.
Hurridly, she asked a Waterling for directions, and the novice pointed Flora to a room at the other end of the hall. As she approached, the new head of the crafting department dashed out it, smashed the door close, and started to cast a skill.
Flora knew that move. She called it "this invention needs improvement, but first I seek cover"(Tinibfisc).
The same glowing barrier Zander used in the fight with the pope appeared simultaneously with Flora's prayer.
An explosion shattered the door and splinters crashed into the barrier, shredding it. However, the ward had done its job, buffering the impact. The shrapnel did reach much farther than the woman, and Flora's shield protected her.
"Champion! That was just a small mishap, the Ekagrata and Saphae runes were probably misaligned." The Woodling head of R&D, Celia Werkstätter, said.
"Sure. You don't have to explain yourself. I know a bit about runecraft and its perils." Flora said. "I'm here to ask about the Multitool-Scepter-Shield of the Goddess Evailyn. Can you produce it?"
"No, I'm sorry. Not only are the raw materials impossible to get, but the runes are much too small to reproduce."
"Hmm, do you have a bit of tier 1 stone around here?" Flora asked and ordered Aidan to produce scepters as soon as the printer was free.
Of course, Werkstätter had the material, and Flora crafted a Mana Spring Rolling Coin. After finishing the functional part, she wanted to carve Evailyn's head on the other side, but then realized, it would be her countenance as well and opted for the logo of the church and the typography "Church of Evailyn".
Name: Mana Spring Rolling Coin of Evailyn
Type: Artifact/Toy
Description:
Regular Mode: 1 OV Mana-Regeneration
Effect: Gain 1 mana for every two rounds of rolling the coin across your knuckles
Effect: Gain 3 mana for every ten rounds you complete without pause or error.
Tier: 1
Rating: A
The result had a lower rating and worse effects than the Riverstones Island sand coins. Hence, Flora refined the stone first and then crafted the Stamina Spring version of it with better success.
"Can you produce these coins? We'll need them for quest rewards."
"Yes, we can. They are great! I would love to have some of them and my brothers and sisters, too." Celia raved as she inspected the coins.
The women cleared the details. The church would craft five coins for rewards for every coin for the clergy, and Flora transferred 100000 credits and the blueprints for Mana, Stamina, Concentration, and Health Spring Rolling Coins to the crafting department. Unfortunately, Werkstaetter couldn't promise speedy delivery. Her workforce was spread thin because of the shrine incidents.
As Flora logged out, far away from Celia Werkstaetter's office for security reasons, she felt they were on the right lane, even if she wasn't entirely sure where the road led.