"But how?" The group looked at Lena and Lumi with confusion.
Lumi stepped forward. "You've all been underestimating the importance of NPCs."
That caused a few ripples among the players, but they stayed silent to let Lumi speak. So Lumi continued. "You know them as shopkeepers. Class givers. Guards." He purposely gave a pause.
Ryan tilted his head. "Is that not so?"
Lumi shook his head. "They are all those things, but I found a better way to think of them." He put up a finger and emphasized. "As real people."
"Huh?" ToraX was the first to respond. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"Speak to them!" Lena replied cheerfully.
"I… can understand the sentiment." HazyNova replied. "I was in Shaden City. I got murdered like four times, and mocked repeatedly, all because I didn't 'act' correctly. It was scary… it felt like I was in the slums."
Everyone gathered around HazyNova to listen to the story.
HazyNova explained. "It's a city of gangsters, assassins, and thieves. I initially thought it would be like any game where I could just start exploring. I was killed for it."
"The first time, I got killed for walking where I shouldn't."
"The second time, I got killed for talking with a shopkeeper wrong."
"The third time, I was robbed and killed."
"Shaden City wasn't always like that, it seems. It used to be a place of honor, pride, rules and regulations. However, there was a schism among the thieves. The conservatives, who still cling to the original principles of honor, and the radicals, seeking to advance themselves by any means necessary."
Lumi took the chance to comment. "That's exactly what I mean. And you'll find they aren't just following a scripted storyline. When you talk to them, they don't just start exposition about their day. They treat you just as a stranger would."
HazyNova nodded. "That's what I mean. It's why I said I could understand what you meant, to a point. I learned that the Dark Lord is the leader of the original thief faction. Since he's obviously the good one here, I decided I'd be part of his faction and get my class from there. And that's how I died the fourth time, by his enemies."
He gestured over to Lumi, for him to continue. Lumi nodded and continued. "So likewise, NPCs can help you in battle, give you gifts, and more. You know, like a real person. I don't see a difference between them."
He finally revealed. "All this was gifted to us by a powerful NPC we gained favor from. It was Merath, from Elenora. But don't try to replicate us, it'll be obvious you're just trying to curry favor. He's smarter than any of us."
VICE slowly repeated. "Treat them as real…" His mind flashed through various scenes he encountered. He then nodded. "I'll do that."
Ryan then added his comments. "I haven't really been paying attention. The warriors I met were very straightforward people, so I didn't particularly notice any unique realness."
"Same here. I passed through some very straightforward tests and initiation procedures. I didn't really talk with them much." ToraX noted. "I'll pay more attention next time."
When they got back into grinding, they once more fell into their relentless pattern. Pull, position, devastate, clean up. The Dark Stone Golems never stood a chance. Experience flowed like water, letting levels climb steadily.
Twenty minutes passed. Thirty. Forty. The once dense population of Dark Stone Golems began to thin noticeably. Where once dozens would respond to their presence, now only scattered groups remained.
"We're actually running out of rocks to murder." Lena observed, spinning in place. "Did we commit genocide? Is golem genocide a crime?"
"Time to relocate." Lumi announced, already moving deeper into the ruins. "Follow me."
They traveled through crumbling archways and over fallen pillars until the air itself grew warmer. Much warmer. When the next set of golems came into view, they immediately noticed the difference.
These golems glowed with inner fire, their stone forms shot through with veins of molten rock. They moved with an aggressive demeanor, as if they naturally held extreme prejudice against the group of intruders, a deep, reviling hatred. That was the vibe they gave off. Despite their almost stationary aimless wandering in this area, just roaming around this section of the ruined temple.
[Flaming Stone Golem - Level 21]
"Fire types." Ryan noted, raising his shield. "This should be interesting."
"It's the same thing," Lumi informed. "They just hit a bit harder, move a bit faster, are a bit more durable, and burn you on impact. All in all, same thing."
The first pull immediately showed the difference which Lumi had definitely understated. When Ryan charged in, the lead golem's retaliatory strike not only impacted his shield but exploded in a shower of burning fragments.
[-52 HP]
"Ow! They hit harder than a…. Not sure! Really hard."
"It's fine!" ToraX took position. "I'll alternate tanking with you. Keep them moving!"
Lumi's Light Shower still carved through them, but without the elemental advantage, it took two or three casts per golem instead of one. The battle rhythm shifted from overwhelming devastation to more sustained combat.
"Heheheh!" VICE's enhanced arrow found a crack in a golem's core, widening it enough for Lena's follow up Energy Bolt to shatter the creature. "AHAHAHAHAHAH!" Lena laughed wildly, "I never tire of this! Destruction! If only the golems had…nevermind! I shouldn't say that! Right Lumi?"
"What."
Lena smiled. "Don't worry about it."
"?"
[EXP +31]
"These give more experience!" HazyNova noted, reappearing behind a golem to drive both daggers into its back. "The level difference is paying off!"
"Potion!" Ryan called out, quickly downing a red vial as another flame burst caught him. "These things don't mess around!"
A golem's body flashed with flame. ToraX knew what it meant now that he experienced Ryan get hit. He held his shield up and pretended to get ready to tank, only to jump away from the extremely choreographed attack at the last moment.
"Got it! The charged attacks are easy to dodge!"
Despite the increased difficulty, the party adapted quickly. The tanks learned to read the tell tale glow that preceded flame bursts. The damage dealers adjusted their timing to account for the increased durability. The experience gain more than made up for the slower kill speed.
…
Hidden beneath a carefully concealed entrance, not fifty meters from where the party was grinding, Afton S. Crow paced his laboratory so frustrated his face was turning red.
"Idiots! Morons! Absolute lunatics!" He peered through a cleverly disguised periscope, watching the slaughter above. "What kind of psychopaths spend HOURS killing golems?! They don't even take the cores! They're just... destroying them! They're targeting it as the weak point! Why!? I know it's the weak point but looting it would be about the only reason to take them down!"
His laboratory was a testament to his craft. Shelves lined with puppet parts, tables covered in modification tools, tanks containing various preserved specimens. And in the corner, his pride and joy, a collection of modified puppet warriors, each one carefully crafted and enhanced beyond normal limits.
"Don't they have anything better to do?!" Afton pulled at his dark hair in frustration. "It's been THREE HOURS! Who kills golems for three hours?! They're not even that valuable! Not that it even matters, because they aren't looting them!"
He'd been so close to his goal. The Flaming Stone Golems were perfect subjects for his latest enhancement techniques. Their natural fire attunement meant they could handle more aggressive modifications without destabilizing. He'd planned to capture a few tonight, work his magic, and have new prototype soldiers by morning.
Instead, he was stuck watching these maniacs systematically exterminate his test subjects.
"The one with the light magic... he's the leader." Afton muttered, making notes. "Abnormally efficient. Almost like he knows exactly where to aim. And that girl with the teleporting, completely insane. She laughs while killing. I've met that kind before… THEY are incorrect types of people."
Another group of his precious Flaming Stone Golems fell to the party's coordinated assault.
"THAT'S IT!" Afton slammed his fist on the table. "I'm reporting this to the Wings! This is clearly some kind of anti golem extremist group!"
But he couldn't leave, not with them right outside. The entrance to his lab was too well hidden to risk exposing it. All he could do was wait and seethe.
"I'm Afton! The Puppeteer! I should be able to do what I want! I turn you into a puppet! I puppet your friends! Your family! I become you!"
"I will follow you home!"
"And you will become my puppet!"
"And I'll force you to watch as your parents regard me as their son! Your wife as his husband! Wait no, no, that's wrong. Her husband. HER husband. Because the wife is female and… wait no… what am I talking about? Because the wife isn't… isn't… oh no… I'm about to be pepegged!"