"Why is the notification so loud? I don't want to turn the notification off, but if I can't at least turn the volume down..." James listened to a climber complain as they bit into their breakfast. It was a far cry from a full meal, between the influx of another wave of climbers and most parties not having enough left over from the night before for everyone to eat their fill. I'm surprised the climbers who were here yesterday shared so much with the new arrivals. Not every party was willing to share, or had something to share, but not every arrival took up the offer, either. James thought, as he watched the climbers finish their meals and begin discussing what to do about going to the river once more.
James took the downtime before climbers started leaving the tower to return to the menus for watching observer recordings and editing clips. I want to have this finished with enough time for it to air completely before the next batch of new arrivals are taken.
The sun finished rising by the time James noticed the climbers were preparing to set out. With the news Tony had brought yesterday about the goblins patrolling the river, everyone had decided it was best to go in one giant group to ensure they could overwhelm the goblins with superior numbers. The end result was almost 30 parties working together, though some climbers had still chosen to remain in the village, even the lone rogue Elizabeth Smith was standing with those preparing to leave, despite still not joining another's party.
In response to the idea of everyone forming what James was beginning to call an army, Tony had worked with others to reorganize how their team should march, and was now divulging the plan they had devised, the other climbers standing beside him in a show of solidarity as he spoke for them.
"Usually, we'd stick to our own parties, forming a circle with members of each party staying close together, and with each party managing itself." Tony had said, shouting to be heard among the crowd.
"Whenever a monster was spotted, the party closest to the monster would engage, and shout to the other parties to let them know an attack was coming. The other parties would then move in to aid the engaging party until the monsters were defeated. This kept every party functioning on its own while still being able to receive help from the parties nearby. The problem with this is that with so many of us moving together now, moving like that would leave some parties surrounded by others, forcing any melee fighters in those parties to move through another party before being able to fight, regardless of the direction the monsters came from."
"So, instead of moving like a collection of smaller parties, we're going to move like one big party. We'll form an outer ring of close range fighters made of any warriors, rogues, or merchants with a close ranged weapon, and any fool that didn't pick up an offensive or support spell. Inside that ring will be our ranged fighters: Our mages, fools and anyone who picked a bow, crossbow, or sling as a weapon. They'll be joined by any priest with a mace, whose role will be to heal any injured in the outer ring and protect the ranged fighters should an enemy slip through. From there will be the center, made of priests without a melee weapon, and those who volunteered to carry the buckets to the river and back. Their role is to heal the inner ring if anyone there gets injured, as well as swap out with any priest in the inner ring that is low on mana after combat ends. Priests swapping between the inner ring and the center will switch weapons with each other, so that those in the inner ring will always have maces to defend against any monsters that slip past the outer ring."
"As for loot, some people are choosing to stay in the village, and we've tasked them with guarding the general store. When we return we'll have everyone show their inventory before and after they access the store, and we'll divide the meat from the animals and the money from selling the goblin corpses among everyone here. Merchants, for your ability to access the general store at any time, you are prohibited from picking up any loot after a battle ends, but you can still pick up the monsters you slay in the middle of combat to sell them for low quality health potions. We're trusting you not to try and abuse this, and if we suspect you of hoarding resources or money and you refuse to show us your inventory, you'll be barred from entering the village. We're trusting everyone to act honorably, to not steal resources, and to make sure no one else does either. We can only work together effectively if we trust each other.
"Lastly, we'll divide the group into eight directions like on a compass, remember what direction you started in, and listen out for anyone shouting their direction, that'll indicate they spotted a monster. Close range fighters next to a direction in combat can join in, but those on the opposite end should remain where they are to prevent flanking. Those in the inner ring can move regardless of the direction the monsters come from, to prevent too many of our forces from standing back should a large force attack us from one side. Any close range fighters with a mana potion should hand them to a mage or priest if they haven't already. Now, form up and remember, spellcasters, coordinate to avoid attacking the same enemy, and don't launch any fire, explosive, or other AoE spells at any monster five feet from another person."
"Any questions?" Tony asked, glancing at Joseph and the other climbers who stood beside him, and receiving a nod of encouragement in return. It's nice seeing everyone work together. James thought, as he watched one climber in the crowd raise their hand.
"Shouldn't the ring the mages are in be called the center ring, and the one with priests the inner ring? I think going 'outer ring, center ring, inner ring' makes more sense than 'outer ring, inner ring, center'." The mage explained, with some nodding or murmuring their agreement.
"Does it even-" Tony muttered, before cutting himself off with a clap of his hands. "Let's put it to a vote!" Tony shouted with what James felt was forced cheer, and after a moment it was decided the climber army would go with 'outer ring, center ring, inner ring' as the names of their formation.
James watched the climber army leave the village and march towards the direction of the river. Several minutes passed before the army stumbled upon its first enemy in the form of five magic deer. With the sound the army was making as it moved, the deer had spotted them from a sizable distance, and managed to unleash two volleys of magic arrows at the melee fighters before the mages could cast their spells, with the shout of 'northwest' not ringing out until after the first arrows had hit their targets. A dozen spells flew at the five deer, and almost half of them hit their targets, killing four. Looks like the mages learned not to cast fireballs when they're so far away. Their accuracy suffers too much at a greater distance, and fireballs threaten setting the whole plains on fire if they hit the wrong target and the conditions are right. The last deer had dodged the spells, but wasn't able to fire another arrow before the melee fighters got in range. The deer dodged two swings from two separate climbers before a rogue suddenly appeared next to it as it stabbed it in the neck.
With combat over, the slain monsters were picked up by the melee fighters closest to them, and the group reformed.
"Status check north, ready!" Tony shouted from the front of the army.
"Status check northeast, ready!" Someone to the right shouted, the shout continuing for the other six directions.
"Move Out!" Tony shouted, and the army began marching once more.
The army did not make it far before another group of monsters attacked, a group of seven wolves striking from the east, shortly followed by a swarm of large birds from the south. The birds lacked any method of dealing fatal strikes, but their numbers served well in distracting those in the southeast from providing sufficient help when a group of goblins came out from the east before the wolves were completely dealt with. Luckily, the northeast had already moved back to provide support, and the 12 goblins were not enough to overwhelm the efforts of over 20 climbers with a planned formation and experience in fighting their opponent.
No one died, and after a minute's rest, the army resumed marching, but the chatter among climbers was subdued from when the army first left the village. Four attacks and they aren't even halfway there. Between the size of the army and the noise of so many people in one place, they must be attracting every monster nearby.
Midway to the river, they ran into another goblin army, slightly larger than the last one. Seeing roughly 50 goblins together was a daunting sight, but previously the goblins outnumbered the climbers 2 to 1, now, even with half of the climber's dedicated to watching the army's flanks, the number of climbers almost exceeded the number of goblins.
At least, this was the case in the beginning of the fight.
Like before, whether from the sounds of battle or the army being stuck in place for a prolonged period of time, other monsters approached the army from other directions. Those in the back were quickly put to work, and those on the sides who had begun helping against the goblins pulled back to at least keep the new challengers away from the front lines. A pack of wolves here, a herd of deer there, smaller bands of goblins, and even rabbits approaching from one angle or another. The only benefit was that the constant combat had everyone on edge, and the chaos of battle made it difficult for goblin hunters to sneak their way past the line. Only two instances of the center ring being ambushed by goblin hunters occurred, and in both the goblins were removed by the climbers nearby kicking or pulling the goblin away, staves holding some off before a mace could deal a finishing blow, with one instance of a hunter beaten to death by a group of staff wielding mages hammering one repeatedly, and another where a wand wielding mage shoved their casting tool into a goblin hunter's eye.
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Priests rotated from the inner ring to the center ring in the middle of combat, even as others in the inner ring restored the victims of the goblin hunters back to full health. Mages peppered the middle of any monster group with spells meant just as much to kill as they were to force the monsters to scatter, ensuring they could not meet the outer circle or a specific climber as one. Warriors held the outer circle with the aid of rogues, merchants, and fools. The warriors serving as tanks, the rogues picking enemies off that tried to swarm someone already in combat, merchants selling the beasts they killed for health potions they passed around, and the few fools supporting anyone they saw beginning to struggle. Eventually everyone without a two handed weapon now swung a goblin's weapon in their offhand, though many used it sparingly as they struggled to dual wield. The ability to take items into or out of an inventory in an instant made it possible to free a hand at any moment and summon a weapon to parry a strike or launch an unexpected strike of their own, and was used with growing efficiency as climbers got used to swapping between weapons on the fly. Moments where someone would have over extended in standard combat flowed into a chain of blows, and some even took to throwing the lighter of the goblins' weapons.
Eventually the wave of monsters died down, until they were eliminated completely, and many climbers vocalized triumph, exhaustion, or both. Only two climbers had died, a merchant and a warrior, and their bodies were taken by those who had been in their party.
"Alright everyone, you have two minutes to gather the loot and regroup! The worst should be behind us now, but let's not tempt fate by staying here longer than necessary." Tony shouted, pulling up his quest menu and using the "Explore Floor 1!"'s timer on the progress bar to track the time.
I know there are over four times as many climbers here as there were the last time a team of parties went to the river, but they've already fought almost twice as many monsters as last time. Are they really that loud, or are the monsters learning the climbers' habits, and knew they'd be traveling to the river in the morning?
"61-3, is it possible for the monsters to learn where climbers go and when, and can monsters spread that information to each other regardless of species?" I know yesterday when Tony's team first reached the river a few goblins escaped, and I figured that's why there was such a large number of goblins by the time Tony's team made their second trip that day. I didn't see any of the goblins from the second trip escape the battle, so I assumed there wouldn't be another battle like that today, but not only did that still happen, plenty of other monsters joined in. It's getting harder to assume this is all just the result of a bunch of people loudly walking together and taking up more space on their path to and from the river, and more like the monsters are spreading word of the climbers' movements, but if they're really working together, why haven't I seen any groups made of more than one type of monster?
[Monsters can pass information to other monsters of the same species, but outside of rare exceptions such as symbiotic monster species or ones with the ability to tame or control other monsters, cannot pass information along to other species. Monsters are capable of learning climber behavior and tactics either by surviving long enough for a specific monster to learn from personal experience, or by a spawn point adjusting the instincts of its monsters to improve their odds against a tactic that has been used repeatedly on their monsters throughout several days.]
"So the goblins will keep protecting the river due to the climbers visiting the river each day, regardless of if they kill them or not?"
[Negative, spawning instincts will not include the location of climbers, only behaviors related to combat such as skill or item use.]
"So the reason climbers ran into an army of goblins on their way to the river just now is because goblins from the previous attack yesterday survived and passed that information along." James realized, but 61-3 didn't confirm his statement right away, a moment of silence passing before they gave a response.
[Negative. Records indicate the 'army of goblins' was the result of climbers moving together in large numbers, exponentially increasing the rate at which their aggression fields expand.]
"Wait, what's an aggression field?" James asked, I think I already know from context clues alone, but I need to be certain.
[Every living climber generates an aggression field when outside of a village or other safe zone. An aggression field is an aura which grows the longer a climber has not killed a monster or other living being, and causes any monster within the field to move in the climber's direction and initiate combat. Aggression fields are reduced, slowed, or reset upon successfully killing a monster or other climber, depending on a number of factors such as the number slain, how long a climber has been out of a safe zone, and the number of living climbers within the aggression field, as aggression fields combine when they meet each other, and expand more rapidly. Climbers in the same party will expand their aggression field more slowly than the same number of climbers not in a party, but still significantly faster than a single climber's aggression field would expand on its own.]
"So it's the climbers moving together that's causing so many monsters to attack." James said as he watched the climber army stop to handle another group of monsters.
[Affirmative.]
"Thank you. This is important to know." And yet, only two deaths have happened thus far. Is it because they're getting better at surviving from experience and leveling up, or is it that even with the aggression field expanding, the monsters on the floor are too scattered to form a constant wave of enemies, or multiple armies.
The first 'Explore Floor 1' quest ended by the time the climber army reached the river, and while they had to deal with another group of goblins before they could refill the buckets they had brought, the goblins were less than two dozen in number.
The real challenge, James learned, came on their way back to the village. The constant battles had begun to wear down the climbers, as what was supposed to be a morning trip had already stretched into midday. Mana was running low for mages and priests alike, and the few ranged fighters had to buy ammo from the merchants more than once. The Merchants could only sell what was naturally available at the Floor 1 General Store, meaning they couldn't purchase mana potions for the spellcasters, and the low quality health potion didn't do enough on its own for people to want to turn their loot in for one. There were other things they needed to save their money for, if they wanted to survive, and the hope that they'd already cleared all the monsters in their way further increased their reluctance to spend their resources on another health potion. Hopefully the ones they just got from spending three hours outside of the village will be enough. James hoped.
Concern over how long it took for the army to return drove some of the climbers in the village to stand watch outside, but whether they were preparing to aid a retreating army, or struggling to convince themselves to leave in search of them, James didn't know. Any conversation between the climbers in the village hadn't been heard as James focused on the screen showing the army's progress. It wasn't until a group of goblins entered the clearing in front of the village, running at first across the clearing towards the direction the army had gone in, and stopping as they switched to the aggression field of the closer climbers lurking just outside of the village, that a shout of alarm rang out from the climbers acting as guards. James turned his focus to the village observer just in time to watch the guards run into the village, but it was too late. Already a dozen of the 50 goblins split from the group to chase the climbers. The village's protection stopped the rest from following them into the village, no longer letting the goblins outside notice the village and the climbers within, but doing nothing to stop the goblins who had already seen the climbers before they went inside.
The village only stops monsters from being antagonized by anyone inside of the village, and wards monsters away from the clearing surrounding it, but doesn't actually stop any monster already engaged with a climber from going inside to fight.
11 climbers had chosen to stay in the village, enough to handle the 12 goblins with better odds than the first battle tutorial, but the village was bigger than the field the climbers had started in, and 8 of the 11 climbers hadn't been watching near the gate, with 4 of the climbers still watching the General Store, and others resting near a fire or walking aimlessly around the village. This meant it took time for the climbers to unify, and with most of them in parties of two or alone, they hadn't worked together before. The end result was that despite the group of 12 goblins consisting of only warriors, as it was the front of the goblin army that spotted them, and the typical ease in which goblin warriors could be dispatched, one climber died in the ensuing fight.
The mage lacked experience fighting in a group, and their spell hit a goblin too close to another climber. Not killing the climber outright, but leaving them hurt and disoriented long enough for another goblin to take advantage. The warrior nearby lacked experience in combat, and the village climbers hadn't worked out a plan beforehand, so they missed the opportunity to stop the goblin from taking advantage of their comrade's moment of weakness. The priest was ignored by their allies, but not their enemies, and without anyone stopping the goblins from engaging them, was too busy swinging their staff at a goblin that got too close, missing the opportunity to heal the wounded climber before the goblin dealt enough damage to kill them.
While the village climbers were victorious, for the first time, a climber died within the village walls.
There was no time to dwell on this, however, as the army of climbers made it into the clearing just as the goblins reached them. War was going on outside, and despite the goblin army now a dozen short, the climbers they faced were ready to collapse from exhaustion. It was this exhaustion which saved them, however, as it made the sight of the village all the more alluring. With the village in sight the climbers broke ranks and pushed forward eagerly, and while this left their flanks exposed it meant nearly every warrior was on the front lines by the time the battle ended. The single minded focus of seeing these goblins as the only thing separating them from finally resting within the village walls allowed the climber army to reach the village without further casualties.
The climbers didn't bother picking up the loot of any corpse except that which was right in front of them as they spilled into the village. Some sat on the ground right against the wall near the entrance, with all of the nine climbers that were tasked with carrying the bathhouse buckets dropping them on the ground the second they made it inside and away from the gate. Others moved towards the only fire still burning, and others still kept going until they found a quiet place to nap. The climber army was hungry, thirsty, and tired, but they had returned.