Connor


    Day September 5^th 2029 / Vesper Day 1


    Vesper Day 1 Corresponds to Day 1 in the Plane of Shadow for Sam and Day 1 in the Astral Plane for Liza.


    After a short walk, Connor found himself sitting in a meeting room on the 5^th floor of the Banking Guild. He was sitting on one side of a massive table with Anya beside him and at least fifteen people of varying races sitting around him. At the head of the table, an Elderly Dwarf sat in a dark blue suit. Opposite him, a gnome with a monocle over his right eye and a light blue suit sat. The individuals across from Connor and to his left and right consisted of humans, elves, lizard men, and a few races he’d never seen before, including one that looked like what he’d imagined a dolphin would have looked like if it evolved into a humanoid. A light shimmer of magic surrounded that individual and seemed to wrap everything but its face in a layer of mist, giving the skin below a wet, glistening appearance.


    Connor and Anya had arrived about thirty minutes earlier and sat down. He sipped at the coffee that had been provided as the last person, a golden-skinned woman, entered the room and sat down. Once everyone was settled, Anya stood up and addressed the table.


    “Good Day, I am Assistant Director Anya Thayne. This director-requested meeting has been called to hear the testimony, if any, of Mr. Connor Nash from Earth concerning the whereabouts of Brey''an Jes''ron, Jesra Thayne, Krillian Krooper, Jasmine Daverack, Liam Hendren, Oliver Agnor, William Erickson, as well as all personal, asset and equipment located on Planet JXR-087, nicknamed Jax. A planet in which Malicore indebted themselves to the Banking Guild for investment. Since Mr. Nash has volunteered to provide such information to us voluntarily, as per our Guild Charter, Mr. Nash will receive compensation for all actionable intelligence gained at fair market value.


    Connor’s eyebrow rose when he heard this. He was going to get paid, Awesome!


    As Anya finished, the dwarf at the end of the table to Connor’s left stood, “As everyone here knows, besides Mr. Nash, of course, I am Director Lodstone. Mr. Nash, You are from a planet that was recently integrated into the SYSTEM. We believe you might have some information we need. We understand that there were over nine billion people on your planet at the time of integration, so you might not know anything. As a show of good faith for volunteering to talk to us, even if you do not know anything, one hundred thousand credits will be provided to you.


    You have received 100,000 Credits from the Banking Guild.


    Connor shifted as he said, “Thank You. I have to ask…if you can add credits to my account, can you also remove them?”


    Director Lodstone laughed, “I see you have a shrewd mind. You are currently in one of our Primary facilities. As Director, I can add credits from the Guild to anyone within the facility. Only those with specialized skills or spells can take credits from someone else''s SYSTEM account. As a SYSTEM Certified Guild, this is also true for any Credit Line we offer, though hacking does happen, and we pay a fee to the SYSTEM to cover such losses.”


    Connor nodded, “Thank you for the explanation. As I do not know what a fair price would be for the information you are requesting, I will trust that if I have the answers you seek, you will deal fairly with me.”


    “Of course,” Director Lodstone said.


    “Very well,” Connor said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he continued, “I was on a planet that other humans from Earth were taken to. There, I saw a lot of aliens and other races. I also saw members of the Sect Malicore. I do not know what the planet was called, but I have a good memory. Do you have any pictures of the people you named?”


    “We do,” the gnome at the opposite end of the table said. “I am the Senior Financial Analyst, Kelbis Glitterreach. These are the seven individuals that were named,” the Financial Analyst said as he waved his hand. Seven holographic images appeared above the table that looked like profile pictures you’d see on a social media app.


    Connor recognized the seven immediately. They had been the seven bodies next to the members of Liza’s claw. She had killed all seven just before he’d arrived at the Staging area on the flying skimmer. He also had no reason to lie, so he accessed his SYSTEM interface and shared his memory of their corpses as a holographic image. He made sure to leave Liza or Sam out of the images but shared them. Each broken corpse appeared above the photo of their faces, which Kelbis had supplied.


    Seven people sitting at the table gasped in shock while Anya, Director Lodstone, and Kelbis Glitterreach sighed. Director Lodstone looked at the images one more time and then asked, “Did you kill them?”


    “No.”


    “Do you know who did?,” the last person to arrive asked. She looked almost human except for her dark golden skin. As she leaned forward, Connor noticed that she had a costly tailored business-type suit on.


    Director Lodstone glared at the woman until she leaned back. “Mr. Nash, that is Mrs. Crey’nar, a lawyer representing the Malicore Sect. While her outburst was unwarranted, her question stood: Do you know who killed the seven nobles?”


    “Actually, I do, though it doesn’t matter. The individual is under my protection.”


    Mrs. Crey’nar scoffed, “Do you think you can stand up to the resources of five noble families? Five System Integrated Noble Families?”


    Considering what I learned a little while ago about this SYSTEM and how nerfed everyone within it is,” Connor shrugged, “Yep!”


    “Then you will die,” Mrs. Crey’nar declared.


    “Ishrail, please, you are not helping. Mr. Nash, I apologize for her outburst,” Director Lodstone said with a hint of exacerbation, “While the question of your protection and what that means will need to be addressed, the location of the nobles is indeed the location we are most interested in as all communication with the holder of our Loan was at that location.


    “Oh? Are you saying that the individuals who ran that slave processing camp are the individuals you’re most interested in?” Connor asked.


    “Yes?” Director Lodstone said.


    “Are you speaking of Mistress Morena?”


    “Yes.”


    “I received a SYSTEM quest to kill her.”


    “You what?” Mrs. Crey’nar exclaimed.


    “Yep, I received a quest to destroy her,” Connor said as he pulled up the quest and shared the first two lines of the quest with the room.


    Destroy Mistress Morena


    Task: Mistress Morena has violated the SYSTEM, Destroy her.


    “Oh yeah, I completed that quest,” Connor said as he shared the Notifications that he’d received after he killed her.


    Congratulations! You have killed Morena Darkspear, Level 85 Rare Mage.


    You Have Earn 285,000 XP


    Connor watched as the eyes around flittered back and forth. He was sure telepathy was being used so he better head off any claims they were about to try to make, “And let’s not pretend for a second that I owe anyone anything. I do not consent to her debts being transferred to me. I may be new to the SYSTEM, but I understand that there are things the SYSTEM does not abide by. Obviously, Mistress Morena crossed such a line, and a correction was needed.”


    Mrs. Crey’nar stood, “I don’t know who this slave thinks he is, but I, for one, will not tolerate….” She started to say before Connor cast Sleep


    Mrs. Crey’nar’s head hit the desk before she slumped to the ground with a loud “THUD. “


    “Did you just attack her?” Director Lodstone demanded.


    Connor shrugged, “I put her to sleep. It should only last a minute and a half or so.”


    “You put her to sleep with a Common Sleep spell?” Anya asked from beside him, aghast.


    “It was that or kill her,”


    “Young man, she is a Tier IV…” one of the people who had been silent until now started to say before he was cut off when Director Lodstone made a chopping motion with his hand.


    “Yeah, that crap doesn’t mean anything to me. Attacks against me or claims that I am some slave will be met with decisive force. So, get that piece of shit out of my sight, and let''s continue, or Pay me for the information I’ve provided, and I’ll leave.


    “You would just kill her?” Director Lodstone asked as he looked at Connor carefully.


    “The SYSTEM integrated my planet. The Sect Malicore is strip-mining the planet with whatever they have left to try to make as many slaves out of the survivors as they can. While I’m not out to protect every single human, I sure as shit will avenge my fellow Earthlings, and fortunately, I have the power to do so. Those that cross me out here in the Multiverse are going to find that out pretty damn quickly. More simply, if you play nice, I will. She did not; please remove her, or I will.”


    The room went silent as those within the boardroom looked at Connor and then a Director Lodstone who looked to be contemplating Connor’s words. Before anyone could comment or ask a question, Connor continued, “Now, don’t take this the wrong way; I’m not psychotic or crazy. I do understand that the SYSTEM would have initiated the integration no matter what Malicore did, BUT that’s not what happened, and I hold Malicore and its members responsible. The only reason Mrs. Crey’nar is not dead is because she is a lawyer representing scum bags. Now, if you would please get her out of her so we can continue.”


    Director Lodstone nodded, satisfied with his answer as he whispered into a wand. A moment later, a portal appeared, and two men in security uniforms stepped in, picked up the lawyer, and left through the portal, which closed behind them.


    A different man sitting next to where Mrs. Crey’nar had been sitting cleared his throat.”


    “Yes, Mr. Slyne,” The Director asked.


    “Since my colleague has been escorted out, it falls to me to ask the next Question. My name is Breen’ mar. I am a journeyman lawyer with the same firm as Mrs. Crey’nar. If you killed Mistress Morena for a quest and the nobles are dead, do you know what happened to the facilities where this took place?


    Connor laughed, “Know what happened? I don''t know what happened. I have a good idea, though. Someone placed a gem that exploded and took out at least half of the base, probably more. When I came to, I was elsewhere. So, while I cannot say with certainty that I saw the location destroyed, I would guess that there isn’t much left.”


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    “Can you share an image of the gem you saw with as much detail as possible,” Director Lodstone asked.


    The images of the dead nobles and their profile pictures vanished and Connor placed a three-dimensional rendition from his memory, as observed with Eyes of Eris.


    One of the men who had not spoken, another gnome, stood and looked at the gem. He climbed onto the table to get a better look before he returned to his seat and said, “I know this item.” After a moment of silence, Director Lodstone made a gesturing motion for him to continue: “That is a master-level Apocalypse Gem.”


    The intake of air around the table clued Connor that his thoughts that the gem had to be like a delayed blast fireball spell from his role-playing game days had been accurate. Before his thoughts could derail completely, Kelbis Glitterreach cleared his throat, “Mr. Nash, are you saying this device detonated while you were within a mile of it?


    Connor nodded, “I was just over 3,000 feet away when the gem detonated.”


    “Kelbis, what is the significance of a mile?” Director Lodstone asked.


    Kelbis looked at Connor and then to Director Lodstone, “At the very least, all assets loaned to Malicore at that location will be destroyed. The knowledge Mr. Nash has provided makes plain why Malicore has refused to see us on this matter. As for another issue I have thought of, let''s compensate Mr. Nash and then speak privately. The Board has a lot of paperwork to prepare with the local government before we can file a petition for reimbursement from the Sect.”


    Director Lodstone looked at Connor and continued, “Very well, Mr. Nash. You have verified the death of seven nobles. As per SYSTEM requirements, you will be paid 100,000…What? Mr. Nash, are you Master-Ranked?”


    “I am,” Connor said as Kelbis Glitterreach nodded to himself as if something he’d thought had just been confirmed.


    Director Lodstone brought himself under control before he continued, “Very well. As per SYSTEM requirements, in acknowledgment of your rank, you will be compensated 700,000 credits for the information concerning the nobles now. Concerning the destruction of the base run by Malicore. Once a second confirmation is achieved, you are entitled to 100,000 credits or 1% of the recovered assets, whichever is greater. Upon verification, you will receive 100,000 credits immediately and your share of the 1% if it exceeds 100,000 credits as the Banking Guild gets it.”


    “So I guess telling you that one of the stations they placed on Earth was destroyed during the integration, and the backlashed seemed to destroy a lot of vessels that were preparing to cross through a portal to Earth is also something you’d like to know?”


    Director Lodstone looked at Connor disbelievingly, “Are you serious?”


    “Oh yeah, I think our little world made the Sect really mad with that one. Oh, and I destroyed eight skimmers and their crew. I did steal a ninth, but that gem probably destroyed it,” Connor said nonchalantly


    “You what?” Kelbis Glitterreach said disbelievingly.


    “I believe you heard me,” Connor responded flatly.


    “We did,” Director Lodstone said, “Can you provide images of what you just claimed?”


    “Of Course,” Connor said as they brought the memories to mind and then shared them with the room. He even included images of the area the skimmer brought him to before he killed Mistress Morena, though he made sure to either blur or remove Liza and Sam from any images he shared. They knew someone had killed the nobles, but nobody should be able to figure out who from what he shared.


    The board members watched the images that Connor supplied, which showed them how he’d destroyed the first three skimmers and the hunter teams on them. He’d done that in the shaft between uncommon and rare sections of the tutorial area. Then Connor showed them how he’d decimated the following six teams, rode the final one back to the staging area, and skipped ahead until he noticed the crystal and tried to flee.


    Everyone in the meeting room looked stunned. Director Lodstone recovered first and said, "The going rate for the information you have provided would be 100,000 per asset that you show us that was destroyed. Eight of the skimmers were undoubtedly destroyed, either by you or gravity, when they fell out of the sky in the Tutorial area. That last skimmer was most likely destroyed in the explosion, as, by your memory, it was well within 500 feet of the gem when it exploded. I am also going to make a director-level decision and state that the information you provided us verifies that any other assets at that base that would have been in the staging area were also destroyed. While you might not be able to identify gear that the Banking Guild loaned, I do not doubt that it was there. Therefore, instead of only the 900,000 credits you would have received thus far, I am authorizing 10 million additional credits to be paid out to you. Anya will escort you to her office, where the transaction will be completed. Do you have any questions?”


    Connor looked thoughtful for a moment before he asked, “Why the sudden change? Why not try to strong-arm me?”


    Director Lodstone smiled as his eyes twinkled, “First, that is not the way our Guild works. We are a non-combat guild. Whatever class you are, by the evidence presented, you are capable of combat. Two, you put a Tier IV individual to sleep with a common spell. I have that spell, and what you did with it indicates to me that your Mental attributes must be incredibly high and well above Tier IV norms. Third, I am an excellent judge of character and do not believe strong-arming you would be in the best interest of our guild. Four, however, you became the way you are, you are still new to the SYSTEM. I hope to garner some goodwill with you toward myself and the Banking Guild.”


    Connor nodded along and had to say that this was a change from how he was usually treated. He expected threats or being taken advantage of, but it seemed that Director Lodstone wasn’t going to do that. He’d still be careful, though. If something was too good to be true, it usually was. There had to be a catch somewhere.


    Connor’s thoughts were interrupted as the Director continued, “Now, our Guild Board, the people in this room, need to discuss what we have learned and figure out how we are going to move forward. Anya is going to transfer the credits to you, make sure the line of credit we promised is set up, and then take you to our VIP Suite in the Kraymore, which is an executive-level hotel chain throughout the Multiverse. We will cover the cost of staying there for the time being. Anya will also provide you with her contact info, and if you need anything or need to find anything, please feel free to call on her to ask for assistance. You are new to the SYSTEM, and there is plenty for you to learn. She can point you in the right direction if you’re looking for specific knowledge or items you might not even know you need yet.”


    Connor smiled and nodded as the director spoke. When he paused, Connor asked, “I understand that you want to garner goodwill; what exactly does that good will look like from your perspective?”


    The Director smiled, “That is an excellent question. Simply put, we will agree to help you for the foreseeable future, and if we need you to testify against Malicore in any legal proceedings, you will be available.”


    “Are you saying the Multiverse has a court system and the corruption that such a system entails?”


    “Like on Earth before the Integration? Not exactly. The SYSTEM acts as the judge. The lawyers act as agents. Actions against the SYSTEM, well, those never pan out well for whoever brings an idiotic claim against the SYSTEM. The lawyers are present when individuals, Guilds, or Sects come into a legal conflict. There are, of course, planetary governments, but our Banking Guild is a SYSTEM Registered Guild, which means that we are recognized anywhere within the SYSTEM. This city is run under SYSTEM rules, not some local government.”


    Connor nodded, “That’s good to know, and it gives me an idea of the knowledge areas I need to pursue. Thank you for the information. If there’s nothing else, I’ll follow Anya out and leave you to your meeting.”


    “Nothing else at the moment. Thank you for coming in and speaking with us,” Director Lodstone said as Anya stood and led Connor out of the room to an elevator. They went down one floor, where Anya led him into a corner office with a beautiful view of the park.


    “Please have a seat,” Anya said as she gestured to a comfortable chair. I need to transfer 10,900,000 credits into your account and set up that Credit Line, and then I get to take you to your new home away from home.”


    The process of setting up the credit line and getting Connor paid was rather simple. The Guild verified that he had a Master Rank Core, which is what set the payment amount. Common-ranked individuals could earn a minimum of 10 credits per transaction, while Master Ranked individuals earned a minimum of 100,000. Some skills and classes would automatically increase that minimum amount, but he didn’t have either.


    Once they were done, he checked his Status Screen. Anya had also converted all of his coined treasure: Copper, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, into credits. Most of the civilized Multiverse didn’t use coins. After talking with him, she pointed out that if he needed something to trade in some backwater area of the Multiverse that didn’t use credits, he could make it with his Create Item spell. When she was done, he had 10,954,315 credits.


    After they left the Banking Guild, she led him through the park toward a building off to one side. It didn’t look very impressive, as it was only a single-story building. “Is that it?” Connor asked.


    “Oh yes,” Anya said enthusiastically, “Don’t let its appearance fool you. That single building is guarded by one of the best Security Guilds in the city. Inside, there is a reception desk and then a door, which is actually a short-range teleportation portal to one of the habitable moons around this planet, the second moon, to be exact. Once there, you will have a villa that will be yours for as long as you like. Some of the big shots in town own their properties on the moon, but Kraymore purchased most of the moon and started this business. The cost to rent the villas is not cheap, but Director Lodstone has five such properties available at any time for special guests.”


    “I guess that brings me to my next question; I know I can just make stuff and trade it in, but wouldn’t doing so put me on the wrong side of some Merchant’s Guild or Deity or something?” Connor asked.


    “You are correct; it would. If you wish to explore or try to earn experience or treasure, you will need to go off-world.”


    “Why?”


    “Well, you could stay on the planet and join the Adventure’s Guild, and you will gain experience and find treasure here. However, there are no dungeons above Tier III or the Rare rank. If you want better experience and treasure, you will need to go to another world with higher-ranked threats or even a Dungeon planet.”


    “I can do that,” Connor asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.


    Anya nodded; yes, you can; the easiest way to do so is to join the Adventure’s guild and go through one of their portals, but you can also use the natural gateways and portals to go on an adventure. Local Merchants sell maps to known locations throughout the multiverse. Some people want a romantic getaway and go for a stroll. Others wish for random adventure. There are also tour companies, but those are usually used for vacations, and the high-end destinations would use up most of the nest egg of credits you just acquired.”


    Anya looked up as they walked up to the double doors of the Kraymore Executive Suites. They stepped through a glass door into a room with force barriers along all of its walls. Connor felt a high-intensity scan wash over him before the inner door opened. As they stepped through, a golden-skinned woman called out, “Anya, it’s so good to see you again; who is your friend?”


    “Hello again, Darline. This is Connor. He will be staying in Villa Five, please.”


    “Villa Five, you’re sure?”


    “Absolutely, Director Lodstone was quite clear.”


    “Very well. Connor, is it? Please place your hand on this plate. It will sync your biometrics to the technological and magical security systems in this building.”


    Connor did as requested. There was a slight buzzing sound, and his hand tingled slightly before an audible “DING” chimed.


    “Very good. To enter the building, walk in, you will be scanned, and then the inner door will open. To get to your villa, go up to one of the six doors at the end of the hall, place your hand on the plate in the middle of the door, and a portal will appear. Once you step through and move more than 10 feet from the entrance, the portal will close. On the other side, if you step within 10 feet, a portal to this building will open. If it doesn’t, that means all six are busy. Just wait a few moments, and a portal will activate as soon as the path here is clear,” Darline explained.


    “I’ll be accompanying you this first time to show you around. After that, no one except staff can enter the property without your invitation,” Anya said.


    “Thank You, Darline. I’m ready whenever you are, Anya,” Connor said as he walked to the first open door frame and placed his hand on the plate in the center of the door. A moment later, it vanished, and a portal appeared. Connor stepped through the portal onto a moon that felt like it had one-sixth the gravity Earth did, with Anya close behind.


    The tour only took an hour. The villa was a large house with approximately 10,000 square feet. It had at least 10 large bedrooms, a meeting room, an entertainment lounge, a bar, a kitchen, and even a room that looked a lot like a dojo. It was fully stocked, and a cook and two staff members were assigned to the villa to see to his needs. They were assigned to the villa and had personal quarters within 100 feet of the main building. Security consisted of a high wall and a magical barrier. When they were done and Anya was preparing to leave, Connor asked, ” Anya?”


    “Yes, Mr. Nash.”


    “Are their information crystals concerning the significant guilds, sects, factions, customs, and courtesies within the multiverse? Also, Divine beings or gods?


    “Yes.”


    “Could you send someone out to pick up the most information crystals you can and charge them to my account? I am willing to invest up to two million credits into such information crystals.” Also, known major planets, planes, and the like and classes. I don’t need you to do it; send someone, and feel free to give them a generous trip from my funds. Once you have them, have someone bring them over, I’ll use them here.


    “You wish for the crystals with the automatic memory download function?”


    “Yes.”


    “Very well, I’ll get it done. Are you calling it a night, then?”


    “Not yet. I’m going to explore this moon a bit, and then I’ll probably call it a night after. If you can’t find me, it’ll be because I’m in my Astral Pocket.”


    Understood, I’ll have the staff leave the crystals on the kitchen table for you.


    “Thank you, Anya.”


    With that, Anya turned and walked back down the path to the entrance at the end of a short sidewalk. Connor looked around. There were a couple of things he needed to do. He needed to learn about the factions within this Multiverse. He needed to gauge precisely how powerful he was compared to everyone else now that Pandora had unlocked something in him, and he needed to find a way to get to and from Earth with little or no effort. He had a feeling he could create a spell to cross dimensional barriers and teleport from one location to the next with a spell. He couldn’t do either of the first two things on his list until the crystals arrived, so he’d do the last. That is after he took a quick flight around the area to see what was near him. Besides, in this location, he was a sitting duck where people knew where he was supposed to be. If he used his Astral Pocket twenty miles up, he should be fine.


    Connor activated Stealth, Flight, and Environmental Adaption. Next, he Shadow Stepped 18.9 miles up for 10,000 mana. Once there, he shot off at his maximum speed of 186,872 miles per hour and made it back to his starting point in less than two minutes. That ability Quantum Flux was coming in handy. Not worrying about the friction of wind shear was nice. When he was done, he verified that he was on a small moon about one-fourth the size of Earth. Unlike the moon around Earth, it has an atmosphere and life on it. It was temperate, with forests and lakes covering the surface.


    Connor used his Basic Map skill to return to his starting point and activate Astral Pocket while he was 20 miles up. He did this just in case there was another Master ranked individual around. Everything seemed to work in multiples of 10. Master rank ranges were 100,000 feet, or 18.9 miles normally. This should be high enough above the surface to avoid immediate detection. Connor entered his Astral Pocket and moved into the living room to meditate and get to work, trying to create a spell that would let him teleport home. As he sat down, he added one more thing to the list of items he wanted Anya to look into. A Way of finding specific people within the Multiverse. He needed a way to track down Sam and Liza since it was apparent they were trapped somewhere in the Astral Plane.