Chapter 465

Chaos. That’s all James could use to describe the events of the next ten minutes. Players were literally sprinting through the streets of the safe zone, rushing towards the massive, glowing circle that had sprung up in the center of town, acting as the gateway to the siege event. Even with how large it was, the density of players moving into it wasn’t letting up. Even as James and the party he was in teleported away from the safe zone, and to the siege instance, there didn’t seem to be any letting up of players trying to join.

Once in the siege instance, which looked exactly like the fifth floor safe zone, safe for a noticeable absence of the painguin NPCs, his vision was immediately assaulted by the different types of glowing structures. Taking it all in, he could see prompts popping up as he scanned over them, different areas for players to create defensive fortifications for the siege event. At the same time, a notification popped up on his chat bar.

[Siege Event Participation Confirmed: Granted 1 Siege Token. Additional Tokens can be earned by defeating mobs, and surviving waves. A list of uses for Siege Tokens, can be found on the Siege Token Menu.]

James pulled up the next window.

Siege Tokens

Currency utilized during Siege Events. Siege Tokens can only be used during the siege event they were generated for. Excess Siege Tokens at the end of the an event, can be redeemed for prizes. If no prizes are selected, remaining Siege Tokens will be transformed into currency, at a randomized rate, no greater than 1 platinum piece per token, and no less than 1 silver per token. *Siege Tokens cannot be traded to other players*

Uses- External: Siege Tokens can be used to build and upgrade defensive and offensive structures around town. Each structure will have a different upgrade cost, and each upgrade will provide different benefits.

Uses- Internal: Players may consume Siege Tokens for personal benefits. Tokens spent this way apply their effects for the duration of the Siege Event

1 token = 1% increase to all stats (Multiplier applied to base stats at start of siege) (can stack)

5 tokens = 15% increase to loot drops during siege (can stack)

25 tokens = 1 free revival to half health (limit 1)

50 tokens = 1 free revival to full health (limit 1)

100 tokens = Negates death and refills health to full, once per wave

He closed out of the window, wondering what exactly the drop rate would be for Siege tokens, as well as the prizes the event itself would offer. He knew there had been the ability to dive deeper into the loot offerings of the Siege Events, but considering his…eagerness to partake in the event, and get back into his developer avatar and get to adventuring, he’d left it essentially on the default option. Which, to be fair, wasn’t a terrible choice, considering there wasn’t much of a reason to change things past the norm, when he didn’t know fully how the siege would play out.

At least, that’s how he justified his laziness to himself. This was all just an experiment to better prepare himself, to make better, more informed decisions as a dungeon core, for his players. Totally that. And totally not him just being impulsive and over eager to play DCO.

“Any chance you guys can give us more details on the event?” Z asked at James’s side. James glanced at Rue, eyebrow raised, and she shook her head slightly. They really didn’t have much information regarding the siege events that they could safely explain, without accidently showing their hands. Meaning, there was only one good way to skirt that topic.

“Steve’s the expert on Siege Events.” James said. It was the truth. “If I know him, he’ll be he shortly, and we can ask him.”

“You think he’ll be here?” Z asked as the elf looked around. More and more players were showing up, and James noticed a counter in his vision showing the numbers. They were only about 2 minutes into the time before the siege would start, and already it showed over 300 players had joined the event. Which, explained why the streets were feeling so crowded. Most of the players teleporting in were standing where they landed, doing just as he had, and reading all the information they were being assaulted with.

“Knowing him,” Rue pipped up, “he’ll be here. Steve’s never one to miss something fun.”

Z chuckled in a knowing way that implied the guild leader was more than familiar with Steve’s shenanigans. Considering Z and the Knights had power leveled Steve up to level 69 before James and Rue had even made it to the fifth floor, they’d likely had a good amount of time with Steve. And, given the fact Steve didn’t have to be careful about accidently revealing any secrets, since Steve was, in fact, an actual developer, the crazy guy had likely been full of stories and such with Z and the others.

“Makes sense.” Z went quiet for a moment, his eyes reading something. “Skar’s group is coming as well. And seems we’ll have some outsiders joining the event too.”

“Outsiders?” James asked.

“From another dungeon. Seems our reddit page has been updated with the siege event, and outsiders are rushing over to join in as well.”

“How many players have reached the fifth floor from other dungeons?” James asked as his mind pondered the same question. Dungeon Gates hadn’t been a thing that long, and the fifth floor was not easy to get to. Especially if you didn’t have a leveled ship, or a group willing to take you there. He knew there were parties willing to be hired out to carry players to the fifth floor, much like Alex and Fel had done for James and Rue, but still, there couldn’t be many. And, considering it was someone Z knew, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“No idea on the actual number,” Z said with a shrug. “But these guys are good. Well, as far as players go.” He winked at James. “But don’t take my word for it. I’m sure you’ll recognize them when they get here.”

James opened his mouth, wanting to further prompt Z, but closed it. There was a single group he could think of, who Z would likely refer to as good. But, James didn’t think they’d be on talking terms with Z. Especially not following that last encounter… He figured he’d just wait to see who it was, rather than press Z for information. After all, while they believe he was a developer, he figured it was probably safer to not give them any idea of how much he actually watched them in his dungeon. Partially because it would likely seem a bit creepy, and also because, well, James felt a bit like a creep thinking about how much time he spent actually watching them. It was like they were his favorite streamers, and he tuned in every time they went live. Perfectly normal in the gaming world, but he wasn’t about to reveal himself as a Knights Who Go Ni fanboy.

“If you say so.” James looked around, as players began to finally move away from their spawn zones, to look at the different options for offensive and defensive structures. “While we wait, should we check out our options for building up the town?”

“Probably a good plan.” Z said with a nod. “Keep your eyes out for a catapult option too. If its anything like the Dungeon Wars, Axel42 will likely want one of those.”

“Why do you…” James trailed off as his mind caught up. Would they be able to use the catapults like he had in Dungeon Wars? Could Alex load up sacrificial lambs as ammunition? More and more questions filled his mind, as the party moved around the city. They didn’t have much time, and everything was new and unknown. It seemed the first obstacle of Siege Events, would purely be in using the small amount of time everyone had, to prepare for the actual event. No one knew what the mechanics were. No one knew what to expect, or even what they could do in preparation. Add on the fact that no one, other than James, Rue and Steve, knew what the waves would entail, and it further complicated the situation. In short, the lack of information was damning with regards to what they could do to prepare. Which, James figured, was also a bit of what made it so fascinating. How would his players react. How would they come together, to face each wave? And more importantly, could they survive to the fifth and final wave?