The forums are exploding following the events of planet Ruun's first player-run event.
[8 augments,] one poster laments. [He got 8 god dammed augments on his epic weapon.]
[Calling for an alliance to invade Ruun and take their hero character. This is just ridiculous.]
[Haha. You plebians don't know what gear is. How many pieces of rare gear do your planets even have? Like 2?]
[Srew you. Screw your planet. And, screw Koll Luna.]
[Simmer down, kid. He's just an NPC. It's not his fault he's overpowered.]
[Who's Shadowmaster? The guy's got skill. Out of tens of thousands of players, he beat them all. And, what was that crystal he used in his off-hand? He was casting magic spells as a melee fighter.]
[Ah, that's a specialty of Koll's. He sells them on the cheap side. Never really thought much of them before. But, now...]
[Dammit, again with that NPC.]
The forums are aflame with players flaming one another.
For once, Koll has no interest in reading the news related to him.
The week that follows sees the notable absence of Koll in the marketplace.
He feels fatigued by the experience with the Everlast Arena.
Unfortunately, there is no logging out for him. And, the players are hunting for him all across Lain.
For a few days, he drowned his misery in a nondescript bar. But, eventually, a player recognized him and alerted his friends.
The players came in the guise of friends. But, their greed was apparent as they incessantly asked if he needed help with anything.
Before long the whole bar was packed with players seeking a word with him. Eventually, Koll used a scroll of the town portal and ran away.
Then, he tried holing up in his room in the inn. But, the innkeeper complained about all the Immortals sneaking into the building.
With a tired sigh, Koll decides to return to the market and set up shop.
His business flourishes. But, he doesn't get much crafting done with the incessant chatter of players trying to trigger a rare quest.
Koll finds himself regretting investing in Gol D's dammed business.
Koll has to find a solution. He can't just pass out epic items like candy. But, he needs to send the players somewhere and get them out of his hair.
Unfortunately, there isn't anything he could send thousands of players off to do.
But, the solution comes to him. A quest chain. A long line of related quests where he would send the players to distant regions and when they returned he'd send them to another far-off place.
[Quest Name: Merrymaker's Mead (Part 1)]
[Description: Travel to the city of Haliden in the Trade Union. Acquire 1 bottle of Merrymaker's Mead from the Haliden distillery and return to Koll Luna with it.]
[Rewards: 100,000 XP, +100 Reputation with Koll Luna.]
Koll reviews the quest and sets it up on his quest tab for players to automatically accept.
The city of Haliden is on the same island as Lain. Thus, it wasn't so far away that the players wouldn't do it.
Some players scoff when they receive the quest. There isn't even an equipment reward. And, they'd have to spend hours getting to the far-off city.
Most though, see the part 1 listed in the quest name and grow optimistic about completing the quest chain.
The marketplace rapidly clears out as the army of players run across the fields of the island to reach Haliden.
Fortunately, the city isn't connected to the teleportation array players used to get out of the starting zones.
With some room to breathe, Koll works on his crafting.
While he's busy, a fairy appears.
"Hey, Koll."
He looks up to see Wu Lan in her red and black dress.
"Hey."
She looks at him for a moment.
"You got rid of so many players. You're as cunning as usual."
He shrugs, "Are you interested?"
"In the quest?" she asks. "Is it worth it?"
Koll scratches his chin. "I haven't decided."
She folds her hands behind her back, "Would you make it worth it if I accepted the quest?"
Koll rolls his eyes, "Sure."
She smiles brightly and accepts the quest from his menu.
"Something tells me this is gonna take a while."
Koll smiles smugly, "Oh, yeah."
The fairy laughs lightly and goes off to Haliden.
As the day ends, he bids goodbye to Jake and retires for the night.
On his way back to the inn, he notices a shadow waiting for him on his path.
The man himself, Shadowmaster, approaches and accepts the new quest. Without a word, he disappears.
Koll thinks the taciturn player might be the most interesting among the players he knows. Even though he'd never heard the man speak.
The day that follows sees a steady stream of returning players, each expectant for the next part of the quest chain.
Suddenly, for nothing, Koll is collecting thousands of bottles of [Merrymaker's Mead].
If he wanted to, he could simply sell the alcohol. But, it would have its uses later.
[Quest Name: Finely Marbled Slab of Beef (Part 2)]
[Description: Take the ferry to Michelin City on Kokoei Island. Acquire 1 finely marbled slab of beef from the butcher's shop in Michelin City and return to Koll Luna with it.]
[Rewards: 100,000 XP, +100 Reputation with Koll Luna]
There are butcher's shops in Lain. But, they don't have the right item. So, Koll confidently sends the players off on another journey that will take them all day.
A number of players give up the quest at this stage. They figure, if it's worthwhile, they'll still be able to do it later. They wouldn't, of course. But, the main objective was to get rid of the players.
And, if they gave up on the quest chain, they would likely give up hounding him for any other new quest.
The day ends before any of the players return. So, Koll only has to deal with the stragglers from the first part.
The next day, the beef starts flowing into his inventory. And, he has to come up with the next quest.
[Quest Name: Bundle of Fireworks (Part 3)]
[Description: Take the ferry to Dowager City on Koral Island. Acquire 1 bundle of fireworks from Powder Works factory and return to Koll Luna with it.]
Despite the time-consuming nature of the quest chain, the players seem to be growing excited by the end of it. Many assume a celebratory party is gonna happen if they complete the quest chain.
They aren't wrong. But, Koll needs a few things to happen before a party can occur.
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He'll need a proper space where thousands of players can congregate. He'll need chefs. He'll need servers. And, more.
Fortunately, there are venues in Lain that can provide those services for a price.
But, a celebration is nothing without something to celebrate.
Koll needs a hook.
[Quest Name: Mountain Lord of Jordan (Part 4) (40)]
[Description: Take the ferry to Jordan Island. Slay world boss Mountain Lord and return to Koll Luna.]
[Rewards: 500,000 XP, +500 Reputation with Koll Luna]
The (40) in the quest name signifies the number of party members recommended to complete the quest.
This trips up a large number of players. The need for a raid team to complete the quest leaves a lot of them lacking. And, the reward still doesn't list any equipment.
The saving grace is that the world boss would respawn shortly after dying. So, many groups will have a shot at completing the quest.
Still, many give up at this point. Even as few as 10% of the original players continue in the hopes of something special falling into their laps.
All the while, Koll is busy crafting a certain item in excess numbers. An innocuous necklace with a white pearl. It is of a relatively high quality for a common item. Meaning its capacity to store augments is exceptionally high.
Koll's engraving and enchanting have reached their upper limit so that he can expect as much as a 3% chance to proc an epic-grade crafted item.
For most crafters, the crafting process is slow and arduous. But, Koll has gained a lot of experience points over the past weeks and months. And, the potential points he bought with that XP were invested into his class skills.
[Sharpen: 10]
[Identify Weakness: 8]
[Steady Hand: 20]
[Mana Manipulation: 15]
[Essence Identifier: 12]
[Mystical Hands: 15]
The stacking up of points in his class skills improves every aspect of his crafting. Speed most of all.
The common necklaces are cheap enough to buy in large quantities. And, Koll spends nearly every waking moment working on the necklaces.
A majority only amount to uncommon items. But, about 30% turn into rare necklaces. While approximately 3% become legitimate epic tier items.
While Koll steadily builds up his stock, the players are falling apart. Several thousand players are still dedicated to the cause, forming raid teams and traveling to Jordan Island to hunt the world boss.
Koll is unconcerned with whether or not they do the quest at all. The fewer that succeed the better, as far as he's concerned.
Steadily, the first players to succeed approach Koll cautiously.
"Koll," one player in a large group asks. "How many parts of the questline are there?"
Koll looks at the player and cocks his head to the side, "Are you done?"
The gathered players shake their heads.
Koll smiles, "Good."
[Quest Name: Beach Behemoth (Part 5) (40)]
[Description: Take the ferry to Fens Island. Slay the world boss Beach Behemoth and return to Koll Luna.]
[Rewards: 500,000 XP, +500 Reputation with Koll Luna]
The players sigh with exhaustion, wishing to be done with running around like this.
A few like having real enemies to fight.
Even if Koll didn't award them equipment, there's a chance of acquiring rare pieces from the world bosses.
Still, the difficulty had grown beyond a certain threshold and the stragglers are losing ground for lack of other players to party with.
The dwindling numbers spurs others on to rush with their groups to take on the bosses.
Koll casually opens the forums.
[Planet Ruun's acting weird again,] a poster comments.
[Blame it on our hero character. He's been sending players all over the place. It's confusing.]
[I can't believe there are still players doing the quest chain. The rewards are just XP and reputation. Hardly worth the effort.]
The negative posts are particularly vocal.
[That's what you get when you center your world around an NPC. Koll Luna doesn't care about you. He's just an algorithm. Find something else to do.]
[At least he's keeping us on our toes. How many world bosses have you killed lately? I've killed 2. And, I'll kill however many more Koll wants me to.]
The forums are a little depressing with many losing faith in Koll's grand plan. Which isn't a problem. It would be best if more of them stopped hounding him.
The following day he gets more players ready to advance. He estimates that as few as 1,000 players were keeping up with his questline.
[Quest Name: Pterror of the Skies (Part 6) (40)]
[Description: Take the ferry to Jurrasic Island. Slay world boss Pterror Talon and return to Koll Luna.]
[Rewards: 500,000 XP, +500 Reputation with Koll Luna.]
Seeing another quest in the questline, approximately half of the thousand players abandon their quests and turn off to search for easier quests to do.
Of the 500-odd players who continue, the hundred players Koll had come to Lain with were diehards for anything related to him. The rest were hopeful.
But, the world can be cruel to the weak and isolated.
The bosses weren't getting easier. And, the number of players a solo player could recruit was dramatically reduced.
When the next day comes, only a little over 200 players come back successfully.
When they ask him for the next quest in the chain, he waves them away.
"Come back in a few days."
The players look dejected by his dismissal. But, optimism starts to well up in their hearts. He hadn't sent them on another hard quest. Maybe the questline was close to being finished.
It is indeed as they imagined. Koll's done sending them out on suicidal quests.
But, he still needs time to work on the necklaces. And, he also needs to set up some affairs in the city.
The following day Koll seeks the services of the Lain city convention center.
The party for 200 odd Immortals will cost him a few hundred gold coins. But, he can manage it. And, he provides the [Merrymaker's Mead] and [Finely Marbled Slabs of Beef] for the chefs to prepare. Of course, other specialties of the venue will be available. And, lastly, the fireworks display costs him another hundred gold.
It's an expensive party. But, he figures the players deserve it after working so hard. And, most importantly, giving him some breathing room.
A couple of days later, Koll updates his quest menu.
[Quest: Party for the Victors (Part 7)]
[Description: Koll Luna has seen your efforts and recognizes your valor. Attend the party in your honor at Lain City's Convention Center.]
[Rewards: 1 XP, +1 Reputation with Koll Luna]
When word of the new quest in the questline spreads, the 200-odd players rush to receive it. But, the ecstasy of completion is caught up by confusion.
"Hey, uh, Koll," one player questions. "Why do we only get 1 XP and reputation?"
Koll looks at the girl with confusion on his face. "I'm throwing you a party. Isn't that enough?"
The girl and her group have awkward expressions on their faces.
"I guess that makes sense."
The players aren't particularly enthused. But, they manage to remain respectful.
The night follows and Koll heads to the venue.
Wu Lan and Dancing Dagger catch up to him on the way.
Wu Lan is in a pleasant mood while Dancing Dagger looks at Koll from time to time while they walk.
"What?" Koll asks after the blonde man keeps looking at him.
"You had us do a lot for your quest. I can't help but feel like you're gonna make us do something even more outlandish."
Koll laughs, "Do you take me for some monster who treats people unjustly?"
Dancing Dagger nods his head, "Yep."
Wu Lan chuckles.
Koll shrugs it off as they approach the convention center.
A few hundred players are gathered outside, curious about the event that's to take place.
Unfortunately for them, it's not an open affair. The invited players are tied to Koll's quest list.
The staff of the event allow Koll and his companions inside.
The room is filled with more than a hundred players eating and drinking at tables set up throughout the venue.
They all look up to see Koll. Some set their meals aside while others watch from a distance.
"Koll!" some enthusiastic players bound up to him. "The steak is perfect. The rest of the food is good too. But, the steak. I've never had it so good."
Everyone expresses their opinion on the food and drink.
Suddenly the sound of explosives erupts outside the building.
Players close to the balcony watch as colorful sparks explode into Lain's night sky.
The gathering is distracted by the display for some time.
During this time, the last members of the invite list arrive.
The players excitedly clamor, chatting about the challenge of the quest chain they managed to complete. But, a certain sense of disappointment carries over the gathering.
They were expecting something more for their efforts.
Koll expected as much and stands to speak before the gathered players.
"Ahem. Hello, friends. Thank you for coming to this little party. It's my way of saying thank you for listening to my requests.
"I know that many of you were hard-pressed to complete the tasks I set before you. And, I know that a simple party is nothing to pay you back for your labor. Rather, I have a small gift I would like to offer to each of you."
Koll shares the quest he'd prepared.
[Quest Name: Koll's Gratitude]
[Description: Accept Koll Luna's gratitude]
[Rewards: 1 epic pearl necklace.]
The 200-odd players are silent as they read the quest, their eyes bulging.
An epic necklace. They didn't even know of any uncommon necklaces and now 200+ epic necklaces are awarded to them.
"Hell yes!" someone shouts.
The corner of Koll's lip turns upward.
The players accept the necklaces and read the augments.
In combat health recovery, in combat mana recovery, charging energy shield, 30% increased movement speed, summon phantom sailor, +7 mental resistance, +7 soul resistance +7 stamina.
The players read the augments and shake with excitement as they equip the necklaces.
A few even immediately summon the phantom sailor, who glows a transparent purple. The summon can help in combat for a short time before despawning. When the cooldown resets, they can summon it again.
The charging energy shield will fill up when the player isn't under attack and then absorb damage when the player is attacked.
The rest of the augments are startling and incredible.
The players suddenly aren't so worn out from his quests.
"I hope," Koll says, "that this small token shows my gratitude for your efforts."
Shouts of appreciation fill the convention center as the players talk excitedly amongst themselves.
The lone Shadowmaster clutches the necklace and utters a silent thanks.
Wu Lan and Dancing Dagger approach Koll's side.
"You made more than 200 epic items," Dancing Dagger says in astonishment. "You're getting more ridiculous every day."
Wu Lan agrees, "I mean. I was hoping to get an epic out of all this. But, I wasn't expecting so many players to get one too."
The other members of the original hundred players approach to express their gratitude.
Someone jokes, "Gol D's gonna tear his hair out when he hears about this."
The barbarian was too busy with the administrative demands of his fledgling business and had missed the opportunity.
Koll could already see the scowl on the man's face when he got the news, a slight smile on his own.
The players carry on with the party, eating and drinking their fill. Many of the gathered players are busy networking with the other powerful players gathered.
Inevitably, the novelty of the party wears off and the players begin excusing themselves to log off or find something to do in the nightlife of Lain.
Koll stays until the last player departs.
The staff of the venue will handle the cleanup. So, Koll simply walks out.
The hundreds of players who had been barred entry are still waiting outside.
Word of the necklaces had long spread to the surrounding players and looks of dejection and disappointment are readily seen anywhere Koll looks.
Many of the gathered players had given up on the quest chain and could only blame themselves for not seeing it through.
Koll walks through the gathering with little concern for the pleas for him to reopen the questline.
Returning to the inn, Koll opens up the forum and sees a predictable commentary on his epic rewards.
[I don't know anymore. So many people had the quests available to them. Of course, he was gonna award the victors something epic. I feel bad for the players who quit halfway.]
[Don't feel bad for them. They were weak. I just wish I'd been on planet Ruun for the event. I wouldn't have wasted the chance.]
[Sure you wouldn't. Keyboard warrior above.]
[Has anyone seen the stats on those necklaces? It's ridiculous. I'd be lucky to find an uncommon item on my planet.]
The majority of the comments lament the poster's inability to participate in Koll's event.
Koll closes the menu and goes to sleep.